BIG PLANS IN THE WORKS for 2010!

The Africa Mission Team of St. John has big plans for our next trip in September, 2010!

We have been working very hard to expand this ministry and serve the widows and ophans of Kenya. On our last trip we met many children who were in need of sponsors so they could attend school, purchase a uniform, and receive a good meal while there. After discussing the need with Deaconess Lorna Meeker we determined a monthly amount that would take care of those needs. We took pictures of the children at the Luther Academy in Kibera, the school on the grounds of Springs of Life Lutheran Church where Pastor Dennis Meeker and Deaconess Lorna serve. On returning home in October '09 we set about getting those children sponsored. Through the generosity of the people of St. John and a few non-members, we currently have 37 children sponsored! We have a goal that all 76 children at the Luther Academy will be sponsored and an additional 26 children we met at a Maasai Village near Kisumu will be sponsored. (Currently we have 11 of the Maasai children sponsored.) Please prayerfull consider sponsoring a child! The cost is only $35.00 a month. You will be blessed beyond measure and so will the child that you enable to change their life.

We also have several projects in the works:

Our "Klinic for Kenya" project entails purchasing a 8 ft X 40 ft cargo container that will be filled, with the generous help of Crittenton Hospital in Rochester, medical supplies and equipment, diapers, clothing, and anything else we can get in it! That cargo container will then become a medical clinic in the Nyansa province of Kenya. Watch for the container in mid June in the parking lot at Crittenton Hospital, adjacent to St. John.

We will also be asking the school children of St. John Lutheran School to fill a shoebox full of hygiene products and school supplies for the children in Kenya at the Luther Academy and the Maasai village.

We also look forward to collecting clothing and shoes from our St. John annual Rummage Sale the third week on June. If you would like to contibute anything for the coantainer, please contact Deaconess Linda Nobili at lnobili@stjohnrochester.org. Let's fill it to the brim!

Home again, and yet homesick

Yes, we are home again, yet our hearts, minds and prayers will forever be in Kenya!



I returned home on Oct 5th and had surgery at U of M hospital on Oct 7th. I was sad to leave Kenya, but so thankful for a great American hospital. I have broken the fibula bone in two places, so the Dr. "installed" a plate with four screws. He and Mauro got into a dicussion about self-tapping screws which Mauro tried to convey to me upon awakening from surgery, but I was having none of that discussion! The inside ligement that had snapped was healing nicely so he didn't have to sew it. Overall, I am doing much better with the pain now, and I only need the meds a couple times a day. Thank you so much for all your prayers, cards, and meals! Mauro and I are overwhelmed by your generosity and kindness.



As I read Elizabeth's post, I am reminded of all the work we have to do! There are so many needs, that we could never meet them all; but God in His mercy will direct us where to focus our energies. We encountered many more children who need to be sponsored, both for basic sustainance and for school fees. Please let me know if the Lord is leading you to be one of those sponsors.



I have to comment on the team this year. It was very evident that God choose this team. Each brought their own unique gifts and talents with them.

• Elizabeth was clearly there to help the teachers at the the Luther Academy. Her giftedness in teaching and loving children was a great blessing to all she encountered. She also went above and beyond by painting my toenails and washing my hair for me before I left! Thanks Elizabeth! You have a true servant heart.


• Shani used her gifts of compassion and organization to touch the hearts of the children and help the teachers to more organized. Shani, you blog was beautiful and I wanted to cry along with you for the children of Kibera.


• Rockie was in "seventh heaven!" I am so glad that he was able to use the gifts God has given him to lay tile, paint, and whatever else was needed at the school. What a blessing you were Rockie to the young men that you mentored!
• Sue was a women 'possessed' I'm told as she unloaded that cargo carrier! I didn't see it, but anyone wo knows Sue, knows that she puts her whole heart and soul (and back!) into a project. Thank you Sue for your strength, not only of body, but of character. And thank you for leaving Kenya early to be my nursemaid on the way home!
• Karen was our rock. Her wisdom and kindness saw us through. She was a great blessing to the people of Kenya who needed medical attention, and to me! She was right there with me when I fell and I trusted her wisdom and calming presence the entire time. Thanks Karen! You know I miss you already!

I praise the Lord of the Harvest for sending us and I thank all who contributed to make it possible. Look for future presentations and new items for sale!

St. John's Partnership with Friends of Mercy to Minister to Children in Kenya

The Partnership

Friends of Mercy is very thankful for this opportunity to work together with our brothers and sisters at St. John. Partnerships are the way to get things done, especially when following through with God's Word to "the ends of the earth." You might want to take a look at our web site (here) to learn about what Pastor Galik, Elizabeth, and Kirk will learn about. Please feel free to e-mail me and ask any questions that you might have about our upcoming trip.

Kenya and AIDS Orphans and FGM

Our goal in Kenya is to work with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya to assist the weakest victims of HIV/AIDS, the children left behind. Most parents are dying by the time they are 30 years old. Sibling families are formed, where the 11-18 year old brother or sister steps in as a "parent" figure to the younger children.

FGM is a terrible rite still practiced by the Masai tribe. I suggest you take a look at FoM's website here to learn about the details of exactly what it is. Our goal is to build a compound called the Entito Rescue Center which will be a girls boarding school for 500 young girls.

Check back often for more information and updates by the whole team!

Thanks again for allowing Friends of Mercy to serve our Lord through St. John.

Pastor Mark Sell

If we don't do something...

HIV/AIDS

By 2010, an estimated 15.7 million children in sub-Saharan Africa will have lost at least one parent due to AIDS. Even where HIV prevalence stabilizes or begins to decline, the number of orphans will continue to grow or at least remain high for years, reflecting the time lag between HIV infection and death.

In Kenya, according to UNAIDS, in 2005 there were 1.1 million orphans due to AIDS. This crisis impacts entire communities as they struggle to respond to the needs of these children, who suffer physical, emotional, educational, and sociological impacts.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya ministers to these orphans and to the families and communities mobilizing to provide them with care. We seek to partner with the ELCK to fund and support a project, perhaps a community-based orphanage, over a five year time frame.

Poverty

Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is a city of 3 million inhabitants. Some 60% are packed into slums, which comprise only 5% of Nairobi's land mass. The biggest and poorest slum in Nairobi, and in fact in all of Africa, is Kibera, with a population of over 1 million. A BBC reports describes it as "600 acres of mud and filth, with a brown stream running through the middle."

The ELCK has a church in Kibera where the living Word is preached and people without hope hear of a Savior.

Just barely scratching the surface, these statistics and descriptions of a humanitarian crisis inform and influence our calling. Because at the end of the day, if don't do something people will die. We can do some-thing, and therefore we go to Kenya to find out what that is.

Welcome!

Welcome to the St. John Lutheran Church Ends of the Earth blog! Here we will be posting information related to our upcoming trip to Nairobi and Kisumu, Kenya, October 16 - 26 2007, to conduct fact-finding and relationship-building toward the goal of establishing ongoing support for at-risk children. We will be working closely with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya to identify an area we can partner with over a long term committment. Our trusted guide and advisor is Pastor Mark Sell from Friends of Mercy. He has a blog too, right here.

Our Lord has already laid our path in Kenya, and we pray through Christ that He will make it known to us as we journey to the ends of the earth! Acts 1:8

Check back often for more!