God is calling us all to be His Hands and Feet. Are you listening? God is calling you to some ministry. It may across the ocean, or it may be in your own community. Don't close your ear to God's calling. He will use you in wonderful ways if You just answer the call.
Matthew 25:34-36"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
Once again, I'm asking for your prayers for this little orphanage - Happy Choice in Kenya. Their needs are great and ongoing. God is the great Provider and He has shown His love for this ministry in amazing ways. The need is ongoing because the children need to eat every day, they need to get an education which in Kenya is not free, and they need to learn how to provide for themselves so that when they are old enough they can be self-sufficient - and maybe they will even contribute to the care of the children they have grown up with at Happy Choice.
God put Oscar and Emma in my life. Of that I have no doubt. Originally, I thought I was supposed to teach them about Jesus, but as it turned out, they have taught me about having a relationship with Jesus. They taught me about real faith. God always gives more than we give. I wanted to be a blessing to Oscar and Emma, but God has blessed me so much more by allowing me to know them.
1 Corinthians 1:27-31 (NIV)
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
Oscar and Emma have committed their time and limited resources to caring for orphans. When I first met them, Oscar and his preacher friend worked together to provide food and other needs for the children. There was a woman from their church who actually lived next to the hostel and took care of the children - sort of a house parent. But one day, she came to Oscar and said that she was moving to Nairobi (6 hours away) to study theology and would no longer be able to take care of the children. That's when Oscar and Emma made a big decision. They moved from their larger home into the houseparent home. Oscar and Emma because the care providers for all the children who lived at Happy Choice.
Jeremiah 22:16 (NIV)
He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD.
Oscar and Emma truly know the LORD. They had always been involved with the care but now they were totally responsible for the day to day duties, and for 12 children plus their own three, that's a lot of work. But they love the children as their own. Oscar now is totally responsible for bringing in resources, i.e. food, clothing, money for tuition/medical expenses, etc. because during all the violence and uprising during the last election, Oscar's best friend, his preacher, was murdered as he traveled from their village into Kisumu for food.
Oscar and Emma have always believed that God will provide for their needs. They dreamed of building a better place for the children to sleep. They realized the need for a safe latrine. Their old one was falling down and in danger of collapse. Emma wanted to have a real kitchen where she could prepare the meals for all the children. The old kitchen had fallen down and was nothing more than the ruins of the old building - just a little corner of the old kitchen where she could build a fire to cook.
Emma had laid out for me an outline of all the things they wanted to do at Happy Choice, including offering training in various skills that the children could use to earn a living when they moved away. Trades like mechanics, farming, sewing, etc. They realized that not all the children would do well in school, and those children would need some way to provide for their future families. They started a garden and taught the children how to raise plants for food. They raise rabbits, too, and sell them in town.
The most amazing thing is that Oscar and Emma have kept all these children in school. Everyone of them is attending either primary or secondary school. Timoland will graduate this year. He is currently waiting on his final exam grades. That is a huge accomplishment in a country where education is not free.
Most important to Oscar is that the children know Jesus is their true Friend. He's lived alone on the streets when he was a young teen. He understands the fears and the desperation. He also understands that Jesus saved him and provided for him. Jesus was Oscar's only hope, and Oscar wants every homeless child to know that.
There have been so many needs for this little orphanage, and my personal resources have been limited. It is heartbreaking to see such need and not be able to provide for that need. But God showed me that for now, my biggest job is to tell others. HE does the rest by touching hearts for this little ministry.
God has very clearly drawn people to this work. At first, the donations were small, but as we shared the need for clean water (which is now piped in from Kisumu), and the new buildings - the hostel, kitchen and latrine, the donations became larger, and we felt a great burden to provide a way for those generous donations to be tax deductible. The cost of setting up and maintaining a 501K3 charitable organization was too great. But then God connected us to Lost Orphans, a wonderful organization whose main goal is to care for orphans all over the world. My good friend, Michelle Wallace was determined to get Lost Orphans to include Happy Choice as one of their featured orphanages, and she did it! Now donations made to Happy Choice through the Lost Orphans website are fully tax deductible. What a blessing! www.lostorphans.com
Another wonderful thing about this connection is we now have a way for people to sponsor one of our children by making donations online - it can be a one time, periodic or even monthly donation. On the website, a simple click to "Meet the Children" takes you to a page where you can choose an orphan ministry. Choose "Happy Choice" and you will see the sweet faces of all the children in Oscar's care. Most of these children have been with Oscar and Emma for five years or more.
Timoland is the oldest and hopes to study at the University level once he receives his final exam grades later this year. He has been living at Happy Choice for nine years and hopes to become a doctor. I believe he can do it. He's been such a blessing for Oscar and Emma - someone they can always rely on to help out with the children.
This is Rael. She's simply beautiful. Rael has been with Happy Choice since she was only six. She is now 10. I don't get lots of photos of the children from Oscar because he doesn't have a camera and must arrange for a friend to come take snap shots for him. I probably have seen Rael's photo 4 or 5 times in the last few years, at different periods in time. Every single photo little Rael is wearing the same shirt and sometimes the same little jacket. Every photo. = (
I often wonder how different the lives of these children would have been if they had been born in the United States, or even if their parents hadn't become sick and died. Our children have so much materially, so many advantages that the children at Happy Choice don't have. But one thing I know, these children feel loved, and they are being taught about Jesus. Because they have seen God at work - providing for them in amazing ways, they know He's real. And because of Oscar and Emma, they know that God loves them greatly.
This Saturday night Lost Orphans is having a fundraising banquet. Happy Choice is not their only ministry. There are several just as worthy, just as needy as Happy Choice. Please pray with me that God will touch hearts for each ministry, and that much money will be raised to help provide the essentials for these little orphanages. If' you are interested in coming to the Banquet, here is the invitation.
Thanks in advance for all your prayers and support.
LOI Hope 1:27 Banquet
Saturday, November 12, 2011 • 5:30-8:00 pm
Hosted by Tim Cypert
469.522.3457
Fairview Farms
3314 N. Central Expressway, #100
Plano, TX 75074
Join us as we celebrate how God has used LOI in 2011 and learn about new opportunities in 2012!
We will enjoy a casual BBQ dinner and entertainment by Jason Castro!
We love kids, but this event is for adults only.
Tickets are $25 each or $40 per couple. RSVP to brobinson@lostorphans.com or www.lostorphans.com. Tickets must be purchased in advance.
If you would like to be a table captain, $200 will get you a table for eight. If you would like to be a sponsor, $400 gets you a table for eight and your logo or name on the event program and signage!
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