December 2016 | Advent Week 1

"But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
    on them has light shone.
You have multiplied the nation;
    you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
    as with joy at the harvest,
    as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of his burden,
    and the staff for his shoulder,
    the rod of his oppressor,
    you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
    and every garment rolled in blood
    will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."

Isaiah 9:1-7

A PROMISE GIVEN
God's people were in need of rescue and He gave them a promise.
A promise to cling to, to hope on, and to rest in.

Honestly, it seems weak, doesn't it?
Somewhere, through time, the idea of a promise has lost it's value, it's lost it's worth to us. There aren't many promises that people hold to anymore so it's no wonder our skepticism rises when we hear that God made a promise.
"Big deal.", we think.

But it is a big deal. A very big one.
One count puts God's promises from scripture to be near 3000. Bible scholars vary in the amount of Old Testament promises to have been fulfilled by Jesus, but some put the number near 300. Regardless of the exact count, making promises, and keeping them, is a big deal to God. God never breaks His promises.

A PROMISE KEPT
Even in the midst of slavery, war, exile, and famine, God made promises to His people of their future rescue. No matter the conditions that they found themselves in, His people could always rest in the truth that one day He would rescue them.
The catch is, it wasn't how they expected.
God's rescue of His people focused more on rescuing them from the darkness of sin than it did the circumstances they found themselves in. While God wasn't apathetic to their plight, He knew that the sin His people battled against was far more damaging to them than slave driver's whip, the starvation they faced, or even the enemy soldier bearing down on them.

God's promises were that He would rescue His people from their sin so that they could be back in a relationship with Him and the darkness which separated them from Him would be destroyed by the light of the coming Messiah.

A PROMISE TO REST IN
This was the promise His people were to rest in. This was the promise they were to hope for.
This is the same promise we are to hope for and to rest in, except we are on the other side of this promise. We know that Jesus has come. We know that He has made a way for us to be back in relationship with God, and we know He is coming again.

This is the promise that our brothers and sisters in Kenya are hoping in, even in the midst of their struggles. One of the most amazing things to see in a place full of disease, poverty, death, and crime, is men and women, boys and girls, who love Jesus with all of their hearts and are full of the joy that they have resting in God's promises. Despite what they face daily, they trust in a God who loves them and who has drawn them near to Him. The bright light of this truth pushes back the darkness that often surrounds them.

A PROMISE TO COME
When we consider our current anticipation of Christ's return, we can then understand the Israelites and their anticipation of Christ's first coming.

This Advent season, think on the anticipation of God's people in ages past. Their longing, their zeal, their pleading hearts wrung out as they waited on their God.
What must that have felt like to wait for such a promise?

Probably a lot like what it does to feel it right now.

We have such a hope to cling to.
We have such a promise to expect.
We have a God who never fails to keep His promises.

““Come thou long expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee.””

— Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, A Hymn by Charles Wesley

November 2016 | Thanksgiving

It's almost here. That day when you can eat as much as you want without feeling guilty. At least, that's how it is in our house. For us, there are no restrictions on how much food you can enjoy on only two days out of the year: Thanksgiving and Christmas.

In our home, we believe food (along with everything else) is a gift from God and given to us to enjoy and steward well. It's because of this that the other 363 days of the year we are careful about what we eat, practice moderation, and generally just try to be healthy. But oh those glorious two days when we don't have to...

Before we let ourselves go on these two days, we spend a good amount of time thanking God for all that He's provided for us. Every single morsel of food on the table and in the stove was given by Him, not a bit of it came from us. It's for our enjoyment and it's made to remind us of how good, thoughtful, faithful, and creative He is. I mean, bacon inside the stuffing. Need I say more?

So, why do we let ourselves go on those days? Because we want to be reminded of a day that's coming. A day that scripture calls marriage supper of the Lamb. A day whenthe bridegroom is united with His bride. When those who are His will finally be with Christ. It is a moment that we look forward to in our home, because what could be better than sharing a table with your family in Christ and Jesus himself?

God intends for our time around a table to be shared with others and to be a time where we laugh, cry, tell stories, and point to Him. I'm not sure I've seen this done as well as I have when we have been invited into the homes of our family in Kenya.

Though finances are tight at every home we've been invited into, there is never a shortage of hospitality and food to be shared and enjoyed. From warm chai, ugali, sukuma, beef stew and chhatrapati, to sugar cane, bananas, and Stoney Tangawizi, we have enjoyed every moment of every meal that we've had with our Kenyan family. And every meal with them reminds me that one day we'll have a meal much like that one, except with far more food, far more people, and there will be someone there that we will all be enamored with - the perfect Lamb, Jesus Christ.

I pray this Thanksgiving you and your family enjoy the day as you never have before. 

Take time to tell stories, to remember the past. Tell jokes and laugh at each other and at times that once seemed tough. Don't hold back, get a second helping, or a third, and put one of each dessert on your plate. But before you begin, remember to each take a moment to praise God for his provision, for his faithfulness, and for his mercy, you wouldn't be able to enjoy the day without it.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and your family from all of us at Feed.Teach.Hope.

November 2016 | Food

THE GIFT OF FOOD

As you know by now, we have set a year-end goal of covering one year of operating costs for Christlike Academy.
You can read about this goal and how the funds are used HERE.

Providing Food for the children at Christlike was the original reason the school began.
When Pastor Linus planted a church in the Misiri slums, he noticed the amount of children who were left behind and neglected by parents who left during the daytime. This is when he began a feeding program and daycare for the children.

As time went on, the feeding program grew into a school as Linus hired teachers and became accredited with the Ministry of Education.
Christlike Academy continues to feed the children two warm meals a day. When they arrive, they are given warm porridge for breakfast. This holds them over until lunch when they are either given rice, or a native dish called Ugali, along with cooked vegetables. On some days they are also able to have meat with their meal and some of the children who can afford it bring bread with them.
When the teachers see that a child is extremely poor and will most likely not receive dinner, a small meal is wrapped up for them to take home in the afternoon.

Food is a basic need for these children and many of them do not live in homes where there is any steady source of it. To be able to count on two meals a day is a tremendous blessing for them.  

When you give, a portion of your support is used to purchase food for Christlike Academy. Currently it costs $225 per month to feed 185 children. We are hoping to increase that amount so that they can have larger and more diverse meals and so that we can accommodate more children as they come. We need your help to do so. 

Because a church planter obeyed God's call to plant a church in the Misiri slum, these children are now able to have food to help keep them healthy and alive. It's such a simple blessing that we take for granted far too often. 

November 2016 | Uniforms

UNIFORMS FOR LIFE

As you know by now, we have set a year-end goal of covering one year of operating costs for Christlike Academy.
You can read about this goal and how the funds are used HERE.

Uniforms are one of the most important items that we use these funds for.
Our church planter has started Christlike Academy in the middle of a slum and the children who attend often have only one set of clothes.
When we give a child a uniform, they are receiving two new sets of clothing. We provide a daily uniform as well as an athletic uniform, they are also given new shoes.

One of the children that we met on our first trip to Christlike Academy was a child who only had one set of clothes. When they were washed, she would have to sleep with no clothes as her grandmother would wash them and dry them over a fire in order to get them back to her quickly. Her clothes had several burn holes in them from the flame.

When you support this year-end goal, you are not only helping to clothe these children for school, but also for life, as these clothes are what they will wear nearly every dayas they work, play, and study, in the Misiri slum.

Because a church planter obeyed God's call to plant a church in the MIsiri slum, then saw and met the need for a school, we now have the opportunity to help support the work that God is doing here through this planter and the chance to provide clothing for these children is just one small piece of that.

November 2016 | One Year in 55 Days

In 55 days, it will be January 1, 2017...

...and on that day we hope to have Christlike Academy fully supported for one year. We know this is a lofty goal, but we also know that we have partners who can help us achieve it.
We need your help.

ONE YEAR in 55 DAYS
Our mission as an organization is to bring hope and a bright future to impoverished people groups. We believe this is done primarily through church planting. Therefore, just as it was a church planter who started Christlike Academy, which is now providing meals and an education to 185 slum children, we want to help support other Kenyan church planters to begin to redeem and restore the communities they are in. In order to do this, we must be able to support Christlike Academy first. We want to be faithful to the place where God has first connected us and shown us a need.

Below is a breakdown of the monthly operational costs to support Christlike Academy and the total for our year end campaign.

---

CHRISTLIKE ACADEMY
Salaries (12 Teachers, 4 Support Staff, Security) $1400
Supplies/Stationary   $50
Food   $225
Water/Electricity   $30
Rent   $160
Firewood   $33
Bus Fares   $50

Total Monthly Operational Cost   $1948
Total Yearly Operational Cost   $23,376

Year End Goal   $30,000

Our year end goal includes fees, Christmas bonuses for Christlike staff, extra funds for uniforms, and a one-time need of $3,000 to construct additional classrooms for classes 7 & 8.

Christlike Academy was founded by our pastor in the Misiri slums who saw a need for food and education to be available for children who couldn't obtain it. Christlike provides an accredited education to children who live in the Misiri slum and who would otherwise have no opportunity for schooling. Certified teachers travel in from the area to teach the students. On average, these teachers make the equivalent of 80USD per month and work just as hard and diligently as our beloved teachers here in the United States. Because our teachers work so hard with the students, some students are scoring consistently in the top of their grade level in the region. In addition to schooling, the children are provided with two warm meals a day and those especially poor are often sent home with an additional meal. Christlike typically provides uniforms to those students who cannot obtain them and this sometimes becomes their only clothing. When we first visited in 2014 the school had 85 children. When we arrived in October of this year, that number had grown to 185. We now have children attending who are ready to move up into classes 7 and 8 and we must construct a building in order for them to do so.

As 2017 approaches, you will find out more about each of the needs above. Each need that your support goes to when you donate plays a vital role in helping at Christlike Academy, from firewood to uniforms. Your partnership and support would mean so much to us and to the teachers and children of Christlike Academy.

We'd like to ask that instead of Black Friday spending and traditional gifts at Christmas, you would consider donating to Christlike Academy. If you'd like to find out more how you can donate to Christlike Academy as someone's Christmas gift, please contact us.

As we enter the holiday season, please be blessed by this message from Pastor Linus in Limuru. He says these words often and as he pours his life out to train church planters and share the gospel with people all over Kenya, there is never any doubt of the depth with which he means them:

"May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you forevermore. Amen."