December 2016 | The Invaluable Teacher

At Christlike Academy in the Misiri Slums, our teachers are the real heroes. These wonderful women have worked hard to become certified as teachers in Kenya and have chosen to work at a school in the middle of a slum area so they can teach and instruct children who have little other chance of recieving such care. If you know a teacher, then you know their job is no small task. Teachers often work long hours. For our Kenyan teachers, they work year round, as school in Kenya runs on a three-month-on, one-month-off schedule.

Nearly all of these teachers make their way into the slums by public transportation or their own two feet. They travel from their homes, some of which are very far away, because they want to make a difference in the lives of these children.

Our teachers work hard at their jobs. So hard, that Christlike Academy has a few students who are testing in the top percentage of students in their region.
These are children born and raised in the slums who are out performing children in other high-income areas.
Our teachers love our students and put in extra effort to be sure the children understand the material and are ready for exams.

When you give to Feed.Teach.Hope., you are helping us continue to support all of the operational costs at Christlike Academy, including teacher salaries.
Currently, our teachers have an average income of $80 per month. We are working to be able to raise that considerably because of the hard work and effort they put in for our students.

Would you help our teachers?

We are looking to meet an end of 2016 Goal of obtaining one year of operating costs for Christlike Academy by December 31, 2015. You can read more about it here.

You can be a part of helping us do this.
We'd love for you to be a partner - please join us.
And also, please forward this email to a teacher that you know.
We think they'd be proud to see how they have sisters in another country who are working hard to teach children there, just like they do here.

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.