Sunday, December 25, 2011



A thousand thanks for your caring support and encouragement 
as we continue our journey in Kenya.
May the Lord bless you for your kindness towards us.



Jambo Dear Friends.

We received such thoughtful responses to our last update, "Beauty From Ashes," with questions asking how to support the ministry for widows and orphans in Kenya.
Checks can be written to CARE and attach a sticky note that says, "for Kenya."
The mailing address is
CARE 
PO Box 3543
Pagosa Springs, CO 81147

Or 
People can donate through PAYPAL by clicking the following link and going to the donate button on the sidebar.

Some of the relationship-based projects donate support  are:
  • The Discipleship Income-generating  (DIG) training for widowed moms so they provide for their children and not have to leave them as orphans.
  • Orphan Care Character Club - helps orphans with food and teaching about growing in Christ. 
  • Bio-sand water filter outreach program - builds water filters in oppressed rural areas and shares the gospel message that Jesus is the Living Water.
Thank you for believing that God's love for the fatherless goes beyond borders by sharing your blessings.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Beauty from Ashes

Lillian surveys her shop with a look of satisfaction. It’s a modest place: white-washed walls enclose the small 5' by 12' area, no windows, but there is electricity and a strong green metal door to secure her new livelihood. Lillian has opened a hair salon in the Kondele slum, a dream she’s hidden in her heart since childhood.


Life has not been kind to Lillian. She grew up in extreme poverty and was married at the young age of 15. She bore three daughters. Shortly after, her husband ran off with a witchcraft woman and no one has seen or heard from him. That was 5 years ago; 5 years of desperately struggling to survive and put food into the mouths of her hungry little girls. The option of placing her children into an orphanage loomed over her head like a threatening cloud, ready to consume her last joy of life – being a mother. But God had other plans for Lillian, plans of good and not evil, to give her a future with hope. 


After participating in the Discipleship Income-Generating (DIG) training, Lillian learned who Christ is in her and who she is in Christ. She’s chosen to live in forgiveness and generosity. Lillian is now managing an emerging ministry enterprise in an oppressed area that longs for redemption. She creates beauty with her hands. Her customers are women like herself, who have very little but will spare a few shillings to sit in her quiet shop and have their hair braided. It’s a place of escape from the ever-demanding days in the slums. Soft voices share stories, testimonies and prayers for a new tomorrow. For Lillian, her new tomorrow has come.
As a young mom leaves the salon, her hair twisted into fine rows down her slender neck, Lillian whispers encouragement and hugs her. Lillian returns to her next customer and looks at me, saying words she never thought possible...
“I am happy.
My girls are eating and going to school.  God has given me a testimony to speak.
I have beauty from ashes.”












The DIG project meets widowed moms at their place of despair, teaches them about the transforming power of Jesus Christ, walks with them through healing, trains them to live sustainably, and helps them procure capital to invest in a ministry/business.  As a result of this, children who would otherwise be given to orphanages can now grow up with moms who love them. The women meet weekly to discuss issues and pray for one another. Together, this group is saving money from their businesses to host another DIG training. Their desire is to bless other abandoned moms as God has blessed them.
Would you please pray for Lillian, Mildred Anne, Benta, Beatrice as they begin their ministry businesses to support their children and share their experiences of God's great grace? 


Mildred needs prayer for her son who is very sick with a kidney disease.

Please also pray as we’re training 4 Kenyan women to facilitate the DIG project in other impoverished areas of Kenya.

DIG - a project of CARE4Nations/CARE defends the cause of widows and orphans in Kenya by providing Christ-centered assistance through relationship-based service.  Our vision is for the Gospel message to minster to widows and orphans in their time of need, freeing them from victimization to live the destiny God intended. 


Asante sana for your prayers and support.
hugs from the haugers  oooo