Hey everyone!
For those of you who do not receive my emails, I am now living in Kenya! I live near Kisumu, in a town called Mbita. It is beautiful there. There are so many mountains, we live on the shore of Lake Victoria, and our hosts are amazing. I am working with a group called SEEK (Suba Educational Environment of Kenya) and they go around to many schools and teach about the environment. They are a christian organization, and they also help out in many areas in churches, with widows and orphans in the area, schools, hospitals, orphanages, and so much more. They believe in equipping people with education about the environment so that they can sustain themselves, and use the environment’s resources well. We will be with them til May (God willing) and will be traveling a lot. From tomorrow until February 22nd, we will be in Homa Bay, near Mbita, where we will do house visits with the widows. One of the major problems these widows face is that they have no way to get money.
Since many widows take care of orphans that they need to feed, they end up selling themselves to men in order to get money. This creates a whole new problem. These women become pregant, have HIV and AIDS, and then these women have more children to provide for. What we want to do, is to go and visit with them, teach them how to support themselves, teach them how to make organic gardens (which we learned how to do in Mexico) and help them get back on their feet again.
Short term missions are very hard. We only get so much time to help them, only so much time to make a difference, and although it is good to give money and spend time with people, they need discipleship and they need people who will stand by them. They need to know how to support themselves when the missionaries leave. This is what God has been teaching us. He has been teaching us that there are good ways to support people and really help them, and there are ways that we can THINK we are helping them, and we are actually just creating more of a problem.
I am really excited to meet with these women, these children, and these broken hearts. I pray that God would pour out his compassion to my team and I, and that he would teach us how to really give these people what they need. Please pray for me through this time. I cant wait to tell you stories when I get back! Blessings to you all. Thank you so much for your support, you really have no idea how much it means to me! Prayer is so important… and effective! James 1:27
Now concerning my support raising, I am still looking for some help. God has truly blessed me with many faithful supporters, and if this is you, thank you so much! Every penny of it has been used for the good of the kingdom of God. I am excited to meet with all of you when I get home so that I can share with you the experiences God has given me. I have not reached my quota of $9,000 yet, and I have about three months left to raise support. If God leads you, please find the link on my blog site under the MAIN MENU on the left hand side labeled SUPPORT ME. The donations are tax free and tax deductable. I know God will provide for me the needs that I have, for this, I do not worry. Thank you for considering me. God bless you!
(I have about $800 left to go!)
In Gods grace and peace,
Alison
That blog is so interesting,Alison.It sure will be a happy time when you come home and can tell us all about your adventure.I am sending 100.00 as soon as i find the directions.Love you and take care of you.
Praying for the finances sister! God owns the cattle on a thousand hills…maybe He could lend you one 🙂 call it out!
Having been gone for two weeks, I missed responding to your blog. My favorite “grace” definition is “God’s influence upon a heart and its reflection in a life”. It is evident that you are walking in His Grace among these people. Also, isn’t it precious that Jesus included “Give us this day…” while teaching us how to pray? That is difficult for most of us having been raised in an “earn to show my worth” society. God’s blessing to you.