Kerith Ministry – Rwanda

We are grateful for your continued support of our ministry. Because of your faithful giving, we were able to construct two additional classroom buildings last year, which allows us to provide life-changing education for more children. I would like to tell you about two of our students and the impact that education is making in their lives. It would not be possible without your prayers and assistance. Please continue to keep our ministry in your prayers.

Mary Among

Before joining Kerith, Mary was subjected to child labor. She would chase away birds in people’s rice gardens to be able to get a meal. Mary could not go to school because her parents could not afford to pay school fees and not even raise scholastic materials for her. Mary was sleeping on a mat with her four sisters and brothers, with nothing to cover themselves. Their parents were simply too poor to meet their basic needs. Mary led a miserable life and daily admired her friends that went to school.

Mary joined Kerith in 2009. Since then, she has been able to pursue her education with no delays and is currently in high school. In addition, she no longer uses a mat, but sleeps on a mattress with bed sheets and a covering, has access to clean water and medical care, and has made new friends that have made her more outgoing. She has grown spiritually and helps to lead other children at Kerith in the evening devotions. She is confident sharing the word of God!

Mary wants to become a surgeon and is working so hard to continue her studies. Your contributions help us provide the education that Mary needs in order to succeed. Please join us in praying for Mary and her future. We know that she will become a wonderful surgeon some day!

Barbra Kisakye

Barbra Kisakye is another one of the kids at Kerith home. She was born to a woman who used to attend our church. Her mum was so sickly. Little did we know that she was suffering from HIV/AIDS. Her mum came to Pallisa town after being chased from her home by her husband who accused her of infidelity, saying that was how she contracted the disease. Barbra’s father then married a woman who did not want Barbra living in the home and sent her away to live with her sickly, helpless mum. Barbra was not stable in school since her mother could not afford all the school requirements and school fees due to her condition.

Barbra and her mother faithfully attended our church. The Sunday School teachers took notice of Barbra’s vulnerability. Through our church, she was able to get her primary education. Sadly, Barbra lost her mum a week before her final exams in her primary education. She was left an orphan. Because of the way women are treated in our culture, we knew how difficult life was going to be for her. By this time, our congregation was very attached to this precious girl. It was determined that she would come to live in the children’s home. Without our intervention, she would have ended up living on the streets with no hope of a future.

Since she came to Kerith, Barbra has been able to continue with her studies and make friends with the other children. She has also grown in her spiritual life. She is in the music ministry at church and also helps with young children in their Sunday School classes.

By the grace of God, Barbra is turning 14 years of age and attending a secondary school in senior two (equivalent of 10th grade in the US). She is a very smart girl, loves her books, and puts much emphasis on her science subjects. Barbra is working so hard toward becoming a nurse.

Seira Community Ministry – Rwanda

The Lord has faithfully been growing the churches that are part of our ministry. Our first church in Kigali now has two services every Sunday with over 600 people hearing the word of God.

The members of the church in Rukumberi met for the first time under a cover of tarps hobbled together to give protection from the sun. Last summer, church members began working together to make all of the bricks for a church building. They now have a beautiful, safe place to meet protected from the elements. The church is also surrounded with gardens that are used to help provide for the community.

In Jarama, we have a church and water project that provides clean water to those living nearby. The people are so grateful to have clean water and because the church helped to bring in the well, they have started coming to the church to hear the word of God. The church has grown from 150 members to 300 this year.

Nyirabazungu Peresi

Meet one of our church members in Jarama. Her name is Nyirabazungu Peresi. She has lived with HIV for many years. She had no hope to live after she received the news of her diagnosis.

In 2013, when we went to Jarama to start a new church, we met Nyirabazungu when she attended a seminar where we shared the Gospel. The pastor told the people that the impact of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. She was very touched by that word, but did not accept Christ that day.

The next day, I was there with other members of our ministry. As I left, she stopped my car on the road and started to ask me how she could have eternal life. She told me that she was dying. I asked who told her she was dying and that no one can know the time they will die. She answered with two things – I am living with HIV because my husband frequented prostitutes. When he died, I began prostituting so that others would have the disease too. I do not have peace in doing that. Also, I am drinking too much, and sitting with people that are no good.

We prayed together, and now she is a Christian. She helps in our Sunday School classes and is also the secretary at the church. We praise God that she has turned from her wickedness and is living her life for the Lord.

Nyiramivumbi Pascasie

On the last Saturday of the month, we go to visit with those who are in the hospital. We give them clothes, food, soaps, and other items depending on what we are able to get every month. We also spend time praying with them.

Nyiramivumbi was very seriously ill, without someone to help care for her. People from our church continued to visit her in the hospital for months, praying with her and sharing about Jesus. God answered our prayers; and finally, Nyiramivumbi was well enough to go home. She began attending our church services and accepted Christ as her Savior last year. She is 83 years old and is very proud of being a member of the church that cared for her while she was ill. We continue to help her as different needs arise, and she is faithful in praying for others.

Seira Community Ministry – Rwanda

The Lord has faithfully been growing the churches that are part of our ministry. Our first church in Kigali now has two services every Sunday with over 600 people hearing the word of God.

The members of the church in Rukumberi met for the first time under a cover of tarps hobbled together to give protection from the sun. Last summer, church members began working together to make all of the bricks for a church building. They now have a beautiful, safe place to meet protected from the elements. The church is also surrounded with gardens that are used to help provide for the community.

In Jarama, we have a church and water project that provides clean water to those living nearby. The people are so grateful to have clean water and because the church helped to bring in the well, they have started coming to the church to hear the word of God. The church has grown from 150 members to 300 this year.

Nyirabazungu Peresi
Meet one of our church members in Jarama. Her name is Nyirabazungu Peresi. She has lived with HIV for many years. She had no hope to live after she received the news of her diagnosis.

In 2013, when we went to Jarama to start a new church, we met Nyirabazungu when she attended a seminar where we shared the Gospel. The pastor told the people that the impact of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. She was very touched by that word, but did not accept Christ that day.

The next day, I was there with other members of our ministry. As I left, she stopped my car on the road and started to ask me how she could have eternal life. She told me that she was dying. I asked who told her she was dying and that no one can know the time they will die. She answered with two things – I am living with HIV because my husband frequented prostitutes. When he died, I began prostituting so that others would have the disease too. I do not have peace in doing that. Also, I am drinking too much, and sitting with people that are no good.

We prayed together, and now she is a Christian. She helps in our Sunday School classes and is also the secretary at the church. We praise God that she has turned from her wickedness and is living her life for the Lord.

Nyiramivumbi Pascasie
On the last Saturday of the month, we go to visit with those who are in the hospital. We give them clothes, food, soaps, and other items depending on what we are able to get every month. We also spend time praying with them.

Nyiramivumbi was very seriously ill, without someone to help care for her. People from our church continued to visit her in the hospital for months, praying with her and sharing about Jesus. God answered our prayers; and finally, Nyiramivumbi was well enough to go home. She began attending our church services and accepted Christ as her Savior last year. She is 83 years old and is very proud of being a member of the church that cared for her while she was ill. We continue to help her as different needs arise, and she is faithful in praying for others.

Pokot Outreach Ministries – South Sudan

The focus of our ministry over the past year has been evangelism, church planting, the training and equipping of leaders, and education. Evangelism was done in our five hubs and was significantly boosted by the Jesus Film machines. Over 15,000 people were reached and almost 500 came to the Lord! Four churches and several preaching centers were established and 77 people were baptized. We have had exciting moments with training of our leaders.

Among those who were impacted by our ministry is a woman named Lokeno, who came to the Lord as a result of our evangelist and mission hub leader to Mogos, Eliya Lokuru. Lokeno, who is due to be baptized this month, was formerly an ardent believer of African Traditional religion, which is a belief in animism. Preoccupied by a fear of spirits and malevolent gods, they seek the comfort, protection, and priesthood of witch doctors. They believe that every sickness, catastrophe and calamity has a direct connection to the spirit world. Therefore, charms and superstition give physical assurance of the control of the spiritual world. Lokeno had beads, bracelets, pieces of skin ropes and other things worn on the wrist, waist, neck, and some put in the house as an expression of her belief in the occult. She followed witchcraft and occult teachings, but after hearing the good news, it dawned on her that there is a loving God who loves and cares for her, who is appeased not by traditional sacrifices and superstition, but by a pure heart surrendered to Him.

After hearing the good news of Jesus Christ, and of the love of a good and gracious God, Lokeno stripped herself of all connections to her former way of life, giving up her belief in animism, burning her bracelets and charms, and completely surrendering her life to the Lord! She is so excited about her new found faith, and her testimony is leading others to church. She always testifies to others about the goodness of Jesus and is leading others to Christ. We praise God for her!

The other evident impact that our ministry is causing is to children. With the excitement of showing the Jesus Film, along with joyful singing and child-friendly games, our ministry is attracting many children, both in the villages and urban centers. At our main hub in Kapoeta, we have over 200 children attending our weekly activities. These children are from various family backgrounds. Some have both parents, while others are partial orphans and a few are total orphans. Some are living in the home of friends and others are street kids. We had previously taken 13 street kids and sponsored them to go to local schools. A few were later taken to a boarding school by a church organization that has similar interest in children. There are three who are now staying in the homes of believers in Kapoeta. One is a Toposa girl called Napem, who was drawn from street life by the love of Christ through our ministry. Her former life was the business of collecting used water and soft drink bottles, which were sold very cheaply to retailers to wash in order to repackage their liquid products such as cooking oil, petrol, or liquid soap. This hard street life orients boys to abuse drugs and use vulgar language. Most become desperate and alcoholic. Girls usually follow the same route, but also became commercial sex workers at some point. We are happy that the trajectory of Napem’s life was affected positively the day she joined our community. We sent her to school for a year, but she found it hard to continue since she is in her early teens and still in grade 1. She lives in the home of a church member. We are still exploring how to help her learn a trade or skill that can help her be self-reliant. She is part of our community and joins all activities with the teenagers at our church. I baptized her in December. She asked me to give her a new name on baptism day, and I called her Ruth. We hope that she will live to tell the goodness of God. I can’t tell of the joy in our hearts whenever I see her, and the many other lives, affected positively.

Good Samaritan – India

Creating A Future For Girls

Girls in our area are seen as a liability. They need to be married off with a big dowry, whereas sons bring a dowry! The male members in the family eat first, and the females have to do with whatever remains. Girls are neglected and abused, even in their parental homes. Their plight gets worse still in their in-laws’ homes. They are even sexually abused by their male in-laws. Female empowerment remains an important part of our ministry. When you educate a girl, you educate a family! With this in mind, we have 138 female students, out of a total of 200, in our Kollukhedi Village School.

Payal, a girl from Village Kaliyedeh Gaon, has been with us right from nursery (equivalent to American preschool) onwards. At the age of 11, she finished her 5th Standard. Her parents said, “That’s enough! Let her stop her education, help with domestic work, and get married.” Like in all these kind of situations, we advised that she should continue her studies. We assured her safety as we provide transportation from her home to school and back in our hired 4-wheeler. Finally her parents agreed, much to Payal’s delight!

In March 2019, Payal will pass her 8th Standard and wants to continue her studies further. And her parents have agreed! Please join us in praying for Payal! It is through your help that we can continue to provide education for children like Payal. Only $19 a month provides a child with education from loving, Christian teachers, school supplies, uniforms, and a meal.