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Dear
Supporters,
LCM wishes you a Happy
and Properous New Year. God be with you and your
family in the coming year.
In this Issue:
- Annual Recap Letter for LCM's
accomplishments in 2007. With your support and
prayers LCM has come a long way since
it's inception 2 years ago.
- More information about the unrest in Kenya.
- Also an inspiring letter from Pastor Steve
Conner, Covenant UMC, Ft Wayne, Indiana.
His letter will give you ideas of what your
Church or Sunday School Class could do.
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2007 LCM Annual
Letter . . . . Over 100 Orphans In
Assistance Program. Dear LCM Supporter:
In February 2008, we will
complete our second year of this Ministry's
operations in Kenya providing Life, Hope and
Spiritual nourishment to the young victims of
the HIV/AIDS pandemic sweeping across Africa.
Many good and wonderful things have occurred in
this past year. Most noteworthy is the fact that
we have doubled the number of orphans under the
Ministry's support to 100; a second full time
Missionary by the name of Julie Campbell
(trained by Mission Society) has joined the
Life For Children Ministry in Wachara
village in South Nyanza Province; eight acres of
land has been purchased (the last purchase
installment funded by Covenant UMC of
Fort Wayne) where work has started on a Church
and Fellowship Hall and a large soccer field is
being widely used by local citizens for both
sports and religious events: two fresh water
wells have been drilled (funded by Gardendale
Mt. Vernon UMC), one of which will be
completed for general use when local hostilities
cease; a short term Mission Team with 16 folks
from the US spent 2 weeks on the ground in
August and completed two VBS programs with over
100 youths (VBS funded by Winder UMC), a
medical camp which saw over 500 orphans and
adult citizens within the area, foundation work
began on the new Fellowship Hall, and several
evangelical/witnessing services were attended by
hundreds of local citizens.
Administratively, we added
several new members to our US Advisory Board,
secured an Administrative Assistant, and
obtained more volunteers to assist in our many
and varied tasks throughout the year. Ron
Griffith and Rob DeSoto continue to produce
excellent Internet and print materials along
with audio/visual pieces documenting and further
enhancing the Ministry's effectiveness.
Yes, we have much to
celebrate, but much remains to be done. Many
thousands of orphans need assistance and the
recent civil disobedience following a botched
National Election makes the task even more
difficult. But nobody said it would be easy.
Even God told us it would not be easy. So I
guess we will just continue doing what we have
been doing, praying hard and working
hard. Thank you again for your
every word of encouragement, prayer, and
continued financial support.
In His Name,
Dick Weber
US Advisory
Board, Chairman
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Political Unrest
Rocks Kenya . . . . Many People
Homeless  This is not what anyone
expected in the aftermath of the December 27th
Kenyan National Election. However, when Satan
and his agents are allowed to work in the hearts
of people, what can we expect, unless God
intervenes? We are reminded in the Word that
"Satan comes to Steal, Kill and to Destroy".
These words are real in the lives of Kenyans
today. They will testify to it.
Over 500 people in Kenya
have been brutally murdered, both by police and
warring gangs, from both the government and
opposition party supporters. Shops and
businesses have not only been robbed and looted
of their commodities, but also burned to the
ground. Many towns and cities have yet to come
to terms with the magnitude of destruction
experienced over the last two weeks in
Kenya. Who would ever have thought
that someone would burn fellow countrymen within
a Church building? But yes, it has happened, and
over 50 people were burned to death in a rural
Church where they sought refuge. Two other
churches were put on fire as well. Many people
are held as refugees in other Church buildings
and police stations across the country. They
have no food, no sanitary facilities, no water,
and no one to help. They have no bedding and all
must scramble for the little available space at
night in order to sleep. These refugee camps
know no age and have no respect for gender.
Children and women and the disabled have no
special attention. They are the greatest
casualties of such chaos and mayhem in the
aftermath of this highly questionable National
Election. We Thank God for the Red Cross and the
many other Church organizations who are coming
to help with the basics of food and
water. It is estimated the over 1
million people have been displaced from their
homes. For many, their homes were burned and
they have no place to return too. They are
refugees in their own country with no plans in
place to assist them. The best the Government
has done is to transport them to places
perceived to be safer, depending on their tribal
heritage. You may ask, why is there
such political unrest in Kenya? Well, in the
just concluded election, there were
voter/election irregularities noticed by the
opposition and many of the international
communities observing the elections. These
agencies claim that the Government and the
incumbent President, Mr. Kabaki, rigged the
voting boxes in their favor. The European Union
observers noted that the totaling of votes were
questionable and hence warrant further
investigation. The incumbent President
supposedly won by over 300,000 votes after
trailing behind the opposition leader by over
1.5 million votes, once the combined eight
provinces were fully tallied. The electoral
commissioner of Kenya did this after two days of
closed-door discussions. The Chairman of the
election commission, when questioned later, said
'I don't know' and that he was under pressure
from the government. In an unusual move, the
incumbent President was sworn into the office
within 3 minutes of the Chairman's announcement
of the election results.
The opposition party has
rejected the results and called for the re-run
of the Presidential election. The President says
'no' and so the conflict between the people
supporting the opposition and the government
began. The international
communities including the US, UK, EU, AU, WB UN
and EAC are trying to strike a compromise
between the opposition and the Government. Talks
are underway now and we pray there will be peace
soon. As you are all aware, the
Life for Children Ministry,
www.lifeforchildrenministry.org has been called
with great passion to care for the orphans of
HIV/AIDS and vulnerable children. Our hearts are
sinking every moment because we know for sure
what awaits us in the near future as the chaos
comes to an end. Many children and orphans will
be in the streets scavenging for left over food
scrapes and little will be there. They will have
no place to call home, no clothes, no medical
attention, and nobody to tell them 'we love
you'.... This time it will not only be orphans
but men and woman and children who have been
displaced, and all their belongings and earthly
possessions lost in the mayhem. They need our
help. Do you feel the
call? In the past, you have not
let us down and we cannot do anything without
you. For that we are so thankful. Please
continue supporting this ministry. Be ready for
an even greater task as we step in to help those
many helpless victims suffering from violent
acts of the evil one. To our many friends and
their respective Churches, I call upon you now,
more than ever, to pray for this country. It is
only through prayer that we can salvage Kenya
from the hands of people who do not know God's
love and have no respect or regard for human
life. Please, if you wish to
learn more, kindly log on to www.nation
media.com and www.eastand
ard.net. These are the two leading
newspapers with Internet news facilities, whose
TV stations have been temporarily stopped from
televising live video and pictures. Even the
freedom of the press is under attack today.
SPECIAL APPEAL
How can I help, you may ask?
EMERGENCY RELIEF
FUND: Above all else, your
prayers are needed more than ever. Please pray
with us. Further, Life for Children
Ministry is calling upon on all who hear
this appeal to respond to the basic needs of the
undeserving victims of this post election
violence. We have set up an EMERGENCY RELIEF
FUND, and would like you to consider being part
of it. Please contribute to this fund.
We have started a feeding program with the
help of Pastor Steve Conner and the congregation
of Covenant UMC. Your financial gifts
will be used to feed the many hundreds of people
held in local police stations and churches as
refugees.
We will also be able to provide bedding,
water, food and attend to the other needs of
these refugees as may be deemed appropriate by
our observers on the ground.
This fund is being supervised by a local
Church Pastor, in conjunction with the Local
Board members of the Life for Children
Ministry and its' staff.
Please note: As you send money to the Mission
Society or North Springs United Methodist
Church, on behalf of Life for Children
Ministry, you should specify whether it is
for the Relief Fund or for regular support of
the ministry.
This Relief Fund however should be in
addition to your generous regular ministry
support.
To my many Faithful Believers, I have no one
else to run to in times like this but God. He
has sent me to you and I want you to be part of
this healing process in Kenya. Your help and
response to this call will not only give hope
and life again to those so much less fortunate,
but also to provide an opportunity for Christ's
name to again be glorified. Please respond, as
you are able.
The entire US Advisory Board, the local
Kenyan Board and Staff want to thank you in
advance for your Faithful Response.
Be Blessed
In HIs Service,
Michael Ouma Agwanda
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Convenant UMC Donates
Land for Church in Wachara. . . . . An Open Letter from
Pastor Steve Conner God opens doors for those
who desire to serve. A young man from Covenant,
Justin Grogg, felt called to the mission field
and found an avenue to serve through the Mission
Society. While in training he was the roommate
of another student in the program - Michael
Agwanda. Flash-forward several
months - a member of Covenant stops in my office
on a cold February 2006 day - to share with me
his passion for serving in Africa in light of
the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Interesting
moment as I shared with Tim that God had been
speaking to my heart as well - to find a way to
directly serve and help somewhere in Africa. We
searched and prayed for the right path. A month
later, while talking to Justin - now in the
mission field in the mountains of Peru, South
America - through the SKYPE network in our
church, we shared with him our dream of serving
in Africa. Justin says, 'you should call my
roommate from the Mission Society, Michael
Agwanda, as he has started a work with orphans
there.' We contacted Michael, had
him speak in our church and Tim and I joined
with the mission team in August of 2007 to
Kenya. During the time that the
mission spirit is growing in our church, I
challenged our congregation to simply take the
loose change that we inevitably have at the end
of a day in our pockets, and instead of throwing
into an ash tray or losing the change in the
seats of their lazy boy, to place at least one
dollar each day in a mission bank. If 100 people
would give 1 dollar a day through this offering,
in one year, we could collect over $36,000 for
missions. My hope was to find 300 people in our
church of 600 to take up the 'Disciple Dollar'
challenge. Well, we haven't reached that goal,
but several thousands of dollars have been
collected for missions - that otherwise would
have been left in ashtrays. With our Disciple Dollar
offering - in December we were able to provide
the $5,000 needed to purchase the land in
Wachara for Life for Children Ministry to
someday build a church. We also contributed
another $1,500 toward the general administrative
needs of the LCM ministry as it grows,
and another $1,500 toward the expenses related
to drilling a fresh water well in Wachara.
The Disciple Dollars
continue to be collected now on a once a month
basis. I wonder what else God has in mind for
those dollars in the process of supporting the
ministry in Kenya and other places around our
world and community. Perhaps your church can
take up the Disciple Dollar challenge on behalf
of Life for Children Ministry? Isn't it
great to see how God leads and works when we are
willing to serve in His name?
Thanks be to God. Pastor Steve
Conner
Convenant UMC
Ft. Wayne, IN
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A Message from
Michael
As you pray and support us
financially, we continue to grow, assisting more
Orphans each month. We are changing their
lives for the better. This would not have happened
if you were not involved. Please consider
increasing your support for this great ministry as
we make new steps and responsibilities in the New
Year.
In His Service,
Michael Ouma Agwanda,
Missionary
Michael Ouma Agwanda, Missionary >
404.384.8557
Dick Weber, US Board, Chairperson
> 404.983.7864
Ron Griffith, US Board,
Editor & Marketing > 404.705.9763
William Molla, Kenyan Board, Chairperson
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LCM has designed a
small magnetic sign (4" x 18") that will stick
to a car's trunk and not damage the car. It will
tell people that Life for Children
Ministry helps HIV / AIDS Orphans in Kenya
and lists our website and phone. They are
available for purchase for $ 20.00 to cover the
production cost.