This December, New Beginnings, our children's center in Kenya will see 8 young men successfully complete our sponsor program. Three are prepared to go into the work force in Kenya. They are now trained electricians and it even looks like at least one will have a job waiting when he finishes. Another 5 are finishing secondary school with hopes to go on to further their education. Some of these young men will be chosen to intern at New Beginnings next year. As interns, they will become role models for the other children and will participate in the running of New Beginnings, while learning good work ethics and money management.
For all of these young men, life would have been drastically different if someone had not come forward to give them HOPE.
Here is the story of one of those students.
Brighton in 2009
Brighton came to our program in 2009 at the age of 10. A small orphan who was dependent on relatives to keep him alive, his mother died from TB when he was very young. He was her only child. His father later took in a little girl whom they found along the road. To Brighton, this was his sister in every way. In 2008, Brighton's world came crashing down when his father was brutally murdered during the post election violence. Brighton and his sister, Beatrice, were left alone.
Family, not familiar to them, brought them to our area of Kenya to live. Brighton was one of the blessed ones to have someone sponsor him in 2009. He is such a bright boy and from the very beginning you could find him with his nose in a book. He loves learning and now he is seeing that this love will open the world to him.
This year New Beginnings will graduate their first students from high school. Brighton will finish top in his class and possibly top in the school. Not only is Brighton a hard working student, he is always willing to help others with studying, working, or whatever is needed. In fact this past year he put himself out on a limb trying to help his little sister, who is still waiting for a sponsor. He was aware that she was not being cared for adequately with their relatives, and began to petition New Beginnings and myself to help her.
I could see that it was affecting his school work, as he grew more and more concerned about her well-being. We finally agreed to take her into New Beginnings, even without a sponsor, to help ease the burden on this 17-year-old and to help his sister receive the care she needed. That is just the type of young man he has become.
When I asked Brighton what he would say was the most important thing New Beginnings has done for him, his answer was, "New Beginnings brought me to understand what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus." WOW!! A difference not just for this life but for eternity!! That is what God can do when you sponsor a child.
Brighton has hopes to go to a university next fall. He has told me he wants to study to become an electrical engineer, but then told me he also feels very drawn to serve the Lord as a missionary. Our director assured him that his degree in engineering can open doors for him to access many nations that might be closed to other missionaries. What an amazing future this young man has! I shudder to think what would have happened to him if New Beginnings and his sponsor would not have stepped into the gap to help this scared orphan boy 8 years ago. Because someone said, "I can't go, BUT I can give" Brighton's life has been forever changed.
Words will never express how much your giving has meant to these children but I know that one day you may meet them in heaven and you WILL know what a difference you made in their lives.
Brighton in 2016
Thanks for giving to the Lord in this very special way!
If you would be willing to sponsor a child, please visit our Sponsor a Child page to choose a child in need who is praying.
Since we will see many students finish high school in the future (and that is when our sponsor program ends) we are making a way for those who would like to invest in those students who desire an education beyond high school.
Shalom Christian Missions has started a college scholarship program.
You can make a one-time donation to help a student or you can give monthly. You can give to a certain student or make a general donation to help those in most need. Visit our Donation Page.
Let's make a way for these students to go above and beyond what they have ever dreamed.
Friday November 11th at 7pm (doors at 6:30pm): SCM's 5th Annual Benefit Dinner at the Four Points Sheraton in York, PA.
Come and learn about what is happening on this remote hill in Kenya!
Keynote Speaker: Don Wolabaugh from Harvest Chapel, Abbottstown, PA
Special music for your listening pleasure.
You won't want to miss this event!! Click here for more information and to purchase tickets!
January Winter Mission Team: Please pray for those who are going and those who are considering this life changing mission. There is still space available!!
April 28-30, 2017: Women's Retreat
Ladies, come and join us at Ann Downing's Middle Tennessee Women's Retreat in Nashville, TN
Great music and great speakers. You won't regret it!
Register early and save!
Would your small group, church, Sunday School, VBS, or organization be interested in hearing about the challenges of serving orphans in a remote part of Africa? Perhaps becoming a prayer partner with us?
Please contact us to schedule a date.
October, November, and December
Donations to Christmas Shoes to purchase each child a new uniform, socks, and shoes for 2017 (cost, $25 per child). If you would like to give toward this, go to our One-time Donation page and select "Operation Christmas Shoes" from the drop down menu!
January/February 2017
January Down Under - We will be collect donations of underwear, including underpants, bras, slips, and camisoles.
"What will I do on a mission trip?"
That is often the question people ask.
The answer: What is God calling YOU to do?
From construction work to Bible school, to medical care, gifts for the impoverished, to sharing the Gospel.
Our teams have done it ALL!
What is God calling you to do?
Not sure...take a step of faith and see what God shows up to do.
It will be more than you ever dreamed or imagined.
Our missionaries stay in missionary housing of brick construction, on the secure grounds of our children's center, in a very beautiful, remote area of Kenya.
Spend time immersed in the culture and lives of those who call New Beginnings Children's Center HOME.
Show the love of Jesus to the community.
Change their lives AND change your life...FOREVER!
Youth groups, families, singles, are all welcome.
2017 Winter Applications being accepted!
January 21 - February 4, 2017* (2 weeks): $1500 + airfare
January 21 - February 21, 2017* (1 month): $1900 + airfare
*Dates are tentative until airline tickets are purchased. Airfare during the winter months is generally less than in the summer.
Winter trips include a Safari to Nakuru National Game Park OR a game drive at a local park with some of the New Beginnings children.
2017 Summer Applications NOW being accepted!
July 15 - 31, 2017 (2 weeks): $1500 + airline ticket
July 30 - Aug 14, 2017 (2 weeks): $1500 + airline ticket
July 15 - Aug 14, 2017 (1 month): $1900 + airline ticket
*Dates are tentative until airline tickets are purchased.
All of the July/August trips include an overnight safari to the world famous Masaii Mara Game park.
Travel as a group OR travel alone and make new friends who will travel with you.
Make plans to bring your whole group!
Discounts for leaders and we do all the training/planning.
Set up the dates NOW while there is plenty of space open.
Check out our Missions Page for an application and more information!
All Dates are tentative until airfare is booked.
This is a unique opportunity to experience life in a very remote part of the world. Don't pass it up!
Applications being accepted for 2017!!
We offer 2 - 6 month Internship opportunities ($1000 for first month and $500 for each month thereafter).
Long-term mission opportunities available. Come LIVE in Kenya!
Click here for more information!
This past month, one intern has made an impact on the children living at New Beginnings.
Carrie is very busy working with the Early Childhood Development classes (preschool-kindergarten). She is really digging in and even making suggestions to possibly improve some things.
In the evening you will find her tutoring a few students or holding a Bible study. On weekends she often joins the boys working on excavating the playing field. And still, with all this, she finds had time to plant and tend the mission garden. She is going over and above to serve the Lord in this remote part of the world.
Thanks so much for taking this time out of your life to serve the Lord in this remote part of the world, Carrie. You are a true blessing!
You will hear more about Carrie as she continues to serve as an intern at New Beginnings.
What about you? Would you consider giving a few months to serve and live in Kenya?
If you are looking for a place to serve in remote Kenya, then look no further than serving at our children's center. We have more than 100 children who call this HOME and many more who come to New Beginnings everyday to receive a primary and secondary education. Join us and be blessed as you bless them!
This is a very busy month for both our primary and secondary schools. The children are working hard to finish the school year well. Final tests will be taken in November before the children are promoted next year. Please keep our children and school staff in prayer as they prepare for these important exams.
Primary School
Fourteen sponsored children in class 8 are working and studying very hard to prepare for the National K.C.P.E. exams that will take place next month. A total of 23 students will be taking the exam through New Beginnings. It is an exciting but also a stressful time for these students. Just to let you know how stressful, we noticed during medical exams this past August that several students in class 8 had unusually high blood pressure for a student their age. Please pray for these students especially. Also, pray for the class 7 students as they take the final steps to prepare for going into class 8. Two very important years in their lives.
Class 8 Candidates
Secondary School
We are so excited to have our first graduating class from New Beginnings Secondary School. The K.C.S.E. National Exam, will be given to 16 students. One member of the community told me how important this school is to the community. He informed me that there are 5 students (outside of those who are sponsored) who are from the village where New Beginnings is located and who will sit for this important exam. And of those 5 students, each one will be the first in his family to finish high school. That is how important this school is to this community. A chance for them to see their children go beyond being small scale farmers to being successful in the world. Please pray for these students as they prepare for this exam and to go out into the world.
Form 4 (Grade 12) Candidates
Building has slowed down because donations have slowed down. This is typical for this time of year, BUT we need your help. We need our new kitchen NOW! Our kitchen staff are starting to have respiratory health issues, so it has become very critical that we get our new kitchen built as soon as possible to protect their health.
Our faithful kitchen staff work hard every day to serve over 200 people 3 meals. Help us to make this job safer for them by having the proper facilities to protect their health. If everyone could give $10-$25 to help with this project, we will accomplish our goal.
Our kitchen is the last part of our Phase 3 building. We have accomplished so much this year, can you help us finish it off well? The estimated building is $10,000 plus we will also need to buy cooking equipment for the kitchen. So, for Phase 3 we will move the cost of more water harvesting tanks to the cost for the kitchen in order to provide some of the stoves we will need. Help us build for their future!
Can you help us replace this unsafe kitchen with a new one?
We are excited to say that we are now collecting donations for Phase III of our building!
(We have changed our plans for Phase III to only include 1 classroom in order to see some of the other projects that were greatly needed, completed.)
| Phase III Projects | Cost | Donated | Still Needed |
| Second primary classroom | $10,000 | $10,000 | COMPLETE |
| Permanent Kitchen Building | $13,000 | $525 | $12,425 |
| Secondary School Offices | $3,000 | $3,000 | COMPLETE |
| Medical Clinic Renovations in big house | $2,500 | $2,500 | COMPLETE |
| Teacher's housing, latrine, and bath house | $2,000 | $2,000 | COMPLETE |
| Girls' dorm and bath house for secondary | $2,500 | $2,500 | COMPLETE |
| Total | $33,000 | $20,525 | $12,475 |
Can you help us Build for their Future?
Donate TODAY!
"Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness." 2 Corinthians 9:10
Please join us in praying for all the building projects!
Rose is about 13 years old. She came to NB just over a year ago through our District Education Office. Rose is a unique case for NB in that Rose is deaf. She was found wondering the streets of our local community, and no one seemed to know where she came from.
The police took her in and tried to find anyone who could help identify her or her family, but to no avail. They called New Beginnings and asked if we could take her until they could find a place for a deaf child. We agreed to take her short term, but as the months rolled on we came to realize we were Rose's only hope.
Since no one knew anything about Rose, we had to give her a name. Some of the children began calling her Rose. It seemed to fit since I knew that with loving care and an education, Rose would blossom into a beautiful flower.
This past July we found a school for Rose to attend. When she started school they asked us her second name. We had never given her a second name but we quickly landed on the name Rose Howie, which means Rose Blessing. She had a rough start to learning since she was used to not having any responsibilities to learn in the past, but she is now doing better and making progress.
Rose has also come to understand that she goes to school to learn and on holidays she returns to her family at New Beginnings. I have no doubt that Rose will blossom and that she is truly a blessing. Rose needs prayers to continue to learn. She also needs prayers to find a partial sponsor.
For $40 per month you can help provide Rose with all she needs.
The rainy season has begun and everyone has been busy making sure that all the gardens are planted and ready to receive the life giving rain that God will supply. Although travel becomes difficult and sometimes impossible when it rains, it is still very welcomed in this farming community.
In the past few months we have added several people to our growing staff. Two people we recently hired are Jackline and Andrew. Jackline was hired as our new Head of Social Welfare. She comes to us with a degree in Social Work and ready to make a difference in the lives of the children.
Andrew is our Community Liaison Officer. Andrew works closely with our social worker to assess the needs and lives of the students who attend our school and and those in or requesting to become part of our sponsor program. Since Andrew knows the community he knows where to take our social worker and together they visit the homes of those in our program. What a blessing we see this for New Beginnings.
With all the data collected we can begin to see what some of the real needs are of our children both within the community and those living at New Beginnings. Our goal is to begin to serve both the children and the community by offering some new programs to target those needs. Later this year we will introduce our new education support program for people to become involved in helping cover tuition for some of the children within our community who are struggling. This is targeted to help children to live in their home environment but to receive reduced or free education, depending on the need.
We also hope to begin parenting classes for the widows and guardians within the community so that we can work together to see this community transform the lives of the children. Please join me in welcoming Jackline and Andrew to our team at New Beginnings.
Some other new faces to our staff are Elizabeth, who serves as our secondary school secretary and house parent, and Mercy, a Kenyan Intern to NB. Mercy is working towards her degree in social work. She works closely with our house parents.
Can you help a child?
Someone recently asked me what the difference is in between a partial sponsor or being a full sponsor.
The difference is that as a full sponsor, you completely cover the cost for supporting that particular child ($80 per month). They receive food, clothing, medical care, an education, and a place to live.
As a partial sponsor you pay for half and someone else covers the other half ($40 per month for each). The child still receives the full benefit but one person is not responsible for paying the whole thing.
Whether you are a full sponsor are a partial sponsor, you are still loved, cherished, and prayed for by the child. The reality is that it does cost to care for the children. The partial sponsor is a great option for someone on a tighter budget.
Rolex is 9 years old and is in 5th grade. Rolex's's mother is unable to provide for him since the death of his father. Rolex needs a full sponsor.
You can sponsor Rolex or another child by sending $40 for partial sponsor or $80 for a full sponsorship per month. Contact us to sponsor Rolex!
Charli is 6 years old and is in kindergarten. Charli's mother is a student in our secondary school who was a victim of rape. Charli needs a full or partial sponsor.
You can sponsor Charli or another child by sending $40 for partial sponsor or $80 for a full sponsorship per month. Contact us to sponsor Charli!
Fleming is 15 years old and is in class 8. Fleming's mother is unable to provide for him since the death of his father. He is in need of a partial sponsor.
Contact us to sponsor Fleming!
A child is praying...are you the answer?
100% of all sponsor donations go to help the children.
If you would like to sponsor a child, please visit our Sponsor a Child page.
You can BE THE DIFFERENCE in the life of a child!
Shalom Christian Missions is a 501(c)3 non- profit organization,
dedicated to serving children in need throughout the world.
All donations are tax deductible.
A & R Rental Center - York, PA
Freedom Wireless - York, PA
H & R Block - USA
Test Products Inc. - Exton, PA
Ann Downing Ministries - Hendersonville, TN
Christ American Baptist Church Youth - Spring Grove, PA
Christ American Baptist Church - Spring Grove, PA
Crestline UMC - Crestline, OH
Eagle Christian Ministries - York, PA
Elisha's Home and Ministries - Montrose, PA
First Baptist Church - Smithville, TX
First United Church of Christ - Schuykill Haven, PA
Harvest Chapel - Abbottstown, PA
Hope For Women - Tempe, AZ
The Worship Center - Lancaster, PA
May God bless you as you pray and give to help the children!
Donations may be made through paypal on our website or you may send your donation to:
Shalom Christian Missions
1255 Mill Creek Rd
York, PA 17404
(717) 586-6945
These two children are at the top of our list of children needing sponsors. Click one of their pictures to read more about them.
Meet more children in need
