Shalom Christian Missions
Shalom Christian Missions

March 2017 Newsletter

Breaking the Darkness

Our God is such a good and loving Father. How can we ever doubt His love and caring for His children? Spending the last two months at New Beginnings Children's Center was more than a blessing, it was a privilege. To see the changes that are coming about to help the children is amazing. Not only is the center starting to take more shape and have a better overall appearance, you can see that the children are responding to the attention and counseling they are receiving to heal and become the people of destiny that God has created them to be.

It has been a long hard battle for some of these children's lives. We recognized a long time ago that the enemy wants to retain this community and children in darkness. We have fought long and hard to begin to see a change. It is slow coming but we are now beginning to see glimpses of change.

The first part of any battle is to recognize the enemy that we are fighting and the tactics it is using to keep people blinded to the Truth. Knowing that we wrestle not with flesh and blood is always a good starting point. Then beginning to understand the culture and where they are coming from helps in knowing how to approach the enemy that has lived comfortably in this community for very long. It is recognizing those things that keep them in bondage and working to begin to set them free. Without an understanding of the culture you work blindly, thinking that you are targeting the problem only to find out that they don't see that as a problem or that you really have no idea of the bondage they are under. It has been a real blessing for me to be able to spend more time immersed in the culture and able to ask lots of questions to realize what is taking place.

Now, with the help of God, New Beginnings is starting to go after the enemy that has ensnared this community for too long. So very grateful that God has brought us to this place to bring a dark part of the world to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Please keep us in prayer since we know that enemy will not take what we are doing and remain quiet. We must reach out to serve Him regardless.

The community is also part of the severe drought that has hit Kenya and other parts of Africa. Since we are located in a farming community, this drought means famine to many within the community. We have been praying about how to help our community withstand the famine they are facing and have come up with several plans of action that need your prayers and your help. First we are praying for the financial help to provide our primary school children with porridge in the late morning. This would help us assure that these children are being fed at least one healthy meal each day. We need financial help to make this possible. An estimate of what is needed to cover the cost for this program is $60 per class per month. This can vary depending on the class size and the cost of the food, which will ultimately rise as the famine continues, but it is a good starting point.  

Second, as the famine increases we are praying that we will have enough funding to reach out to help the public primary school as well.

Finally, we hope to have our Community Liaison Officer continue to give us the news of those widows within the community who are struggling to provide their children with food, in hopes to reach out to them as well.

This all depends on what God provides in funding for these special needs. We cannot do it alone! We need your prayers and donations. Any amount will help and if you can make a monthly donation it will truly be a blessing to continue this support to the needy.

God bless you!

College/University Scholarship Fund

NEW, NEW, NEW!!

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/University 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.
Let's make a way for these students to go above and beyond what they have ever dreamed.

Calendar of Events!

April 21, 2017: Celebration Dinner in Ohio
Make plans to join us in Crestline, OH for our Annual Ohio Celebration Dinner.
You don't want to miss it!

April 28-30, 2017: Women's Retreat
Ladies, come and join us at Ann Downings Middle Tennessee Women's Retreat in Nashville, TN
Great music and great speakers. You won't regret it!
Register early and save!
www.anndowning.com

June 2-3, 2017: RAW Conference
Ladies, if you live in the Pennsylvania/Maryland area, come on out to the Reaching All Women Conference.
Register now and save!!
www.reachingallwomen.org

November 10, 2017: Celebration Dinner in York, PA
Join us in York, PA for our Annual Celebration Dinner.

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 email or call us to schedule a date.

Year of Giving

For those who would like to collect material donations for the children, we are in need of small toys and candies that we can pack into gift bags to hand out during our celebration in July. We are also in need of small book bags for all the children.

Please send all donations to:
Shalom Christian Missions
1255 Mill Creek Rd
York, PA 17404

Give Your Sponsored Child a Gift

Now is the time plan for the gift you want to send to your sponsored child. We will have a special celebration with them with the July team and your gift will be presented to them. Remember that your gift needs to fit into a gallon size ziplock bag, should not be expensive, and should include a letter and if possible some pictures to your sponsored child. We will send you more information in a separate email.

All gifts need to reach our office before May 1st!
NOW is the time to start planning!!

Expedition 2017

"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, taking gifts to widows in their mud homes, 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.

We are currently accepting applications for Summer 2017 and Winter 2018 trips.
Please visit our Missions Page for more information about specific trip dates/costs and to download an application.

We also have a FAQ page for commonly asked Mission Trip questions - you can find it here!

Feel free to contact us with any questions!

Want to stay longer?

2-6 month internship ($1000 for first month and $500 for each month thereafter)

 Long term mission opportunities available. Come LIVE in Kenya!
Visit our Long-Term Mission Opportunities page for information about internships and long-term mission options!

SPECIAL! LIMITED TIME OFFER FOR YOUTH LEADERS AND PASTORS!
Contact us about a free trip to New Beginnings in Kenya. (You pay airfare.)
Contact us for details TODAY! Don't wait, offer limited--first come first serve!

Missionary News

Our winter team has returned to America after a month of serving the children of New Beginnings and the community. What a blessing that during one of the team's blessing visits, where they took some food staples to the widows, a widow in the community was identified who was in great need of a new roof. This widow was living in a mud house with a thatched roof that was in disrepair.

After donations were received the team moved forward to replace the roof. It was decided that the house she was living in was also in disrepair, so the community got behind us and decided that if we built the roof, they would build the widow a new mud house. A decision was also made to give the widow a new bed and 2 chairs. All she had to sleep on were some old rags on her dirt floor and she had nothing to sit on. What a blessing this made in her life. This team did so much to bless the children and everyone they touched at New Beginnings. We can't thank them enough for what they have done. May God truly bless them.

A 6 month intern also finished her time at New Beginnings. It was with sadness of heart that the children said goodbye to Carrie. Carrie served at the primary school in the Early Childhood Development classes. She also helped the primary school come up with some ideas for implementing a reward program for good behavior. Thanks so much for sharing your life with these children in need. You have made a difference! May God bless your life ahead.

School News

The schools have reached the mid term point for this first semester of the school year.

Primary News

The primary school has had a great start to their 2017 school year. We are excited to say that all of our 8th grade students have been registered for their K.C.P.E. exams that will take place in November. This is not always an easy task when you work with orphans who often do not have a birth certificate. Proper documentation must be in place for the students to take the exams.

In mid January to mid February, the younger children of our primary school received weekly lessons from our missionaries. It was beautiful feet that brought the Word through stories, songs and even dancing. Thanks so much for giving your time to these children.

A going away party was given for our departing intern from the USA who served in the Early Childhood Development classes. We are sure the young children will miss her greatly.

The Primary school has been offering free porridge for the students in ECD (Baby, Nursery, & Pre-unit classes). We will begin to offer to some of the older classes as well to help our students and community get through the famine they are facing. Anyone wanting to give to help provide food to the children of this community may make a donation to "food".  Even $10 a month will bless them.

Secondary News

Our secondary students have been very busy. We are so excited to say that we have some of the best teachers in our district. With one of our students finishing in the top of all Kenya students in 2016, we know that this year will prove to give our students the best education possible. All of our 12th grade students are now registered for their final exams and work is on going to see many of these students make it into the top universities in Kenya.

Besides having some of the brightest students, we have some very talented students.With our larger athletic field our students are practicing to compete in the sporting events this year. We also have some very gifted students in music and our hope is that our secondary school will also make a showing in the music festivals in May/June. For a school in such a remote part of Kenya, we are seeing God do miracles through these children's lives.

Building News

Building continues at New Beginnings. Some decisions were made to change the building plans to better meet our needs at this time. Since we have been in desperate need of a new kitchen but we are still awaiting some documentation and funding, a decision was made to build a new temporary kitchen structure in lieu of the permanent kitchen that was originally planned. This will give us a better kitchen for our staff to use and also give us better placement of the kitchen in order to serve both the secondary school and the children of New Beginnings.

The basic kitchen has been built and all that remains is the installation of 3 more chimneys for each of the cooking kilns that have been built inside. We will also place a new store room next to the kitchen, for easier access to supplies and to have our store room in a location where theft will be more difficult.

We are excited to say that we are now collecting donations for Phase IV - Phase III building has been completed! PRAISE GOD for all that HE is doing!

Phase IV Projects Cost  Donated  Still Needed
Temporary Kitchen $3,000 $3,000 COMPLETED
Vehicle $20,000 $0 $20,000
Classroom $10,000 $0 $10,000
Water Harvesting $500 $0 $500
       
       
       
Total $33,500 $3,000 $30,500




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!

Child of the Month

Meet Cynthia!

Cynthia is 13 years old. She is a partial orphan who remains with only her mother and siblings. Cynthia has a beautiful voice and enjoys sharing it for the glory of God. She is a terrific athlete and enjoys playing soccer and other sports. She is a high average student, who could do better if she worked harder. Cynthia has lost her sponsor and needs a new sponsor who will care about her and pray for her. Please join us in praying for Cynthia to find a new sponsor and to remain in good health.

To sponsor Cynthia, visit her 'Sponsor a Child' page!

New Beginnings News

We welcome some new staff to New Beginnings. Welcome Charity and Judy who have joined our social welfare department as house parents. Charity is a former child of New Beginnings who later left our program to attend a secondary school under the provisions of a relative. She has returned to us looking for employment while she waits to join a teachers college in Aug. Charity is working with our primary girls. Those who remember her are inspired to see that New Beginnings is now hiring those who used to be part of our program.

Judy will work with our secondary girls. This is never an easy job to balance instruction and love.

We also welcome Mourice who has taken a position with our grounds and maintenance dept. Mourice will transport our water, by donkey, around the center and care for our livestock.
Please pray for all of our staff as they serve the children of New Beginnings.

Children In Need!

Meet Calvins!

Calvins is a total orphan who came to New Beginnings as an emergency case. He is in need of a full sponsor.

You can sponsor Calvins or another child by sending $40 for partial sponsor or $80 for a full sponsorship per month. To become Calvins' sponsor, please contact us!

A child is praying...are you the answer?
100% of all sponsor donations go to help the children.

Meet Elector!

Elector is 19 and in 12th grade. She is in need of a full sponsor to help her finish our program at the end of this year.

Is God calling you to help Elector?

You can sponsor Elector or another child by sending $40 for partial sponsor or $80 for a full sponsorship per month. Visit her 'Sponsor a Child' page to become Elector's sponsor!

A child is praying...are you the answer?
100% of all sponsor donations go to help the children.

Meet Brian!

Brian is 10 years old and a total orphan. His guardians are abusive and he came to New Beginnings as an emergency case. He is in need of a partial sponsor. Visit Brian's 'Sponsor a Child' page to become his sponsor!

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, you can do so through on our Children in Need page - many children are waiting and praying for someone to come alongside them.

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.

Special Thanks to:

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 or you may send your donation to:

Shalom Christian Missions
1255 Mill Creek Rd
York, PA 17404
(717) 586-6945