Pure Christianity

All in a day's work...

Ok, a couple of people have asked me to share the details of what we did today. I find it difficult to do this because we do what we do out of our love for people and a desire to meet their needs, not for any personal glory or gain. Fortunately, we are grateful it is YOUR donations we are spreading, so in that light, I don't mind sharing...

I have on my desk, a detailed note of what we did today... One side has a list of all items bought.

1. bunk bed
2. twin bed
3. medicine
4. rent (1)
5. medicine for 5 people
6. lantern lamp
7. house rent
8. house rent
9. 1st household shopping*
10. 2nd and 3rd households
11. 4th household
12. bought some food from shops in Rhonda
    a. flour 5kg
    b. sugar 1kg
    c. bar soap
    d. eggs
13. bought some charcoal and paraffin for at least 4 households
14. bought clothes and sheets

On the the other side it says, "People Helped." I'm leaving off people's last names for the sake of privacy.**

1. Roselyne-- bought her family a bunk bed
2. Mercy-- bought her a bed, paid her house rent, and bought her a lantern
3. Phab-- paid her house rent
4. Ezina-- bought her family food
5. Charles-- bought him medicines
6. Nelson-- paid his house rent
7. Jane-- bought her medicines
8. Beatrice-- Food for her family
9. Connice (for grandma and mother, hospital visits)
10. Norah-- bought meds and food for her family
11. Susan-- food for her family
12. Violet-- Meds and food for her family
13. Joyce-- medicine and food
14. Benard-- meds

*this means we bought food items and household items like soap, lotions, etc... for them

**all of the above people live in a slum here in Nakuru, and you cannot even begin to imagine their living conditions. If we bought a bed, it's because they are literally sleeping on the floor.

NOTE: we still need some mattresses. If you'd like to help, we need $100 to cover those costs.

~Kate

How To

Just a reminder how you can contribute to what is going on here in Nakuru, Kenya.

Checks can be made out to Kenya Fund and mailed to:

713 West First Street
Beaver Dam, KY 42320
U.S.A.

or you can use Paypal.com and send to back2kenya@yahoo.com

We do as well have a Western Union office and MoneyGram office here in Nakuru. Use my full names; Johnny Lee Brooks.

We are on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/johnnybrooks

www.facebook.com/kate34

Twitter:

www.twitter.com/johnnybrooks

Lots going on...

There's been a lot of things going on through A Future and a Hope.

Our HIV support meeting was wonderful. We fed over 110 HIV+ grownups and 100 more children (some HIV+, some not). While at the meeting, we discovered one of the ladies who is part of our HIV support group was very ill. We were able to take her to the hospital for some much needed treatment.

She is on an IV now, and how long she'll be admitted to the hospital is still unknown....

...which leads me to the reason for this article. This very ill 'mamma' has a young daughter about the age of my Makena. Her name is Connie, and she has been caring for her sick mom for quite some time now.

It's difficult for me to imagine Makena bathing me, cooking for me, cleaning house, and managing my affairs! Connie is a very mature young girl, BUT, now that her mom is in the hospital, she is completely alone in her small little shack in the slum.

We've been sending Ben to check on Connie each day, bringing food, and encouragement. Yesterday, Ben cleaned the house for her bc it was smelling badly. We want to pay for her 'lunch meals' at school so we are guaranteed she'll be fed everyday while there. Also, she needs school shoes, and most importantly, she needs her mom.

There have been times in my life when, out of the blue, I felt as if SOMEONE somewhere was praying for me. I believe that Father can comfort her during this tough time so I'm asking all of you to please pray for little Connie. We are doing what we can while she waits for her mom to get better in the hospital.

Grateful to have friends out there who will care,
Kate Brooks

Picture of the Week

Here’s Kate sitting behind a giant pile of stuff that a certain family in New York sent to us here in Nakuru, Kenya.

 

 

 

 

 

Trying on shoes at the shoe store, yes we have an actual shoe store. Thanks to CoreLove in Houston, for helping us to get shoes for our kids. (Thanks again to the kids of Pflugerville Methodist church for helping us buy shoes for the orphans.)

 

New shoes!

Hope?

I’ve got so many things running through my head and heart right now, that I’m finding it hard to nail just one down for a blog post.

Tomorrow I will be at one of our support groups for people living with H.I.V. I’m supposed to be talking to everyone about hope, not sure what I will or can say right now.

Will I talk about the hope of the resurrection? Hope of a cure? Hope in a vaccine? Hope that the world will actually care?

Hope that the poor inflicted with H.I.V. will be treated as brothers and sisters, because Jesus said so. Hope that the world will actually commit to helping those with H.I.V. even when Bono is not looking?

I’m not sure. All I can do, and all that Ben, Ali, Virginia, Kate, Lonnie and Pauline, can do is to keep loving one person at a time. I truly believe we can eradicate poverty and disease by loving and assisting one person at a time.

Johnny Brooks

Kenyatta Day

Today is Jomo Kenyatta day here in Kenya, a public holiday. Meaning I can’t go to the bank and pay the last of the school fees for this year, I can’t go pay the electricity bill, and we can’t buy oil for the oil change on the van. Too bad.

Instead we will go out for lunch, all of us. Since there are so many of us, this rarely happens. The kids always enjoy it, and we like blessing them. In fact each and every day that goes by we love them more and more. I feel so blessed to be here taking care of these kids. It’s actually hard to explain.

Johnny Brooks

Pics of the week (Grace & Sarah's 15th bday)

 
playing games:  Irene is bobbing for apples

Sarah & Grace blowing out candles

Sarah & Grace, two very happy girls, getting gifts. (Behind them are Mercy (big), Mildred, & Beatrice)

Getting their first Cell Phones

Happy 15th!

Blog Action Day 2009

Today is Blog Action Day 2009, and this year’s topic is climate change. How does climate change impact the work we are doing here in Kenya? I mean really is a warmer climate really going to make that much difference in the lives of these orphaned/abandoned kids? Is the climate change going to impact the poor we work with?

Absolutely yes. The developing world, which includes Kenya, stands to lose the most in this global warming stuff. Populations here are dependant upon seasonal rains to grow the food they eat. Farmers need the weather to be predictable in order to know how/when/where/and what to plant. If they fail, many will suffer hunger.

Currently the drought here in Kenya is wreaking havoc. I have no idea if it is caused by climate change or not, but I do know it’s bad.

I want to provide the orphans we are caring for with the best possible future they can have. This might mean we need to make some effort to reverse global warming, or if that is not possible to devise ways to adapt to a warmer climate. These changes need to be for everyone, not just the rich.

Without dealing with the situation, then the future just gets harder and harder for the kids we are helping.

Johnny Brooks

How?

Someone recently asked us, I think on Facebook, how do we do what we do without relying upon the religious organization or any organization for that matter?

How do we fundraise? Up to this point we have not had much organized fund raising. We have relied upon family and friends to support us, and on word of mouth to bring in the money.

We are working on a few fundraising ideas right now, but I don’t think high pressured, guilt ridden, flashy campaigns will ever be a part of what we do. Most folks assume that everyone’s goal is to grow big and therefore have a wider impact on the world. Certainly we want to have a big impact on the world, but growing big is not one of our goals. I do not really want to have so much money coming in that I can’t manage it. Gasp. Did he just say that?

We are growing. This year we opened a home for boys. With just one empty bed left there, it is time to start thinking of the next home. Growth is not my goal, it is simply a side affect of loving the unlovable.

Check out these numbers:

• 2005 - $14,784
• 2006 - $26,552
• 2007 - $53,573
• 2008 - $55,855

I haven’t entered all the data for 2009 yet, but we are on track to be at least as much as 2008.

That is the gross donated to us for each year by the way. All the money comes to us in Kenya. The folks that take care of our banking back in the U.S.A., do so for free.

Honestly we are so humbled by these figures. Blessed that people believe in what we do enough to give us money to do it.

These results are just us being honest and doing whatever it is that God wants us to do, or at least whatever it is we discern that He wants us to do.

I can tell you this; as the ministry has grown, so has our need for finances. Currently I have too many needs for the money that is available. I am talking about more than just the orphan care part of the project. We also work towards bringing a future and a hope to the poor, sick, and otherwise oppressed folks in our community.

Will we ever see $100,000 a year? Not sure, but if so it just means that many more orphans cared for and needy people helped.