August Newsletter

We ended our newsletter last month asking for prayers for rest and healing. As we wrote our newsletter last month, we were exhausted. We were tired, worn out, and even discouraged. I'm thankful that God has encouraged us this month, giving us time to rest, pray, and heal. He has given us strength to continue to serve Him. Thank you for praying! 

Churches Are Open Again!

In early August, the government announced that we can resume in-person worship at 1/3 capacity. We have resumed two outside services, and we are so thankful to be able to worship together again. We are looking forward to resuming our church calendar this fall by bringing back our conferences, camps, and retreats. We had a lot scheduled when the pandemic hit in March 2020, and we hope to be able to finally reschedule these events! 

The golf outing proceeds from Trinity Church will help cover some of the costs of these discipleship events. We are thankful to be able to have those funds available to enrich our discipleship program. Thank you to everyone who participated and donated to Trinity's Mission Golf Outing. 

Bursting By the Seams!

Good News Migwena Academy continues to have new enrollment as the school year continues. Each week, we get a couple of new students eager to join our community. One of our classrooms is already at capacity. We have officially doubled our population from 75 students at the end of the school year in June to over 150 students this school year! 

Pray for us that we would be able to disciple our staff at GNMA. Running a school is very different from the church ministry that we are used to. We want to be able to use every opportunity with our staff to show them the love of God and teach them the ways of the Lord. We pray that they'll also embrace our vision and heart for the community. 

Every Friday at GNMA, students have an opportunity to join a club. We have soccer club, music, drama, arts and crafts, and boy/girl scouts. All of our staff engage in one of these clubs on Friday afternoon, and they help nurture the talent of the students. Extra curricular activities like the ones mentioned above aren't common in most schools in Kenya. Parents are thankful their children are able to be exposed to these activities at a young age. 

Back to School!

Back to school! Back to school x 75 kids is no easy task! All of the students in our Child Sponsorship Program headed back for a new school year at end of July/early August. 

We now have over 20 students in high school and college and several of those students in boarding school. Going to boarding school is a huge honor in Kenya and it is very common to help ensure the students can focus on their education. Shopping for boarding school students can be crazy just before school opens. The school requirements are comprehensive, shops are full, bank lines are long, and school fees need to be paid.

Everyone is happy to be back in school, although the next two school years are very short to help them make up lossed time during the COVID shutdown. A normal 9 month school year is crammed into 6 short months. This is hard for many parents in Kenya to have to pay school fees in a shorter period of time. Pray for parents throughout Kenya as they try to provide for their children fees. Pray for understanding for students and patience for teachers. 

We have several students that are already in our sponsorship program that are in need of sponsorship to help them continue their education. These children vary in academic levels from elementary to college. By sponsoring these students, you can be sure to be an agent of change in their life! Click below to see the available sponsorship profiles, and e-mail me by replying to this newsletter e-mail if you have any further questions.
E-mail: hollyandfred@goodnewskenya.org

Celebrating 9 years!

Last month, we asked that you would pray for us for rest. Though this month was busy, we were determined to find time to rest. Fred and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on August 11th. The following week, we snuck away for 3 nights to spend some time together on an island in Lake Victoria. If you travel three hours from where we live, the lake scenery drastically changes from the murky water in Kisumu. We found rest, healing, and strength as we spent time together and with the Lord. We are thankful for this time. 

As we traveled to Mbita, we also visited the old YWAM base that Fred attended in 2003 and that I did my YWAM outreach at in 2006. We both had remembered a Christian mission school near the base that was established by missionaries. We set up a meeting with the director and asked some questions about how they run their school and what we can learn as we are in the pioneering stage of GNMA. It was very insightful and helpful. With that school operating for the past 30 years, you can see the huge impact that they are having in their community. It was very encouraging to us, and we are hopeful that God will allow us to have a similar impact in Migwena Village. 

Eliana had a summer break all of July & August, while Lucy had started her 8th grade year. Eliana did a lot of ministry with us and made so many friends at GNMA. Fred spent the day with Eliana before she started her new school year. They went to buy 30 trees and planted them on a piece of land that we bought several years ago. When we got married, it was a dream of Fred's to own land that we would one day build our forever home on. It's not common in Kenya to buy a house, but rather build your home. We worked hard for several years to buy this land, and we are so thankful we did.

We hope that our home will be built before our kids are out of the house. Even though they won't have memories of them being young in that home, they'll have memories of us planting trees, having special picnics, and working hard to make this land become our home. Some things take hard work - you need to dig, plant, water, and weed. I pray our children will learn that hard work pays off, and it certainly doesn't happen overnight. This is also a good reminder to us in our ministry and marriage. After 9 years, we have so much to be thankful for. God has grown GNK to more than we could imagine, and He has nourished our marriage to be firmly rooted in His Word. It takes hard work, and it takes commitment, but it has certainly paid off. We are thankful for how God continues to be at work in our life, and we dedicate our lives to serve Him.  

Praises & Prayer Requests

Good News Kenya is a 501(C)3 non-profit corporation, so your donations are tax-deductible. All GNK projects and missionary support is funded by churches, friends, and family who have decided to partner with us in bringing the Gospel to Kenya. Thank you for being co-laborers in bringing the hope of Christ to Kenyan communities.