- Nazarene Compassionate Ministries

A PUBLICATION OF N A Z A R E N E C O M P A S S I O N A T E M I N I S T R I E S
A CHFUORRCH
CHILDREN
Keeping Children First:
How Nepal’s Child-Focused
Development Is Changing
Entire Families
Youth in Action:
How Young People Are Living
Compassion as a Lifestyle
East Africa Famine Persists:
The Church Takes Action
…for those who embrace compassion as a lifestyle
SPONSOR YOUR CHILD TODAY!
THROUGH
Child Sponsorship,
KNOW SOMEONE
EDUCATE, FEED, AND CARE FOR
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CONTENTS
Share Christ’s love.
Back to School
How Child Sponsorship Is Helping a Community
in Zimbabwe Educate Their Children
4
A Kingdom For Children
Biblical Reflections on a
Child-Focused Church
6
A CHURCH
FOR
CHILDREN
Keeping Children First
How Nepal’s Child-Focused Development
Is Changing Entire Families
8
A Transforming Love
How God Is Using Mango Tree Center to Care for
a Boy With Cerebral Palsy in Tonga
12
East Africa Famine Persists
The Church Takes Action
16
Restored Through Love
How a Church Is Expressing God’s Heart for Children
in One of Colombia’s Most Dangerous Neighborhoods
14
Little by Little
How a Kenyan Couple’s Service Has
Changed Thousands of Kids’ Lives
18
A Shared Dream
A Kenyan Community and MNU Students
Partner to Build a School
21
Here to Stay
How a Small Congregation Is Turning
Neighbors Into Friends
22
Beating the Odds in Beirut
How a Young Woman Is Finding Healing
Through the Support of Her Church
24
Growing in Grace
A Thai Story of Child Sponsorship
26
Youth in Action
How Young People Are Living Compassion
as a Lifestyle
28
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARTY HOSKINS
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
LEARN MORE & SPONSOR YOUR CHILD TODAY
THROUGH NAZARENE COMPASSIONATE MINISTRIES AT
NCM.ORG/CS.
By printing this magazine on
recycled paper, NCM helped save:*
*Information provided by Spicers Paper
21
trees
9554
gallons of
water
7
million
BTUs
580
pounds of
solid waste
1984
pounds of
greenhouse
gas emissions
l
o
o
h
c
S
o
Back t
by
Simbarashe
Kanenungo,
NCM Africa
The Ruwa Child Development Center offers nutrition, recreation, counseling, Christian discipleship,
and educational assistance to the community’s children. PHOTOS COURTESY OF NCM AFRICA
How Child Sponsorship Is Helping a Community
in Zimbabwe Educate Their Children
When the
community’s
children get
better education,
the cycle of
poverty begins
to break, and
hope spreads as
people see Christ’s
compassion lived
out in the church.
4 NCM MAGAZINE
W
hen large-scale commercial farming collapsed
beginning in 2000 due to land rights issues,
the economy of Ruwa, a small town located
22 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of the capital city of
Harare, Zimbabwe, completely collapsed. Farm workers lost their jobs and homes. Poverty increased, and
many people resorted to drinking local brew to drown
their sorrows. In addition to the problem of unemployment, many people were also living with HIV and AIDS,
and many children had been orphaned because of it.
A Local Congregation Steps In to Serve
The Church of the Nazarene came to Ruwa in 2004
under the leadership of Rev. Freddy Kanenungo, former
district superintendent of the Zimbabwe East district. In
2008, the local church identified the children who were
most in need and most vulnerable in the community,
and they started a child development center (CDC).
The center served the kids using the gifts and resources
they had gathered locally. Leaders and volunteers collected food like maize and beans from community members and began feeding a nutritious meal to about 50
children every Saturday. They shared Bible stories with
the kids and organized sports for them. People from
outside the community also donated to the program
because they could see the good work taking place.
As time went on, though, the leaders and volunteers at
the Ruwa CDC felt overwhelmed by the many needs
that they could not meet. The majority of participants
at the center were children who had been orphaned,
having lost one or both parents. Most were no longer
going to school because they did not have money for
school fees.
Take, for example, three siblings at the Ruwa CDC.
Precious*, 13, Walter*, 10, and Clemence*, 9, live with
their mother, who is unemployed. Their father is dead.
Their mother collects firewood to sell and uses the
money to put at least one meal a day on the table for
her family. However, when the children were expelled
from school for not paying their school fees, they had
no hope of going back because their mother did not
have the funds needed for their education.
That hopelessness started to change in December
2010 when the Ruwa CDC had the opportunity to
partner with Nazarene Child Sponsorship. Through
sponsorship, the CDC was able to accomplish their
first priority—to get the community’s children back in
school. Precious, Walter, and Clemence were among
the first of 20 children (18 primary school and two secondary school students) who went back to school with
the help of support sent by child sponsors.
HELP
WANTED
“The morale at the center is very high,” a volunteer at
Ruwa CDC said. “Since the funding from NCM started
coming in, we are able to do more for the children in
our community.”
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
The center is now able to address more of the children’s needs. They provide a nutritious meal for the
kids Monday through Saturday, which has improved
the children’s overall health and ability to learn. They
take time to counsel children with emotional needs and
teach them about HIV prevention while also ministering to them through Bible studies. They even purchase
school uniforms for the children who have tattered
ones. With this simple makeover, the children are
proud to go to school, and the education they receive
there means opportunities for a better future.
Volunteers at the Ruwa CDC also advocate for children
in the community. The majority of children do not have
birth certificates, which they need for the public school
examinations that allow them to progress in school. The
center has already talked with community leaders about
how to collaborate to tackle this issue. Volunteers from
the center also conduct health awareness campaigns
and seminars in the community. They engage local
health care centers to help conduct HIV testing and
give counseling to children and their guardians.
In a town trying to rebuild a crumbling economy, the Ruwa
CDC is bringing hope to children and families who had
lost hope. When the community’s children get better education, the cycle of poverty begins to break, and hope
spreads as people see Christ’s compassion lived out in
the church. In fact, many are coming to faith in Christ
because of it. Ruwa Church of the Nazarene is growing as
people see transformation in the community. n
Precious, 13 years old
Walter, 10 years old
MOZAMBIQUE
Kariba
HARARE
ZIMBABWE
Masvingo
BOTSWANA
Beitbridge
SOUTH AFRICA
Computer Programming
Coordinator
to lead its development team
in developing
and maintaining
NCM’s web applications,,
systems,, and websites.
Now accepting applications. ‘
To apply for this position, please email
your resume to [email protected].
Clemence, 9 years old
* Name has been changed.
ZAMBIA
NCM needs a
Write
“Computer ProgramMing Coordinator”
in the subject line..
We can’t pay much, but the
eternal benefits package
is unbeatable.
ZIMBABWE
Total Population: 13 million
Life Expectancy: 46
People Living With HIV: 1.2 million
Orphaned Children: 1.4 million
Under-5 Mortality Rate: 1 in 11 live births
Children Under 5 Who Are Underweight: 16%
Primary School Enrollment: 90%
Secondary School Enrollment: 38%
Statistics taken from unicef.org/sowc2011.
SPRING 2012 13
Biblical
Reflections on
a Child-Focused
Church
by
Nell Becker Sweeden,
NCM Field Program
Coordinator
Children hold
families and
communities
together. Their
welfare is a good
indicator of the
community’s health
and vitality.
A
t that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child, whom he put among them and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and
become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like
this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:1-5)
Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The
disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do
not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” And he laid his hands on them
and went on his way. (Matthew 19:13-15)
How often do we forget about children or leave them on
the sidelines of our busy lives? We run from one place
to another and try to meet endless deadlines and feed
insatiable agendas. Countless responsibilities, people,
and desires push and pull for our time, thoughts, and
energy. Too often, when children are brought into the
middle of this mess, they are treated as an inconvenience or overlooked altogether.
Jesus’ words in Matthew 18 and 19 should radically
change the way we relate to children. Jesus was not
too busy to be “disrupted” by children. In fact, he took
time to pray for and lay his hands of blessing on them.
He revealed the kingdom of heaven as an upsidedown kingdom where the first are last and the
last, first, and where little children are the greatest.
And he told his disciples to become like children if they
wanted to enter the kingdom of heaven.
If children are so central to Jesus’ vision of God’s kingdom, then we need to welcome them into our lives and
make them central in our church. We must care and
provide for them while listening to and empowering
them. Our Nazarene brothers and sisters in Bangladesh,
India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are leading the way in this.
Children Today
Our world is rapidly changing, and children
are a big part of that change. Consider this:
• The world has 7 billion people, and almost
one-third of them are under the age of 15.
• An additional 2.7 million people will
be born this week.
Many of these children not only go
unseen and unheard, but they are
also victims of abuse and exploitation. They are the world’s most
vulnerable and have the least ability to defend themselves against
harm. And yet, Jesus says that we
are to become humble like these
children and to welcome him by
welcoming them.
Child-Focused Community
Development
Nazarene Compassionate Ministries’ child-focused
community development programs in South Asia place
children at the center of all the church’s work in order
to build loving, healthy, and strong families and congregations. That means programs addressing issues such
as hunger, poverty, illiteracy, and HIV and AIDS begin
with children. Through this method, all key players in
the community have the opportunity to work together
to make children’s lives better and, in doing so, improve
their own lives and their entire communities as well.
The Child Is the Center
Children hold families and communities together. Their
welfare is a good indicator of the community’s health
and vitality.
In South Asia, the church ministers to children by nurturing each area of their development in a loving and
Christlike way while taking into account the context
of their family, extended community, and society. This
holistic child development model implemented through
child development centers (CDCs) supports each child’s
growth to reach her or his God-given spiritual, physical,
mental, emotional, and social potential.
Healthy Families Raise Healthy Children
Parents need a means to provide for their children.
That’s why South Asia’s child-focused community
development programs often offer small groups for
mothers whose children participate in CDCs. The
small groups provide social support, parenting education, support for family relationship-building, health and
nutrition training, medical check-ups, and skills development in saving money and developing small incomegenerating projects.
Transforming Communities
Each community’s challenges affect its families and
children, from poverty to hunger to violence to disease.
NCM staff members work with leaders and parents to
develop programs that support the community in overcoming these challenges.
NCM Child-Focused
Community Activities
• Education programs for
children
• Seminars and lectures
on good parenting
principles
• Skills training for
parents
• Home Bible studies
• Family camps
• Community
outreach service
programs
• Coordinating dialogue
with local government
officials, community
organizations, and
church leaders about
what it means to have a
child-friendly church and village
Becoming
Child-Minded
We believe that greater things
are yet to be done through
children in the name of Jesus,
because Jesus, who came as
a child, continues to radically
transform and bring salvation
to our world today. To join in
this work, we have to stop and
listen. We have to be willing to
learn and to be open to how God
is breaking into our world through
children. n
SPRING 2012 7
Keeping ChildreN
ks as a street vendor
Balampaki Magar wor
the help of NCM, Rajan
h
l
wit
d
Nepa
rte
NCM
sta
s
of
ines
Through a small bus
ic needs. Photo courtesy
ool fees and other bas
for his children’s sch
selling food to provide
Through
How Nepal’s Child-Focused Development Is Changing Entire Families
child-focused
R
ajan Balampaki Magar lives in Manohara, an informal settlement outside Kathmandu, Nepal. He
and his wife, Gita, are trying to provide a better
life for their children. Their son, Suresh,* and daughter, Diya,* study at a private school that offers a better
education and more opportunities for the future than
the public schools, but it’s not cheap. Rajan and Gita
work hard to pay the school fees by selling pani puri (a
popular porridge eaten with soup) from a mobile food
cart. Their business has done well enough that Rajan
was able to buy another cart that he rents to another
food vendor for additional income.
community
development
efforts,
NCM in Nepal is
addressing the
needs of the
whole family
arene
, send their kids to a Naz
Rajan and his wife, Gita that provides supportive
ter
child development cen
dren and parents. Photo
programs for both chil
courtesy of NCM Nepal
and allowing
parents the
dignity of
providing for
their children
themselves—
both for today
and tomorrow.
8 NCM MAGAZINE
First
with
a new area, staff talk
When NCM is invited to ut their desires for the future
abo
s
ber
community mem
t their needs.
their strengths to mee
and how they can use
l
Nepa
NCM
of
Photo courtesy
TY HOSKINS
Photo courtesy of MAR
dents receive food,
elopment centers, stu ipleship.
At nazarene child dev
disc
an
isti
chr
oring, and
health check-ups, tut HOSKINS
TY
Photo courtesy of MAR
TY HOSKINS
Photo courtesy of MAR
Not long ago, however, the family’s situation was pretty
bleak. Rajan and Gita had been working long hours for
low pay in a carpet factory. Suresh and Diya often had
to miss school since their parents could not afford the
cost of school supplies or other education-related fees.
The family lived in one of the small rooms the factory
provided workers, but living in that environment led to
frequent colds and other respiratory problems. When
the factory closed unexpectedly, the family suddenly
went from having little to having nothing. Rajan and
Gita were jobless, and the four of them were homeless.
The family was desperate, but they were not without
hope. Rajan turned for help to the child development
center (CDC) where his children were enrolled and
where he was part of a self-help group, an organized
group where community members save and loan out
money together. On the guarantee of the group, Rajan
received a loan from NCM Nepal—enough to buy a
food cart and start a small business. Soon, he and Gita
were making enough money to provide for their basic
needs and send the children to a better school. Now,
Rajan and his family are active in the local Nazarene
congregation where they are even able to tithe.
by
NCM Nepal Staff and
Beth Clayton Luthye,
NCM Education
“Many young guys go to Malaysia, UAE [United Arab
Emirates], Dubai, or other foreign countries to earn
money,” Rajan said, “but I can earn money equal to
what they earn from my own country. … God helps
people in any situation.”
Building Up Parents
NCM Nepal ministers from the philosophy that community transformation happens best by addressing the
needs of the whole family. That is why NCM’s 10 CDCs
reach out not just to the more than 1,100 children they
serve, but to their parents as well.
Life is not easy for the majority of families living in Nepal.
Most of the children in the CDCs come from families
NEPAL
CHINA
NEPAL
KATHMANDU
INDIA
Total Population: 29 million
Life Expectancy: 67
Urban Population: 18%
Under-5 Mortality Rate: 1 in 21 live births
Children Under 5 Who Are Underweight: 45%
Primary School Enrollment: 84%
Adult Literacy Rate: 58%
Statistics taken from unicef.org/sowc2011.
SPRING 2012 9
Church-Based
Child Development
L
ocal church congregations are integral to NCM’s child-focused
community development in Nepal. Far beyond simply providing a building where children gather, they are involved in every
aspect of NCM child development centers (CDCs) as well as ministry to families and communities. Local congregations determine
the location of CDCs based on their knowledge of the community
and of the children most in need. Teachers in each CDC are active
members of their church congregations, and NCM offers training
on holistic community ministry to local church leaders.
“Local church is not separate from the community,” said Padam
Subba, NCM child development coordinator for Nepal. “Rather, it
should be a strong agent of implementing God’s holistic plan for
changing the community.”
Rev. Ganga Mukhiya has seen the way lives are transformed
when the church is involved in holistic ministry. He started pastoring New Community Church of the Nazarene in Nepal four
years ago. They were a fledgling congregation at the time, but
they started looking for ways to serve the community anyway.
He said they began “praying for the local church to do something
that directly benefits the poor community people.”
Then, an existing CDC started enrolling children from the area—
mostly children from poor families working in the garment
industry. Soon the congregation was operating as an official
branch of the CDC and included 50 children from 30 different
families coming together five days a week. The CDC ministry
also gave Mukhiya an opportunity to reach out to the children’s
parents by visiting their homes.
Before the CDC program started in 2007, the church was discouraged because they were not growing. Now, the church building is
not big enough for everyone who shows up to worship.
“Most of the believers are the parents of the CDC kids,” Mukhiya
said. “Many of the kids also have made decisions for Christ.”
who live well below the poverty line. Many parents of children in the rural CDCs are subsistence farmers, but their
fields do not produce enough for the entire year. These
farmers look for whatever day labor jobs they can find. The
families who live in and around Kathmandu face high costs
of living and low-paying jobs.
In these contexts, families cannot afford to send their children to school or buy paper, books, and pencils. If children do not go to school, many wind up working in public
transportation or as day laborers. Others work in hotels or
as housekeepers in other people’s homes where they are
often exploited.
“Being a poor Nepalese child is synonymous to being a
child deprived of good education, nutrition, and various
opportunities,” said Padam Subba, NCM child development coordinator for Nepal. “These children cannot develop
their potentials and skills until they get a good opportunity.”
Nepal’s CDCs, however, give poor children a chance at
education, which means a chance at a better future. The
centers enroll the most vulnerable children in the community and then work with parents to ensure they have
the opportunity to provide for their children’s educational
needs on their own.
Not only does NCM in Nepal start self-help groups like
the one in which Rajan participates, it also helps families
participate in other income-generating activities, such
as family gardens. Through partnership with Canadian
Foodgrains Bank, NCM has helped farmers diversify their
crops by adding vegetables to them. This transformation increases each family’s nutrition through a balanced
diet. The gardens have been so productive that the farmers have also increased their income through the sale of
excess crops—income that is then invested in their children’s futures through education.
Through child-focused community development efforts, NCM
in Nepal is addressing the needs of the whole family and
allowing parents the dignity of providing for their children
themselves—both for today and tomorrow.
“The CDCs have been a tool for transforming people
in Christ,” Subba said. “It is only by the help of our
almighty God.” n
* Name has been changed.
Learn more about child-focused community
development in “A Kingdom for Children” on
page 6.
10 NCM MAGAZINE
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The Daily Deal:
What Happens at a CDC
At CDCs in Nepal, children come five afternoons a week. The CDCs’ programs help
address the physical, emotional, relational,
intellectual, and spiritual aspects of each
child’s life. Here are some of the ways they
are engaging children using this holistic
approach to child development:
NCM in Nepa
l
children as helps families establ
ish garden
well as som
s that prov
e income.
ide nutritio
us food for
• Volunteers tutor children in their school
subjects.
• Contests, such as quizzes, debates, and
poetry or essay contests, make learning
fun and teach children confidence.
• Children receive a health check-up every
three months and are given de-worming
pills regularly.
• Mothers learn to prepare nutritious, balanced meals for their kids.
• Children participate in community rallies
to raise awareness about social issues
such as human trafficking or the dangers
of drug abuse.
• Groups act out Bible stories and talk
about the Bible’s messages for their lives.
• Children participate in Sunday school and
worship services.
• Children find love and support at the center every day.
Community
volunteers
meal each
cook a nutr
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Nazarene ch y for children in Nepa itious
l’s
ild developm
ent center
s.
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12 NCM MAGAZINE
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A Nazarene Commitment
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Holistic Ministry to C
SPRING 2012 13
Photos courtesy of Red de Amor
Restored Through Love
How a Church Is Expressing God’s Heart for Children
by
Luis Meza,
Missionary to Colombia
B
arrio Belencito Corazón is a tough neighborhood.
It is in an area known as Commune Thirteen, the
most violent section of Medellín, Colombia’s second largest city, which is also known for its drug-related
gang warfare. In the middle of that neighborhood lives
a 10-year-old girl named Paula* (pictured in top right
photo). She survives there with her mother and two sisters, ages 6 and 4, at the territorial boundary of two
rival gangs where she hears gunshots regularly.
Yet, it is in this neighborhood that Paula has learned
what real love looks like.
The Love of a Father
Four years ago, Paula’s mother discovered a child
development center called Proyecto Red de Amor
COLOMBIA
CARIBBEAN
SEA
PANAMA
VENEZUELA
NORTH
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Medellín
BOGOTA
COLOMBIA
ECUADOR
BRAZIL
PERU
14 NCM MAGAZINE
Total Population: 46 million
Life Expectancy: 73
Urban Population: 75%
Under-5 Mortality Rate: 1 in 53 live births
Children Under 5 Who Are Underweight: 7%
Primary School Enrollment: 90%
Secondary School Enrollment: 71%
Statistics taken from unicef.org/sowc2011.
(Network of Love Project) in Barrio Belencito Corazón,
a ministry of nearby Santa Monica Church of the Nazarene. At that point, she was desperate for help. Months
earlier, Paula’s father had abandoned the family, leaving
them without any financial support.
During that time, the local government took Paula and
her younger sisters to a temporary children’s home.
The intention of the move was to keep them safe and
provided for, but during the four months they lived in
the home, they suffered physical and emotional abuse.
Paula even got sick with a stress-related illness that
temporarily paralyzed part of her body. Because of
the illness, she and her sisters were allowed to return
home, but they faced the same economic hardship
there that they had left months earlier.
Paula’s mother reached out to Proyecto Red de Amor
for help. Paula began attending the center, and the
church in Santa Monica ministered to Paula’s mother.
Today, Paula cherishes the project, not only because
she gets a hot lunch, but also because she has experienced love and acceptance from the staff and—most
importantly—from God. She has learned that even
though her biological father is not around, she has a
Father in heaven who loves and protects her.
The change in Paula over the last four years is remarkable. Now, she can smile with ease and is doing well in
in One of Colombia’s Most Dangerous Neighborhoods
school. The young girl comes to the center every day
and eats lunch and receives help with her homework.
Throughout the year, she also participates in field trips
and special celebrations for holidays such as Christmas and Mother’s Day. Through the direction of project coordinator Edna Caicedo, Paula and the rest of
the students at the center receive spiritual nurturing
through learning to pray and read the Bible and having
activities such as vacation Bible school.
Growing in Love, Not Hate
Proyecto Red de Amor has been a ministry of the
Santa Monica Church of the Nazarene since 2006.
Rev. Angela Caicedo and the congregation have been
sensitive to the voice of the God of love and compassion, and they have responded to the need to care for
the children of Barrio Belencito Corazón. They provide
volunteer staff, food, monetary resources, and creative
energy to help run the child development center.
Families who live in Barrio Belencito Corazón are economically disadvantaged. In most cases, single mothers are trying to care for families on their own with
extremely limited resources. They do not have a way to
meet the most basic needs for their children’s development, such as clean water and education.
The community’s challenges have grown as families
have left Colombia’s interior to escape the violence
there. In the end, they do not escape violence at all.
In this neighborhood, there are almost daily confrontations between gangs competing for territory. Children
are most vulnerable in this environment because their
mothers are forced to leave them at home alone, sometimes under the care of older siblings, while they go out
searching for resources to provide for their children.
The challenge is great. Paula is just one of thousands of
children living in this condition in Medellín’s Commune
Thirteen. But the local congregation in Santa Monica
believes that, as the church, they are in the right place,
because Jesus says, “Let the little children come to
me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that
the kingdom of heaven belongs” (Matthew 19:14).
This is why the local church has chosen to commit their time and finances to minister in an area that
experiences so much turmoil. It is through this project
that Christians can help children to develop in healthy
ways, growing in love instead of hate, bitterness, and
revenge.
We firmly believe that God’s love can heal children’s
lives, restore their hearts, and, above all, transform their
futures. We must surround them with a network of love
and express to them, in word and deed, God’s special
love them. n
Today, Paula
cherishes the
project, not only
because she gets a
hot lunch, but also
because she has
experienced love
and acceptance
from the staff
and—most
importantly—
from God.
* Name has been changed.
SPRING 2012 15
East Africa Famine Persists, THE Church Takes Action
by
East Africa Disaster
Response Team
A
s East Africa’s largest drought in 60 years continues to keep
13 million people under threat of famine, the Church of the
Nazarene is focusing on meeting people’s immediate needs
while preparing to walk with them down the long road to healing and
restoration. Local and global church partnerships have led to the following programs across the region:
• Food Distribution: targeting the immediate nutritional needs
of people who have remained in drought-stricken areas rather
than moving to refugee camps
• Food Security: implementing agricultural development projects that provide seeds to farmers as well as training in sustainable agriculture methods
• Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Trauma
Counseling: providing violence prevention training in communities where the church is distributing food and partnering with Africa Nazarene University to train people within the
Dadaab refugee camp in both trauma counseling for children
and gender-based violence prevention
st Africa
eding center in Ea
Each Nazarene fe
vulnercommunity’s most
prioritizes the
d nursren, expectant an
able people—child
y or sick,
le who are elderl
ing mothers, peop
. Alice,
with HIV and AIDS
and people living
the Nazaatine Church of
who is a part of Ki
eight
bution, cares for
rene’s food distri
that the
she is thankful
children and said
she and her
g to sacrif ice so
church is willin
.
children can live
16 NCM MAGAZINE
After a de
lay caused
by a mecha
function,
nical mal
the truck
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beans, and
n
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ed at the L
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Local Church Feeds Child-Led
Family During Drought
When her parents died in 2007 due to AIDS-related causes, 21-yearold Kamene decided she would do everything she could to keep her
family together. Now 25, she and the family’s seven other children
work hard together to make it day by day.
But this child-led family knows they are not alone. The local Nazarene church in Kiatine, Kenya, has walked alongside them, even
building them a two-room house. The children now plant maize and
beans on their small piece of land and drink milk from their one goat.
During these days of drought, however, surviving on the land
has become difficult. Without enough food, many of the family’s
children have experienced stomach ulcers and illnesses. When
the church heard about this, they enrolled the family in their sixmonth food distribution program through Nazarene Compassionate Ministries. Since November 2011, Kamene’s family has been
receiving 20 kilograms of maize, six kilograms of beans, and
three liters of oil each month. Through the support of a loving
church, this child-led family has been given
a chance at life.
Photos courtesy
of
NCM Kenya
People line
up outside L
odwar Church
Nazarene wh
of the
ere women w
it
h children u
5 are given
nder
priority so
they can lea
to care for
v
e
early
their famil
ies. Each rec
kilograms of
ei
ves 20
maize, six k
ilograms of
and three lit
b
eans,
ers of oil.
g distances to receive
Many people travel lon
d work together
their food allotment an
Mutua (right) and
to get their food home.
g Mutua’s donkey
Kithunu (left) are sharin
for the journey.
If you w
i
respond sh to give to h
e
at ncm.o to the famine, lp the church
yo
rg/africa
hunger u can do so on
In the US:
line
or by ch
M
to “Genera ake your checks p
eck.
ayable
l Treasure
r”
“
ACM1519
” in the m and include
emo line.
Global Tre
asury Serv
Church of
ices
th
P.O. Box 8 e Nazarene
43116
Kansas C
ity, MO 64
184-3116
In Canada
:M
“Church o ake checks payab
f the Naza
le to
re
include “A
CM1519” ne Canada” and
in the mem
Church of
o line.
th
20 Regan e Nazarene Canad
Road, Unit
a
Brampton
9
, Ontario L
7A 1C3.
SPRING 2012 17
Little
by
Little
How a Kenyan
Couple’s Service Has
Changed Thousands
of Kids’ Lives
W
hen Rev. Peter and Grace Okinyo started living in Kibera—one of Kenya’s largest informal
settlements located in its capital, Nairobi—they
had no idea how God would lead them. As parents,
they not only worked hard to provide for their children
in the midst of the neighborhood’s challenges, but they
also found ways to help their neighbors live better lives.
In 1991, the Okinyos started a community school that
is still creating opportunities for the more than 400 students living in an area that offers few prospects to its
young people.
People settle in Kibera mostly as a last resort. Families seeking economic opportunity leave rural areas
and head to Nairobi, but when they find no work or
only low-wage jobs, they do not have enough money
to rent a room with access to electricity, sanitation, or
clean water. The places in Kibera are more affordable,
but shelters in this densely populated settlement often
lack these basic services as well as proximity to quality, affordable schools. Kibera has also become home
to many political and economic refugees—people from
inside and outside Kenya who need to escape trauma,
war, persecution, or extreme poverty. Yet the reality is,
people still experience trauma, violence, and unhealthy
living conditions when they relocate to Kibera.
In the midst of these difficulties, however, Kibera’s residents make up a vibrant community influenced by people from diverse cultures with unique gifts. Together,
many people are figuring out how to make it through
day-to-day life with love and dignity.
Steps of Faith
22 NCM MAGAZINE
said. “And the church wanted to reach the community
with the gospel.”
Mrs. Okinyo had studied teaching in college, and education was her passion. She told some parents she
was interested in starting a nursery school. She would
charge a low fee—just enough to buy a few materials
like chalk and a chalkboard.
Rev. Peter and Grace Okinyo
PHOTO COURTESY OF NCM
Over the first year, the number of children grew, and the
next year, as the first class of children graduated into
the next class, she took on a new group of nurseryaged children. Each year, the Okinyos added a grade
level until the school, Kibera Nazarene Primary School,
reached eighth grade. As it expanded, they modified
the small church building and rented extra rooms to
accommodate the increasing student population.
In an overcrowded space like Kibera, expansion happens only through creative design. Pathways, often only
wide enough for foot traffic, snake through the community’s dense blueprint of temporary shelters, shops,
stalls, and schools. Most buildings in Kibera, including the church and school, are constructed with walls
made of rough-hewn timbers and mbati (tin) sheets for
the roof, while others are made of mud and sticks. In
spite of overcrowding, the Okinyos found ways to make
their location work.
The school has always charged a modest fee to cover
expenses such as lunch, supplies, and books, but it
has welcomed students without means to pay as well.
Sometimes that has meant teachers have gone without salaries.
Rev. and Mrs. Okinyo worked hard to live and
minister in Kibera. Mrs. Okinyo would rise
early each morning to walk to one of Nairobi’s
open markets. She would then buy vegetables to bring back and sell at a stand
in her neighborhood—a small means
of income for the family. Rev. Okinyo
pastored the Woodley Church of
the Nazarene and kept his eyes
and heart open to the community’s
needs. Over time the family developed friendships in the community,
and these relationships eventually led
them to start a school.
“During those [early] days, learning was so expensive
in government schools,” Rev. Okinyo said, “so we just
decided to volunteer.”
“We wanted to reduce the
number of street children
on the road,” Rev. Okinyo
In 2009, Rev. and Mrs. Okinyo left Kibera to move back
to their rural home in Bondo Nduswe in Siaya district of
Nyanza province, a day’s bus ride from Nairobi.
Today, the school continues its Christian mission under
the leadership of Eunice Okinyo, Rev. and Mrs. Okinyo’s
daughter. Through partnerships with local nonprofit organizations and the church, the school continues to meet
the needs of its students. Many have even gone on to
college, and they bring their gifts back to the community.
“Even after [the students] finish their classes, they come
back to the school,” Rev. Okinyo said. “They recognize
that without that school, they would not have made it.”
Changing Directions
A teacher passes out donated backpacks to children at Bondo Nduswe Nazarene Children’s Center.
Photo courtesy of Jeb Flynn
“We were going to rest in Siaya,” Rev. Okinyo said.
“We were tired of the stresses of the town, and we
were growing old.”
by
Kelly Becker Tirrill,
NCM Education
But Rev. Okinyo says God had something different
in mind. When he got to Siaya, he was appointed
Nazarene district superintendent of the Lake Victoria
district, and Mrs. Okinyo realized she would not be
content if she were not helping children.
“We wanted
“[My wife] told me that she didn’t feel happy without
kids,” Rev. Okinyo said. “The kids began to come one
by one, and today, we can talk about [a group of] 140
kids.”
Partnership Builds a New School
These 140 children have become the core group of
the Okinyo’s new school—Bondo Nduswe Nazarene
Children’s Center—which has developed in partnership with Nazarenes inside and outside Kenya.
Situated in a dry, rural area, many parents of the
school’s children are subsistence farmers and cattle
herders with little income for school fees. Forty students are children who have been orphaned. They
are living with relatives or community members and
have no ability to pay for their education on their own.
to reduce the
number of street
children on the
road, and the
church wanted
to reach the
community with
the gospel.”
-Rev. Peter Okinyo
SPRING 2012 19
“The work is for
the blessing
of God, not for
the purpose of
making wealth.
People are
coming out to
join hands.”
-Rev. Peter Okinyo
Before the Nazarene school, they just stayed home,
but now they have an opportunity to learn.
they have planted beans and maize on a plot of land
MNU helped them purchase.
The school has become a communal effort. In addition
to the Okinyos, two of the young Nazarene congregation’s 12 church members volunteer at the school.
The Okinyos and their team have an ambitious vision
for what the school can become. They want to bring
electricity, water, and teachers’ offices to the school.
“We are training more from our local church and creating awareness,” Rev. Okinyo said. “The work is for the
blessing of God, not for the purpose of making wealth.
People are coming out to join hands.”
“We are not just resting,” Rev. Okinyo said. “We are
preparing some bricks because we have a vision to
build more classes.”
MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) has also joined
hands with the local church in its endeavor. In May
2011, a team of students traveled to Kenya to help construct the school’s first building using funds the university community raised (see “A Shared Dream,” page 21).
The local community now uses the building for classes
during the week and church services on Sundays.
The Nazarene school offers its students a midday meal.
To create a consistent source of nutrition for students,
Kibera lacks basic amenities such as
running water and sanitation services.
Winding pathways like this one connect
the densely populated 2.5 sq. kilometer
(one sq. mile) informal settlement.
Photo courtesy of Jeb Flynn
SUDAN
UGANDA
Each day, students line up for lunch, which the school provides
for them. Photo courtesy of Jeb Flynn
KENYA
ETHIOPIA
KENYA
Lake
Victoria
NAIROBI
Mombasa
TANZANIA
SOMALIA
INDIAN
OCEAN
Total Population: 40 million
Life Expectancy: 55
People Living With HIV: 1.5 million
Orphaned Children: 2.6 million
Under-5 Mortality Rate: 1 in 12 live births
Children Under 5 Who Are Underweight: 20%
Primary School Enrollment: 74%
Secondary School Enrollment: 49%
Statistics taken from unicef.org/sowc2011.
20 NCM MAGAZINE
The Okinyos’ method of community transformation in
the name of Christ comes through in Bondo Nduswe
as much as it did in Kibera.
“We don’t go very fast, but slowly,” Rev. Okinyo said.
“Little by little.”
Through this “little by little,” God has built something
beautiful that looks a lot like the kingdom of God—both
in Kibera and in Bondo Nduswe—through Rev. Peter
and Grace Okinyo’s faithfulness. n
Though most are still without desks, children at the
Nazarene school in Bondo Nduswe now have a classroom
in which to learn. Photo courtesy of Japheth Okinyo
A Shared Dream
A Kenyan Community and MNU Students Partner to Build a School
I
by
Jeb Flynn
n the bristling afternoon heat, storm clouds rolled in
across the horizon. We had been working tirelessly
with our brothers and sisters to build a church and
school in Bondo Nduswe, a small village in western
Kenya’s Siaya district. The roof was now on. Bwana
asifiwe (praise the Lord) because it looked like rain. In
just three weeks, 16 of us from the United States had
worked alongside 20 community members to construct the first building for Bondo Nduswe Nazarene
Children’s Center—a project years in the making.
In the summer of 2009, I traveled to Bondo Nduswe
on a Youth in Mission team (a Nazarene short-term
missions program for university students). We were
assigned to facilitate youth and children-worker training for community members at a small church while
also conducting a vacation Bible school for the community’s children. When 50 kids showed up, we understood why this work was so essential. We later learned
that most of these children had been orphaned, and
our hearts broke for them.
Rev. Peter and Grace Okinyo were our hosts in Bondo.
Before moving there, they had ministered for over
20 years in Kibera—one of Africa’s largest and most
impoverished informal settlements—located in Nairobi. In Kibera, the Okinyos pioneered a primary school
that continues to serve over 400 students (see “Little
by Little,” page 18). When they moved, they saw that
children in Bondo Nduswe had the same basic needs
as those in Kibera—love, family, food, shelter, and education. They wanted to provide education for these
little ones to help reduce the number of people moving to Nairobi in search of employment and a better
life only to find themselves in greater poverty in places
like Kibera.
The Okinyos shared with our team their heart for the
community’s children. We dreamed together about
their idea for constructing a building to serve as a
school and also a place of worship for the local congregation. We talked about how people in the local
church would be the backbone, and Mrs. Okinyo with
her years of experience would run the school. This
team would work with the Africa East field leadership
to make sure the project fit within the mission of the
global church. The school would be called Bondo
Nduswe Nazarene Children’s Center.
Local volunteers and MidAmerica Nazarene University students labored together to build the school’s
first classroom in May 2011. PhotoS courtesy of Jeb Flynn
Student Support for the School
When I returned to MidAmerica Nazarene University
(MNU) in Olathe, Kansas, USA, I worked with university
leadership to organize fundraising efforts for the school
in Bondo. We started “Two Dollar Tuesdays” where we
asked each student to give two dollars every Tuesday
in chapel toward the project in Kenya.
Meanwhile, Rev. and Mrs. Okinyo were not waiting for
money to minister to children. They borrowed a building
from another church and found four volunteer teachers
to educate the 120 students who were coming to the
school at that time. By April, MNU students had raised
US $29,000 and also received a donation of US $6,000
from nearby College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe,
for a total of US $35,000.
In May 2011, a team of MNU students traveled to
Bondo Nduswe to work side by side with community
members in building the Bondo Nduswe Nazarene
Children’s Center. Once the roof was on after some
hard work, we celebrated the accomplishment and the
joy of our time spent together. Then, two by two, brothers and sisters from Kenya and students from MNU
walked the school’s property line, stooped in the red
dirt, and planted trees. These trees symbolize our hope
in the Creator of the universe who is working to renew
and restore in Bondo Nduswe. n
Then, two by
two, brothers
and sisters
from Kenya and
students from
MNU walked the
school’s property
line, stooped in
the red dirt, and
planted trees.
Check out a video on the story of the Okinyos, their
work in Kibera and Bondo Nduswe, and their partnership with MNU at ncm.org/nduswe.
SPRING 2012 21
age them to keep their babies and to foster longterm, supportive relationships with the parents. The
initial plan was to meet with moms and dads weekly
to talk about godly parenting and to provide material
resources such as diapers.
“God had much more in mind,” said Jo Ann Baker,
the GSM center director.
During the first year of focused outreach, approximately 50 young mothers came to GSM. Of those,
four said they were considering abortion.
“They chose life instead!” Baker said. “We now see
those moms and their beautiful babies running around
the center each Wednesday.”
Brittany is one of the young mothers who visit the
compassionate ministry center. She first came following a stay in a homeless shelter. At the time, Brittany
had a 2-year-old and was ready to deliver her second
child. She was extremely withdrawn, rarely smiled,
and didn’t make eye contact.
by
Terry Wasser,
Good Samaritan
Ministries
Good Samaritan Ministries recently provided 25 bikes to children who participate
in their afterschool tutoring program. Photos courtesy of Terry Wasser
How a Small Congregation
Is Turning Neighbors
Into Friends
“But a Samaritan
while travelling
came near him;
and when he
saw him, he was
moved with pity.
He went to him
and bandaged
his wounds.”
Luke 10:33-34
22 NCM MAGAZINE
H
ow can a small congregation of 125 people show
the love of Christ in a tangible way to people in
their community? That was the heart of a discussion in a board meeting at Collinsville, Illinois, First
Church of the Nazarene one night in 1998. We looked
to God to lead us, and as the idea grew into reality,
we named the effort Good Samaritan Ministries of the
Metro East. Our goal was to emulate the good Samaritan who met his brother’s needs. What has happened
since then has been truly amazing.
Growing Together in Washington Park
God led Good Samaritan Ministries (GSM) to establish
a presence in Washington Park, Illinois, USA. Through
God’s genius and imagination, God led our church to
begin to walk together with people from completely different backgrounds. Washington Park has a high violent
crime rate, and community members don’t often trust
people coming into their community from the outside
like tourists trying to fix their problems. We slowly earned
the trust of residents there by being real and showing
them we were not in search of a good feeling, but we
were there to stay and longed to share life with them.
GSM started with simple, practical ideas: assisting senior
adults with cleaning and other tasks, providing lowincome families with limited financial assistance, and
offering box fans during the hot summer months to those
in homes without air conditioning. We wanted to come
alongside people similar to the way modeled by Jesus,
who met the needs of the 5,000 first by feeding them.
The ministry purchased a small house in 2003 and
turned it into a compassionate ministry center. After outgrowing that space, GSM built a larger 6,000-squarefoot (557-square-meter) center on the same street.
Reaching Out to Young Mothers
In 2007, GSM began intentionally reaching out to
young mothers and fathers with a special emphasis on
those contemplating abortion. The goal was to encour-
“She appeared to be barely surviving,” Baker said.
Start (a preschool program for children of low-income
families), and she is taking good care of her younger
children.
Through this
Brittany is becoming the woman God has intended
her to be. God has always been in the transformation
business, and God’s work in Brittany’s life is obvious
as she grows in faith.
is changing the
GSM, originally just a subcommittee of our church,
has flourished beyond what anyone could have imagined more than a decade ago. Little is much when
God is in it. Through this ministry, God is changing
the lives of people like Brittany, but beyond that, God
is transforming the lives of those who serve through
GSM and the Church of the Nazarene in Collinsville.
In fact, the congregation changed its name several
years ago. It is now Good Samaritan Church of the
Nazarene.
beyond that, God is
The way we see it, everyone can be a Good Samaritan.
Collinsville.
ministry, God
lives of people
like Brittany, but
transforming the
lives of those who
serve through GSM
and the Church of
the Nazarene in
Learn more about Good Samaritan Ministries at
gsmmetro.org.
As Baker started to befriend her, though, Brittany
began to open up. After six months, she expressed
interest in pursuing a G.E.D. (general education
diploma). Baker took Brittany to a school specializing
in G.E.D. tutoring, but they determined she wasn’t
ready for that. At 19 years old, Brittany tested at a
first-grade reading level.
Brittany began to share some of the difficulties of
her life with Baker. As a 10-year-old, she was often
left alone to care for her younger sister, and they frequently moved from house to house. As a result, Brittany missed school frequently. She dropped out at 16
when she found out she was pregnant.
God has been faithful to provide for Brittany, though.
A GSM volunteer with experience in adult literacy has
been tutoring Brittany for the past year. GSM also
started an after-school tutoring program to keep other
children from falling through the educational cracks.
A Life Transformed
Now Brittany is a lively and likeable 20-year-old with
an easy laugh. She is the mother of three and is working on developing a healthy, lasting relationship with
her children’s father. Brittany and her kids live in a fourbedroom apartment, a place she can call home for
the first time. Her oldest daughter is enrolled in Head
Good Samaritan Ministries hosted a vacation Bible school in Washington Park,
a first for many of the children there.
United States
CANADA
UNITED
STATES
Los Angeles
PACIFIC
OCEAN
MEXICO
New York
WASHINGTON, D.C.
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Total Population: 315 million
Life Expectancy: 79
Orphaned Children: 2.1 million
Under-5 Mortality Rate: 1 in 125 live births
Children Under 5 Who Are Underweight: 2%
Primary School Enrollment: 92%
Secondary School Enrollment: 88%
Statistics taken from unicef.org/sowc2011.
SPRING 2012 23
BEATING
ODDS
THE
IN
BEIRUT
How a Young Woman
Is Finding Healing
Through the Support
of Her Church
M
argueritta, a 21-year-old English major at the University of Lebanon, is beating the odds that were
against her from childhood. Together with her
mother and two brothers, she lives in the same tiny onebedroom apartment she has lived in since childhood. The
apartment is near the simple store where her father sold
soda pop and other food goods to the neighborhood.
Margueritta was nine years old when her father,
Edward, found faith in Christ and started taking his
family to the local Nazarene church. Edward’s new love
for God moved him to write Christian songs, and he
taught them to Margueritta. She loved those songs,
and with her father watching, Margueritta often sang
them boldly and beautifully on Sunday mornings in
front of the entire congregation.
Just a few weeks before Margueritta’s 13th birthday,
Edward asked her to stop by the shop to see him on her
way to school. She was in a hurry that day, though, so
Margueritta decided to drop in after school. Unfortunately,
she never got that chance. That afternoon, Edward collapsed into a coma, and he was gone three days later.
“The idea of losing my father killed me,” Margueritta
said. “It left me broken and depressed.” This tragic event had a dramatic impact on Margueritta’s family, too. Her mother was unsuccessful at making the family store profitable, and she moved her two
sons to an orphanage where they slept, studied, and
received food and care.
But life for Margueritta and her family has changed over
the past eight years. Her brothers, who will graduate
from high school this year, are back living with their
mother and are faithful participants in the church’s
youth group. The church has helped Margueritta’s
mother start a few income-generating projects, and
today, she supports herself by making clothing alterations from her home.
“The church played a big role in my healing,” Margueritta said. “The Lord gave me the Nazarene family to
be beside me. No one helped me like the church did—
emotionally, financially, and spiritually.”
Margueritta aspires to start a master’s degree program
in either education or counseling and would like to one
day earn a doctoral degree. Last summer, she took
part in an NCM seminar in Lay Counseling Training
held in Beirut, which will help her serve people no matter which path she follows.
24 NCM MAGAZINE
After years of family and economic struggles, Margueritta
(RIGHT) is now earning an English degree at university.
Photos courtesy of Philip Rodebush
N
azarene Compassionate Ministries has supported Margueritta in her college education through a scholarship from
the Leadership Education and Advancement Program (LEAP).
Through LEAP, the church seeks to support education beyond
primary and secondary child sponsorship. The goal is to develop
church and community leaders—people who will impact their
communities, just like Margueritta seeks to do. Margueritta has
worked throughout her studies, but the LEAP scholarship has
helped cover what her income could not.
Margueritta and other volunteers play games
with children from the Nazarene school and
church in Beirut, Lebanon. Many children at the
school are sponsored through NCM.
Margueritta’s transformation is apparent to the many
who have invested in her life. And there is more transformation to come in her future.
“I know that God is almighty and nothing is impossible
for him,” she says. “He opens doors that no one can
close, and closes doors that no one can open.” n
My Testimony of Grace
With Tears
by
Rod Green,
NCM Middle East
LEAP: Leadership Education
and Advancement Program
This year, Margueritta is finishing her Bachelor of Arts
degree in English with a minor in French. She applied
to this program three years ago, along with 100 other
students. Only 13 students were accepted, and Margueritta ranked third among them all.
Washed
“With my brothers away and my father dead, my
mother was totally broken and miserable. She cried all
the time,” Margueritta said. “I couldn’t bear seeing her
this way, and I was helpless to do anything about it.”
by
Margueritta
Mdawar,
Lebanon
The local Nazarene congregation in
Beirut ministers to the community
especially through outreach to children.
W
hen my father died unexpectedly, I asked the Lord,
“Why did you let this happen to me, your daughter?” I was very hurt, and I made a conscious decision to
stop talking to Jesus and start living the way I wanted. I
was neither the salt nor the light of Jesus on this earth. I
started living a double life—wearing one mask at church
and a different one at school. I thought I was punishing
Jesus, but in fact, I was punishing myself. Blinded by anger and sorrow, I was not able to see the
blessings the Lord had given me. He was beside me all
the time, giving me success in my studies and favor with
my teachers.
I had a thirst that couldn’t be quenched. One night, I lifted
Learn m
about L ore
ncm.or EAP at
g/leap.
my eyes to the heavens and shouted with all the power
I had left, “Lord, I am too tired for this. I am too weak. I
cannot carry on. I need your help!” That night, I surrendered. I understood that my deepest need is Jesus. I realized that people will leave us, eventually, but not God. God
has been, is, and will always be faithful. God gives peace
and love and quenches the thirst of a dehydrated soul.
As I prayed and cried, God used my tears to cleanse me
from my bitterness. The Lord listened to me. God promised that he will always be with me. God told me that he
will be my father. And I believed God.
I am so glad the Lord chose me to glorify his name
through the gifts he gave me. Glory to God’s name.
SPRING 2012 25
growing in
Grace
A Thai Story of Child Sponsorship
Children at Maetang Tribal Children’s Home come from
surrounding rural areas to live close to town so they can
go to school.
Students at the children’s home develop lasting friendships.
PhotoS courtesy of NCM Asia-Pacific
by
Nasae Jasai
M
y name is Nasae, and I grew up in the Pai
area of the Mae Hon Song province in Thailand, where my parents were pastors. When I
was 14 years old, my parents sent me to start fourth
grade at the Pabong Huay Hang School and live at the
Maetang Tribal Children’s Home. In Pai, I would not
have had the opportunity to get a good education, but
in Maetang, there are many good schools. Because
my parents could not afford to pay for all of my education, room, and board, a sponsor paid for me to stay
at Maetang Tribal Children’s Home while my parents
helped pay for my school.
I still remember my first teacher’s name: Mrs. Soontawn. At first, I didn’t have any friends, and I felt homesick, crying for my mom and dad. But after a few
weeks, I began to make some friends. In fact, three
other girls who lived at the children’s home with me
became my closest friends. We had so much in com-
26 NCM MAGAZINE
mon and even lived in the same room. We shared
everything with each other. If one of us had a special
treat, we would all crowd on that person’s bed at night
to eat it together, and we would always pray together
before we went to sleep.
When I was 16 and in grade six, I started serving God
as part of an evangelistic team at the children’s home.
Every Friday evening, we would practice songs and
dances, and on Saturdays, we would perform them at
the village churches in the surrounding mountain areas.
Sometimes teams from Korea would train and lead us
in these outreach efforts. We were blessed to learn so
much during those days, and many of our brothers and
sisters in the villages made decisions to receive Christ
as their Savior and were baptized. By the time I was 19 years old, I was in my final year
of high school. I had also met a young man, Michai
Jabo, who was one of the evangelistic team leaders,
and we decided to get married. For the next two years,
we continued to serve God together on the evangelistic team while working as supervisors of children at the
children’s home.
After those two years of service, Southeast Asia Nazarene Bible College opened extension classes at the
children’s home. We served in this new Bible college
for seven years. First, we were responsible to supervise
and care for the Bible students. During this time, I also
took classes and finished my degree in four years, after
which I started teaching classes about Christian living
for the younger students at the children’s home. Michai
studied at the Bible college, too, and he also taught
some of the Bible classes. For three years, he pastored
a church, and I taught the women there.
Now we live in Chiang Rai, a rural town that does not
have many churches yet. We have joined a small house
church started by Ajaarn (a respectful term meaning
“leader”) Phil and Ruthie Webb (Southeast Asia Nazarene Compassionate Ministries coordinators). We don’t
have a church building, but each time we gather with
the congregation’s 10 to 15 people, we enjoy worshipping God so much. There is such warmth, and we
receive many blessings as we gather together.
Michai now works most weekdays with Ajaarn Phil
making bamboo bikes as part of a small business
designed to create employment and opportunity for
Thailand’s hilltribe families. But he also dedicates several days per month to leading the church in other villages in northern Thailand (Hat Yao, Lawbuhr, Maw Phi,
and others). He also coordinates extension classes in
Chiang Rai for Southeast Asia Nazarene Bible College
as there is a need for trained pastors for the congregations the church is planting there.
We now have four children—all girls—whom I care
for. Three of our daughters are in school, and one is
at home with me. We are so thankful for God’s daily
care and provision. Sometimes, we have financial
need in our family, but God has never abandoned us.
At times, God even provides for us through our neighbors. Our problems don’t weaken us but, instead,
make us strong in God. From the time we were
children—studying and growing in relationship with
God—to now, we have been committed to always
serving God faithfully. n
If you would like to learn more about the bamboo
bike project, visit bamboobikemaker.com.
Maetang Tribal Children’s Home
M
aetang Tribal Children’s Home is open to children of rural, mountainous villages in northern Thailand who live too far from schools to get
an education. Many people in this region have migrated into northern Thailand from China, Laos, Burma, and Tibet. They live in severe poverty, and
child trafficking has become a huge problem. The NCM Child Sponsorship
program and local resources subsidize the children’s home so that parents
can afford to have their children educated and cared for there.
Mission: Sharing the saving love of God with the tribal children in Thailand
VIsion:
That all children will know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and
become agents of transformation in their communities
Goals: To help children discover their leadership potential and use it for
Christ and to equip children with good education, skills, and other competencies so that they can support themselves and help their families
Nasae Jasai is proud of her daughters. PhotoS courtesy of Phil Webb
Nasae Jasai and her family have connected with Phil and
Ruthie Webb’s children through their small house church.
Michai, Nasae’s husband, builds
bikes from bamboo as a part of a
socially responsible business.
It is God’s plan
that we introduce
children to the life
of salvation and
growth in grace.
... We recognize
that children
are not a means
to an end, but
full participants
in the Body of
Christ. Children
are disciples
in training,
not disciples
in waiting.
Church of the
Nazarene, Manual
SPRING 2012 27
t
u
o
Y iNI h
C
T
N
O
A
Birds of Hope Take Flight
“I
want to do something. I want to help,” 12-yearold Emily prayed to God as she stood among
her peers in a youth camp worship service in
the summer of 2010. The crowd of young people
had just watched a video about people in Ndola,
Zambia, who did not have access to clean water
and whose economy had shut down when the copper industry there collapsed. That night, Emily didn’t
have anything to give in the offering designated for
Ndola, but she still resolved to do something to help.
When Emily arrived home after camp, she started
talking with her best friend, Allyson, about what
they could do to raise money to help the people of
Ndola.
How Young People Are Living
Compassion as a Lifestyle
Want to learn to live out Christ’s compassion?
Take a lesson from someone who is young.
Youth often see injustice and suffering with
“We started thinking of ways to bring them hope,”
Emily said.
Many children and families in Ndol
a, Zambia,
now have access to clean water
beca
Birds of Hope’s fundraising effort use of
s.
new eyes and tender hearts—ones that break
with the same things that break God’s heart.
And they have passion. It makes sense, then,
that Jesus reminds us that to enter the kingdom we must become like young people—
bad in the world and the heart and humility
to change it. Check out these two stories of
youth living compassion as a lifestyle.
The Church of the Nazarene envisions an intergenerational
faith community where children and youth are loved and
valued, where they are ministered to and incorporated into
the Church family through a wide variety of means and
methods, and where they have opportunities to minister to
others in ways consistent with their ages, development, abilities, and spiritual gifts. Church of the Nazarene, Manual
28 NCM MAGAZINE
Emily had taken a sewing class at a local fabric
store and had some leftover fabric, so they decided
to put together Emily’s sewing skills with the material they had available and create bird ornaments.
They would sell them for US $5 and give the proceeds to Active:Water, an organization helping to
bring clean water to Ndola.
“We told our moms,” Emily said. “They were
excited but weren’t sure we were going to follow
through with it. They told us to talk to Brooklyn.”
to have the eyes to see both the good and
by
Kelly Becker Tirrill,
NCM Education
Their idea? Birds. Yes, birds.
Biosand filters remove
harmful micro-organism
from drinking water.
s
Brooklyn Lindsey, Emily’s and Allyson’s youth pastor at Highland Park Church of the Nazarene in
Lakeland, Florida, USA, took these young women
seriously, encouraged them, and provided guidance to their endeavor. She suggested that they
start by selling the birds at church. Their first goal
was to raise US $500.
“We surpassed that goal our first Sunday,” Emily
said.
But their effort didn’t end there. They continued to
make and sell birds wherever they could—at church,
holiday bazaars, a local store, and even the USA/
Canada regional Nazarene Youth Conference.
What started as a grassroots project of two openhearted young people has turned into Birds of
Hope, a nonprofit organization that fundraises
for and educates about the need for global clean
water. Still guided by Emily, Birds of Hope’s part-
Allyson (left) and Emily (right) started sewing and selling
bird ornaments in 2010 to raise money for clean water.
PhotoS courtesy of Birds of Hope
nerships have grown as more people in the church
and in the community have supported the efforts,
from free Birds of Hope t-shirts to donated fabric—
what Emily calls their version of loaves and fishes.
Countless church and community members have
supported Birds of Hope—and children and adults
in Ndola—through hosting Birds of Hope at events
and buying the birds. At each turn, Emily and Birds
of Hope have had to adjust their fundraising goals,
from US $500 to $1000 to $5000 and on. At this
point, Birds of Hope has raised around $30,000.
“God [has been] definitely working through all of
it,” Emily said. “We knew that God wanted us to do
something like this, and we just left it in his hands.”
In the beginning of 2012, Birds of Hope also started
raising money for Nazarene Compassionate Ministries clean water projects. Emily says she has
experienced so much support from her Nazarene
family that she wants to give back.
Emily’s work with Birds of Hope requires dedication
that not every youth, or adult for that matter, has. She
works weekdays and weekends to sew the birds,
along with Allyson, her mother, and other volunteers.
And when Emily gets tired or overwhelmed, her
mom reminds her to watch that first video she
saw about Ndola. In the video, she
sees the pictures of the kids God
called her to help. She is inspired as
she watches one little girl in particular who loves to dance.
about
Learn more pe at
Birds of Ho .org.
birdsofhope
“It helps me remember that she is the
reason I do this, “ Emily said. “So that she can have
the opportunity to dance.” n
SPRING 2012 29
Share
Water for Christmas
B
Christ’s Love
efore Christmas in 2010, 9-year-old Hailey found
that she wasn’t very interested in Christmas presents—at least not the typical kind. She had seen
NCM Canada’s yearly gift catalog where people can
buy things such as a goat, a pig, some seeds, or a
well to give to someone in need, and she decided that
helping people was what she wanted most for Christmas. Though there were items in the catalog that cost
around US $25, Hailey went for something much more
expensive—a well in Bangladesh.
Child.
Mend
a
Broken
With a
World.
Hailey says her goal was “to save people’s lives and to
help them know God.”
Hailey lives with a serious illness herself, so she is
well acquainted with suffering. But she has a generous spirit, and that spirit is changing the lives of family,
friends, and strangers both in her own community and
around the world.
Hailey, with the help of her mother, wrote a letter to
her family and friends and told them she was raising
money for a well during Christmas. She asked that her
family not buy her presents but, instead, contribute
toward the well. Family, church members, other students, and friends responded, and Hailey raised around
US $2,000—enough to drill one deep and two shallow
tube wells in Bangladesh.
One of these wells is in the village of Joshadi, Bangladesh, and has given women like Ramoni and Pushni
the chance to draw fresh, clean water close to home.
Before the well, after a hard day of work as day laborers in the rice fields, they would walk two to three kilometers (about one to two miles) to get water from a
pond—water that could still make them and their families sick.
But Nazarene Compassionate Ministries in Bangladesh
chose the local church in Joshadi as the place they
would use Hailey’s gift. Now, with the well at the pastor’s house, around 300 families have water to cook
with and to drink—and it does not make them sick. In
this sense, Hailey got her wish: People’s lives are being
saved and they are seeing the love of God.
300 million children will go to bed hungry tonight and every night.
400 million children don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water.
raise money
Nine-year-old Hailey committed to
ide clean water
through friends and family to prov
NCM Canada
in Bangladesh. Photos courtesy of
30 NCM MAGAZINE
And 1 child dies every 4 seconds from preventable causes.
THIS IS BROKENNESS.
Help us mend it.
Thanks to a new well in their comm
unity,
Ramoni and Pushni can now draw
fresh, clean
water close to home.
How You Can Help:
SPONSOR a child. Visit ncm.org/cs to learn more.
VOLUNTEER at a church, compassionate ministry center, or organization that cares for children.
PRAY
for children worldwide. Visit ncm.org/
wwp to learn more about the World Weekend of
Prayer for Children at Risk (June 2-3, 2012).
through
Hailey helped to fund this well
NCM Canada.
SUPPORT NCM programs that empower healthy
children and families. Visit ncm.org/projects.
ADVOCATE for children. Use your voice to stand
up for the most vulnerable in your community
and around the world.
“Each year, I am going to try my hardest to raise money
for different projects around the world,” Hailey said.
With her tender heart, Hailey is an example of what it
means to live compassion from a young age—compassion as a lifestyle. n
13 percent of school-age children around the world have never gone to school.
Wells like this one in
Jos
rate of waterborne illn hadi help to reduce the
ess in the community.
MENTOR youth. Get involved in the lives of children and youth around you, and let them know
that they are precious in God’s eyes.
Nazarene Compassionate Ministries
Church of the Nazarene
17001 Prairie Star Pkwy
Lenexa, KS 66220
(800) 310-6362
Nonprofit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
General Board
of the Church of
the Nazarene
Live generously. Give wisely.
Want to build a legacy of generosity
with your family? The Church of the
Nazarene Foundation can help you
design a God-honoring estate plan. A
charitable gift annuity can benefit you,
your children, and families around the
world through the work of Nazarene
Compassionate Ministries. An endowment, donor-advised fund, or trust may
also be the perfect way to share your
resources with those in need both for
today and tomorrow.
Sample of Charitable
gift annuity rates
for a single life*
Age
55
% Rate of
annual income
4.4%
60
65
70
75
4.8%
5.3%
5.8%
6.5%
80
85
7.5%
8.4%
90+
9.8%
*These are sample rates that are subject to change.
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