Shalom Christian Missions
Shalom Christian Missions

March 2014 Newsletter

Loved to Life!

Every single child who comes to New Beginnings comes with a story. A sad past that has brought them to this point. I hope to share some of these stories with you the next few months so that you too can understand why we do what we do and how YOU are making a difference through your prayers and finances. May you be blessed.

Elizabeth when she arrived at New Beginnings May 2013.

There is a precious little 6 year old girl who came to the center this past year after the death of her parents and her twin brother. Her name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth is the sole survivor in her family. Her brother and parents perished from AIDS related illnesses. Yes, AIDS is still a big killer in this part of the world and has killed many of the parents to the children at New Beginnings.

Elizabeth was left in the care of her uncle. In a poverty stricken situation, it is not easy being part of the extended family who is placed with someone because there is nowhere else for you to go. Not that her uncle didn't care about Elizabeth, but they have three young children of their own they are trying to support in a poor farming community. Bringing a child with AIDS into the picture is not only a financial burden but also places a mark of disgrace about the family.

Keep in mind that up until 2007, AIDS was not understood in this part of the world. It was known as the 'curse' and it was better to die with this 'secret' than to let others know you are sick and then face death alone. People in the area now know that it is a terrible disease but this does place a financial burden and a stigma on an already poor family. Elizabeth would need special care to see her survive with this illness. Special care was not something this family could easily give her.

She was brought to New Beginnings to have a paperwork filled out and photos taken for her request to be admitted. This is how each child normally begins the process of being admitted. After being approved, a child must wait until a sponsor comes forward to sponsor them. This wait can often take 2 years or longer. Fortunately for Elizabeth, a missionary was on hand when she came and when that missionary came back to the USA, she decided to sponsor a child and remembered little Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was brought to NBCC last May in very poor condition with a skin rash caused by HIV over most of her body. She was so little and thin you would think this 6 year old child was no more than 3.

John M arrived last May shortly after Elizabeth came to live at NBCC. He called and told me, "She is in bad shape. Have people praying for her." Elizabeth would now receive three regular meals a day and would also be given the drugs she needed to help her survive. She would begin regular check-ups at the AIDS clinic in town. She could not attend school because she was too sick and too weak to attend class.

It wasn't long before I arrived in June and with me was Elizabeth's sponsor. For 2 months Elizabeth remained out of school and spent a lot of time in the loving arms of some of our missionaries, mostly her sponsor.

For two months she was 'Loved to Life'!

Most of the time she slept. The team was determined that if Elizabeth did die, she would die knowing she was loved. During those 2 months, I believe Elizabeth was 'loved to life'. Last July, Elizabeth entered school for the first time in her life. She was so excited and proud to wear her new uniform and school shoes that day. Her skin rash was clearing up and she was gaining weight. As I left New Beginnings last August, Elizabeth was looking more like the healthy child she was created to be.

A visit to the clinic in the fall gave her a good report from the doctors. Elizabeth was doing very well, and they told our staff that some rumors that had been spread by a community member were obviously false. He had told people that NBCC was going to kill their children. Elizabeth was now proof to the clinic and the community that we would do just the opposite. We had worked as the hands of God to see Elizabeth come to life. The doctors at the clinic told us that when she was first brought in, they did not really expect Elizabeth to live. Elizabeth was a miracle!!

Elizabeth has a good future ahead of her. It won't be an easy one; it never is for a child diagnosed as HIV+. But with medical care and proper diet, she can live a long life. Her education will help her to achieve many things in her life. In the hands of God, maybe Elizabeth will one day help to find a cure for her dreaded illness.

A happy Elizabeth today!

This is a Miracle from God! A miracle on 'The Hill.'
For Elizabeth and so many other children, this is the difference having a sponsor can mean in their life.

Thank you for giving to the Lord; this was a life that was saved!!

2014 a Year of Giving!

During March we will be collecting shorts, skirts/dresses, and long pants for the children of New Beginnings. Children's sizes 6 thru adult med for both boys and girls. Gently used clothing is accepted.

We still need some underwear, especially in the adult small and medium sizes and socks.
Keep the donations coming, packing for Kenya will begin in April

Sponsors Note:

If you would like the summer team to take a gift from you to your child this summer, now is the time to start planning. We will accept gifts in a gallon-size ziplock bag with your child's name and case number written on the outside. We will also take clothing you might want to give to your child. These items will be given to your child during our Christmas in July Celebration.

Each child will receive a gift and a bundle of clothing. In the bundle of clothing they will receive:

  • 1 pair of long pants
  • 1 pair of short pants and shirt (boys) or skirt & shirt or dress (girls)
  • 1 long sleeve shirt
  • 2 pairs of socks
  • 2 pairs of underwear
  • pj pants
  • and a jacket/sweatshirt.

When packing your gallon size bag, please remember to remove ALL wrappings and discard any unnecessary papers, plastic, etc. Include a note/letter and picture if possible.(The children love to get these and enjoy having your picture.)

ALL gifts and clothing bundles should be at our office by May 1 to enable us to pack and plan. It is a process and takes time to get everything packed and ready to go with the team. Please have your gifts and bundles of clothing to us before May.

Celebrating Christmas in July!

Come Join Us!

March 20-22 we will have a table at Harvest Chapel Community Church Women's Retreat. Be sure to come! Stop by our table to say HELLO!

April 25-27 we have been invited to be part of "Middle Tennessee Women's Retreat". This is a part of Ann Downing Ministries. Ann Downing is a Southern Gospel singer and a Dove Award recipient. She has also been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. It is truly an honor and privilege to be invited to share a little about what God is doing through Shalom Christian Missions with this wonderful ministry. If you are interested in attending, check out their website www.anndowning.com/mtwr or contact me. I know that you will be truly blessed by the experience!

Please continue to pray for more open doors for our ministry. 
God is doing great things and we want to share about the miracles He is doing in a remote part of Africa. May God be glorified!!

Expedition 2014 & 2015

Expedition 2014 teams forming for July. Take a step of faith and join one of our teams. Watch what God will do with your life to make a difference for eternity. Help with VBS or Bible studies with the children.

During the day, spend time working around the children's center compound, visiting widows in the community, traveling to market where you might help with a drama, sharing the Gospel with the community, traveling to a nearby island to share the love of Jesus, or sometimes just hold a child that needs to feel loved.

In the evenings you might help tutor children, worship with the children, watch a movie and serve a snack to the children, hold a Bible study, help give hair cuts, read a bedtime story, or have a campfire. On your free day journey with us on a real safari to see the big game. All this in one of the most beautiful settings on earth:  AFRICA!!

Visit our missions page for dates and more information.

The sooner you are ticketed the better airfare pricing.
Don't delay...apply today!!

SPECIAL PASTORS TRIP: We have planned some special short trips just for pastors and church leaders. Invade remote villages with the Gospel of Christ and share the love of Jesus with orphans and widows. Our next trip is planned for October. Contact our office for information and rates.

Mission News

While the 2014 team plans and prepares in the USA, plans and preparations are being made in Kenya for their arrival at New Beginnings. The mission house is being repaired and finished. Sand and cement have been delivered with plans to get things ready before the team arrives.

Three main rooms will be utilized as a girls' bunk room, boys' bunk room, and a kitchen/dining/sitting room. A new latrine with a shower house is being built to serve the team. The married couples traveling this year will stay in the big house.

The new mission house will later become home to the three missionaries that will remain to serve at New Beginnings for the next year. The long-term missionaries are already talking about plans to build their own chicken coop and vegetable garden.

Repairs being made to the mission house.

Please pray with us as all the plans and details are worked out for these trips. Pray for all the finances and supplies that are needed to fall into place. 

School News

Full secondary classes.

Consider becoming a 'New Beginnings Defender of Education'.

We are praying for more people to become involved in helping with the cost of education for the children. This is an extreme need right now! We need to increase our teachers salaries to above the poverty level. With the incoming president last year, prices of everything have been on the increase within the nation. This is not helping those who live far below the poverty level in the rural area. Plus, we need to purchase more books and other supplies for our students. We cannot do this based on the tuition we are charging since our goal is to continue to keep our schools affordable for the people who live in great poverty within this community. Please join us in praying for people to join us in this effort.

Donor Defender If you choose to donate $20-$50 each month to our education fund, you can provide an increase for 1-2 teachers.

Patron Defender If you give $51-$99 each month to our education fund you provide for 3-4 teachers to receive a raise and more supplies such as books to be purchased for a classroom.

Champion Defender If you can donate $100 or more each month to our education fund, you provide a raise for 5 teachers plus additional supplies. Please consider helping us in this very critical way.

Every person who becomes a 'New Beginnings Defender of Education' will have their name placed on a plaque that will be on display at New Beginnings Christian School. Our current goal is to have $1000 in donations for our education fund each month to supply our teachers with a fair wage above the poverty level in Kenya and to buy the needed classrooms supplies for the school. This is vital for the education of the children in this remote part of the world.

If you are a teacher or just care about seeing children in a very remote, poor area of the world have a chance at a better life, consider becoming involved as a 'Defender of Education'...'for the love of a child'!

Building News

Phase I will focus on those things that need immediate attention to keep things functioning. The first thing is to fence and gate the reclaimed part of the compound to keep it secure. The importance of this cannot be stressed enough and we are praying for funds to come in quickly to see this accomplished.

The second thing we need to do is to get rain gutters on many of our buildings and a few water tanks in place to ensure that we can harvest rain water and to prevent erosion around the buildings.

The third building expense will be to get our missionary house in shape before the teams arrive in the summer and to give our long term missionaries a place to live. This means finishing an additional room that was left unfinished plus building latrines and other various things that need to be done. These are our first three priorities in building.

Phase 1.

Donated Still Needed   Total
$1000 $0 Fencing & Temporary Gate $1,000
 $500 $4,500 Gutters & Water Holding Tanks $5,000 
  $5,000 MIssionary House Renovations  $5,000 
      $11,000 

$9,500 still needed

Men hired from the community work to clear the area behind the unfinished classroom. 
This will help keep water from collapsing the building. We also need a retaining wall, rain gutters, and water harvest tanks.

Child of the Month

Meet Collins!

Collins is 13 years old and lives at New Beginnings. He was brought to New Beginnings as an emergency case by a children's advocacy group in Kenya. Collins was removed from his family several years ago after a concerned member of his community reported extreme abuse. His sister had already run away and Collins had attempted to join her but was rescued. He was placed in an orphanage in one of the large cities, but it recently closed and became a boarding school leaving Collins with no place to call home once again.

New Beginnings opened its arms to Collins. Collins has learned that his father died in an accident a few years ago but does not know what happened to his mother or sister. His prayer is that one day he will find them and they can somehow be reunited. Please pray for Collins as he adjusts to New Beginnings. Pray for him as he learns and grows to become the person God has created him to be. Pray that God would touch the heart of someone to become his sponsor.

Nyasoti News

Another drought has affected Nyasoti and the surrounding community. The rainy season is about to arrive which means another planting season is upon them. Pray that this season will bring a good harvest.

Plans are well under way for a new large water storage tank to be installed on the hill. World Vision is taking charge of building the tank and installing a solar pump to pump the water from the well in the valley to the tank on the hill. The community will then need to bury the pipes that will be supplied so that water will be accessible in different parts of the community. New Beginnings will then need to build its own storage tank and pump, slightly higher than the big one, so that we will have water available to us on the hill.

Pray for things to go smoothly and pray that a honest committee will be put in place to manage and care for the entire system. Without honest people to keep things running smoothly, many projects such as this fail.

Children In Need!

Meet Norestine!

Norestine is 9 years old and lives in Kenya. Her parents live in poverty but have graciously donated land to New Beginnings. Norestine needs help.

By sponsoring Norestine or another child for $38 a month, you will provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care and an education.
100% of all sponsor donations go to help the children.

Meet Rolex!

Rolex is 6 years old and lives in Kenya. His father died shortly after he was born and his mother has struggled since to provide for her family. Rolex needs a sponsor!

By sponsoring Rolex or another child for $38 a month, you will provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care and an education.
100% of all sponsor donations go to help the children

Meet Cynthia!

Cynthia is 11 years old and a total orphan. Her 20 year old brother is her guardian. With an opportunity to go to college, he begged us to take Cynthia so that she would have a safe place to stay. Is God calling you to help Cynthia?

By sponsoring Cynthia or another child for $38 a month, you will provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care and an education.
100% of all sponsor donations go to help the children.

Shalom Christian Missions is a 501(c)3 non- profit,
dedicated to serving children in need throughout the world.
All donations are tax deductible.

Special Thanks to:

A & R Rental Center - York, PA
Bon-Ton Dept Stores - York, PA
Flying Feet - York, PA
Freedom Wireless - York, PA
H & R Block - USA
Imagineered Signs - York, PA
This Little Light of Mine - York, PA
Zapata Renovations - York, PA
Ann Downing Ministries - Hendersonville, TN
Christ American Baptist Church Youth - Spring Grove, PA
C.R.E.W. Youth Ministry - York, PA
Eagle Christian Ministries - York, PA
Elisha's Home and Ministries - Montrose, PA
First Baptist Church - Smithville, TX
First Evangelical Lutheran Church Youth - Chambersburg, PA
First United Church of Christ - Schuykill Haven, PA
Harvest Chapel - Abbottstown, PA
Hope For Women - Tempe, AZ

May God bless you as you 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