New KG class

Our schools are choosing which sweet kiddos will be the new kg1 class students.   

Jenna is going to share what that looks like at Crossroads Academy, Vipingo...

"Hi Everyone!

This is Jenna, Fox River's missionary to Kenya, and I wanted to give you just a brief update of how you could be praying for us.

The third term at Crossroads Academy brings a lot of ends as well as beginnings. Our oldest students in the 8th grade prepare for the BIG TEST that determines their high school and also wraps up there final year as a Crossroad student. This is very bitter sweet for us.

3rd term also brings in new beginning in the form of a fresh KG1 (first level of Kindergarten) to our school.

Waiting for interviews. 

We informally refer to it as “the picking day”.

We put so much energy and intention into making sure that out of the 100ish families that show up with their school age child is reduced to a final 35 who are in MOST need.

It takes us the better part of the day. Their information is taken and interviews of each family are conducted by myself and a few other members of ‘the team’.

I wish I could tell you the effect that nutrition, education, and attention has on a child who’s resources are slim to none.  Families come through our church doors seeking a slot for their child who will get a consistent meal(s) throughout the day and an amazing free education – the process of reducing the crowd to a singular class size is not lost on me.

I look at our KG1 classroom right now as our school year wraps up and I hear them singing new songs and saying words in English.  I see them helping out there classmates and sitting in their small chairs listening to their teacher.  I’ve even watched a few of them accept Christ!  And I remember (somewhat fondly) the FIRST day they came to our school.  It was their first time away from their mothers and we had to make them porridge to sip out of plastic cups so that they would stop crying! Teaching didn’t begin for at least two weeks as they learned how to be in a classroom and to listen to a teacher.

That will all start again soon. A whole new classroom will be picked and a whole new beginning is greatly looked forward to by us all.

An education for these children in the Villages of Vipingo, Burani and Rea literally changes families lives.

We take each step seeking the wisdom of God and trusting that He will help us to pick well!

Amazing transformations are taking place out here – and we are excited to add to the family!"

 

We appreciate Jenna, our teachers, and administrators so very much.  For the hard work and dedication they give for these students!   

Will you pray with us as Friday approaches?

• For the staff - That they would receive wisdom and peace as they make these decisions; for God to guide their hearts and minds...
• For the kids-  That each child that comes recognizes how loved and wanted they are by our God!  That they come to school eager to learn. 
• As much as we wish we could, we just don't have a spot for every child.  It is heartbreaking.  Will your pray for those children and their families?  Ask God to make himself known to them.

Update on Dawn

Dawn has been in Nicaragua for a month now and as to be expected, she has been busy.  We enjoy being able to watch and hear about how she learns about the different sides of missions.  

Hear from Dawn herself... ​

 "These last few weeks have been a whirlwind, especially the last 10 days with having my first missions team here from Iowa. This experience has been nothing short of amazing, but man is it exhausting. To be on the other sides of missions and to see, feel, and live the prepping and executing that goes into this all is almost unexplainable. But I will try my best to bring my thoughts and pictures to life for all of you."

​You can read the rest of this post as well as her other posts here...​ https://worththewaitbydk.wordpress.com/2016/09/17/first-missions-team-completed/

Will you continue to pray for her with us?  ​Here are some certain areas... 

​• To continue to work on learning more and adapting to hearing & speaking Spanish

• For a medical missions team that comes next week and being a translator in that setting

• And most importantly for the teens in Pochocuape to really allow Christ into their hearts and understand the gift of salvation that is offered to them.  

Kerri is home!

Kerri is Home!  Some will say that this is may not be 'home' to her anymore because so much of her heart is in Nicaragua. "Home is where the heart is!" is a quote that we all know and have heard many times.  Does her heart yearn to be there? Yes, because when she is there she can call it home, she is 'Home'! God has given her people there to live life with and to work alongside in the ministry he has placed in her heart!  To be a missionary you have to have people who send you, people that help fuel (through prayer, encouragement, support, love...) the heartbeat you have for the mission God has called you to!  There are many here at 'home' that do this for her, that give her the love and support she needs.  The people are what make it 'Home', Kerri knows that she will always have people here, her people!  So, yes she is 'home' and yes she misses 'home'.  We count it as a privileged to be a part of her 'Home' and to watch as she pursues what Christ has placed one her heart! 

With that, will you pray for her with us? To have a heart in multiple places as it strives to do as God asks is an emotional task. 

She has been home for a little over 3 weeks, she has shared some stories and lots of excitement about what God is doing in Nicaragua!   

She was able to see so much of the ministry that Fox River has partnered with there.  Many new places and of course those that were already firmly planted in her heart!  

Her latest blog post is all about how she was able to share Christ's love to certain group of kiddos throughout her summer! 

 "There is no thing in this earth that is greater than love.  Love that sits with kids in the dirt, love that lets them braid your hair (even though you hate it when people touch your hair), love that shows up, love that makes sounds and motions to try and communicate, love that holds on tight and never lets go, love that gave it all.  This love is what they need.  They need the love of Jesus.  I am so blessed to have been able to be part of giving that love to them. "    

Check out the rest of this post and her other one from this summer...  http://persiguiendo13.blogspot.com/2016/09/i-want-to-share-with-you-about-some-of.html?spref=fb&m=1

While you are there drop her a a note of encouragement!  

Bobby & Lisa Bechtel

Meet the Bechtels, one of our missionary partners in Kenya, Africa. Bobby & Lisa have 3 precious boys. Ethan is the oldest. He is in the middle of the picture below. Conner is on the left and their youngest, Dylan, is on the right.

Conner, Bobby, Ethan, Lisa and Dylan Bechtel

Fox River's partnership with the Bechtels began in 2006 when Guy & I visited Kenya for the very first time. In 2007, Bobby started the church in Bomani with national Pastors Allan and Abraham.

Bobby at our first graduation's cake cutting ceremony in January 2016.

Bobby baptizing during a church service.

New Life Academy in Bomani, Kenya.

Later that year our school was opened. It now has over 400 students and 40 staff members. We have a farm project in Bomani with goats and chickens that supports the nutrition center. Free, clean water is available to the community and an adult literacy class is offered.

The Bechtels also have 2 other schools on the north coast of Kenya. Their ministry serves over 1000 children! There are other ministries scattered around the country as well as they have helped start churches and have a large farm project developing to sustain the nutrition centers at their schools.

Bobby speaking to a group of students from the high school.

Lisa does a great job administrating many details for their missions work, but her love is for the people of Kenya!

In the fall of 2013, their youngest son, Dylan, had to have surgery to repair a birth defect in his heart. The surgery was unsuccessful and Dylan had a series of serious strokes in the days after surgery. As Bobby & Lisa walked Dylan through that recovery they learned that they would not be able to return to live in Kenya. Dylan's health situation required him to be in the states near the doctors caring for him. In 2014, they once again tried the surgery and it was successful. Dylan has made a remarkable recovery! Since that time, Bechtels have lived in the United States. They travel the country spreading the word about what God is doing in Kenya and go to Kenya several times a year. They have great national pastors to carry on the ministries in their absence. 

The boys love Kenya and were able to visit with their parents for the first time in June of 2015. These pictures were from that trip.

Please join us in praying for the Bechtels.

Our People

You hear us talk about 'our' people in Kenya and Nicaragua often.  We are so grateful for them.  

But, today is about different people!  The people we have here.  Those of you who sit and refresh over and over waiting for an update while our teams are in action, those of you who spend countless hours praying for our teams, our ministries, our people... Those of you who give, support, and send Fox River teams!  

We want you to know we appreciate you!  Your giving makes a difference in thousands of lives.  Your prayers hold our teams to and from these places! Your support is priceless and NEVER unnoticed!  

From our teams: THANK YOU!  Thank you for sending us, following along on the journeys, for covering us in prayer, and for asking us about our experiences after we have returned! 

From our ministries (clinic and schools): Gracias! Asante! THANK YOU!  For giving to these life changing ministries in Kenya and Nicaragua. Thank you for sending teams to serve, for praying for us, and for the continued support! 

Our people!  You! Thank you for following along as we seek to make Jesus famous across the world by sharing His love!  YOU ARE OUR PEOPLE and we know how valuable you are, we hope you do too! 

'Fox River Missions' would just be three words if it weren't for YOU!   Thanks for joining us in our mission to share Jesus' love! 

Dawn - Short Term Mission to Nicaragua

In June of 2015, Dawn Kumlien took her first trip to Nicaragua with a Fox River mission team. While she was there, God changed her life. Here is how Dawn recounts what God planted in her:

"That trip has drastically changed my life and the way I view things. That trip was full of love I have never felt before, challenges I thought I would never have to face, strengthening of my relationship with Christ I had hoped for and a longing in my heart I never knew existed. I remember specifically writing in my journal outside on the porch of the house we were staying at. I had this overwhelming sense of God being right there with me and an awakening in my soul. I knew right then and there that I was being called to Nicaragua."

Dawn will be leaving on September 1 to spend five months as a short term missionary in Nicaragua. She will be working alongside our partner, Donna Woodson. 

In order to take this amazing journey, Dawn has been raising support. If you would be interested in helping her by giving a financial gift, you can give through Fox River's E-giving. Just click on the link below and be sure to mention Dawn's name in the memo line.

Would you join me in praying for Dawn during these five months?

Follow Dawn on her blog: www.worththewaitbydk.wordpress.com

Donate Here

MANNA Worldwide

In 2001, missionaries Bruce and Pamela O'Neal left their mission work in the Philippines to follow God's leading to begin a new ministry that would partner churches in America with missionaries all over the world through serving impoverished children.

You can learn more about them and their mission at the MANNA Worldwide website.

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MANNA WORLDWIDE IS A CHRISTIAN ORGANIZATION THAT FOCUSES ON CARING FOR IMPOVERISHED CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD. WE ARE STRATEGICALLY FIGHTING THE GLOBAL GIANTS OF DISEASE, POVERTY, ILLITERACY, AND SPIRITUAL EMPTINESS.

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Ten years ago Fox River began to work with MANNA Worldwide to create strategic partnerships with 2 missionary families in Kenya: Jim & Susie Horne and Bobby & Lisa Bechtel. Seven years ago that partnership expanded to Nicaragua with missionaries Brian & Rachel Weed. 

New Life Academy in Bomani is one of our 2 schools in Kenya. In this community we offer clean water and an adult literacy class to the community. We also have a farm that helps support the nutrition center at the school.

This is Crossroads Academy in Vipingo, Kenya. On this same property we have a pastor's Bible institute, a rescue center (orphanage) and a nutrition center that supports all of these ministries. We also offer clean water for the community.

This picture is from the waiting room of the clinic in La Esmeralda, Nicaragua. Since the clinic opened in 2011, the doctor, nurse and pharmacist see 10,000 patient visits in a year. Fox River recently completed the addition of a house for the doctor. We also support the local church by sponsoring a community sports ministry and recently purchased land for a new church plant in Las Nubes.

Join us in praying for our partners at MANNA Worldwide.

Bon Voyage

Group B

Group B is waiting to board their 2nd flight and will land in Chicago around 2:30pm tomorrow!

Group A

Group A has safely made it back to the states and will be back in Waukesha here shortly.

Heres what God has done in Lisa's life this week: 

On my finally day in Kenya, I have an opportunity to reflect back on all that has happened.  I have been blessed to have traveled with a great group that I now can call my friends. We worked together. We played together. We prayed together. I am grateful.

 The work that is going on here is amazing. I have seen so much good.  As much as the children and teachers said that we blessed them, I felt that I was the one blessed. 

I think that one of the coolest things that I was able to experience was visiting the homes of two boys that I had the pleasure of working with. We met their mothers, got to see where the boys did their homework, where they prepared their meals, and how far they had to walk to get water. They were so appreciative for the opportunity to know Jesus and to have an education. For as little as these people have, they are full of joy. It really is beautiful.

So, today I leave a little bit of my heart in Kenya. But I also take a little bit of Krenya with me. God is good.

-Lisa

We love the stories that come from our trips and can't wait to share more!  God is working and we are so blessed to be a part of it!  

See you soon!  

The Bitter Sweet

Today we write with conflicted hearts. We are glad to be going home, but sad to leave our new found family in Christ. It has been a great week, filled with many kinds of ministry, and even a brief safari to think through all God has done during this trip. 

Group A is on their way home.  Please join us in praying for their safe return, and rest on the plane. 

We started the envoy toward Waukesha by sending Group A off with a blessing from Pastor Jim and a soapstone heart in our hands. This is to help remind us that we are leaving a peice of our of hearts here in Kenya and taking a peice of them home with us. 

The soap stone heart

Please continue to pray for the whole team as we are in route or just getting back to America.  Please pray for our transitions back into the American way of life, and for the wisdom and strength to walk out those things that we need to change as God has directed us to do.  

The whole team at the debrief meeting.  

We we are so thankful to you for all your support. Without your prayerful support, this trip would not be as successful as it was. Fox River, it is because of you that these children can have a future and a hope better than anything their families could have ever helped them accomplish. We are changing these children's world for Jesus Christ, and as a result we are and will continue to see great things in Kenya. 

Words from the Gebhards

Our God is an awesome God! We feel truly blessed to be able to make this trip, and praise God that he provided us this opportunity to join the Fox River team and also celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.

This trip has opened our eyes to the fact that a church can help people thousands of miles away through their generosity and prayers. 

We met children who would not have had any opportunities to better themselves without these schools that we and a lot of people reading this blog support. Many of them want to be Doctors, surgeons, nurses, pilots, teachers, etc. and they are scoring high enough at our schools to fulfill their dreams. This usually doesn't happen at the government schools, which we also visited. God is truly performing miracles in our children.

The schools and grounds are very clean and well kept.  The teachers are extremely dedicated and even take the time to be sure the kids have proper hygiene (something they wouldn't receive at home). The children really like the schools and come back after classes to the school to play with friends. 

Home visit in the village of Bomani. 

We also had the privilege of going into the villages to visit the homes of some of our 7th graders. What an experience this was! Most of our students live in houses with walls made of mud and sticks with palm branches as roofs. Their floors are dirt and quite uneven. The majority of them only have two or three rooms. Electricity is rare. It made us appreciate even more what God and Fox River are doing in these schools. At one home that Michelle visited, only the student and an older sister knew Jesus and attended church. The rest of the 10 people in the household still worship pagan gods. Michelle, Ashlyn, Catherine (the student) and teachers prayed inside the house for God to work through Catherine to help the rest of the family come to know Jesus. It is also a testament to God that even though their living conditions are very primitive, a lot of them seemed spirit filled and happy.

We also had the opportunity to meet the child that we sponsor. His name is Moses and he is in 2nd grade at Bomani. We were able to meet his mother and present a goat to his family. We pray that he continues to do well in school and that we have the opportunity to meet him again some day.

Kazumgo: another one of our grade 8 boys who built his own home.  

Allen: one of our grade 8 boy who is building his own home with his brother. 

We are so proud of all of our students and the things that they have and will continue to accomplish. 

Kadejah and one of her friends

Boys class 8

Thank you God and Fox River for what you are doing in Kenya!

Activities with Rick

Rick and crew washing the dishes.