Results Are In!

KCPE marks have come in- and our students did great!

For a reminder: 

A score of 250 is passing. The goal we set for our students in our schools, is a score 300 or above. With a score of 350 being excellent and a score of 400 or above to be exemplary. Due to our students and teachers hard work, we knew will see most students with a score in the 300s with a few over 400.

We are happy to report that ALL students at both schools passed the exam! Glory to God! Thank you for praying.  

Average score for each school:

New Life Academy: 306.04

Crossroads Academy: 348.76

New Life has their first ever student score over 400 points which is amazing score. At Crossroads Academy there were 2 students that scored over 400! This is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff and students. 

At both schools we had:

3 over 400 points

12 between 350 and 300

34 between 300 and 350  

14 passing grades above 250  

This is amazing great news! Praise God for the fruits of these students labors. 

Thank you again for praying. 

Mission Trip Perspective

It’s hard to capture “what to expect” when you embark on a mission trip to Kenya – except to say that you should embark upon it expectant at what God will do – because He will most assuredly exceed anything you could ask or imagine! 

Is there sacrifice?  Of course.  Whether you give up Friday night dinners out or you take a chance on international travel when you routinely get motion sickness – you have to give something of yourself.  The reward though, is immeasurable.  When you take that step of faith, you begin to see God working in and through you long before you even set foot on the plane. 

When you land, you quickly realize you are not in Kansas, or in our case, Wisconsin anymore. When you arrive at the schools and you hear the joy of the students singing to greet you, you realize how big God is!  You begin to take in the countless choices you made along the way to get to this faraway place and you realize that the sacrifice you made pales in comparison to the sacrifice Christ made for us all and that these kids love YOU because you are there to share HIS love for them! 

I am rarely found speechless but these and the many other moments in Kenya cannot help but astound you!  Your time on the ground passes quickly and while you may settle on a routine and adjust to a new time zone, no two days are alike and each day holds its own gift of God’s amazing grace.  By the end of your time, you bond with the children and the family of believers who make up their teachers and staff in ways that would otherwise take years in our “normal Western life.” 

When we left, we left a piece of our hearts there.  You go expecting to change Kenya – to make a difference in the lives of the students and their families – and you do.  However, what you can never truly be prepared for is how much YOU will change in the process.  I once heard someone say you should experience at least one international mission in your lifetime – I get it now, it helps you better grasp the vision of God’s love for our world.  I would add you should experience Kenya at least once in your lifetime because it helps you grasp Gods’ vision of how He can use YOU to share that love! 

Fox River 2018 International Mission Trips are now open. Click HERE for more information.

• Nicaragua Men's Construction Trip: April 13 - 22
• Nicaragua Mission Trip: June 21 - 30
• Kenya Mission Trip: July 15 - 28

Katerin

I would like to introduce you all to one of my good friends.  Her name is Katerin and she lives in La Esmeralda, Nicaragua. Over the years I have had the privilege of getting to know her and watch as she has grown in her faith and in leadership. Somethings about Katerin that anyone who meets her would tell you; she is always laughing or smiling, she has a huge heart, she loves kids, she is a force to be reckoned with.  

When I first met Katy she was a Sunday school teacher at the church we (Fox River) partner with up in the mountains of Nicaragua. Over the years she has taken on more and more responsibility in the church, becoming the lead teacher for the children's ministry, leader in the youth group, leader of women, and starting a ministry that goes into the schools in the surrounding communities. She is also a crucial part of the evangelism that happens at the clinic.

I want to tell you a bit about this school ministry she is doing. Something I think that should be noted;  that these are public schools that have allowed her to take some time each week and share the love of Jesus with these children, most of whom do not attend the church and are having some of their first experiences in hearing God's word. She is bringing hope into a broken area of this country!  You see when these children are at school they aren't necessarily loved on or told how precious they are, but Katerin gets to go and be love and hope to these children and their teachers.  During her time there they hear a story, get to do a craft or game, sing a couple songs, and hear the gospel.

This ministry not only reaches the children and teachers at the schools, but it reaches beyond that into the families of each child and teacher. As I have been there and watched as she interacts with the students you can tell how much respect and love these kids have for Katerin. They lean into every word she says (as much as any kid does anyway). I love seeing this because it shows that they want to know what she is going to say, they know whatever she is there for is going to be great and they don't want to miss it. I wish you could all see what I am trying to describe because it is heart melting. We believe that children are the future and pouring into them is highly important because they will impact the world in just a few short years.  

Will you join me in praying for my friend Katerin? For her continued faithfulness to what she believes God has called her to do. For excitement to share God's word with children. For strength and endurance in the days that don't seem like any impact is being made. 

I have never had a dull moment with Katy. Even when I am crying she somehow gives me a reason to laugh. She pushes me to step out of my comfort zone and do things that I would probably not do without her pushing me. I wish you could meet her and see this amazing woman of God at work, I wish you could feel her passion. She leaves an imprint wherever she goes, you never forget how Katerin made you feel!  We actually have multiple opportunities in 2018 that you could go and meet some of the amazing people we partner with.  We have a construction trip in April, this is an all mens team and they will be building a childrens center on the church property (we believe children are the future people!), but ladies don't worry we have a trip you can come on too! We will have another team going in June in which we get to partner with the church leadership (Katerin and others) in some cool new ways!

KCPE Test

It’s that time again in Kenya! Standard 8 students are doing their final preparations for their Kenya Certificate of Pimary Education Test (KPCE Test). 

 Tomorrow, Monday, October 30th they will have their practice test. Then on Tuesday, October 31st through Thursday, November 2nd they will be taking this exam.  The students and teachers have been anticipating all year, and preparing intensely. 

The students have been counting down the days!  

The KCPE test is what determines if students will be admitted into high school. The subjects that are tested are Mathematics, English, Swahili, Social Studies, Science and Religious Studies. Each student is able to earn a maximum of 500 points.  

For those with inquiring minds, a score of 250 is passing. The goal we set for our students in our schools, is a score 300 or above. With a score of 350 being excellent and a score of 400 or above to be exemplary. Due to our students and teachers hard work, we will see most students with a score in the 300s with a few over 400. 

Class 8 in Bomani  

Class 8 in Vipingo  

Please be praying for our students at both Crossroads Academy in Vipingo and New Life Academy in Bomani. They have spent years practicing for this exam, and you can imagine the pressure that might bring. Please pray that God would fill them with peace only He can give, and that the Holy Spirit would help them to recall all of the information they have worked hard to put into memory. 

April 2018, Construction trip

Calling all men!!!   We are building a construction team to head down to Nicaragua in April 2018!  

This is an opportunity for men who are searching to be involved in international missions yet never found a team they thought would be a good fit!  We believe that partnering and working alongside the Church in La Esmeralda is a great way for us to show Jesus! 

This team will be starting the construction of a children's area and bathrooms for the church.   And what a blessing these will be!  It will get the kids into a great space to hear and learn about Christ and give the church facilities to make a welcoming environment for the people of this community!

We are looking for men who love to work with their hands and don't mind to get a little dirty!  Men who are willing to jump in and step outside of their comfort zone and use the skills God has given them!  These opportunities don't always come along and we know that many ask for these kind of trips, so here it is!!!  We need your help building this team, so please share with your friends and family!

We know it is a commitment to take off work and time away from family.  We thank you now for that sacrifice and anticipate the work God will do through you! 

Trip details:

• When:  April 13th-April 22nd
• Where: La Esmerelda, Nicaragua
• What: Construction
• Cost: $1,500

If you have any questions or are ready to sign up please contact Abbey at abbey.roberts@foxriverchristian.org

Being Faithful.

Hey Mission Family, its Melody here. I am writing to you today because I want to share with you a part of my story from Nicaragua this past summer. I want to share my story with you for a couple reasons, one because I believe that when God has worked in our lives we are meant to share with others. So that through sharing we can Praise and Glorify Him together. And second, to thank you, our Fox River Missions family for your continual support of the mission in Nicaragua. Without you, we wouldn't be able to take the trips that we do. Without you, we wouldn't be able to partner with the church in La Esmeralda. You are a part of my story, and you are a part of the story in Nicaragua. So thank you for all you do in supporting Fox River Missions.

This summer I had the opportunity to head to Nicaragua as a leader of the High School trip. As a leader I was planning on helping the students experience God and what he had in store for them, little did I know that I was going to experience that, and so much more.

Being candid, this was not my first trip, or my second. I am what some may call a "Nicaragua veteran". I have been blessed to go on our summer trip for many years now, and it is so easy to fall into the trap that there is nothing else that God could show me. It is so easy to fall into that trap in everyday life when we are use to a routine. But what I know about our God is that he always shows up, I know this and I believe this because he has never failed to show up for me.  And he showed up in my life in an unmistakable way this past summer. 

I have witnessed that God meets people where they are, and that week in Nicaragua God met with me exactly where I was. To be very specific, I was on a bus. We travel by bus from place to place on the trips, and almost everyday required us to get on that bus. Everyday as I would be sitting on that bus, God would bring a song to my mind. A song that had been on my heart for weeks prior to the trip, but I thought that it was just because I enjoyed the song. I didn't know that God was planning to use it to do so much more. The song goes a little bit like this...

I will sing of all You've done
I'll remember how far You carried me
From beginning until the end
You are faithful, faithful to the end.

Every single time I would get on the bus this song would come to my heart and my mind and I would sing it. And when it was finished I could hear God say so clearly to me, "Melody, I am faithful, when are you going to be?" Next day comes...I try and ignore that feeling in my gut, you know the one...of conviction. I get on the bus, sit down and we start rolling. Again same song, and again you know exactly what I hear. "Melody, I am faithful, when are you going to be?"

I am one of those people who needs repetition, but it didn't matter how many times God spoke to me, I knew exactly what he was talking about the first time I heard him. I usually do, and I knew that it was time to be faithful to what God has been asking of me. That moment, this week, was a pivotal point in my life. Not because it was something that was new that I learned, but because I had been putting being faithful on hold in my life. I was giving God every part of my life except one, the one part that I wanted to keep control of for myself. God was asking me to faithful with all of it, every single part. 

At the end of week, we have an opportunity to share how God worked in our lives throughout the trip. And I knew exactly what I was going to share. So I got up to my feet, in front of most of my family, my closest friends, and my church and made a commitment to God. That it was time for me to be faithful, that I was going to give up my entire life into his control. There is freedom in surrender. There is freedom in being faithful.

I wonder if there is anyone reading this that growing weary on the path God has them on, or is hesitating to take their next step for God, or wherever you may find your life. I want to encourage you, the way that I was encouraged being in Nicaragua that week. I want to leave you my family with these words...even a promise.

God is and always has been faithful! From being to the end!

“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endured through all generations, The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.” 

Psalms 145:13

Back to School in Kenya

As our students head back to school in America, our Kenya students are heading back to school as well, but for them, this is the final term of their school year. Their school calendar begins in January and ends the first of November with breaks along the way. 

The focus of term 3 is to complete the syllabus and prepare for the end of the year exams. For grade 8, this is especially important because their final few days of school will be taking a nationalized exam (called KCPE - Kenya Certificate Primary Education) that is highly governed, like our SAT or ACT (college entrance exams). The results of that one exam will determine IF they can go on to high school and WHERE they can attend high school. 

High school is not compulsory and it is not free in Kenya, but it is important if they are going to be able to get a better job or even possibly go to college. Because of the importance of this exam, much effort is poured into preparation from the students, the faculty and the parents. We have seen wonderful success for our students and are praying the same for this year's class.

Because their school days are long, we offer boarding for them at or nearby the school so they don't have so far to walk in the morning and evening.

This is the first class that has gone all the way through our schools. They started in Kindergarten 1 back in 2007 at 4 years old. What a joy it has been to watch them grow! They love God and are very hard workers! Will you please pray with us that God will help all of our students and faculty finish the year strong?

Class 8 students going over their recent practice exam with one of our dedicated teachers.

Another class 8 revision group.

Grade 7 hard at work. This is the hardest year for school work because they actually work to complete all of the primary school syllabus so grade 8 can focus on review and preparation for the KCPE exam. 

The pace in kindergarten is very different. It's rest time for these sweet little ones that in 10 short years will be completing their primary school education.

Thank you for making a HUGE difference in the life of this and every child in Fox River schools in Kenya. We have 900 children from age 3 to high school whose lives have been changed because of the opportunity they have to receive a great education, food and basic medical care through your sponsorship. You have changed lives and eternities for them, their families and these 2 communities on the other side of the planet. Thank you!

Story from Nicaragua

Hey Missions Family, its been a couple weeks since the Fox River Students have been back from their trip to Nicaragua this summer. We have been missing our people and our place, but we have also had the time to really reflect and think about how God worked in us. We know that we were not there on accident, each and everyone of us had a purpose.

One of the most impactful parts of the trip was being able to share our stories with each other, and seeing how powerful sharing can be. That's what we want to do again here, to share with all of you how God worked in and through us during our time in Nicaragua. So we invite you to settle in and hear a story from the trip, and join us in praising God for all that he has done in Nicaragua through Fox River Missions.

Alyssa and a sweet little girl from the church in La Esmeralda.  

Here is what Alyssa wants to share with you about the trip, 

"If I had to describe our trip in one word it would have to be love. And that was probably my biggest takeaway from the whole week. I had never felt so loved, and it was surprising to me because I had this feeling of overwhelming love, from people I had just met. And this was a kind of love that comes from God and Christians. It was amazing because we had the opportunity to become friends with the kids, teens, and adults of all ages. And surprisingly(at least for me) the language barrier turned out to be a blessing. I only knew a little bit of Spanish so when I talked to the Nicas we had to make an effort and have patience to understand each other. So because of that, our relationships were more genuine and stronger since we both had to put in work in order to be friends!

When you think about it a smile, laugh, or playing a game doesn't even need a translation because love has no language! It was also awesome because we were able to hear the Nicas testimonies every night which made us able to connect with them even more and realize that we are similar. Even though we live far away from each other and are in different cultures/environments there was so many similarities I had in common with the other teens, which made my relationships even more special! Each person that we met was somehow involved in the church whether they were the pastor, worship leader, children leader, student etc. They all had a heart for God which really inspired me and made me realize that I am not sacrificing enough of my life for God as I should be. It was an honor to be on this trip because it was eye-opening and life-changing. I will never forget the people I have met and what they have taught me and I hope that I will only build on these relationships in the future."  

What an amazing story of how God worked in Alyssa through the trip this summer. She truly sums up the trip very well. It is all about love; God's love bridges all barriers. 

Kenya Trip 2017 Wrap Up

By Sunday night all of our Kenya team had arrived back in the USA safe and sound. We are spending this week reconnecting with our lives in a new way after all that we experienced. As we continue to process the trip, here are a few thoughts from some of our team members.

Ginger writes:

When I think of Kenya, what I learned from one of our Vipingo students who is now in High School, about the flag comes to mind.  If you look at the flag, the color black represents the people of the Republic of Kenya; red symbolizes the blood shed during the fight for independence, and green for the country's landscape and natural wealth.  What it is so compelling about going to Kenya is how these colors take on an even deeper meaning.  The color black represents the color of a people who love no matter what your color!  We were equal partners in sharing the love of Christ with fellow believers, we were deeply respected by the students, and being white or black didn’t matter.  We all bleed red - which brings me to the color red.  Not the red shed by man but the red shed by the perfect Son of Man.  Even after leaving Kenya, I am still awestruck by the immense joy emanating from the people we met.  This was a joy that was not tied to their circumstances – otherwise, the immense poverty would only bring silence and tears.  Rather, this was a joy evidenced in songs, in big bright smiles, and endearing handshakes that is grounded in the truth that this red – this blood shed by grace in order to give us freedom both in the here and in the eternal is real and it means freedom.  Then there is the green – like the green pastures Jesus allows us to rest in as we walk with Him.  The landscape was spotted with the blues of the ocean, the greens of post-rainy season growth, and the deep hues of brown in the safari – yet, everywhere we went – God granted us the opportunity to sew for Him.  Even in those moments when I selfishly wanted to “take a break”, He would humble me by setting someone in my path who needed to know Him.  It was more than an honor – it was a life-changing pivot following a decade of Him sowing seeds in my own heart.  I was not tired when I returned.  Rather, I found a renewed sense of purpose to reach His people both here and in Kenya.  We will return – God has been calling us there longer than we realized.  My biggest prayer back here at home is that our US family of believers can live their lives with the same joy that we saw in the hearts of the Kenyan believers – that we can truly say God is good no matter what the circumstance!  

Grady, our almost teenager, writes:

I really think that one of the coolest things I saw was the joy on the people's faces. No matter where we were, we were always greeted with a Jambo or hi by anyone passing by or in conversation. It was truly amazing to see how the people there had so little but so much joy. We Americans are downers. We look at the “lot” we have and crave for more, but our “little” over there really is a “lot”. 

Reid writes:

I don’t think there are enough bytes on the internet to store the overwhelming experience that I had in Kenya. Being able to share God alongside my family halfway around the world was an amazing experience and will always live in my heart and mind. The blessing that my son will carry with him the rest of his life is far beyond anything that I could have taught him as his dad, but the Father made daily imprints on his heart that with affect his path the rest of his life. I was exceedingly impressed by ALL off the people I encountered on our trip. The Kenyans were amazing people with a love beyond anything I’ve seen in America, and the other team members that travelled with us are now a part of our family. Only God could bring a group with such varying backgrounds together into such a cohesive team to make such an impact in His name! Kenya definitely grabbed a piece of my heart…

Tony writes:

Our last day in Kenya we spent our day sharing the gospel and handing bibles out in the villages. We also gave away a cute craft 'friend' that one of our team members brought. That evening some of the team members and I had dinner with one of our teachers who has become a dear friend and partner in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was sad to leave Kenya, but I am thankful and blessed. I'm thankful for the friends I have made on the team as well and looking forward to returning to see my Kenyan friends next year. God bless all!

Thank you for your love, support and prayers for our team before, during and even now after the trip. I would ask that you continue to pray for the team and for all of our children and partners in Kenya. On August 8, Kenya will hold their national elections. In the past, this has been a very tumultuous time for them. Please pray that there will be a free and honest election and for peace no matter the outcome. Thank you!

It may be over...

The team has spent the last couple days preparing to come home.​

​They have said their goodbyes and have had time together as a team to share what God has shown them! 

​They have gone on Safari to end the trip seeing what God created! 

Now 13 are headed to the airport.  The rest will follow tomorrow! 

Will you pray them home with us?  Praying that their hearts were changed and that they hold tight to what God did in and through them this week...  For rest and health as they have a long trip home...​ 

God has done big things this week!  Watch for our wrap up post!