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Jessie, Jeff and I are on our way to Kenya. We will be in country for 9 days during which time we will host graduaton ceremonies in both of Fox River primary schools, celebrate with the graduates as they prepare to enter high school, spend time with our partners and enjoy the time with our precious kids!
Thank you for praying for us, it is making the way. We fly to Istanbul and then on to Mombasa where we will land around 3:30am Kenya time on Saturday morning.
It is so easy to grasp what we do in Kenya. We sponsor schools so that children can have a safe place to come learn, be fed, have clean clothes, to be loved and so much more! Something that makes sense, something that we can grasp when hearing about it, something that is easily communicated! We get to share the faces and the names of all of the sweet kiddos, we get to connect you with them. We love it!
But, did you know that when you give to Fox River Missions you give for the ministry in Nicaragua as well? We know that it is hard to grasp and understand what exactly we do in Nicaragua.
So let me share with you how God is using your gifts in Nicaragua...
Fox River has built and continuously funds a Medical clinic in the community of La Esmeralda.
The clinic is the only medical facility in the area, which means they would have to travel up to 2 hours to get to another (and that's if they have a car/ride). They have over 10,000 patient visits each year (6 years = over 60,000 patient visits)! Every patient is treated for their physical need and will also hear the gospel while at the clinic.
Women are being treated during pregnancies, babies are being born in safe environments, men, women, and children are being treated with basic healthcare they would otherwise go without. This clinic has brought health and hope into the community of La Esmeralda as well as the surrounding communities! God has brought so much life and life change through this clinic!
We also sponsor a Soccer ministry that focuses on reaching teens with an activity that they enjoy! Each player must attend a weekly church service to participate. They come, they play, the church gets to pour into their lives and we get to see God at work in young lives!
We partner with Santuario Familiar Bautista to encourage the ministry they do everyday! God has linked our churches to be the Church to the people in the mountains of Nicaragua. What a pleasure it is to serve alongside them as they desire to live out what God is asking of them!
Fox River has built a home for Pastor Denis and his growing family and a home for the Doctor of the clinic. We have purchased land for our partner church to plant another church in a neighboring community... Growth!!! We see growth everyday! And these things are happening because you are giving, because you are trusting that God will use you!
We hope that this shows you how your gifts are being used in Nicaragua! If you ever want to experience it for yourself, just join us for a trip!
How are you going to Pray, Live, and Give in new ways in the New Year? Will you join us in Praying for these ministries? Will you Live by joining a team? Will you join the team of supporters by Giving? #TogetherWeGainMomentum #HereAndAcrossTheWorld
We are just words without you! Thank you!
Missions. This word might mean something different to everyone. To some it is a trip they take, to others it is somewhere they give money, and others it is something they feel like they can’t be involved in. This video shows different ways people have chosen to be involved in Missions...
Missions is something that everyone can be involved in. No matter what age you are, what job you have, or how your health is. Just because you can’t go on a trip, can’t support monetarily, or maybe there is something else keeping you from getting involved.
Let me share with you all the ways you can support and be involved in Fox River Missions.
#1 PRAY! Did you know that your prayer makes a difference? Let me share a story with you...
Scott, went on one of the construction trips (6 or 7 years ago) to build the medical clinic in La Esmeralda, Nicaragua while he was there he worked with the Nicaraguans from the community. He made a decision that week to pray for one of them for the rest of his life. Knowing that he may never know what came of this child’s life. Years later, Scott, had the opportunity to go back to Nicaragua on a Medical team to work in the clinic. One night a young man was sharing his story with the team. A story of heartbreak and struggles, a story of a young man who decided to give up everything to follow God. After he finished sharing his story, Scott was able to talk with him and share that even though in those trials it seemed he had been alone, he never was because, he was always praying for him. Jorvin is now studying so that he can continue to dedicate his life to full time ministry! Prayer changes lives!
#2 LIVE! There are opportunities in 2018 for you to go and see first hand what God is doing in Kenya and Nicaragua. I can tell you from personal experience that God is doing a great work and it is an honor to be involved in it. Being there and seeing with your own eyes the life changing impact, is like nothing else in the world! If you open yourself up to it God will bring you to a place where you will make life long friendships and lifechanging realizations about yourself and the way God wants to use you. Join us!!!
#3 GIVE! Without those who give none of the ministry that is being done in Kenya through the schools and in Nicaragua through the clinic, would be possible. Your money is literally giving people life, hope, and a future.
In Kenya, the children who attend our schools are being fed two meals a day, they are given clothes and shoes to wear, they are being educated, which gives them hope for their future, and they are hearing the Gospel and being saved through it! We have over 800 students that we see growth in everyday!
In Nicaragua, through the clinic lives are being saved by having a place to go to see a Doctor. Women who are pregnant are able to go for regular check ups and some are giving birth in the clinic (a new baby just this past week!). Since the opening of the clinic a substantial amount of lives have been saved just by the basic care of a Doctor and nurse that they would other wise go without. The clinic has over 10,000 patient visits a year! They not only get their physical needs met when they walk through the doors of the clinic, they will also hear the name of Jesus and how He can change their lives!
That’s where your gifts are going!
Our Pastors have encouraged us to Pray, Live, and Give in new ways this year! Maybe, your ‘new ways’ will be through Missions!
Let’s build Momentum in Missions together because #TogetherWeGainMomentum!
Join us Saturday, December 16 at 6:15pm in the Waukesha Campus chapel, to learn more about the Fox River mission trips to Kenya and Nicaragua in 2018. Trips are open and accepting registrations at this time. (Many of you have been asking when registration opens... You can sign up now, Merry Christmas!)
There are 3 opportunities to join a team, which means we have a place for you!
1) April 13-22: Men's Construction Trip to Nicaragua
Our first trip is a specialty trip for men. In April we are taking a Group of men to Nicaragua to build children's space at our sister church in La Esmeralda. For more information, please click here. No experience needed!
2) June 21-30: Nicaragua Mission trip - see flyer below or click here
3) July 15-28: Kenya Mission Trip - see flyer below or click here
We are so excited to see the teams God brings together for 2018!! These are great opportunities for us to “Pray, Live, & Give in new ways” because #TogetherWeGainMomentum
Come to the meeting on December 16th and we will answer any of your questions!!
During the Christmas season, we give gifts to those we love. Our challenge at Fox River is to give a gift to Jesus this year by offering hope to a child, family and an entire community. Through My Gift for Jesus, Fox River sponsors mission work in Kenya and Nicaragua. $25/month offers help and hope to hundreds of children and families in these countries.
In Kenya, we have 3 schools with over 900 students from age 3 through high school. We offer clean water and adult literacy classes for the community. In Nicaragua, we have a medical clinic that sees 10,000 patient visits a year and a sports ministry that impacts hundreds of young people. In each community these mission endeavors partner with a church to break the bonds of spiritual and physical poverty.
In the video below some of our students share how this has changed their lives and the love that they have for those who sponsor! DON'T SKIP IT!!!
Stop by the picture booth in the foyer at any Fox River campus during the month of December to learn more about this life changing ministry and how you can make a difference with just $25/month.
New this year, we have a display board from each country that highlights what God is doing through Fox River and the Fox River teams that go to serve in these communities each summer.
Nicaragua
Kenya
For more information or to join in, please click HERE.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
If you have any questions or are ready to sign up please contact Abbey at abbey.roberts@foxriverchristian.org
