Umoja Widow Home Build

Jambo Grace Family,
Below you will find the photos from the widow home build recently finished in Kenya - Lake Victoria area - as well as words requested to be passed on from our GFM Director, Domnic Owigo, and Umoja Pastor Benard. Please continue to pray for this community as they work to care for their widows and orphans through community development. They are a true testiment to the Faith. The wish they most desire above all else is for a Church as they meet under a tree together and are yearning for more teaching and training. Though no missionary had been there before, the word of God arrived long before we did. :-) What an amazing community of God they are!

REPORTS FROM UMOJA COMMUNITY

THE GFM KENYA DIRECTOR; PST. DOMNIC OWIGO
I stand on behalf of Kenya GFM members to acknowledge the ability and commitment of the GFM US members for their cooperation to make the work of God starts in a colorful way. This marks the humble begging of implementing the vision God laid on our heat and will sooner grow to a mega thing. Always we believe that great things are being achieved by those who are doing small things in greater way. So this makes me believe God for great things to come. Thanks to God for making this small work finished in a greater way. We still have many things to be done and this can happen if God open many doors of support. May this send a signal to other well wisher to be in cooperation for brighter future so that the work of God among widows and orphans in Kenya may continue.

UMOJA COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVE
I Pst. Benard of Umoja Community thank the Lord for developing a young person in Kenya to have the heart full of compassion to wards the real needy. He has dedicated his time to seek for help of the community and now the Lord has made him a representative of the GFM Kenya working together with GFM US. Through the effort of these two partners we the Umoja community members have acknowledge their impact through building a shelter for a needy widow. May God bless them as they work together to reach the needy people in many parts of the world.
The Umoja have not been receiving any resources, funds from organizations, churches or companies other than gifts from individual friends around and community members to support our widows and orphans have shelter, clothes food and education.
The money sent towards building a widow’s house on February was used to give out the structure you can look and see below. The work got finished on March.

The Widow whom the Umoja identified to help get a new shelter is the one sitting under her old house helpless. The Lord remembered her through GFM.

The Kenya director living out of the widow’s house after sharing talks of hope with her before the building began. Tears of joy dropped favor after long time of suffering.

The site where the house was to be built. The fundi setting the plan of the house before members started the work

The Building moves under way.



The Kenya director takes participation with youths in building process.

An elder coming in with some materials for the building

The Director inspects the structure before smearing process began.














OTHER WIDOWS NEEDS ON THE GROUND

The widow lost her house due to a great wind bow

Though the widow can make small bread for her kids, but the house was completely damaged by fire tragedy.

The orphans once visited by pst Benard in different homes. Food, clothe and shelter are really wanting in those families

Orphans waiting for a relief food at Umoja community. A long period of drought left many people without food.

The umoja community congregation gathering under a tree shade lead by pst Benard. The congregation is much longing to meet Missionary Bobbi Jo once again for a fellowship. “We are waiting for her to bring a church which can adopt us so that we may worship God and work together as real members of GFM……, Bobbi is the first missionary to visit us, so we need her back.” This confirms to us the GFM members that the Church program of Umoja which already under process there is really wanting here.


A REMARK; A PLEA FROM KENYA DIRECTOR

PST. DOMNIC OWIGO
First I want take this chance thanking GOD for the steps that the newly born GFM have taken to make things move rightly. It is very rare with many well-wishers to follow up their efforts after offering assistance to the poor communities and this is resulting to failures of further implementation. It is true that many proposals are filed in the internets and sent to charitable organization and those who buy in to these are sometimes losing a lot into individuals’ pockets. The GFM missionary JO MILLER first walked to such communities witnessing the needs on the ground before risking to help. She is much keen to see that God’s resources are use in God’s work and this result to more blessings from God’s people to cooperate in God’s work with transparence.
As the Kenyan communities are waiting to receive the missionary possibly February 2012, I would wish to call for the attention of many other God’s people to cooperate in supporting this work which is already started among Kenya widows and orphans. May many hearts be moved in to this program willingly and in sincerity?

Share this with others please.

Upcoming Mission Trip 2012

Grace Family,

We are in the process of planning our next short-term mission trip to Western Kenya in which we will be conducting interviews with our Umoja Community, delivering goods such as school supplies and clothing, as well as building relationships, networking, and partnering. While there we will also be researching future projects for 2012/2013. The areas the team will be traveling to are Suna-Migori District and Karungu Lake Victoria.

The tentative dates will be: February 7 - 22, 2012. These could change by a couple days depending on booking of the flights.

If you or someone you know has interest in joining our team for this mission, please email us at: gracefamilyministry@gmail.com. We will be booking very soon which will confirm the travel dates above. Feel called? JOIN US!

Akubariki,
Bobbi Jo

Summit Orphan Conference

Grace Family,

May 11-13th I will be traveling to Louisville, Kentucky for the Summit Orphan Conference through Christian Alliance For Orphans (www.christianalliancefororphans.org). This is an exciting opportunity to learn, network, and expand and/or improve upon GFM's ministry and works in Kenya. I will be there with Karin Peak, the wife of our children's pastor at PVCC (my home church) who is representing our new church orphan ministry, Hands of Hope. I will also be representing Hands of Hope in addition to Grace Family Ministry while there. The conference is a 2 day event plus a 1 day pre-conference session option, so of course Karin and I had to get there for the pre-conference too! I will share the exciting information with you all once I return. For those of you who may be interested in attending the Summit, check out their link below...



Christian Alliance For Orphans Summit VII

Exciting Works in Kenya

Jambo Grace Family,

It has been some time since updating our blog and for that I apologize. The last 3 months have been a difficult season for us, our Kenyan family, and this ministry. With the economic situation, giving is down yet need continues to rise. We will continue our ministry works with our communities in Kenya no matter where these times lead us and have total trust and faith in God's plans and works. The Lord never starts something He will not finish...

Forced to cancel our last two scheduled short-term mission trips due to health failings both in our U.S. team and our Kenyan team, we still felt God calling us to get the job done, with or without us there to celebrate it. Upon this revelation, we sent funds to our Kenyan Director, Domnic Owigo, covering the cost of the Widow Home we promised to build in Lake Victoria for the Umoja Project community there and Luo Tribe. Currently the home is under construction after the entire community joined together to build it! Praise Jesus that these people's hearts were burden laiden to build for a widow in their community. If this home was not built this month, the Umoja Widow's old hut would surely have been destroyed by the coming season of rains, leaving her homeless. We have hired a photographer in Kenya to document the build project and send us the photographs to share with our U.S. ministry family and friends. Your donations BUILT THIS HOME! As soon as it is complete, we will be sure to get the photos up for all to see!

In addition to this Build Project, we sent funds to donate to Beulah Orphan Intiative towards Secondary School fees for one of their Orphans in need of higher education. Secondary Education is not free and starts about at 7th/8th grade in comparison to U.S. school grade schedules. We will hopefully receive a documentation of the Child receiving the School Funding and maybe a photo of them at school too. When we do, we will also share that with you all. And once again, your donations EDUCATED ONE CHILD! EXCITING!!

Lastly, we are in the middle of working toward joining forces with a local U.S. church and working under their umbrella, sharing resources, and serving in God's work together. We are an orphan-organization who needs Adopted! With the economy and fact that we are Christian Organization without a Church Sponsor complicates the giving trust. Seems most Christians do not want to donate money to a Christian Ministry unless a Church is involved. And most non-Christians do not want to support our Christian work in the secular areas. This creates quite a catch22 for us. We recognize God calling us to do what it takes to keep up the work. And if that means we join with a Church, than we shall do just that... with a smile. :) In addition to these complications, my health is another huge factor as I am chronically ill and have season to season wellness. We do not think it is right for GFM to be slowed when I take ill or have surgery, so with the help of a Church, this will lift the "running a nonprofit fulltime" from my shoulders and free me up for what God gifted me to do.... Missions. GFM will not be slowed and I will be able to focus on health again and keeping well to enable me to be in Kenya more often. I will not abandon GFM nor walk away as this is a lifetime commitment; just changing how it is led up, organized, and by whom. These coming changes will all be good that lead to better!

Carl and I will be in Kenya by early next year for another mission trip, hopefully along with a big "new" team! We will focus on the Church Build for Umoja Community in Lake Victoria, Kenya - as that is what they are requesting as their greatest need. We must raise about $10,000 for this Build. Along with this huge project, we will also focus on basic needs such as clothing, food, water, and training/education, and building loving and trusting relationships with our community in Kenya.

Another change recently found our Kenyan Directors, Domnic and Milly Owigo, moving back to Umoja (Lake Victoria, Karungu area, Luo Tribe). Domnic's family, including his brother and mama and papa, live in the Umoja/L.V. area, so this is a homecoming. How happy Domnic must be to return to his own land and family! We celebrate with you Ndugu Dom and Dada Milly!!! We thank God for you both each and every day.

More to come on our changes as they are confirmed and photos of our build currently going on in Kenya will also be posted as soon as they arrive. Until then, God Bless and live well!

In Christ,
Bobbi Jo