Personally, this first of three updates I recently received from Henry was timely and a tremendous blessing to me. Saturday night I attended a celebration of God’s work through a foster care and adoption ministry of Irving Bible Church,
Tapestry. My good friend, Ryan North, is the Executive Director and my wife (Beth) and I were thoroughly blessed by seeing God’s care for families involved in foster care and adoption. So when Henry sent me this update about our foster girls from South Sudan in Kenya Sunday morning, I knew what I should write about today.
Before I share with you Henry’s update, I want to remind you of their situation. Immediately after the conflict in May of 2013, families fled the fighting in Boma and children were often separated from their parents. Such was the case with these four girls. They traveled with another group of refugees that ended up in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya while their parents were far away in Ethiopia.
Soon after their arrival, Henry received a phone call saying these four girls from Faith Learning Center in Boma were in poor condition. They were sick, malnourished with little hope for recovery. Henry immediately went to Kakuma and rescued the girls providing both medical treatment and a foster home which took them in. By God’s grace these girls were saved and Henry has provided a wonderful update of their progress.
| From Left to right: Alima, Kaka, Shania (Daughter of foster parents), Bakhita, and Ng’abolo. |
Henry’s Update
The girls have so well adapted to their new home and school in Kenya. Their foster parents love them and are raising them in the fear of the Lord [Proverbs 20:6 and Matt 19:14-15]; the Lord has surrounded them with His great divine favor in so many obvious ways.
The girls have grown and changed dramatically. Physically, spiritually and academically they have made a remarkable transformation in the right direction. They are bigger, healthier, more obedient, and industrious in all their endeavors. Consequently, they have each registered outstanding progress in every sphere of their lives.
In school, Ng’abolo is a 6th grader and Bakhita a 5th grader, while both Alima and Kaka are 4th graders. They have been very diligent in their academic pursuits and Kaka, in particular, deserves a special mention as one who has established herself as the best student in her class and has maintained that status since August 2014. We have always celebrated the results of their good work.
| Jeremiah Lotiboy is in grey in the middle of the picture and originally invited SEA Partners to come to Boma. |
Jeremiah Lotiboy came to Kenya for a brief stay with his family last month (August), and went to see the girls as well. He had a wonderful opportunity to chat and share great moments with them. His remark at the end of the visit is worth mentioning; “These girls are the most well taken care of than any South Sudanese children I have ever seen in Kenya, including my own.” He advised the girls to NOT return to Boma until after they have completed their studies because they would otherwise be married off by their relatives. The story of these girls represents what in the words of Micheal Harris (SEAP Board Member) is “one of those small victories with eternal impact on not just these girls, but many more as well.” May the Lord be glorified through your support in giving hope to these girls.
Thank you and be blessed.
Henry Okumu
African Director
Final Thoughts
I was privileged to meet these girls last year and I am excited to see them flourishing in their new environment. SEA Partners has been supporting these girls out of our general fund and will continue to do so. If you are so led to support one or all of these girls, please consider an
online gift. The cost is only $75 each per month to provide a Christian home, food, shelter, clothing and education for these four foster girls. They are growing up learning to trust the Lord and will hopefully one day serve Him in South Sudan.
God is using SEA Partners to provide hope to children in Africa. Please continue to pray and
support this ministry in order for us to persevere in the work God has called us to do.
Donnie Brake, Ed.D.
President
PS. Your generous
contributions will enable us to continue moving forward into God’s purposes in Boma which began many years ago.
Also, watch for the next two updates from Henry this week.
