Last week I had the privilege of sharing at Living Springs Church in Garden Grove. This church was extremely special for me to share at, as it was the “birth place” of Empowering Lives International.  ELI’s founder, Don Rogers, served at this church when God called him to start the organization, and Living Springs continues to remain a strong supporter of ELI’s work in Africa.

Being with junior high and high school students is always encouraging, and we had an incredible time of discovering together what it means to be a “light” in a dark world. In Matthew 5:14 Jesus calls us the “light of the world”. Will we be a passive light, much like a nightlight, that just sits on the wall and shines dimly only for the comfort of ourselves? Or will we go out as a light-saber that actively brings light to dark places and courageously contends for the sake of Christ?

What does it tangibly look like to be a light? I gave the students some ideas such as praying for the world, and sharing Christ with our neighbors and friends, and then was also able to present them with an opportunity to be light to the students at the ELI school in Bukavu, D.R. Congo. Together we walked through “Ishara’s Journey”, an interactive presentation that allowed the students to catch a glimpse of what children in D.R. Congo live through on a daily basis, and the intense decisions they must make for a better life.

The students learned that the majority of children in D.R. Congo only eat one or two meals a day, and one of those meals is at our ELI school. It only costs five cents to purchase a meal for a child at our school! I challenged the kids to take their yellow Change for Life cups, and be lights to the children in D.R. Congo, not only by providing meals but also providing hope that there is a God who loves them and sees and provides for them in their need!

It was an amazing night, and I’m excited to see the fruit that is harvested from the faith of these high school and junior high students at Living Springs! If you are interested in bringing Change for Life to your church or school, please contact Katie Cook at katiecook@empoweringlives.org.

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With your sponsorship, we can continue to give these precious children an opportunity to live their lives with a hope and a future.

The children and our staff in Africa want to express their gratitude towards you in a special video.

Questions or comments? sponsorships@empoweringlives.org

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This May 13th is Mother’s Day and a special time to share with her your care and appreciation. We would like to provide an opportunity that will not only encourage your mom but will also help a needy mother in Africa receive the skills and encouragement that she needs to be able to provide for her family. Countless mothers in Africa have every intention and a deep desire to provide for their children.  Poverty and lack of knowledge squelches opportunity and the family suffers due to lack of food, school fees, and other basic necessities for life.

You can bypass the same usual gifts this Mother’s Day and give her something that is life changing for a family in need. For $30 We are able to provide a mother in Africa with the opportunity to participate in a special SKILLS FOR LIFE training session.

Here sessions in agriculture and business are combined with motivation and encouragement to help a needy mom put her family on a whole new course for the better. It’s meaningful – takes only a few minutes – AND we will send you an e-card you can print and pass onto your mother – letting her know that you have chosen to honor her in this unique way – by helping change the course of a family in need.

CLICK HERE to send your gift(s) and we will email you a card to print and give to that special woman in your life

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It is a well-known fact that ELI could not operate as effectively or as vibrantly without the help, care and love of our amazing volunteers! Over the years we have had the most incredible people step in at crucial times and fill a special place at ELI. From mailing letters, to cutting sponsorship packets, to data entry, to video making, our volunteers have blessed us immensely.

This Sunday we held a special lunch to celebrate our volunteers. We enjoyed sharing a meal together, and then each volunteer received an award unique to their personality and service to ELI. Don Rogers, found of ELI, sent a special thank you video straight from Africa to show how the work these volunteers do affects our ministry on the ground, as God transforms lives.

There was a lot of laughter, delicious food, and special times of sharing as we came together as the ELI family.

If you are interested in volunteering with ELI, please fill out the volunteer application form on our website at http://www.empoweringlives.org/volunteering or for more questions contact Katie Cook at katiecook@empoweringlives.org.

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Mrs. Mushengenzi Zihalirwa with her second grade students

We asked our second grade teacher, Mrs. Mushengenzi Zihalirwa, from our school in DR Congo why she likes teaching at ELI’s School. Here are some of the things she said:

ELI gives the poorest of the poor children an opportunity to study.
We provide both intellectual and spiritual education
We hope that children and their families will know the love of God
Our school gives hope to the children, especially since the children come from poor backgrounds and many of their parents would not be able to pay for their school fees.
An education will help children be able to contribute to society in a useful way.
As teachers we receive training and attend regular seminars to ensure good quality education with results in the success of our children.
Our teaching methods create positive interaction between students and teachers which encourages students to participate in the lessons.
By providing food (porridge), ELI helps reinforce active participate of students during class because they are not tired.
We provide a good spiritual environment which is not only present in our school, but impacts the community and neighborhood; this makes parents want to send children to our school.

Thank you to everyone who is supporting our school!

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Thank you to everyone who has been praying for our school in South Sudan and for our students. Our school is still temporarily closed during the time of disarmament in South Sudan, but, our 8^th grade students continued to prepare for mock final exams that took place March 29-30^th. These mock exams were in preparation for the final exams they will take in order to graduate from the 8^th grade. Our 8^th grade class consists of 17 students and all of them passed these mock exams! Please pray for them as they continue to prepare for their actual final examinations. Please also keep South Sudan in your prayers as they build the new country and avoid an internal war.

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Thank you for all your prayers for Jacob in our Kipkaren Children’s Home. Please continue to pray for him. He is back in the hospital in Eldoret after experiencing profuse bleeding from his nose. After consulting the staff in the clinic it was decided he needed to return to the hospital in town. Blood tests showed that his blood count numbers are dropping again. We are not sure if the recent set back is a result of having malaria. Please pray for healing for Jacob and for doctors as they work to determine the cause of Jacob’s low blood count. Please pray that Jacob would remain at peace despite his physical struggles.

Thank you!

CLICK HERE for the previous prayer update

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Destruction to the roof of the Kemei Girls' Dorm at Kipkaren Children's Home

On Thursday afternoon, a huge storm to arrived in Kipkaren. We have been eager for the seasonal rains to arrive but this storm packed quite a punch! Near the end of lunch, it started to rain. My husband and I were thankful we were inside and thought the storm would stop in a few minutes like most afternoon showers do. Quickly the light showers escalated to torrential rain, loud thunder, very close lightning, and freakishly high winds. It blew our heavy wooden doghouse over with ease. Several of our windows blew open and it was a struggle to get them closed with the high winds. While this was unusual we thought all was well and prepared to wait out the rains.

Interior damage to the girls' dorm

A few minutes later Veronica Busienei, the wife of the Kipkaren Children’s Home director, came to our door to let us know that the large tree behind the Kimei girls dorm had broken in the high winds, falling on to the dorm, breaking part of the wall and roof. Thankfully, the six girls inside weren’t badly injured. Faith was hit on the head by something (branch, debris?) and has a small lump but is otherwise okay. The other seven Kemei girls were in the gazebo finishing up lunch when the tree broke.

Kemei girls enter their dorm to look at the damage

While the rains continued to fall those of us at the children’s home gathered at the dorm to assess the damage. A major section of roof, ceiling boards, and bricks were damaged. Water entered the dorm and quickly a team went inside to inspect the interior. Outside several large branches obstructed the yard around the building. Pastor Peter Maru knew of someone nearby with a chainsaw so they were called to assist in branch removal. A few beds, under the hole, were disassembled and removed, and the dorm swept free of water. Within a short time all was cleaned up.

It was a BIG tree that fell on the girls' dorm!

We are thankful that this happened at lunch, rather than at night. All the girls are safe, which we thank God for.The Kemei dorm is currently being repaired by the contractor who helped construct the structures six years ago. While the dorm is being repaired we’ve divided the thirteen Kemei girls up to sleep among the other 3 girls’ dorms. We did have a long, heavy rainstorm on Monday night but the repairs underway seem to be holding up well. In a day or so the hole should be sealed, ceiling boards back in place, walls repainted, and furniture returned to the dorm. Please pray that the Kemei girls will be able to rest easy in their dorm once they are able to return. Generally the Kipkaren Children’s Home is a place of great safety and peace. That was disrupted for a few moments but the goodness of God continues to prove itself to the children – they know that their lives are in His hands and His love and care can overcome any circumstance that life brings.

Roof repairs began on Monday afternoon.

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Our spring Cultivate Magazine is here! Check out all the great stories here.

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