Bringing Miracles, March 2018 Newsletter

January 2018 Newsletter

Dear Supporters (Generous, kind, blessed, doers, givers, prayer warriors, Jesus with skin on)

We are so grateful for all of you that have responded to needs, heartfelt pleas and those that are faithful
and committed without hearing all the details of basic and diverse human need! You have either been to
Kibera and seen it first hand or you have responded to the greatest of Jesus commandments by loving
these children in a tangible way. May the Lord bless you each one hundred fold for your generosity and
kindness. Y’all are the best! I couldn’t continue without you. (hugs coming your way) THANK YOU!!!

I absolutely love pictures!! They are my favorite souvenirs because they can capture people, places and
things in a way that truly does tell the story of that moment in time. Not only that, they can jog our mem-
ory and become great reminders and faith builders. I was looking through Kenya pictures dating back to
2007, trying to find some of one our recent graduates that is now being supported financially to go to
high school. In my fun little looking trip, I found one of Staciey, Monica’s oldest daughter, barefoot and
carrying a huge jerrycan of water from a stream several miles away.

Now, Staciey, having finished high school, is finishing a degree at Kenyatta University and becoming a
teacher, thanks to generous donors. God is SO GOOD!! Take a look at a recent picture of Staciey at
her university. She has already been teaching at our school and making an impact on the young lives
there.

As I mentioned, I was originally looking for pictures of Jeff. I think I first met Jeff when he was 4 years
old. For some reason he has always captured my heart. He always had that something special. He
worked really hard at everything he did! He was one of the students that got to travel to Malindi with us,
seeing the ocean for the first time. He was doing flips and tumbles on the beach and was naturally
talented, teaching himself these stunts. When I saw him the summer of 2016, he seemed depressed
and no longer wanted to share his leadership and talents in school. Asking Monica what had happened
for Jeff to lose his joy for living? Monica relayed that his situation at home was really bad and he was
being tormented by his caregivers and given multiple responsibilities. This was heartbreaking because
he had so much potential! I asked Monica if one of our teachers would have time to mentor and
encourage him. In our new video, Jeff is seen with teacher Joshua at his side, with a smile! When we
found out that Jeff was one of the children that tested high enough to go to high school, we had to find a
way, I had promised the children that we would help them go to high school!! Can we celebrate the fact
that our little school, in Kibera town, is enabling children to receive an education and pass the national
exam?? God gets praise for this miracle!!

We took a huge leap of faith and sent enough money to get 6 students started in high school this January,
before my CPA husband and I completed the yearly books and he told me Bringing Miracles was in the
red, yikes!! I trust God more than I do the numbers in a bank account. He is the faithful One!! He has
always taken care of these precious children. We had people volunteer to sponsor these children within
the first week of January.

Here are pictures of some of the sponsored high schoolers: (others seen on FB page)

Prayer Needs:

• Health of students & staff            Praise God For His faithfulness &
• Continued commitment and creativity for staff            for 6 students getting to start high
• Sustainability for school                                                  school!!!           
• Protection & adjustment for new high schoolers
• More monthly donors, raise funds (open to ideas you might have)
• Open doors for sharing needs

It's the most wonderful time of year! The journey to the manger, awaiting the celebration of Christ's birth, O holiest of nights will be soon upon us all! It's springtime in Kenya, but the weather hasn't been told yet. The children have been wearing toboggans, hoodies and whatever else they can find to stay warm and ward off sickness, but they too are excited about Christmas

This time of year is so important as we hope to gather enough funds to finish this school year and start the new one in January! Please join us in donating as soon as possible, each child deserves the chance for education, impacting their opportunities in Kenya.

Donate Now

We have just celebrated graduation at our school.

Bright futures!

Parents &Caregivers came to help celebrate victories!

We have our first graduates from form 8 and several of them have scored well enough on their national exam to apply and enter high school

Martin

Boaz

Jeff

Melvin

.

Penina

Please let me know if you have a desire to help them attend higher education. We have helped 7 or 8 students in high school and 2 in university studies. With your help, we can have a huge impact on their lives!

Silent Images, helped us this year, by making a beautiful video, expressing our work in Kibera.  Please share our story, we need extra help this year.

Our work in Kibera.

Monica, our school director is currently being treated for pneumonia, please keep her in your prayers! They have also been dealing with violent repercussions since the election and repeat voting has not helped convince the voters that the results can be trusted.  Please pray for the children, the teachers, continued support for the school, the community, their leaders and anything God lays on your heart concerning them! Thank you! Here is our youngest group of students! I hope this makes you smile.                                                                   

Our baby class singing

Cindy Baucom

Founder

Bringing Miracles, Inc,

www.bringingmiracles.com

  God Bless You!

God is Faithful

Psalms 100:4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5 For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

This scripture is the lifeblood of our school, the very reason it continues to have pulse and life. It exists and continues to run because of God’s great faithfulness! It is only because of God’s provision through His people being moved, that the children have a place to come for school, that these 15 teachers have been paid salaries, that enough food is provided for the little ones, big ones and those that also glean in Kibera community. There are times when fear has tried to grip my heart and mind and tell me that there is NO WAY that the school can continue to run. I haven’t been able to visit churches or speak in groups this year about the great needs facing the children of Kibera, Kenya. Personal challenges will never negate the huge needs present at Miracle Victory Children’s Centre. Will you consider making a monthly commitment to our school? Or maybe you have never been able to contribute a financial gift, will you please consider making a one-time gift? Of any amount. Would you or your group consider sponsoring a teacher salary? It is $100 per month. Would you be able to buy a sack of rice or beans? $40 or $60 We will rejoice with whatever amount you are able to give!

Here are some pictures of the work that was completed during the school break in August. Some extensive finish work, flooring, and repairs and kitchen exhaust work needed some immediate attention. A friend from Charlotte and her family were in Kenya for a couple of weeks, visiting the hospital in Kijabe Hospital, where their daughter provided some beautiful artwork, bringing joy, encouragement and the love of the Lord. They have been instrumental in helping us at the school over the years in committed prayer and support. I really wanted her to have a chance to visit at the school while her family was in Kenya. Thankfully, the timing worked out and they were able to spend a day at the school, loving on children and engaging with our teachers. She said that is was difficult to breathe in the school and her eyes were burning due to the heavy smoke all over Kibera.  It permeates the whole area due to multiple charcoal cooking fires every 10 to 20 yards. We had purchased and fashioned a nice cooking area for the school, but poor ventilation caused the smoke to pour into our building during lunch service. Generous donors blessed us and we were able to address the poor ventilation, flooring, walls and other needs.

This is one of our 2nd story classrooms

New flooring, new chalkboard and paint to brighten this room.(above)  Love these bright and smiling faces!! This is our stairwell and 2nd story hallway between classrooms.

Our kitchen has had many improvements! A table has been built, providing work space for our cooks. A flue now vents the smoke to the outside, rather than spilling into the building.

The pipe outside of the kitchen now vents smoke to the outside.

Please continue to pray for our children for health, protection, family stability, minds to learn and become all that God has desired them to be.

Pray for our teachers, health in them and their families, creative ideas, good time management, provision.

Pray for leadership that they will continue to have a vision and desire to serve their community for God’s glory, that the snares of the enemy will be revealed, that their spiritual life will be active.

Pray for all staff for provision, health and protection.

Pray for fresh ideas for the school to make it more self sustaining.

Pray and ask God what your role is in helping these children become future missionaries, teachers, pastors, pilots, etc Help this child!

Donate now   here

Thank you!!!

Getting There (2nd level opens)

Getting There (2nd level of the school)

March 24, 2017/by Cindy Baucom

Student concentrating while teacher lec

2nd story opens

The upper-level classes are now meeting in the second story of our school building! We are SO HAPPY for them and their teachers! They now have some breathing room. Even more important than the extra space, these teachers can now focus on teaching their children! The children can now listen to their teacher without the distraction of 5 others teachers trying to simultaneously teach seventy-five other children. Don’t get me wrong, it was amazing to witness this happening in the one room available to the upper grades, but what relief to know that the children who are easily distracted now have only 25 other students and not the competition of 5 teachers talking at once. They are so ready and eager to learn and soak up all the knowledge being poured out! I am convinced that our children are the future of Kenya! God has great plans for them! Within the walls of our school, some of our children will become teachers, preachers, doctors, scientists, lawyers, and even a politician may be among them. I am so very proud of our teachers, that work so hard. They take their work home with them, just as teachers in the US have to do. They are planning lessons, grading papers, supervising after school clubs, mentoring caregivers, walking children across Kibera settlement to other schools providing sports and recreation facilities. Please pray for our teachers! It really is a special calling to work so hard and have a positive impact on children. Pray that they will continue to be committed to the calling, that they will use creative ideas, teach the subjects well, with clarity of instruction, that they will be blessed with health as individuals and in their families. Pray also that we can continue to provide a competitive salary so they will remain at our school and not want to go to greener pastures. God has been so good and such a faithful provider. Thankful to donors who respond to the needs of the children. We could not continue without your generosity, kindness and prayer support!

We were able to purchase tracksuits for the children, hopefully enabling their daily uniforms to last a bit longer. The tracksuits will be used on their activity days. They look so sharp! Enjoy seeing this slideshow of the children, their new suits, a swimming field trip and the 2nd story of our school. Keep in mind, they are still doing the finish work, so plaster work, windows and painting still need to be done.

Many of you know that Monica’s daughter contracted tuberculosis,  thankfully, she responded well to treatment and has returned to her school. TB is one of the top infectious disease killers in Kenya and most of the 3rd world. We are doing our part to instruct and create awareness to prevent the spread of TB.