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.

Bringing Miracles In Kibera, Kenya

We are thankful for this new, professionally mastered, created video by http://www.silentimages.com They were able to visually express the things I shared with them about the ministry in a beautiful way. Please share this video and help us tell Rose’s story. We have 300 children that each have their own story, just as gripping and real as hers. Sharing this video will help reach other folks that could help us continue the support of our school. Big hugs, big thanks to each of you!

Immense poverty and suffering is seen here in Kibera, Kenya. One of our students, Rose Aoko, is featured in this video, you will see the ministry that takes place to over 300 children and families. Many of these children are total orphans, Rose being one. We provide all they need to enter school, they pay no fees, they can’t pay when they earn less than one dollar a day, many less than 30 cents. Please help the children have a future! Thank you! bringingmiracles.com/giving

Lakeview Baptist Sends Team

July 26, 2016/by bringDesigner

A team of seven from Lakeview Baptist in Monroe, North Carolina spent 15 months meeting monthly to prepare spiritually through bible study and prayer, cultural sensitivity lessons and practical training. (demonstration of how to take a bucket shower   )  Lakeview Baptist and other supporters helped by collecting and sending multiple items that were on a needs list. Money was raised at several events enabling us to buy bibles, meet crusade expenses and provide for other critical needs. We collected so many items, that it was necessary to take 2 extra large suitcases along on the trip, for a total of 26 suitcases! Thank you to EVERYONE that helped us be the hands of Jesus! You played a huge part in making this trip a tangible blessing to the Kibera community. When it all comes down to it, prayer and trusting God was the crucial aspect of this mission trip. Breaking the fallow ground and combating the intense spiritual warfare that comes with huge leaps of faith for individuals, church, the community dynamics we were entering and physical safety. The enemy does not want the gospel to be shared and tried many different angles to disrupt and bring fear, but by God’s grace, we arrived in Nairobi, Kenya! Amazingly, the customs agent gave us favor and waved us through without charging any fees for all the goods we brought. That was really a miracle and needed encouragement after having to pay close to $1000 for the 2 extra bags we brought. (NEVER EVER TAKE MORE THAN YOU SHOULD, I tried for weeks to get those baggage fees waived, to no avail) It was so great to see the smiling faces of Monica, Cindy & her neighbor and Rose! Rose was the official representative from our school and greeted us holding a beautiful bunch of flowers, it really touched my heart to see that she had come to welcome us! 
The team piled into the van with our tower of suitcases tied down on it’s roof and then got to experience the joys of Nairobi traffic. Our driver navigated the tangle of cars, matatus, buses, vendors selling all manner of goods and pedestrians darting through tiny wedges of space between vehicles. Over the years, it amazes me that no pedestrians have been hurt during these trips. The vendor selling sugar cane was hard to resist because we were unable to fill our water bottles at Jomo Kenyatta Airport. The small bag was enough for everyone to sample and whet our thirst until getting to Monica’s home in Jamhuri.

Monica and her team of helpers were very hospitable and prepared delicious, hearty meals while we stayed in Kenya. They extended a kind and generous welcome, often preparing things for us that they would never afford for themselves. They blended fresh fruit juices, cooked sausages & eggs, tons of wonderful fresh vegetables, fruits; along with typical Kenyan fare of chapati, ugali, mandazis, lentils, potatoes, etc. Our first venture out to Kibera was made somewhat difficult due to our arrival during the rainy season. While our summer fits well into school schedules, for making a mission trip, it is actually cool, rainy and overcast during the Kenyan winter, making traversing the muddy paths to the school sort of treacherous.

Over the course of the last 15 months or more, our team was asked to prayerfully consider what gifts they felt like God might want to use on the mission trip. We discussed the length of the trip, most saying they felt like a 10 day trip would be about perfect for their first (most) trip out of the country. Kibera has been on my heart for years and I strongly felt urged to pray that the churches there would come together in unity. After sharing with Monica, we began to believe and pray to God, for this to somehow come together. We also began praying for a crusade and all aspects of the mission trip, for God to aid us in planning. The next team meeting, I shared how we were trusting God to help us with a crusade in Kibera. A rough draft of plans was developed for our trip. Gene wanted to help the children plant a garden, Phil would teach/preach, Jody would mentor and instruct the teachers, Kaden and Emily would paint a mural and play with the children, Jacquelyn wanted to work with the deaf and I would teach hygiene and infection control- with all of these things being entwined with biblical teaching, songs and as much love of Jesus Christ draping over each activity. It was thrilling to see the crusade actually becoming a reality! We had the pastors from 7 churches in Kibera come together and pray and plan for several months before we arrived. By the end of the crusade, there were more than 20 churches from all over Kenya and one from Uganda, that were involved in the crusade! That was God!! For that many churches, from different tribes and denominations, to come together for the purpose of repentance (main theme) and salvation, it was a miracle indeed. Phil had been praying and believing for 2000 salvations and shared it with us a couple weeks before leaving. Bold faith!! We know that hundreds came to salvation throughout the course of the crusade and we are still waiting on the final

numbers, but we trust that God will use the Word that was spoken during the crusade, to continue impacting lives for His glory and we do believe that at least 2000 and possibly MANY more will come to Christ! Not only were many lives impacted and changed, but many were drawn to a closer walk with God. Scores of folks stood out in the pouring rain, on their knees, crying out to God. Our team left early that night, no translators after Phil preached, having always been indoors before nightfall in Kibera. But those folks had church and much was accomplished for the kingdom of God!

Phil and Gene each had opportunities to preach and teach God’s Word. We all had opportunities to sing, read scriptures, pray with people, love on folks, take the children on a field trip to Nairobi Arboretum- it was so much FUN, teach children, plant seeds, plant a garden, build a shelf, paint walls, make a beautiful mural, attend the sick, prevent spread of disease, teach how to lesson plan, organize some areas in the school…the list goes on 

We were able to do most of the items on our list, plus some other unplanned things ( Jacq played basketball with about 20 boys after school one day, that was a highlight!! and God even provided a basketball for us on the way to the playing field- HE is SO GOOD!!)

Meet Miracle Victory Student Leaders

We want to introduce you to some of our school leaders and let you know what they do to make our school great! This is great training ground for them and we are so proud of their service. They were voted on by secret ballot by the our students. Our teacher, Joshua Ochieng, was kind enough to provide information about their duties, thank you!!

President, Emily Achieng

Deputy President, Thomas Obonyo

The president, Emily Achieng, is the overall leader who makes sure that the Ministers perform their duties and also ensures that the needs of the children are being met. For example, the lunch schedule and if the food is well cooked. If  the children have any issues, they report to their president, who will address concerns and bring it to a teacher's attention. This is working well, allowing the children to feel free with one another knowing they can share anything safely.  The work of the deputy is similar to that of the president. Thomas Obonyo will take the responsibility if the president is not available.

Student government leaders, as described from left to right. (they all are wearing their TOM's shoes)

The minister for peace, Jeff Ochieng (3rd from left), works to make sure that whenever there is a conflict between the children, he is able to talk to them and bring understanding among fellow students. This is possible because the teachers have taught him how to handle any misunderstanding between his fellow students. I.C.T (information in computer and technology) was created (as we believe by God's grace we'll one day have computers in the center) and he will be in charge, but at the moment what he does is to pass any information to the children like the debates motion which we normally hold every Friday afternoon. Minister of Education, Emily, is to ensure that teachers are in the class on time and whenever a child lacks learning material, like pens or books, she takes the matter to the teacher. The speaker's (Joan Anyango) function, is to chair the debate and with the help of the teacher, come up with a motion to monitor debates. The minister for health,Rose Aoko, works to make sure that the general cleanliness is observed within the school. Of course, our teachers are the ones ultimately responsible, but this gives a voice and opportunity for growth for these special students.

Employees of Miracle Victory Children's Centre

Environmental Club

Environmental club at work

Three of our teachers recently were given training to introduce environmental clubs in our school and how to select the board. They were also taught basics of  home gardening, rabbit keeping and chicken keeping. They were also shown a method to teach the school pupils how to keep the environment clean. The main objective was to show teachers how to set up an environmental club and how to instruct the children. They also learned how to develop micro projects which can generate food or income to the school. This is something I tried several years ago, but it failed. We rented land and planted crops, hoping that the proceeds would help sustain the school. It was a good plan, but without complete buy-in from the entire school (teachers and students) it was difficult to be successful. God has answered years of prayers, for sustainability, for training of teachers, for provision of the tools to make the school successful. All glory to Jesus for this!!