Praise the lord! We met Rose when we went to pray for a "demon possessed girl". Rose is 11 years old. She would sit on the street all day watching people going past. She was dirty, hungry and looked very mentally retarded. She didn't talk and would start screaming if you physically got close to her.

The mother came to church and asked us to go home with her to pray for her daughter who was "tormented by demons" she said - pretty scary stuff, but we went and Terrence prayed for peace as she was screaming! After she was calm enough being around us, we saw a kinda normal-ish girl: shy and probably reacting to the meanness of people, which is why she was weary of strangers. She let a lady on the team hold her hand and we gently talked to her as she nodded in answer to many of our questions. She even laughed at a joke!!  We all prayed for her and the family, and even had the opportunity to lead the mother into salvation, and then we left.

Every time we visited after that, we were amazed by the improvement she was making: she would run up to us and hug us and she even started talking and making friends in the neighborhood. PROBLEM!!! Rose did not go to school, but hung out on the streets all day. This was becoming a big issue. She would leave the house in the morning and sometimes not be back till the following morning.

Whoops! Miracles are just stage one - so what happens now?

We had to do something as horror images of what could happen to her kept us awake at night!!!! We looked for a special school, found one: conditions were she had to be assessed first and have a referral letter to attend the school. We took Rose to be assessed and found mum had problems during her delivery. So due to birth difficulties, Rose is mentally, physically and intellectually handicapped.

Step one taken care of, now we just needed around 20,000 KSH (approx: $300 NZ) to get her the uniform, and myriad of other supplies needed, for entrance into the school - as well as school fees. As this was a very urgent case, we did not have time to ask anyone outside Kenya for help. We took it to the missionary fellowship in prayer, as we could not cover all the costs ourselves. God touched the hearts of some of those who attended the meeting and many gave with an open and generous heart.

Within a week, thanks to the generosity of the local missionaries, we had the uniform, supplies, bedding and school fees needed to enable us to get Rose into the school. What is more, some of those who gave generously also live on the 'smell of an oily rag' and could least afford the money.

One family, the Thompsons, who run Hope Homes International - an orphanage for children who have literally been discarded - brought Rose her entire uniform and school accessories - brand new! William is a New Zealander and his wife, Moira, is from the USA. They have been in Kenya for more than 20 years and survive on almost nothing - all while housing and schooling around 30 children.

Time and time again we see people, who can least afford to give, giving generously without a thought to their own well-being - to the glory of God.

We are constantly encountering extreme desperation that requires only a small sum of money - yet lot's of small amounts add up to a very large amount, and we simply cannot help everyone God gives us to serve. If your heart is for God and you want to see people shown the love of Christ, then please consider helping us out (see how to here).

Rose is now settled and happy and growing day-by-day with the help of the teachers and care-givers at her school. Given her mother's extreme circumstances, and the danger Rose faces on the streets of Langas, the school has agreed to cover the cost of the basic supplies for Rose. However, we still need sponsorship for school fees so that Rose can stay in school (approx: $330 NZ per year).

Also, during the holidays, Rose needs to stay away from home, at the urging of her mother, for at least another year so she breaks any ties she has with the very bad girls she hung out with in Langas. This means we have to find a safe place for her to stay that can handle her handicapped condition. Please pray with us for an opening and the money needed to cover any costs.

A Note About Helping Out

As you can see from this story, much of the support we give to the people we serve is simply transport to and from meetings (which means we have to constantly hire a taxi as we have no car), logistical support - i.e. connecting them with the appropriate people, doctors, social workers and organizations - and prayer support. We also provide small amounts of financial support (e.g. food, rent top-up, medicine, etc.) when absolutely required - but this is an exception rather than a rule so that people do not become dependent on us. The main financial needs we see relate to school fees - and we are steadily gathering more-and-more children who we have helped get off the streets and into school. Please pray for God to lead you as to how you can help us to serve the Lord here in Kenya.

Thank you so much to all who have helped us. It's the little things, and little amounts, that make a big difference. It's like the story of the starfish.

It was low tide and thousands of starfish were stuck on the beach. A guy watched from his porch as a man waking along the beach would pick up a starfish and throw it back into the water. He watched amused for a while and decided to ask the man what he was doing. He pointed out that, as there were thousands of starfish trapped on the sand, he was making no real difference with the one or two he was throwing back. The man looked at him, picked up another starfish, then throwing it back in the sea said, "It makes a difference to this one".

It's not the thousands, or ten of thousands, around us in need that we look at, it's the one or two that God gives us to serve. Please get involved in whatever capacity you can. God Bless.