reactkenya.com Blog

Doing Justice

One of my fav preachers is Tim Keller and I had to share this with y’all. Please find the time to download and have a listen. Copy the following… http://theresurgence.com/2006/07/18/doing-justice-audio

Oh yea, Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas

I just received these pictures from Martin Shikuku this morning and I wanted to share them with you. There are some good pics of the new home that was constructed this past year as well as the well and Jiko (Kenyan Oven). Thank you for your interest and partnership this past year. We are amazed and humbled to have partnered with you and are anticipating what God has in store in the year to come. Enjoy these pics!

December 2010 Update

I’ve just watched a part of a documentary that George Clooney has been a part of in his advocacy for peace in Sudan. While I have never been a “star-gazer”, I appreciate anyone that takes up a cause for the poor, especially in Africa.

One thing that has stuck with me from this, besides the footage, is his message about preventing crisis. The world spends billions of dollars in the wake of disasters and wars when we could be avoiding crisis and save an incredible amount of money at the same time. If we had the foresight and concern before crisis happened, lives could be saved and our efforts made more efficient.

“If I told you that there was going to be an earthquake that would destroy 200,000 people, would you not do everything in your power both individually and globally to save those people? Sudan is not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster that can be avoided…We were too late in Rwanda. We were too late in Congo. We have a chance to avert a man-made disaster if we will only open our eyes and take action.”

In January 2011, the people of southern Sudan have the opportunity to vote on separation from the Arab North. This vote will undoubtedly stir the hornets nest in the North where the President wanted by the UN for genocide is ruling from. Many are saying that this vote will end in trouble for the “Christian” south.

So what does this have to do with ReACT and the work in Kenya? First of all, we are concerned for all of Africa, and especially the children of Africa, be it Kenya or neighboring Sudan, who have no voice. Second, we feel that our work in Kenya is not dissimilar and we see our reflection in the crisis of Sudan. Disaster for many of these children has already happened and continues to happen through disease, abuse and neglect. Most face personal crisis without intervention. Though the face of disaster is often hidden, the children facing various stigmas and handicaps in the countryside and urban areas would number in the hundreds of thousands. Our heart has been to search for and offer hope and a chance at an education and together with you, personal disaster is being avoided. With individuals like you, organizations like Transformed International and the work of our God, the forgotten children of Kenya have had a fresh start. In 2010, you helped over 100 children attend specialized schools for Deaf learning as well as other specialized schools.

We want to take this chance to thank the many people who have partnered with us and made this year a success. Our Kenyan partners, Transformed International (www.transformedinternational.org) are indispensable to the work with these children. Daniel, Sean and Meredith and their Kenyan team perform the required groundwork on a regular basis to ensure a steady connection with each child. We are incredibly grateful for their sacrifice and steady input into all of ReACT’s projects as they do all the ground work without any financial compensation. They simply carry a vision for this work and give voluntarily of their time and efforts. We are excited to spend a few days with Daniel at the end of January 2011 as he travels to Barrie after having been to his home in Reno for Christmas for the first time in 4 years. Without TI, the work of ReACT simply would not happen.

Many of you have followed our blog as well as our American friends, led by the Pollocks, that sacrificed incredibly to see the home of Martin and Ruth Shikuku relocated and re-built. This project simply amazed us as we saw 4 teams travel from various US locations to a rural location outside of Moi’s Bridge Kenya to transform a field into a safe and complete home for underprivileged children. All of the funds for this project were raised by this US team. A huge “thank you” goes out to all of you that gave beyond your capacity to see this home transformed.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Barrie that raised the funds for beds, a seed-press project and the dug well for the new Shikuku Home.

We are grateful for the individuals and families that sacrificed and gave so that children could go to school for the first time. I have spoken to some who have worked extra shifts on a monthly basis specifically to sponsor children. Some have given in memory of others. Some have sacrificed little luxuries so that a child could have a fresh start. It amazes and inspires me when I talk to many of you! For $250 Canadian, you averted personal disaster for a year, providing books, uniform, room and board. Without you, we are limited.

For anyone wanting to sponsor a child for 2011, please note that in order to give a charitable receipt for 2010, we need to receive your donation no later than December 19th so that there is time to send it off to our main office in Woodstock for processing.

We are still working on improving our communication with you in the upcoming year. We feel that, like many things, our strength is also our weakness. We are pleased to say that 100% of your donation goes towards the sponsored child. Nothing is taken for any overhead. This is also our weakness and we are working to improve communication with you through our network of volunteers.

Who knows what God will do in 2011?! We are amazed at all that happened in 2010 and look forward with anticipation and hope to the new year. Who knows what personal disasters will be averted in the coming days…who can say what stories we will hear in another year’s time if we take action now before crisis occurs?

JoHaBeTo Update, September 2010

This picture was just taken last Friday, September 10/10 and it is proof of what one team of people can accomplish when they put their minds and faith to it. There was not one building constructed, but rather three! We are incredibly grateful for the Pollock family from New York and their efforts in both raising funds and providing the labour for this project. Altogether, I believe that there was almost 80 people who made the trip to Kenya to see this project through to its completion. Again, for the details of this project and for many more pictures, have a look at www.johabeto.blogspot.com.

Words cannot express…


What an example of the blending of primary and secondary visions! Thank you to all who sacrficied to ensure that the fatherless have shelter. To God be the glory!

June 2010

We are pleased and excited to announce that a long-coming page to our web-site has just been added! It’s called “Faces” and connects you with many of the children sponsored at either the Deaf School or the Handicapped School. Our hats are tipped to our good friends at Transformed International again for their incredible acts of service as they put all this together on a volunteer basis.

All the children sponsored are not represented here and so we decided not to assign individual children to individual sponsors for this year…it would leave too many left out. Instead, we are asking you to click on the names shown (keep clicking!) to download a single page complete with a name, picture, and some information to get you better acquainted with the faces behind the work. Print and post the page in a well-travelled location of oyur home or office so that you can remember to pray for the children at a grass roots level.

We are ever mindful of your continued support and encouragement in this work. Without your partnership, we could not “Reach African Children Together”. On behalf of the children, we say “asante”!

Johabeto Update, April 2010

Well, well, well…Here is a piece of exciting news for those of you following our Johabeto project. This coming summer, for all of July and August, there are 4 teams of volunteers travelling to Kenya to construct a new home that will be directed by our good friend Martin and Ruth Shikuku. As you can see from the pictures the well on the new property is being constructed and will be ready for the teams to use during the construction. It will be 30 feet deep when all is done with plenty of water starting at only 15 feet deep. Thanks to the Rotary Club of Barrie for funding this work. They have sponsored various projects for us this year and for this we are very grateful.

We are also incredibly thankful for our American friends that have raised the funds for both the parcel of land for this new home as well as the materials. Wow! They are arranging the teams for 2 weeks each to go and physically construct this new home. All of July and August are booked for this and teams will be hosted by our wonderful friends at Transformed International in beautiful Kitale, Kenya! For anyone interested, there may still be room to join a team.

The talented Jim Weick from south of the border has also constructed a model of the proposed home. You can check this out below.

We are pleased at how progress is being made on this project. Much preliminary work is being accomplished as the property has been fenced, the rear of the land has been planted with maize and a storage shed has been constructed for use by the teams coming this summer.

Thanks to all that are making these projects a success!

March 2010 Update

“We must not always look for extraordinary things to do, but we must become extraordinary in ordinary things.”

This past January, I (Michael) had the bitter-sweet joy of celebrating my 40th birthday and found myself at a unique place in life. It seems that middle-age crept up on me as I both looked back in reflection as well as forward in anticipation. About the same time I found myself both looking back with thankfulness at 2009 as well as ahead with excitement to 2010 and our partnership with you in Kenya. We are excited and thankful as we look ahead to this year with some unique projects that clearly have the fingerprints of God on them.

Another school year has begun in Kenya. It is because you have sacrificed that handicapped children are attending school in a country where most are seen as second class citizens and family members. This year, we were able to sponsor all the children we have previously sponsored as well as increase those numbers because of your partnership. For 2010, we have 79 deaf children sponsored and 42 physically/mentally challenged children sponsored in 2 separate schools in a town called Webuye, Kenya. This is in addition to the 2 homes that we are helping support on a monthly basis. This is more than we have ever sponsored in previous years thanks to you!

We are also anticipating a unique building project for 2010 that will provide proper housing for the children of the Shikuku home. ReACT has for many years believed in the vision of Martin and Ruth Shikuku and have come behind them in two ways. The first is to help sponsor some of the extra 40 children they have taken into their home and second to provide a means for them to run a family business. In January 2009, Manon and I along with our daughter Elia traveled back to Kenya to see this work and we were struck by the poor housing and living conditions they had. Despite the fact that we have never had a vision to undertake the work of building and raising funds for building projects, God has proven faithful in bringing alongside Martin and Ruth a wonderful family from New York that we had never met (up until last summer) to undertake all of this. Having grown up in a missionary family, Bill and Ron Pollock as well as their siblings are quite familiar with Kenya and have previously undertaken 15 similar building projects. They have taken the initiative to raise the funds and even arrange the teams to travel to Kenya to build a new home for Martin and Ruth! In the last two months, the land has been purchased and most of the funds for the building have been donated. For all of July and August of this year, teams of 15-20 will be traveling to Kenya from the United States to participate in this building project. Manon and I are in awe of a God that does so much more than we ever dreamed of as we link arms with so many other talented and gifted people and ministries!

We have always recognized that one of our weaknesses has been keeping people like you informed and in touch with the children you are sponsoring. Reporting on over 100 children with friends that volunteer their time, talent and treasure has been an increasingly large task. We are pleased to report that our good friend Daniel at Transformed International is working on changing that for us! This may take some time and we hesitate to make any promises, but we hope to be able to provide a face, a name and a report on the specifics on each child so that you can make a personal connection with them. Daniel has a fill-time Kenyan social worker named Anne that has done an assessment of each child and visits each one on a regular basis. From her work we hope to be able to pass more information onto you so that you can pray and see the fruit of your investment. We thank you for your patience in this as we ourselves learn better how to bridge these two worlds of ours.

We are pleased to say that 100% of your funds go directly to the sponsorship of these children with nothing used for any overhead. We have several people along the way that volunteer their time, talent and treasure to ensure that these kids are properly cared for. We are always thankful for the team at Transformed International who monitor monthly if not weekly the various projects that ReACT has undertaken. Without Daniel, Anne, Meredith and Sean, none of what we do would be possible. As well, our Kenyan friends like Martin and Ruth Shikuku play a vital role in locating and caring for the handicapped children at a grassroots level. Jim at the Assists Projects here in Canada works hard to produce the charitable slips that we all look for around this time of year. (We hope you have received your by now!) We have found that partnering with other gifted and talented people like these as well as friends like you is far more effective than we could ever be on our own. Each one is the “Together” in ReACT.

Thank you to each of you for being “extraordinary at ordinary things”! The children of Kenya say “Asante!”

Michael and Manon Christensen

Relational Tithe

An interesting link to make you think…

Faith Today

Last winter, our friend Katherine and her 2 children children accompanied us to Kenya for 2 weeks. The trip went well and this month in Faith Today magazine, they featured an article on Scott and Kat’s desire to include their children as volunteers. Copy and paste this address to check it out… http://digital.faithtoday.ca/faithtoday/20091112/#pg30

Connexus

Wow! We need to say a really big “thanks” to our friends at Connexus Community Church here in Barrie. This past Sunday, the leadership team led by Carey Nieuwhof, helped promote the work of ReACT in a wonderfully effective way. Carey’s vision always expands outside the walls of the church and this week, his encouragement to the church was to make Christmas a giving event both locally and globally. (You can view his presentation below.) We are privileged to have friends and partners like all of you! Thank you!