R E S C U E
Hello Y’all
What words could sum up the last 3 months? Maybe a whirlwind of overwhelming, beautiful, sad, loving, frustration, life changing, exhausting, priceless, and totally worth it. This pretty much sums up our entire lives on the mission field! I always wrestle with how to squeeze into a short newsletter all that God is doing! Much will be left out, but here are the bullet points.
Family
It was a dream come true having our daughters and grandchildren visit us here in Kenya, all except our first-born daughter Christian. Being away from our family is by far the hardest thing about being in Kenya. Having all the things we love most in one place was such a treasure. We loved watching our grandchildren serve at the Dream Center. And our hearts were so full, watching our girls share the love they have with the children we love at the Dream Center.
Dream Center
We have added an extra teacher and now have 17 students! And we will be adding 2 more students soon. The students were chosen from children not able to attend school for different reasons.
We also have 15 students attending school through our sponsorship program, with 2 attending university. We have 2 of those children still needing a sponsor. Message us for details INTERNSHIP.
Girls Conference
We had a small conference for the girls, limiting it to 80 girls. This was a step down from our last conference of over 500 girls. We had a whole day of learning about identity in Christ, feminine hygiene, incest, rape prevention, and sexual purity. We played games and enjoyed a meal together. We closed with a prayer for surrendering their lives to Jesus and a prayer for healing. I believe it was a powerful day for many. The girls and our leadership have expressed interest in doing something once a month. As much as we know this is a great need, we also know we don’t want to spread ourselves too thin. So, we are praying for interns to come alongside us and help us implement some of these much-needed programs. Message us for details.
Girls conference video:
Woodworking
Wayne’s Men’s woodworking class is doing great. What was originally just for men has evolved into letting the young boys join. Now they’re not only learning a skill, but it is keeping them safe and out of trouble. They love it.
Gently Led
In the beginning, I thought this class was just about babies’ health and moms’ parenting. But the deeper our relationships grow with these mothers, the more we see the importance of the work God has called us to. Many of the women who come to our new mother’s class are feeling hopeless and angry about their pregnancy and their babies. This class is a time to work through these issues. When we celebrate their babies, and we give them the cutest baby clothes you have ever seen, something happens. They begin to celebrate. We have added home visits to this program, so they can feel even more of our love.
Us
Haven and I (Tammy) are planning to come back to the states at the end of November, so we can prepare for our Africa Christmas Sale. 🙂
The hand-made crafts support our local artisan friends, and all our funds go back into our Dream Center Ministries.
Let us know if you are interested in having a sale at your church, coffee shop, home, etc.
Wayne is staying in Kenya until the end of December to remodel, turning our attic into two extra rooms. What seemed to be a huge space for a community center now seems too small. Wayne is also planning a Christmas Celebration for 600 children at the Dream Center then.
The Lord willing, he will hop on a plane just in time for Christmas with us.
The Future
We have come to realize that the greatest way we can empower people here is through education.
For so many children, the Dream Center is truly a light in the darkness, a city on a hill, and a safe refuge from horrible, unthinkable circumstances. When you know their stories, it is so hard to teach about how God cares for them, and then send them back home to abuse and neglect. Surely, He hears their cries.
Because WE have been rescued, we will fight to rescue others.
Wayne had an epiphany last week, “What if we started a boarding school?”
This is very commonplace for Kenyans. And this would enable us to educate, feed, and house, AND give us seven days-a-week to show them the love of Jesus.
Isn’t this a great idea! Our hearts want to explode thinking about it!!!
We don’t know how this is going to happen just yet. It’s actually scary, and it sounds impossible. But we have seen God do it before, and we are asking Him to do it again! We will have to have others come alongside us. For now, we are looking for land to build on.
God can use many ways to rescue, but He primarily uses people. If you would like to be a part of this rescue plan through our ministry, you can through the following!
- Pray for us.
- Please let us know you praying for us! Send us an email at andrusfamilymission@gmail.com
- Donate monthly. (Even a little can go a long way here!)
- Join us through interning or a mission trip.
Also, we are planning a pastor’s conference in April 2023! Email us if you would like to be a part of the conference.
Thank you for your love and support and being part of our journey here in Kenya!
Claiming His promises,
Wayne, Tammy, and Haven!
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