August Trip - Blog Post #1

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress.” James 1:27

We have been blessed beyond measure. We live in a country where everything we need to survive is easily accessible. In our bubble of normalcy it becomes easy to forget about the needs of our brothers and sisters in places like Kenya. Plymouth Covenant Church partners with Love for Kenya in order to go and serve in the Kibera Slums in Nairobi, and at Shangilia Children’s Home in Luciola. The needs in this world are great, and we don’t want to forget.

Pastor Timothy has built his own school in the Kibera Slum in order to combat the high percentage of youth who become involved in gang related violence in order to survive.

Shangilia Children’s Home was founded out of the love and faith of Pastor Francis Ranagwa and his wife, Florence. In 2000, they took twenty orphaned children into their own home and since that time, God has blessed their ministry and it has grown to house over 80 of Kenya’s orphaned children. While we are visiting Shangilia our mission is to:

  • Love on the kids! Many of the children at Shangilia have heartbreaking stories of loss and abandonment; we want them to know that there are people in the world that love them, but more importantly, that their Father in Heaven loves them.

  • Minister to and experience fellowship for the hardworking staff at Shangilia.

  • Join in fellowship and worship with the widows of the surrounding area. Plymouth Covenant Church partners with the widows in the Luciola area by providing micro loans to start their own businesses so they can provide for themselves and their families.

  • Set up a medical clinic in Luciola in order to provide some basic medical needs.

  • Share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For those of you have sponsered team members or children living at Shangilia, we thank you. It is only through your support that we are able to go. We are so grateful that God calls goers AND senders. You are making a difference in the lives of children and widows in Kenya.

The team going from Plymouth Covenant Church is: Stephanie Carpentier, Barb Nicollich, Rick and Lori Berning, Sandy and Kate Doyle, Lily, Parker, and Rose Cary. It is led by Lisa Bennett and Lauren McGrath. The team leaves on August 8th and returns on August 20th.