ncm magazine child development issue

NCM MAGAZINE22

A P U B L I C A T I O N O F N A Z A R E N E C O M P A S S I O N A T E M I N I S T R I E S

…for those who embrace compassion as a lifestyle

Keeping Children First: How Nepal’s Child-Focused Development Is Changing Entire Families

Youth in ACtion: How Young People Are Living Compassion as a Lifestyle

eAst AFriCA FAmine persists: The Church Takes Action

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NCM MAGAZINE22

Back to School How Child Sponsorship Is Helping a Community in Zimbabwe Educate Their Children 4

A Kingdom For ChildrenBiblical Reflections on a Child-Focused Church 6

Keeping Children First How Nepal’s Child-Focused DevelopmentIs Changing Entire Families 8

Here to Stay How a Small Congregation Is Turning Neighbors Into Friends 22

A Transforming Love How God Is Using Mango Tree Center to Care for a Boy With Cerebral Palsy in Tonga 12

Beating the Odds in Beirut How a Young Woman Is Finding Healing Through the Support of Her Church 24

Little by Little How a Kenyan Couple’s Service Has Changed Thousands of Kids’ Lives 18

Restored Through Love How a Church Is Expressing God’s Heart for Children in One of Colombia’s Most Dangerous Neighborhoods 14

Growing in Grace A Thai Story of Child Sponsorship 26

A Shared Dream A Kenyan Community and MNU Students Partner to Build a School 21

East Africa Famine Persists The Church Takes Action 16

Youth in Action How Young People Are Living Compassion as a Lifestyle 28

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Chris-tian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

CO

NTE

NTS

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARTY HOSKINS

A CHURCH FOR CHILDREN

21trees

9554gallons of

water

7millionBTUs

580pounds of

solid waste

1984pounds of

greenhousegas emissions*Information provided by Spicers Paper

By printing this magazine on recycled paper, NCM helped save:*

NCM MAGAZINE4

W hen large-scale commercial farming collapsed beginning in 2000 due to land rights issues, the economy of Ruwa, a small town located

22 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of the capital city of Harare, Zimbabwe, completely collapsed. Farm work-ers lost their jobs and homes. Poverty increased, and many people resorted to drinking local brew to drown their sorrows. In addition to the problem of unemploy-ment, many people were also living with HIV and AIDS, and many children had been orphaned because of it.

A Local Congregation Steps In to Serve The Church of the Nazarene came to Ruwa in 2004 under the leadership of Rev. Freddy Kanenungo, former district superintendent of the Zimbabwe East district. In 2008, the local church identified the children who were most in need and most vulnerable in the community, and they started a child development center (CDC).

The center served the kids using the gifts and resources they had gathered locally. Leaders and volunteers col-lected food like maize and beans from community mem-bers and began feeding a nutritious meal to about 50 children every Saturday. They shared Bible stories with the kids and organized sports for them. People from outside the community also donated to the program because they could see the good work taking place.

As time went on, though, the leaders and volunteers at the Ruwa CDC felt overwhelmed by the many needs that they could not meet. The majority of participants at the center were children who had been orphaned, having lost one or both parents. Most were no longer going to school because they did not have money for school fees.

Take, for example, three siblings at the Ruwa CDC. Precious*, 13, Walter*, 10, and Clemence*, 9, live with their mother, who is unemployed. Their father is dead. Their mother collects firewood to sell and uses the money to put at least one meal a day on the table for her family. However, when the children were expelled from school for not paying their school fees, they had no hope of going back because their mother did not have the funds needed for their education.

That hopelessness started to change in December 2010 when the Ruwa CDC had the opportunity to partner with Nazarene Child Sponsorship. Through sponsorship, the CDC was able to accomplish their first priority—to get the community’s children back in school. Precious, Walter, and Clemence were among the first of 20 children (18 primary school and two sec-ondary school students) who went back to school with the help of support sent by child sponsors.

by Simbarashe Kanenungo, NCM Africa

HOW CHILD SPONSORSHIP IS HELPING A COMMUNITy IN ZIMBABWE EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN

WHEN THE

COMMUNITy’S

CHILDREN GET

BETTER EDUCATION,

THE CyCLE OF

POvERTy BEGINS

TO BREAk, AND

HOPE SPREADS AS

PEOPLE SEE CHRIST’S

COMPASSION LIvED

OUT IN THE CHURCH.

Back to School

The Ruwa Child developmenT CenTeR offeRs nuTRiTion, ReCReaTion, Counseling, ChRisTian disCipleship, and eduCaTional assisTanCe To The CommuniTy’s ChildRen. PHOTOS COURTESY OF NCM AFRICA

NCM MAGAZINE22 SPRING 2012 13

“The morale at the center is very high,” a volunteer at Ruwa CDC said. “Since the funding from NCM started coming in, we are able to do more for the children in our community.”

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty The center is now able to address more of the chil-dren’s needs. They provide a nutritious meal for the kids Monday through Saturday, which has improved the children’s overall health and ability to learn. They take time to counsel children with emotional needs and teach them about HIV prevention while also minister-ing to them through Bible studies. They even purchase school uniforms for the children who have tattered ones. With this simple makeover, the children are proud to go to school, and the education they receive there means opportunities for a better future.

Volunteers at the Ruwa CDC also advocate for children in the community. The majority of children do not have birth certificates, which they need for the public school examinations that allow them to progress in school. The center has already talked with community leaders about how to collaborate to tackle this issue. Volunteers from the center also conduct health awareness campaigns and seminars in the community. They engage local health care centers to help conduct HIV testing and give counseling to children and their guardians.

In a town trying to rebuild a crumbling economy, the Ruwa CDC is bringing hope to children and families who had lost hope. When the community’s children get better edu-cation, the cycle of poverty begins to break, and hope spreads as people see Christ’s compassion lived out in the church. In fact, many are coming to faith in Christ because of it. Ruwa Church of the Nazarene is growing as

people see transformation in the community. n

* Name has been changed.

pReCious, 13 yeaRs old

walTeR, 10 yeaRs old

ClemenCe, 9 yeaRs old

ZIMBABWETotal Population: 13 million Life Expectancy: 46People Living With HIV: 1.2 millionOrphaned Children: 1.4 millionUnder-5 Mortality Rate: 1 in 11 live births Children Under 5 Who Are Underweight: 16% Primary School Enrollment: 90%Secondary School Enrollment: 38%Statistics taken from unicef.org/sowc2011.

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A t that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child, whom he put among them and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like

this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name wel-comes me.” (Matthew 18:1-5)

Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” And he laid his hands on them and went on his way. (Matthew 19:13-15)

CHILDREN HOLD

FAMILIES AND

COMMUNITIES

TOGETHER. THEIR

WELFARE IS A GOOD

INDICATOR OF THE

COMMUNITy’S HEALTH

AND vITALITy.

by Nell Becker Sweeden,

NCM Field Program Coordinator

How often do we forget about children or leave them on the sidelines of our busy lives? We run from one place to another and try to meet endless deadlines and feed insatiable agendas. Countless responsibilities, people, and desires push and pull for our time, thoughts, and energy. Too often, when children are brought into the middle of this mess, they are treated as an inconve-nience or overlooked altogether.

Jesus’ words in Matthew 18 and 19 should radically change the way we relate to children. Jesus was not too busy to be “disrupted” by children. In fact, he took time to pray for and lay his hands of blessing on them.

He revealed the kingdom of heaven as an upside-down kingdom where the first are last and the

last, first, and where little children are the greatest. And he told his disciples to become like children if they wanted to enter the kingdom of heaven.

If children are so central to Jesus’ vision of God’s king-dom, then we need to welcome them into our lives and make them central in our church. We must care and provide for them while listening to and empowering them. Our Nazarene brothers and sisters in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are leading the way in this.

Children TodayOur world is rapidly changing, and children are a big part of that change. Consider this:

• The world has 7 billion people, and almost one-third of them are under the age of 15.

•Anadditional2.7millionpeoplewillbe born this week.

Many of these children not only go unseen and unheard, but they are

also victims of abuse and exploi-tation. They are the world’s most vulnerable and have the least abil-ity to defend themselves against harm.Andyet,Jesussaysthatwe

are to become humble like these children and to welcome him by

welcoming them.

NCM MAGAZINE22

Child-FoCused Community development Nazarene Compassionate Ministries’ child-focused community development programs in South Asia place children at the center of all the church’s work in order to build loving, healthy, and strong families and congre-gations. That means programs addressing issues such as hunger, poverty, illiteracy, and HIV and AIDS begin with children. Through this method, all key players in the community have the opportunity to work together to make children’s lives better and, in doing so, improve their own lives and their entire communities as well.

The Child Is the CenterChildren hold families and communities together. Their welfare is a good indicator of the community’s health and vitality.

In South Asia, the church ministers to children by nur-turing each area of their development in a loving and Christlike way while taking into account the context of their family, extended community, and society. This holistic child development model implemented through child development centers (CDCs) supports each child’s growth to reach her or his God-given spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, and social potential.

Healthy Families Raise Healthy ChildrenParents need a means to provide for their children. That’s why South Asia’s child-focused community development programs often offer small groups for mothers whose children participate in CDCs. The small groups provide social support, parenting educa-tion, support for family relationship-building, health and nutrition training, medical check-ups, and skills devel-opment in saving money and developing small income-generating projects.

Transforming CommunitiesEach community’s challenges affect its families and children, from poverty to hunger to violence to disease. NCM staff members work with leaders and parents to develop programs that support the community in over-coming these challenges.

nCm Child-FoCused Community ACtivities• Education programs for

children

• Seminars and lectures on good parenting principles

• Skills training for parents

• Home Bible studies

• Family camps

• Community outreach service programs

• Coordinating dialogue with local government officials, community organizations, and church leaders about what it means to have a child-friendly church and village

BeComing Child-mindedWe believe that greater things are yet to be done through children in the name of Jesus, because Jesus, who came as a child, continues to radically transform and bring salvation to our world today. To join in this work, we have to stop and listen. We have to be willing to learn and to be open to how God is breaking into our world through children. n

BiBlical Reflections on a child-focused chuRch

NCM MAGAZINE8

Through

child-focused

communiTy

developmenT

efforTs,

ncm in nepal is

addressing The

needs of The

whole family

and allowing

parenTs The

digniTy of

providing for

Their children

Themselves—

boTh for Today

and Tomorrow.

ThRough a small business sTaRTed wiTh The help of nCm, Rajan balampaki magaR woRks as a sTReeT vendoR selling food To pRovide

foR his ChildRen’s sChool fees and oTheR basiC needs. PHOTO COURTESY OF NCM NEPAl

Rajan and his wife, giTa, send TheiR kids To a nazaRene

Child developmenT CenTeR ThaT pRovides suppoRTive

pRogRams foR boTh ChildRen and paRenTs. PHOTO

COURTESY OF NCM NEPAl

when nCm is inviTed To a new aRea, sTaff Talk wiTh

CommuniTy membeRs abouT TheiR desiRes foR The fuTuRe

and how They Can use TheiR sTRengThs To meeT TheiR needs.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NCM NEPAl

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARTY HOSKINS.PHOTO COURTESY OF MARTY HOSKINS.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARTY HOSKINS.

NCM MAGAZINE22

by NCM Nepal Staff and Beth Clayton Luthye, NCM Education

Rajan Balampaki Magar lives in Manohara, an infor-mal settlement outside Kathmandu, Nepal. He and his wife, Gita, are trying to provide a better

life for their children. Their son, Suresh,* and daugh-ter, Diya,* study at a private school that offers a better education and more opportunities for the future than the public schools, but it’s not cheap. Rajan and Gita work hard to pay the school fees by selling pani puri (a popular porridge eaten with soup) from a mobile food cart. Their business has done well enough that Rajan was able to buy another cart that he rents to another food vendor for additional income.

Not long ago, however, the family’s situation was pretty bleak. Rajan and Gita had been working long hours for low pay in a carpet factory. Suresh and Diya often had to miss school since their parents could not afford the cost of school supplies or other education-related fees. The family lived in one of the small rooms the factory provided workers, but living in that environment led to frequent colds and other respiratory problems. When the factory closed unexpectedly, the family suddenly went from having little to having nothing. Rajan and Gita were jobless, and the four of them were homeless.

The family was desperate, but they were not without hope. Rajan turned for help to the child development center (CDC) where his children were enrolled and where he was part of a self-help group, an organized group where community members save and loan out money together. On the guarantee of the group, Rajan received a loan from NCM Nepal—enough to buy a

food cart and start a small business. Soon, he and Gita were making enough money to provide for their basic needs and send the children to a better school. Now, Rajan and his family are active in the local Nazarene congregation where they are even able to tithe.

“Many young guys go to Malaysia, UAE [United Arab Emirates], Dubai, or other foreign countries to earn money,” Rajan said, “but I can earn money equal to what they earn from my own country. … God helps people in any situation.”

Building Up Parents NCM Nepal ministers from the philosophy that com-munity transformation happens best by addressing the needs of the whole family. That is why NCM’s 10 CDCs reach out not just to the more than 1,100 children they serve, but to their parents as well.

Life is not easy for the majority of families living in Nepal. Most of the children in the CDCs come from families

FirstHow Nepal’s CHild-FoCused developmeNt is CHaNgiNg eNtire Families

Keeping Children

9SPRING 2012

NEPAL

CHINA

INDIA

KATHMANDU

NEPALTotal Population: 29 million Life Expectancy: 67Urban Population: 18%Under-5 Mortality Rate: 1 in 21 live birthsChildren Under 5 Who Are Underweight: 45% Primary School Enrollment: 84%Adult Literacy Rate: 58%Statistics taken from unicef.org/sowc2011.

10

who live well below the poverty line. Many parents of chil-dren in the rural CDCs are subsistence farmers, but their fields do not produce enough for the entire year. These farmers look for whatever day labor jobs they can find. The families who live in and around Kathmandu face high costs of living and low-paying jobs.

In these contexts, families cannot afford to send their chil-dren to school or buy paper, books, and pencils. If chil-dren do not go to school, many wind up working in public transportation or as day laborers. Others work in hotels or as housekeepers in other people’s homes where they are often exploited.

“Being a poor Nepalese child is synonymous to being a child deprived of good education, nutrition, and various opportunities,” said Padam Subba, NCM child develop-ment coordinator for Nepal. “These children cannot develop their potentials and skills until they get a good opportunity.”

Nepal’s CDCs, however, give poor children a chance at education, which means a chance at a better future. The centers enroll the most vulnerable children in the com-munity and then work with parents to ensure they have the opportunity to provide for their children’s educational needs on their own.

Not only does NCM in Nepal start self-help groups like the one in which Rajan participates, it also helps families participate in other income-generating activities, such as family gardens. Through partnership with Canadian Foodgrains Bank, NCM has helped farmers diversify their crops by adding vegetables to them. This transforma-tion increases each family’s nutrition through a balanced diet. The gardens have been so productive that the farm-ers have also increased their income through the sale of excess crops—income that is then invested in their chil-dren’s futures through education.

Through child-focused community development efforts, NCM in Nepal is addressing the needs of the whole family and allowing parents the dignity of providing for their chil-dren themselves—both for today and tomorrow.

“The CDCs have been a tool for transforming people in Christ,” Subba said. “It is only by the help of our

almighty God.” n


Learn more about child-focused community development in “A Kingdom for Children” on page 6.

NCM MAGAZINE

Local church congregations are integral to NCM’s child-focused community development in Nepal. Far beyond simply provid-

ing a building where children gather, they are involved in every aspect of NCM child development centers (CDCs) as well as min-istry to families and communities. Local congregations determine the location of CDCs based on their knowledge of the community and of the children most in need. Teachers in each CDC are active members of their church congregations, and NCM offers training on holistic community ministry to local church leaders.

“Local church is not separate from the community,” said Padam Subba, NCM child development coordinator for Nepal. “Rather, it should be a strong agent of implementing God’s holistic plan for changing the community.”

Rev. Ganga Mukhiya has seen the way lives are transformed when the church is involved in holistic ministry. He started pas-toring New Community Church of the Nazarene in Nepal four years ago. They were a fledgling congregation at the time, but they started looking for ways to serve the community anyway. He said they began “praying for the local church to do something that directly benefits the poor community people.”

Then, an existing CDC started enrolling children from the area—mostly children from poor families working in the garment industry. Soon the congregation was operating as an official branch of the CDC and included 50 children from 30 different families coming together five days a week. The CDC ministry also gave Mukhiya an opportunity to reach out to the children’s parents by visiting their homes.

Before the CDC program started in 2007, the church was discour-aged because they were not growing. Now, the church building is not big enough for everyone who shows up to worship.

“Most of the believers are the parents of the CDC kids,” Mukhiya said. “Many of the kids also have made deci-sions for Christ.”

ChurCh-BasedChild development

Rev. ganga mukhiya sees The ways CompassionaTe minisTRy allows his CongRegaTion

To ReaCh ouT To TheiR CommuniTy. PHOTO COURTESY OF NCM NEPAl

NCM MAGAZINE22

INTERESTED IN SPONSORING A CHILD?Visit ncm.org/cs.

The Daily Deal: WhAt hAPPENS At A CDCAt CDCs in Nepal, children come five after-noons a week. The CDCs’ programs help address the physical, emotional, relational, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of each child’s life. Here are some of the ways they are engaging children using this holistic approach to child development:

• Volunteers tutor children in their school subjects.

• Contests, such as quizzes, debates, and poetry or essay contests, make learning fun and teach children confidence.

• Children receive a health check-up every three months and are given de-worming pills regularly.

• Mothers learn to prepare nutritious, bal-anced meals for their kids.

• Children participate in community rallies to raise awareness about social issues such as human trafficking or the dangers of drug abuse.

• Groups act out Bible stories and talk about the Bible’s messages for their lives.

• Children participate in Sunday school and worship services.

• Children find love and support at the cen-ter every day.

ChildRen in nazaRene Child developmenT CenTeRs in nepal ReCeive basiC mediCal CheCk-ups

and pRevenTaTive healTh CaRe. PHOTOS COURTESY OF NCM NEPAl

nCm in nepal helps families esTablish gaRdens ThaT pRovide nuTRiTious food foR TheiR

ChildRen as well as some inCome.

CommuniTy volunTeeRs Cook a nuTRiTious meal eaCh day foR ChildRen in nepal’s nazaRene Child developmenT CenTeRs.

12

Sione* is an 8-year-old boy who lives with

severe cerebral palsy. He lives close to one

of the church’s ministries, the Mango Tree

Center. The center provides holistic and family-

centered rehabilitation services to children liv-

ing with disabilities. We didn’t meet Sione until

he was 5 years old. That’s when a villager told

us about the young boy’s condition. At that time,

he couldn’t eat or even crawl by himself. He lied

down all day and swallowed food that his mother

chewed for him. I knew that Sione needed imme-

diate rehabilitative therapy, but our center wasn’t

able to provide it at the time.

God started to work quickly, though, beginning

with an opportunity for me to travel to South

Korea. There, I visited rehabilitation hospitals

where I learned a lot and found a rehabilitative

therapy training manual. Soon, I was able to begin

rehabilitative therapy with Sione. With that as a

starting point, the Mango Tree Center became the

very first organization in Tonga to provide reha-

bilitative therapy.

Healing a FatHer’s Heart

Eventually, I discovered another difficulty that

Sione and his mother faced on a daily basis. One

day when Sione’s mother brought him to our cen-

ter, her entire face was bruised and swollen. She

said the injury was the result of a fall, but after

talking more, I learned that her drunken husband

had beaten her. Sione’s father felt no respon-

sibility for his family, and they suffered from his

alcoholism and domestic violence. We prayed

together for her family.

Not long after, Sione’s mother took Sione and left

their house. She found the courage to report the

abuse to the police, and she and Sione went to

stay at a women’s shelter for a month. Sione con-

tinued his rehabilitative therapy during this time.

After witnessing the severity of alcoholism,

domestic violence, and neglect by fathers in

Tonga, I strongly felt the need to minister to

these men through God’s Word. I began a regu-

lar meeting for fathers of children with disabili-

ties. We ate together, and I encouraged them

through scripture and also practical parenting

information. The fathers were comforted as they

were able to talk about their difficulties and as

we all prayed together. The meeting became a

safe place where men who understood each

other could share.

The meeting soon expanded into one where

all parents could come together to fellowship

and share God’s Word. I invited several moth-

ers and fathers, including Sione’s parents, to

A T R A N S F O R M I N G

how God Is Using Mango tree Center to

Care for a Boy With Cerebral Palsy in tonga

by

Rev. In-Kwon Kim,

Missionary to the

Kingdom of Tonga

and Director of

Mango Tree Center

in The lasT ThRee yeaRs, sione has leaRned To walk wiTh suppoRT, eaT on his own, and

CommuniCaTe ThRough means oTheR Than CRying. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MANgO TREE CENTER

tONGATotal Population: 104,000

Life Expectancy: 72

Urban Population: 23%

Under-5 Mortality Rate: 1 in 53 live births

Primary School Enrollment: 99%

Secondary School Enrollment: 66%

Statistics taken from unicef.org/sowc2011.

TONGA

KolongaNUKU’ ALOFA

SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN

Fuaamotu

Houma

NCM MAGAZINE


this Bible study on Thursdays. At first, Sione’s

father avoided the meeting, but soon he became

interested. He began thinking about God’s Word,

reflecting on his life, and applying the lessons to

the way he lived.

One day, Sione’s mother told us, “My husband’s

friends came over to invite him out to drink, but

my husband said, ‘I’m not going because I have

to go to a Bible study with Pastor Amanaki.’”

(Amanaki is my Tongan name.) We praised the

Lord together. Sione’s father has continued to

decrease his drinking, and Sione’s mother hasn’t

gone back to the women’s shelter.

Love that grows

To children living with a disability, early interven-

tion is extremely important. If they don’t give up

in their therapy, they will experience significant

improvements. It has been almost four years

since Sione first came to the Mango Tree Center

for rehabilitative therapy. Today, Sione can eat by

himself, and he can even walk with support. He

used to communicate only through crying, but

now he uses other ways to communicate, too.

Even though he still has quite a long way to go,

Sione’s improvement is miraculous.

Beyond the physical milestones, Sione is also

growing socially. He attends an inclusive educa-

tion class at a local primary school. He wears a

clean uniform to school each day, and his friends

call out his name to welcome him to class. The

dreams of Sione’s mother for her son are coming

true, one by one.

We know that God loves everyone, but I think God

shows love to children with disabilities even more

because the love God gives them multiplies and

flows out to the people around them. Sione’s fam-

ily is truly experiencing God’s love. God especially

loves Sione, and that love is transforming his

entire family. n


A NAZARENE COMMITMENT TO

HOLISTIC MINISTRy TO CHILDREN

the Church of the Nazarene Manual, 2009-

2013, states:

holistic and transformational ministry to

children and their families in every local

church will be a priority as evidenced by:

• providing effective and empowering

ministries to the whole child—physi-

cally, mentally, emotionally, socially,

and spiritually;

• articulatingChristianpositionsoncur-

rent social justice issues that affect

children;

• connectingchildrentotheheartofthe

mission and ministry of the faith com-

munity;

• discipling children and training them

to disciple others;

• equippingparentstonurturethespiri-

tual formation of their children.

We knoW that God

loves everyone, but

I thInk God shoWs

love to chIldren

WIth dIsabIlItIes

even more because

the love God GIves

them multIplIes

and floWs out

to the people

around them.

sione’s moTheR has found CouRage

To faCe heR own Challenges in

oRdeR To help heR son.

A T R A N S F O R M I N G

RESTORED THROUGH LOvEhOW A ChURCh IS ExPRESSING GOD’S hEARt FOR ChILDREN IN ONE OF COLOMBIA’S MOSt DANGEROUS NEIGhBORhOODS

NCM MAGAZINE14

Barrio Belencito Corazón is a tough neighborhood. It is in an area known as Commune Thirteen, the most violent section of Medellín, Colombia’s sec-

ond largest city, which is also known for its drug-related gang warfare. In the middle of that neighborhood lives a 10-year-old girl named Paula* (pictured in top right photo). She survives there with her mother and two sis-ters, ages 6 and 4, at the territorial boundary of two rival gangs where she hears gunshots regularly.

Yet, it is in this neighborhood that Paula has learned what real love looks like.

the Love of a Father Four years ago, Paula’s mother discovered a child development center called Proyecto Red de Amor

(Network of Love Project) in Barrio Belencito Corazón, a ministry of nearby Santa Monica Church of the Naza-rene. At that point, she was desperate for help. Months earlier, Paula’s father had abandoned the family, leaving them without any financial support.

During that time, the local government took Paula and her younger sisters to a temporary children’s home. The intention of the move was to keep them safe and provided for, but during the four months they lived in the home, they suffered physical and emotional abuse. Paula even got sick with a stress-related illness that temporarily paralyzed part of her body. Because of the illness, she and her sisters were allowed to return home, but they faced the same economic hardship there that they had left months earlier.

Paula’s mother reached out to Proyecto Red de Amor for help. Paula began attending the center, and the church in Santa Monica ministered to Paula’s mother. Today, Paula cherishes the project, not only because she gets a hot lunch, but also because she has expe-rienced love and acceptance from the staff and—most importantly—from God. She has learned that even though her biological father is not around, she has a Father in heaven who loves and protects her.

The change in Paula over the last four years is remark-

able. Now, she can smile with ease and is doing well in

by Luis Meza,

Missionary to Colombia

COLOMBIATotal Population: 46 million Life Expectancy: 73Urban Population: 75%Under-5 Mortality Rate: 1 in 53 live births Children Under 5 Who Are Underweight: 7% Primary School Enrollment: 90%Secondary School Enrollment: 71%Statistics taken from unicef.org/sowc2011.

VENEZUELAPANAMA

BRAZIL

PERU

COLOMBIA

ECUADOR

BOGOTA

CARIBBEANSEA

NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN

Medellín

PHOTOS COURTESY OF REd dE AMOR


school. The young girl comes to the center every day

and eats lunch and receives help with her homework.

Throughout the year, she also participates in field trips

and special celebrations for holidays such as Christ-

mas and Mother’s Day. Through the direction of proj-

ect coordinator Edna Caicedo, Paula and the rest of

the students at the center receive spiritual nurturing

through learning to pray and read the Bible and having

activities such as vacation Bible school.

Growing in Love, Not hateProyecto Red de Amor has been a ministry of the

Santa Monica Church of the Nazarene since 2006.

Rev. Angela Caicedo and the congregation have been

sensitive to the voice of the God of love and compas-

sion, and they have responded to the need to care for

the children of Barrio Belencito Corazón. They provide

volunteer staff, food, monetary resources, and creative

energy to help run the child development center.

Families who live in Barrio Belencito Corazón are eco-

nomically disadvantaged. In most cases, single moth-

ers are trying to care for families on their own with

extremely limited resources. They do not have a way to

meet the most basic needs for their children’s develop-

ment, such as clean water and education.

The community’s challenges have grown as families have left Colombia’s interior to escape the violence

there. In the end, they do not escape violence at all. In this neighborhood, there are almost daily confronta-tions between gangs competing for territory. Children are most vulnerable in this environment because their mothers are forced to leave them at home alone, some-times under the care of older siblings, while they go out searching for resources to provide for their children.

The challenge is great. Paula is just one of thousands of children living in this condition in Medellín’s Commune Thirteen. But the local congregation in Santa Monica believes that, as the church, they are in the right place, because Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs” (Matthew 19:14).

This is why the local church has chosen to com-mit their time and finances to minister in an area that experiences so much turmoil. It is through this project that Christians can help children to develop in healthy ways, growing in love instead of hate, bitterness, and revenge.

We firmly believe that God’s love can heal children’s lives, restore their hearts, and, above all, transform their futures. We must surround them with a network of love and express to them, in word and deed, God’s special

love them. n


RESTORED THROUGH LOvEhOW A ChURCh IS ExPRESSING GOD’S hEARt FOR ChILDREN IN ONE OF COLOMBIA’S MOSt DANGEROUS NEIGhBORhOODS

TODAy, PAULA

CHERISHES THE

PROjECT, NOT ONLy

BECAUSE SHE GETS A

HOT LUNCH, BUT ALSO

BECAUSE SHE HAS

ExPERIENCED LOvE

AND ACCEPTANCE

FROM THE STAFF

AND—MOST

IMPORTANTLy—

FROM GOD.

NCM MAGAZINE16

People line up outside Lodwar Church of the Nazarene where women with children under 5 are given priority so they can leave early to care for their families. Each receives 20 kilograms of maize, six kilograms of beans, and three liters of oil.

After a delay caused by a mechanical mal-function, the truck loaded down with maize, beans, and oil arrived at the Lodwar Church of the Nazarene in northwestern Kenya. The mostly nomadic population of this dry, rural area has been experiencing extreme food shortage, especially after losing many livestock due to drought.

Each Nazarene feeding center in East Africa

prioritizes the community’s most vulner-

able people—children, expectant and nurs-

ing mothers, people who are elderly or sick,

and people living with HIV and AIDS. Alice,

who is a part of Kiatine Church of the Naza-

rene’s food distribution, cares for eight

children and said she is thankful that the

church is willing to sacrif ice so she

and her children can live.

Famine Persists,

A s East Africa’s largest drought in 60 years continues to keep 13 million people under threat of famine, the Church of the Nazarene is focusing on meeting people’s immediate needs

while preparing to walk with them down the long road to healing and restoration. Local and global church partnerships have led to the fol-lowing programs across the region:

• Food distributioN: targeting the immediate nutritional needs of people who have remained in drought-stricken areas rather than moving to refugee camps

• Food sECurity: implementing agricultural development proj-ects that provide seeds to farmers as well as training in sustain-able agriculture methods

• GENdEr-bAsEd VioLENCE PrEVENtioN ANd trAumA CouNsELiNG: providing violence prevention training in com-munities where the church is distributing food and partner-ing with Africa Nazarene university to train people within the dadaab refugee camp in both trauma counseling for children and gender-based violence prevention

Photos courtesy of NcM KeNya


Many people travel long distances to receive

their food allotment and work together

to get their food home. Mutua (right) and

Kithunu (left) are sharing Mutua’s donkey

for the journey.

At the church, NCM staff and volunteers from

Lodwar Church of the Nazarene help people

measure out their allotments of maize. The

small congregation has approximately 40 mem-

bers, but the church reaches out far beyond

the walls of the church building into their

community. They currently distribute food

to 500 families, including 2,000 children and

over 200 pregnant women.

by East Africa Disaster Response team

When her parents died in 2007 due to AIDS-related causes, 21-year-old Kamene decided she would do everything she could to keep her family together. Now 25, she and the family’s seven other children work hard together to make it day by day.

But this child-led family knows they are not alone. The local Naza-rene church in Kiatine, Kenya, has walked alongside them, even building them a two-room house. The children now plant maize and beans on their small piece of land and drink milk from their one goat.

During these days of drought, however, surviving on the land has become difficult. Without enough food, many of the family’s children have experienced stomach ulcers and illnesses. When the church heard about this, they enrolled the family in their six-month food distribution program through Nazarene Compassion-ate Ministries. Since November 2011, Kamene’s family has been receiving 20 kilograms of maize, six kilograms of beans, and three liters of oil each month. Through the support of a loving

church, this child-led family has been given a chance at life.

If you wish to give to help the church respond to the famine, you can do so online

at ncm.org/africahunger or by check.In the US: Make your checks payable to “General Treasurer” and include “ACM1519” in the memo line. Global Treasury Services Church of the Nazarene P.O. Box 843116 Kansas City, MO 64184-3116

In Canada: Make checks payable to “Church of the Nazarene Canada” and include “ACM1519” in the memo line. Church of the Nazarene Canada

20 Regan Road, Unit 9 Brampton, Ontario L7A 1C3.

Local Church Feeds Child-Led Family During Drought

NCM MAGAZINE22

When Rev. Peter and Grace Okinyo started liv-ing in Kibera—one of Kenya’s largest informal settlements located in its capital, Nairobi—they

had no idea how God would lead them. As parents, they not only worked hard to provide for their children in the midst of the neighborhood’s challenges, but they also found ways to help their neighbors live better lives.

In 1991, the Okinyos started a community school that is still creating opportunities for the more than 400 stu-dents living in an area that offers few prospects to its young people.

People settle in Kibera mostly as a last resort. Fami-lies seeking economic opportunity leave rural areas and head to Nairobi, but when they find no work or only low-wage jobs, they do not have enough money to rent a room with access to electricity, sanitation, or clean water. The places in Kibera are more affordable, but shelters in this densely populated settlement often lack these basic services as well as proximity to qual-ity, affordable schools. Kibera has also become home to many political and economic refugees—people from inside and outside Kenya who need to escape trauma, war, persecution, or extreme poverty. Yet the reality is, people still experience trauma, violence, and unhealthy living conditions when they relocate to Kibera.

In the midst of these difficulties, however, Kibera’s resi-dents make up a vibrant community influenced by peo-ple from diverse cultures with unique gifts. Together, many people are figuring out how to make it through day-to-day life with love and dignity.

Steps of FaithRev. and Mrs. Okinyo worked hard to live and

minister in Kibera. Mrs. Okinyo would rise early each morning to walk to one of Nai-

robi’s open markets. She would then buy vegetables to bring back and sell at a

stand in her neighborhood—a small means of income for the family. Rev. Okinyo pastored the Woodley Church of the Nazarene and kept his eyes and heart open to the community’s needs. Over time the family devel-oped friendships in the community, and these relationships eventually led

them to start a school.

“We wanted to reduce the number of street children

on the road,” Rev. Okinyo

Little by Little

HOW A kENyAN COUPLE’S SERvICE HAS CHANGED THOUSANDSOF kIDS’ LIvES

NCM MAGAZINE22

said. “And the church wanted to reach the community with the gospel.”

Mrs. Okinyo had studied teaching in college, and edu-cation was her passion. She told some parents she was interested in starting a nursery school. She would charge a low fee—just enough to buy a few materials like chalk and a chalkboard.

Over the first year, the number of children grew, and the next year, as the first class of children graduated into the next class, she took on a new group of nursery-aged children. Each year, the Okinyos added a grade level until the school, Kibera Nazarene Primary School, reached eighth grade. As it expanded, they modified the small church building and rented extra rooms to accommodate the increasing student population.

In an overcrowded space like Kibera, expansion hap-pens only through creative design. Pathways, often only wide enough for foot traffic, snake through the com-munity’s dense blueprint of temporary shelters, shops, stalls, and schools. Most buildings in Kibera, includ-ing the church and school, are constructed with walls made of rough-hewn timbers and mbati (tin) sheets for the roof, while others are made of mud and sticks. In spite of overcrowding, the Okinyos found ways to make their location work.

The school has always charged a modest fee to cover expenses such as lunch, supplies, and books, but it has welcomed students without means to pay as well. Sometimes that has meant teachers have gone with-out salaries.

“During those [early] days, learning was so expensive in government schools,” Rev. Okinyo said, “so we just decided to volunteer.”

Today, the school continues its Christian mission under the leadership of Eunice Okinyo, Rev. and Mrs. Okinyo’s daughter. Through partnerships with local nonprofit orga-nizations and the church, the school continues to meet the needs of its students. Many have even gone on to college, and they bring their gifts back to the community.

“Even after [the students] finish their classes, they come back to the school,” Rev. Okinyo said. “They recognize that without that school, they would not have made it.”

Changing DirectionsIn 2009, Rev. and Mrs. Okinyo left Kibera to move back to their rural home in Bondo Nduswe in Siaya district of Nyanza province, a day’s bus ride from Nairobi.

“WE WANTED

TO REDUCE THE

NUMBER OF STREET

CHILDREN ON THE

ROAD, AND THE

CHURCH WANTED

TO REACH THE

COMMUNITy WITH

THE GOSPEL.”

-REv. PETER OkINyO

“We were going to rest in Siaya,” Rev. Okinyo said. “We were tired of the stresses of the town, and we were growing old.”

But Rev. Okinyo says God had something different in mind. When he got to Siaya, he was appointed Nazarene district superintendent of the Lake Victoria district, and Mrs. Okinyo realized she would not be content if she were not helping children.

“[My wife] told me that she didn’t feel happy without kids,” Rev. Okinyo said. “The kids began to come one by one, and today, we can talk about [a group of] 140 kids.”

Partnership Builds a New SchoolThese 140 children have become the core group of the Okinyo’s new school—Bondo Nduswe Nazarene Children’s Center—which has developed in partner-ship with Nazarenes inside and outside Kenya.

Situated in a dry, rural area, many parents of the school’s children are subsistence farmers and cattle herders with little income for school fees. Forty stu-dents are children who have been orphaned. They are living with relatives or community members and have no ability to pay for their education on their own.

by Kelly Becker tirrill, NCM Education

SPRING 2012 19

a TeaCheR passes ouT donaTed baCkpaCks To ChildRen aT bondo nduswe nazaRene ChildRen’s CenTeR. PHOTO COURTESY OF JEb FlYNN

Rev. peTeR and gRaCe okinyo. PHOTO COURTESY OF NCM

NCM MAGAZINE20

Before the Nazarene school, they just stayed home, but now they have an opportunity to learn.

The school has become a communal effort. In addition to the Okinyos, two of the young Nazarene congrega-tion’s 12 church members volunteer at the school.

“We are training more from our local church and creat-ing awareness,” Rev. Okinyo said. “The work is for the blessing of God, not for the purpose of making wealth. People are coming out to join hands.”

MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) has also joined hands with the local church in its endeavor. In May 2011, a team of students traveled to Kenya to help con-struct the school’s first building using funds the univer-sity community raised (see “A Shared Dream,” page 21). The local community now uses the building for classes during the week and church services on Sundays.

The Nazarene school offers its students a midday meal. To create a consistent source of nutrition for students,

they have planted beans and maize on a plot of land MNU helped them purchase.

The Okinyos and their team have an ambitious vision

for what the school can become. They want to bring

electricity, water, and teachers’ offices to the school.

“We are not just resting,” Rev. Okinyo said. “We are

preparing some bricks because we have a vision to

build more classes.”

The Okinyos’ method of community transformation in

the name of Christ comes through in Bondo Nduswe

as much as it did in Kibera.

“We don’t go very fast, but slowly,” Rev. Okinyo said.

“Little by little.”

Through this “little by little,” God has built something

beautiful that looks a lot like the kingdom of God—both

in Kibera and in Bondo Nduswe—through Rev. Peter

and Grace Okinyo’s faithfulness. n

“THE WORk IS FOR

THE BLESSING

OF GOD, NOT FOR

THE PURPOSE OF

MAkING WEALTH.

PEOPLE ARE

COMING OUT TO

jOIN HANDS.”

-REv. PETER OkINyO

kibeRa laCks basiC ameniTies suCh as Running waTeR and saniTaTion seRviCes. winding paThways like This one ConneCT The densely populaTed 2.5 sq. kilomeTeR (one sq. mile) infoRmal seTTlemenT. PHOTO COURTESY OF JEb FlYNN

eaCh day, sTudenTs line up foR lunCh, whiCh The sChool pRovides foR Them. PHOTO COURTESY OF JEb FlYNN

Though mosT aRe sTill wiThouT desks, ChildRen aT The nazaRene sChool in bondo nduswe now have a ClassRoom in whiCh To leaRn. PHOTO COURTESY OF JAPHETH OKINYO

KENYATotal Population: 40 million Life Expectancy: 55People Living With HIV: 1.5 millionOrphaned Children: 2.6 million Under-5 Mortality Rate: 1 in 12 live births Children Under 5 Who Are Underweight: 20%Primary School Enrollment: 74%Secondary School Enrollment: 49%Statistics taken from unicef.org/sowc2011.

INDIAN OCEAN

Lake Victoria

SOMALIA

ETHIOPIASUDAN

UGANDA

NAIROBI

Mombasa

KENYA

TANZANIA


In the bristling afternoon heat, storm clouds rolled in across the horizon. We had been working tirelessly with our brothers and sisters to build a church and

school in Bondo Nduswe, a small village in western Kenya’s Siaya district. The roof was now on. Bwana asifiwe (praise the Lord) because it looked like rain. In just three weeks, 16 of us from the United States had worked alongside 20 community members to con-struct the first building for Bondo Nduswe Nazarene Children’s Center—a project years in the making.

In the summer of 2009, I traveled to Bondo Nduswe on a Youth in Mission team (a Nazarene short-term missions program for university students). We were assigned to facilitate youth and children-worker train-ing for community members at a small church while also conducting a vacation Bible school for the com-munity’s children. When 50 kids showed up, we under-stood why this work was so essential. We later learned that most of these children had been orphaned, and our hearts broke for them.

Rev. Peter and Grace Okinyo were our hosts in Bondo. Before moving there, they had ministered for over 20 years in Kibera—one of Africa’s largest and most impoverished informal settlements—located in Nai-robi. In Kibera, the Okinyos pioneered a primary school that continues to serve over 400 students (see “Little by Little,” page 18). When they moved, they saw that children in Bondo Nduswe had the same basic needs as those in Kibera—love, family, food, shelter, and edu-cation. They wanted to provide education for these little ones to help reduce the number of people mov-ing to Nairobi in search of employment and a better life only to find themselves in greater poverty in places like Kibera.

The Okinyos shared with our team their heart for the community’s children. We dreamed together about their idea for constructing a building to serve as a school and also a place of worship for the local con-gregation. We talked about how people in the local church would be the backbone, and Mrs. Okinyo with her years of experience would run the school. This team would work with the Africa East field leadership to make sure the project fit within the mission of the global church. The school would be called Bondo Nduswe Nazarene Children’s Center.

by Jeb Flynn

THEN, TWO By

TWO, BROTHERS

AND SISTERS

FROM kENyA AND

STUDENTS FROM

MNU WALkED THE

SCHOOL’S PROPERTy

LINE, STOOPED IN

THE RED DIRT, AND

PLANTED TREES.

A Shared Dream

Student Support for the SchoolWhen I returned to MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) in Olathe, Kansas, USA, I worked with univer-sity leadership to organize fund-raising efforts for the school in Bondo. We started “Two Dollar Tuesdays” where we asked each student to give two dollars every Tuesday in chapel toward the project in Kenya.

Meanwhile, Rev. and Mrs. Okinyo were not waiting for money to minister to children. They borrowed a building from another church and found four volunteer teachers to educate the 120 students who were coming to the school at that time. By April, MNU students had raised US $29,000 and also received a donation of US $6,000 from nearby College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe, for a total of US $35,000.

In May 2011, a team of MNU students traveled to Bondo Nduswe to work side by side with community members in building the Bondo Nduswe Nazarene Children’s Center. Once the roof was on after some hard work, we celebrated the accomplishment and the joy of our time spent together. Then, two by two, broth-ers and sisters from Kenya and students from MNU walked the school’s property line, stooped in the red dirt, and planted trees. These trees symbolize our hope in the Creator of the universe who is working to renew and restore in Bondo Nduswe. n

Check out a video on the story of the Okinyos, their work in Kibera and Bondo Nduswe, and their partner-ship with MNU at ncm.org/nduswe.

loCal volunTeeRs and midameRiCa nazaRene univeRsiTy sTudenTs laboRed TogeTheR To build The sChool’s fiRsT ClassRoom in may 2011. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JEb FlYNN

A Kenyan Community and MNU Students Partner to Build a School

H ow can a small congregation of 125 people show the love of Christ in a tangible way to people in their community? That was the heart of a dis-

cussion in a board meeting at Collinsville, Illinois, First Church of the Nazarene one night in 1998. We looked to God to lead us, and as the idea grew into reality, we named the effort Good Samaritan Ministries of the Metro East. Our goal was to emulate the good Samari-tan who met his brother’s needs. What has happened since then has been truly amazing.

Growing together in Washington Park God led Good Samaritan Ministries (GSM) to establish a presence in Washington Park, Illinois, USA. Through God’s genius and imagination, God led our church to begin to walk together with people from completely dif-ferent backgrounds. Washington Park has a high violent crime rate, and community members don’t often trust people coming into their community from the outside like tourists trying to fix their problems. We slowly earned

the trust of residents there by being real and showing them we were not in search of a good feeling, but we were there to stay and longed to share life with them.

GSM started with simple, practical ideas: assisting senior adults with cleaning and other tasks, providing low-income families with limited financial assistance, and offering box fans during the hot summer months to those in homes without air conditioning. We wanted to come alongside people similar to the way modeled by Jesus who met the needs of the 5,000 first by feeding them.

The ministry purchased a small house in 2003 and turned it into a compassionate ministry center. After out-growing that space, GSM built a larger 6,000-square-foot (557-square-meter) center on the same street.

Reaching Out to Young MothersIn 2007, GSM began intentionally reaching out to young mothers and fathers with a special emphasis on those contemplating abortion. The goal was to encour-

by terry Wasser,

Good Samaritan Ministries

NCM MAGAZINE22

how a Small Congregation Is turning Neighbors Into Friends

good samaRiTan minisTRies ReCenTly pRovided 25 bikes To ChildRen who paRTiCipaTe in TheiR afTeRsChool TuToRing pRogRam. PHOTOS COURTESY OF TERRY WASSER

“BUT A SAMARITAN

WHILE TRAvELLING

CAME NEAR HIM;

AND WHEN HE

SAW HIM, HE WAS

MOvED WITH PITy.

HE WENT TO HIM

AND BANDAGED

HIS WOUNDS.”

LUkE 10:33-34

NCM MAGAZINE22

age them to keep their babies and to foster long-term, supportive relationships with the parents. The initial plan was to meet with moms and dads weekly to talk about godly parenting and to provide material resources such as diapers.

“God had much more in mind,” said Jo Ann Baker, the GSM center director.

During the first year of focused outreach, approxi-mately 50 young mothers came to GSM. Of those, four said they were considering abortion.

“They chose life instead!” Baker said. “We now see those moms and their beautiful babies running around the center each Wednesday.”

Brittany is one of the young mothers who visit the compassionate ministry center. She first came follow-ing a stay in a homeless shelter. At the time, Brittany had a 2-year-old and was ready to deliver her second child. She was extremely withdrawn, rarely smiled, and didn’t make eye contact.

“She appeared to be barely surviving,” Baker said.

As Baker started to befriend her, though, Brittany began to open up. After six months, she expressed interest in pursuing a G.E.D. (general education diploma). Baker took Brittany to a school specializing in G.E.D. tutoring, but they determined she wasn’t ready for that. At 19 years old, Brittany tested at a first-grade reading level.

Brittany began to share some of the difficulties of her life with Baker. As a 10-year-old, she was often left alone to care for her younger sister, and they fre-quently moved from house to house. As a result, Brit-tany missed school frequently. She dropped out at 16 when she found out she was pregnant.

God has been faithful to provide for Brittany, though. A GSM volunteer with experience in adult literacy has been tutoring Brittany for the past year. GSM also started an after-school tutoring program to keep other children from falling through the educational cracks.

A Life transformedNow Brittany is a lively and likeable 20-year-old with an easy laugh. She is the mother of three and is work-ing on developing a healthy, lasting relationship with her children’s father. Brittany and her kids live in a four-bedroom apartment, a place she can call home for the first time. Her oldest daughter is enrolled in Head

Start (a preschool program for children of low-income families), and she is taking good care of her younger children.

Brittany is becoming the woman God has intended her to be. God has always been in the transformation business, and God’s work in Brittany’s life is obvious as she grows in faith.

GSM, originally just a subcommittee of our church, has flourished beyond what anyone could have imag-ined more than a decade ago. Little is much when God is in it. Through this ministry, God is changing the lives of people like Brittany, but beyond that, God is transforming the lives of those who serve through GSM and the Church of the Nazarene in Collinsville. In fact, the congregation changed its name several years ago. It is now Good Samaritan Church of the Nazarene.

The way we see it, everyone can be a Good Samaritan.

Learn more about Good Samaritan Ministries at gsmmetro.org.

SPRING 2012 23

THROUGH THIS

MINISTRy, GOD

IS CHANGING THE

LIvES OF PEOPLE

LIkE BRITTANy, BUT

BEyOND THAT, GOD IS

TRANSFORMING THE

LIvES OF THOSE WHO

SERvE THROUGH GSM

AND THE CHURCH OF

THE NAZARENE IN

COLLINSvILLE.

UNItED StAtESTotal Population: 315 million Life Expectancy: 79Orphaned Children: 2.1 million Under-5 Mortality Rate: 1 in 125 live births Children Under 5 Who Are Underweight: 2%Primary School Enrollment: 92%Secondary School Enrollment: 88%Statistics taken from unicef.org/sowc2011.

UNITEDSTATES

WASHINGTON, D.C.

CANADA

MEXICO ATLANTIC OCEANPACIFIC

OCEAN

Los Angeles

New York

good samaRiTan minisTRies hosTed a vaCaTion bible sChool in washingTon paRk, a fiRsT foR many of The ChildRen TheRe.

m argueritta, a 21-year-old English major at the Uni-versity of Lebanon, is beating the odds that were against her from childhood. Together with her

mother and two brothers, she lives in the same tiny one-bedroom apartment she has lived in since childhood. The apartment is near the simple store where her father sold soda pop and other food goods to the neighborhood.

Margueritta was nine years old when her father, Edward, found faith in Christ and started taking his family to the local Nazarene church. Edward’s new love for God moved him to write Christian songs, and he taught them to Margueritta. She loved those songs, and with her father watching, Margueritta often sang them boldly and beautifully on Sunday mornings in front of the entire congregation.

Just a few weeks before Margueritta’s 13th birthday, Edward asked her to stop by the shop to see him on her way to school. She was in a hurry that day, though, so Margueritta decided to drop in after school. Unfortunately, she never got that chance. That afternoon, Edward col-lapsed into a coma, and he was gone three days later.

“The idea of losing my father killed me,” Margueritta said. “It left me broken and depressed.”

This tragic event had a dramatic impact on Marguerit-ta’s family, too. Her mother was unsuccessful at mak-ing the family store profitable, and she moved her two sons to an orphanage where they slept, studied, and received food and care.

“With my brothers away and my father dead, my mother was totally broken and miserable. She cried all the time,” Margueritta said. “I couldn’t bear seeing her

BeatinGTHE

BeirUtODDs

IN

by Rod Green,

NCM Middle East

how a Young Woman Is Finding healing

through the Support of her Church

afTeR yeaRs of family and eConomiC sTRuggles, maRgueRiTTa (RighT) is now eaRning an english degRee aT univeRsiTy. PHOTOS COURTESY OF PHIlIP ROdEbUSH

NCM MAGAZINE24

NCM MAGAZINE22

this way, and I was helpless to do anything about it.”

But life for Margueritta and her family has changed over the past eight years. Her brothers, who will graduate from high school this year, are back living with their mother and are faithful participants in the church’s youth group. The church has helped Margueritta’s mother start a few income-generating projects, and today, she supports herself by making clothing altera-tions from her home.

“The church played a big role in my healing,” Margue-ritta said. “The Lord gave me the Nazarene family to be beside me. No one helped me like the church did—emotionally, financially, and spiritually.”

This year, Margueritta is finishing her Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in French. She applied to this program three years ago, along with 100 other students. Only 13 students were accepted, and Mar-gueritta ranked third among them all.

Margueritta aspires to start a master’s degree program in either education or counseling and would like to one day earn a doctoral degree. Last summer, she took part in an NCM seminar in Lay Counseling Training held in Beirut, which will help her serve people no mat-ter which path she follows.

Margueritta’s transformation is apparent to the many who have invested in her life. And there is more trans-formation to come in her future.

“I know that God is almighty and nothing is impossible for him,” she says. “He opens doors that no one can close, and closes doors that no one can open.” n

LEAP: Leadership Education and Advancement Program

Nazarene Compassionate Ministries has supported Margue-

ritta in her college education through a scholarship from

the Leadership Education and Advancement Program (LEAP).

Through LEAP, the church seeks to support education beyond

primary and secondary child sponsorship. The goal is to develop

church and community leaders—people who will impact their

communities, just like Margueritta seeks to do. Margueritta has

worked throughout her studies, but the LEAP scholarship has

helped cover what her income could not.

When my father died unexpectedly, I asked the Lord, “Why did you let this happen to me, your daugh-

ter?” I was very hurt, and I made a conscious decision to stop talking to Jesus and start living the way I wanted. I was neither the salt nor the light of Jesus on this earth. I started living a double life—wearing one mask at church and a different one at school. I thought I was punishing Jesus, but in fact, I was punishing myself.

Blinded by anger and sorrow, I was not able to see the blessings the Lord had given me. He was beside me all the time, giving me success in my studies and favor with my teachers.

I had a thirst that couldn’t be quenched. One night, I lifted

my eyes to the heavens and shouted with all the power I had left, “Lord, I am too tired for this. I am too weak. I cannot carry on. I need your help!” That night, I surren-dered. I understood that my deepest need is Jesus. I real-ized that people will leave us, eventually, but not God. God has been, is, and will always be faithful. God gives peace and love and quenches the thirst of a dehydrated soul.

As I prayed and cried, God used my tears to cleanse me from my bitterness. The Lord listened to me. God prom-ised that he will always be with me. God told me that he will be my father. And I believed God.

I am so glad the Lord chose me to glorify his name through the gifts he gave me. Glory to God’s name.

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by Margueritta Mdawar, Lebanon

maRgueRiTTa and oTheR volunTeeRs play games wiTh ChildRen fRom The nazaRene sChool and ChuRCh in beiRuT, lebanon. many ChildRen aT The sChool aRe sponsoRed ThRough nCm.

The loCal nazaRene CongRegaTion in beiRuT minisTeRs To The CommuniTy espeCially ThRough ouTReaCh To ChildRen.

Learn more about LEAP at ncm.org/leap.

SPRING 2012 25

growing in GRACE

A THAI STORy OF CHILD SPONSORSHIP

NCM MAGAZINE26

M y name is Nasae, and I grew up in the Pai area of the Mae Hon Song province in Thai-land, where my parents were pastors. When I

was 14 years old, my parents sent me to start fourth grade at the Pabong Huay Hang School and live at the Maetang Tribal Children’s Home. In Pai, I would not have had the opportunity to get a good education, but in Maetang, there are many good schools. Because my parents could not afford to pay for all of my educa-tion, room, and board, a sponsor paid for me to stay at Maetang Tribal Children’s Home while my parents helped pay for my school.

I still remember my first teacher’s name: Mrs. Soon-tawn. At first, I didn’t have any friends, and I felt home-sick, crying for my mom and dad. But after a few weeks, I began to make some friends. In fact, three other girls who lived at the children’s home with me became my closest friends. We had so much in com-

mon and even lived in the same room. We shared everything with each other. If one of us had a special treat, we would all crowd on that person’s bed at night to eat it together, and we would always pray together before we went to sleep.

When I was 16 and in grade six, I started serving God as part of an evangelistic team at the children’s home. Every Friday evening, we would practice songs and dances, and on Saturdays, we would perform them at the village churches in the surrounding mountain areas. Sometimes teams from Korea would train and lead us in these outreach efforts. We were blessed to learn so much during those days, and many of our brothers and sisters in the villages made decisions to receive Christ as their Savior and were baptized.

By the time I was 19 years old, I was in my final year of high school. I had also met a young man, Michai Jabo, who was one of the evangelistic team leaders,

by Nasae Jasai

ChildRen aT maeTang TRibal ChildRen’s home Come fRom suRRounding RuRal aReas To live Close To Town so They Can go To sChool.

sTudenTs aT The ChildRen’s home develop lasTing fRiendships. PHOTOS COURTESY OF NCM ASIA-PACIFIC


and we decided to get married. For the next two years, we continued to serve God together on the evangelis-tic team while working as supervisors of children at the children’s home.

After those two years of service, Southeast Asia Naza-rene Bible College opened extension classes at the children’s home. We served in this new Bible college for seven years. First, we were responsible to supervise and care for the Bible students. During this time, I also took classes and finished my degree in four years, after which I started teaching classes about Christian living for the younger students at the children’s home. Michai studied at the Bible college, too, and he also taught some of the Bible classes. For three years, he pastored a church, and I taught the women there.

Now we live in Chiang Rai, a rural town that does not have many churches yet. We have joined a small house church started by Ajaarn (a respectful term meaning “leader”) Phil and Ruthie Webb (Southeast Asia Naza-rene Compassionate Ministries coordinators). We don’t have a church building, but each time we gather with the congregation’s 10 to 15 people, we enjoy worship-ping God so much. There is such warmth, and we receive many blessings as we gather together.

Michai now works most weekdays with Ajaarn Phil making bamboo bikes as part of a small business designed to create employment and opportunity for Thailand’s hilltribe families. But he also dedicates sev-eral days per month to leading the church in other vil-lages in northern Thailand (Hat Yao, Lawbuhr, Maw Phi, and others). He also coordinates extension classes in Chiang Rai for Southeast Asia Nazarene Bible College as there is a need for trained pastors for the congrega-tions the church is planting there.

We now have four children—all girls—whom I care for. Three of our daughters are in school, and one is at home with me. We are so thankful for God’s daily care and provision. Sometimes, we have financial need in our family, but God has never abandoned us. At times, God even provides for us through our neigh-bors. Our problems don’t weaken us but, instead, make us strong in God. From the time we were children—studying and growing in relationship with God—to now, we have been committed to always serving God faithfully. n

If you would like to learn more about the bamboo bike project, visit bamboobikemaker.com.

It is God’s plan that we introduce children to the life of salvation and growth in grace. ... We recognize that children are not a means to an end, but full participants in the Body of Christ. Children are disciples in training, not disciples in waiting.

Church of the Nazarene, Manual

MAETANG TRIBAL CHILDREN’S HOMEMaetang Tribal Children’s Home is open to children of rural, mountain-

ous villages in northern Thailand who live too far from schools to get an education. Many people in this region have migrated into northern Thai-land from China, Laos, Burma, and Tibet. They live in severe poverty, and child trafficking has become a huge problem. The NCM Child Sponsorship program and local resources subsidize the children’s home so that parents can afford to have their children educated and cared for there.

MISSION: Sharing the saving love of God with the tribal children in Thailand

vISION: That every child will know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and become agents of transformation in their communities

GOALS: To help children discover their leadership potential and use it for Christ and to equip children with good education, skills, and other compe-tencies so that they can support themselves and help their families

nasae jasai is pRoud of heR daughTeRs. PHOTOS COURTESY OF PHIl WEbb

nasae jasai and heR family have ConneCTed wiTh phil and RuThie webb’s ChildRen ThRough TheiR small house ChuRCh.

miChai, nasae’s husband, builds bikes fRom bamboo as a paRT of a soCially Responsible business.

NCM MAGAZINE28

by Kelly Becker tirrill,

NCM Education

how Young People Are Living Compassion as a Lifestyle

Want to learn to live out Christ’s compassion?

Take a lesson from someone who is young.

Youth often see injustice and suffering with

new eyes and tender hearts—ones that break

with the same things that break God’s heart.

And they have passion. It makes sense, then,

that Jesus reminds us that to enter the king-

dom we must become like young people—

to have the eyes to see both the good and

bad in the world and the heart and humility

to change it. Check out these two stories of

youth living compassion as a lifestyle.

The Church of the Nazarene envisions an intergenerational faith community where children and youth are loved and valued, where they are ministered to and incorporated into the Church family through a wide variety of means and methods, and where they have opportunities to minister to others in ways consistent with their ages, development, abil-ities, and spiritual gifts. Church of the Nazarene, Manual

NiNACTIOYouth

many ChildRen and families in ndola, zambia, now have aCCess To Clean waTeR beCause of biRds of hope’s fundRaising effoRTs.

biosand filTeRs Remove haRmful miCRo-oRganisms fRom dRinking waTeR.


I want to do something. I want to help,” 12-year-old Emily prayed to God as she stood among her peers in a youth camp worship service in the

summer of 2010. The crowd of young people had just watched a video about people in Ndola, Zambia, who did not have access to clean water and whose economy had shut down when the copper industry there collapsed. That night, Emily didn’t have any-thing to give in the offering designated for Ndola, but she still resolved to do something to help.

When Emily arrived home after camp, she started talking with her best friend, Allyson, about what they could do to raise money to help the people of Ndola.

“We started thinking of ways to bring them hope,” Emily said.

Their idea? Birds. Yes, birds.

Emily had taken a sewing class at a local fabric store and had some leftover fabric, so they decided to put together Emily’s sewing skills with the mate-rial they had available and create bird ornaments. They would sell them for US $5 and give the pro-ceeds to Active:Water, an organization helping to bring clean water to Ndola.

“We told our moms,” Emily said. “They were excited but weren’t sure we were going to follow through with it. They told us to talk to Brooklyn.”

Brooklyn Lindsey, Emily’s and Allyson’s youth pas-tor at Highland Park Church of the Nazarene in Lakeland, Florida, USA, took these young women seriously, encouraged them, and provided guid-ance to their endeavor. She suggested that they start by selling the birds at church. Their first goal was to raise US $500.

“We surpassed that goal our first Sunday,” Emily said.

But their effort didn’t end there. They continued to make and sell birds wherever they could—at church, holiday bazaars, a local store, and even the USA/Canada regional Nazarene Youth Conference.

What started as a grassroots project of two open-hearted young people has turned into Birds of Hope, a nonprofit organization that fund raises for and educates about the need for global clean water. Still guided by Emily, Birds of Hope’s part-nerships have grown as more people in the church

and in the community have supported the efforts, from free Birds of Hope t-shirts to donated fabric—what Emily calls their version of loaves and fishes.

Countless church and community members have supported Birds of Hope—and children and adults in Ndola—through hosting Birds of Hope at events and buying the birds. At each turn, Emily and Birds of Hope have had to adjust their fundraising goals, from US $500 to $1000 to $5000 and on. At this point, Birds of Hope has raised around $30,000.

“God [has been] definitely working through all of it,” Emily said. “We knew that God wanted us to do something like this, and we just left it in his hands.”

In the beginning of 2012, Birds of Hope also started raising money for Nazarene Compassionate Min-istries clean water projects. Emily says she has experienced so much support from her Nazarene family that she wants to give back.

Emily’s work with Birds of Hope requires dedication that not every youth, or adult for that matter, has. She works weekdays and weekends to sew the birds, along with Allyson, her mother, and other volunteers.

And when Emily gets tired or overwhelmed, her mom reminds her to watch that first video she saw about Ndola. In the video, she sees the pictures of the kids God called her to help. She is inspired as she watches one little girl in particular who loves to dance.

“It helps me remember that she is the reason I do this, “ Emily said. “So that she can have the opportunity to dance.” n

Birds of hope take Flight

Learn more about

Birds of Hope at

birdsofhope.org.

allyson (lefT) and emily (RighT) sTaRTed sewing and selling biRd oRnamenTs in 2010 To Raise money foR Clean waTeR. PHOTOS COURTESY OF bIRdS OF HOPE

Before Christmas in 2010, 9-year-old Hailey found that she wasn’t very interested in Christmas pres-ents—at least not the typical kind. She had seen

NCM Canada’s yearly gift catalog where people can buy things such as a goat, a pig, some seeds, or a well to give to someone in need, and she decided that helping people was what she wanted most for Christ-mas. Though there were items in the catalog that cost around US $25, Hailey went for something much more expensive—a well in Bangladesh.

Hailey says her goal was “to save people’s lives and to help them know God.”

Hailey lives with a serious illness herself, so she is well acquainted with suffering. But she has a gener-ous spirit, and that spirit is changing the lives of family, friends, and strangers both in her own community and around the world.

Hailey, with the help of her mother, wrote a letter to her family and friends and told them she was raising money for a well during Christmas. She asked that her family not buy her presents but, instead, contribute toward the well. Family, church members, other stu-dents, and friends responded, and Hailey raised around US $2,000—enough to drill one deep and two shallow tube wells in Bangladesh.

One of these wells is in the village of Joshadi, Bangla-desh, and has given women like Ramoni and Pushni the chance to draw fresh, clean water close to home. Before the well, after a hard day of work as day labor-ers in the rice fields, they would walk two to three kilo-meters (about one to two miles) to get water from a pond—water that could still make them and their fami-lies sick.

But Nazarene Compassionate Ministries in Bangladesh chose the local church in Joshadi as the place they would use Hailey’s gift. Now, with the well at the pas-tor’s house, around 300 families have water to cook with and to drink—and it does not make them sick. In this sense, Hailey got her wish: People’s lives are being saved and they are seeing the love of God.

“Each year, I am going to try my hardest to raise money for different projects around the world,” Hailey said.

With her tender heart, Hailey is an example of what it means to live compassion from a young age—compas-sion as a lifestyle. n

Water for Christmas

NCM MAGAZINE30

nine-yeaR-old hailey CommiTTed To Raise money

ThRough fRiends and family To pRovide Clean waTeR

in bangladesh. PHOTOS COURTESY OF NCM CANAdA

Thanks To a new well in TheiR CommuniTy, Ramoni and pushni Can now dRaw fResh, Clean waTeR Close To home.

hailey helped To fund This well ThRough nCm Canada.

wells like This one in joshadi help To ReduCe The RaTe of waTeRboRne illness in The CommuniTy.

NCM MAGAZINE22

300 million children will go to bed hungry tonight and every night.

400 million children don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water.

13 percent of school-age children around the world have never gone to school.

and 1 child dies every 4 seconds from preventable causes.

tHis is BrOKenness. HeLP Us menD it.

BrOKen

sHareCHrist’s LOve

WitH aCHiLD.menDa

WOrLD.

How You Can Help: SponSoR a child. Visit ncm.org/cs to learn more.

VolunTeeR at a church, compassionate minis-try center, or organization that cares for children.

pRaY for children worldwide. Visit ncm.org/wwp to learn more about the World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk (June 2-3, 2012).

SuppoRT NCM programs that empower healthy children and families. Visit ncm.org/projects.

aDVoCaTe for children. Use your voice to stand up for the most vulnerable in your community and around the world.

MenToR youth. Get involved in the lives of chil-dren and youth around you, and let them know that they are precious in God’s eyes.

Church of the Nazarene Foundation(866) [email protected]

Linking Vision With Ministry Through Gift Planning

Live generously. Give wisely.Want to build a legacy of generosity with your family? The Church of the Nazarene Foundation can help you design a God-honoring estate plan. A charitable gift annuity can benefit you, your children, and families around the world through the work of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries. An endow-ment, donor-advised fund, or trust may also be the perfect way to share your resources with those in need both for today and tomorrow.

*These are sample rates that are subject to change.

Visit www.nazarenefoundation.org to use our online will planner and gift calculator. Discover how easy it is to use the Church of the Nazarene Foun-dation for all your gift-planning needs.

SAMPLE OF ChARItABLEGIFt ANNUItY RAtES

FOR A SINGLE LIFE* % Rate of age annual income 55 4.4% 60 4.8% 65 5.3% 70 5.8% 75 6.5% 80 7.5% 85 8.4% 90+ 9.8%

Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDGeneral Board

of the Church of the Nazarene

NAzAreNe ComPAssIoNAte mINIstrIesChurch of the Nazarene17001 Prairie Star PkwyLenexa, KS 66220(800) 310-6362

ncm magazine child development issue

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