Episcopalains Together In Oxford (ETO) Our Kids in Kenya

Episcopalains Together In Oxford (ETO)

Our Kids In Kenya

The Rev. Ellen Donnelly

From today’s Gospel: “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me…..Whatever you did for one of the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.”

We understand that faith isn’t about what we think or feel; it’s about what we do, how we live our daily lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.  This passage from Matthew reminds us that it’s also about how we treat those in need; we need to look at them not as a problem but as an opportunity, an opportunity to minister to Jesus himself.  The problem, of course, is that there is so much need all around us that it can be too overwhelming to do anything at all.

That’s why I rely on God-incidence, the believer’s version of coincidence.  If we have our eyes open, we can so often see that God is opening doors for us, while maybe closing others.  And that is how I try to identify which people in need to help – the ones God is giving me eyes to see.  From that point of view, I’d like to share a little with you today about my experience over the years with a small orphanage in a little town in Kenya.

The story starts in 2002, when a new family joined our church in New Jersey – mom, dad, and 5 kids.  They had come to the United States from Kenya to provide better educational opportunities for their children, and the dad was an priest from the Anglican Church of

-2-

Kenya, none other than Brother David Esipila, whom many of you know.  It so happened that at that time I was working with the Missions Committee of our church to identify new outreach opportunities that the whole church could get involved in, and I invited Brother David to join us.

That’s when we learned about the huge number of orphans left by the AIDS epidemic all over Africa in the 90s.  We also learned from David about a small orphanage in his home town that he had helped to found.  It had fallen on hard times when the American church that had been supporting it bailed out.  Our hearts were touched by the plight of this particular group of people in need.  A God-incidence, do you think?  And so the outreach ministry we called Our Kids in Kenya was born in 2003.

At that point there were 25 children in the orphanage, ranging in age from infants to high schoolers.  For many, it was the only family they had ever known.  The orphanage provided not only food and shelter but medical care, Christian fellowship, and education at the local schools.  The latter was of great importance because at that time, as is still mostly true today, public schools were not free; in Kenya, as here at home, education is the key to a better life.  And in all this, Brother David was our direct contact with the orphanage.  Without his help, we would never have been able to navigate the complex culture and customs of Africa.

I’m happy to say that our St. Michael’s family adopted Our Kids in Kenya enthusiastically.  Our kids made cards in Sunday School to send to the orphans.  Families “adopted” an orphan and provided monthly support.  We held fund-raisers and collected school supplies, clothing, and other necessities.  We had a monthly prayer service in which each

-3-

 

child was prayed for by name and according to their needs.  They were truly OUR Kids in Kenya.

In 2009, recognizing the limits of our resources, we made a decision not to accept any more children into the orphanage, but to support the 22 current children until they graduated from high school.  After Fr. John and I left St. Michael’s in 2011, the OKIK Committee carried on as best they could, but in 2015, the new Rector decided to drop support for the orphanage.

Fr. John and I were appalled; once again an American church had abandoned the orphanage.   But, once more, God opened a new door.  Our Episcopalians Together in Oxford (ETO) Outreach Committee was at that time looking for outreach projects that our 2 churches could do together.  By the way, your representatives on that Committee are Bob Knapp, Michelle Masisco, and Fr. John.  All of us were moved by the plight of the few remaining orphans, who had had the rug pulled out from under them.  We felt that it was a God-incidence that this opportunity was presented to us, and we agreed that we would do our best to finish out the promise that St. Michael’s had made years before, to support the remaining kids until they graduated from college.

In my experience, God-incidences always work out if you see them and seize them.  By the grace of God, we have been able to raise so far this year over $7000, which has provided support for the orphanage from March through September, with a little left over.  Today, there are only 6 remaining kids out of the original 22.  Four of them are seniors in high school who will be graduating in December of this year and moving out of the orphanage to begin their lives.  We are so proud of these 4, most of whom have lived in the orphanage all their lives. 

-4-

 

In January, we will close the orphanage building (which is rented); the remaining 2 kids will board with a woman Brother David knows.  We will continue, by God’s grace, to provide support for them until they, too graduate – 2 years for 1, 4 years for the other.

So now we are in a position of needing to raise enough money to see us through December.  That is the reason for our fund-raising Steak Dinner, which is described on the flyer in your hands.  I hope many of you will take the opportunity to join in supporting Our Kids in Kenya by buying tickets to the dinner – and, of course, enjoy and delicious meal and Christian fellowship into the bargain.  Why not invite a friend or relative as well – every dollar counts as we try to make good on our commitment to Our Kids in Kenya.

May God bless you for your generosity.  And remember that “whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do for Me.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sermon preached @

Christ Church Quaker Farms on Sept.4, 2016

& St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, September 11, 2016