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As I write you today, I have the great privilege of being in Ethiopia teaching at the Evangelical Theological College of Addis Ababa. Although I sincerely hope my students learn much from my classes, I know I have much to learn from them as well.
As I attended church services here, I was thoroughly impressed by the intensity of their prayer, their unrestrained joy in worship, their fervent response to the Word, and their passion for sharing the gospel.
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The HIV/AIDS pandemic in Botswana has left thousands of children orphaned. But because of your generous support, a Christ-centered program called Tumelong--which means where faith is-is now ministering to these vulnerable children.
Every day, your gifts are touching hurting, young lives, like that of 6-year-old Thusa Basikere. Young Thusa never met his father, and his mother died in childbirth. His 13-year-old brother dropped out of school to take care of him, but food was always scarce and Thusa knew nothing in life except poverty and hunger.
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"Both of my parents died . . . My family excluded me and withheld food, clothing, and other necessities. Eventually I went to the streets." Nehemiah, like many children in Nigeria, had to fend for himself.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic in Nigeria has left thousands of children without homes or families. In many cases, AIDS has killed every adult in the family. In other cases, like Nehemiah's, no one is willing to care for the orphaned child.
But Nehemiah's story doesn't end on the streets. Thanks to the generous gifts of friends like you, SIM was able to expand our CARE (Children at Risk Education) Centers in Nigeria--making room for more children like Nehemiah.
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| Many children in Nigeria have to fend for themselves on the streets,
but God is using your gifts to rescue these children from lives of fear and hopelessness. |
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Recently, a member of our ministry team found Nehemiah and brought him back to our center in Gyero where he received food, clothing, medical care, and a place to live. More important, he received love and the hope of the gospel.
Today Nehemiah says, "I praise God that I am saved. Some day I hope to be a missionary and preach the Good News."
Thanks to your generous support, SIM is now caring for more than 200 children like Nehemiah, but not all of them are orphans. Sadly, some of them simply are not wanted.
Hungry and Alone
Yohanna, a mentally handicapped child, is one of them. When Yohanna failed to do well in school, his father removed him from his classes. When Yohanna also failed to handle elementary chores, his father put him out of the house.
Yohanna was hungry and alone when he was found and taken to our CARE Center in Gyero. There he discovered people who loved and cared for him. Now he is learning to read and is especially excited |
about reading the Bible. He prays regularly and thanks God for saving him and sending someone to help him. He, too, wants to be a missionary.
That's the greatest joy of this ministry. Through SIM's five CARE Centers, your gifts are literally rescuing children like Yohanna and Nehemiah from a life of fear and hopelessness on the streets and setting them on the path to the glorious hope of eternity in heaven with Christ Jesus.
Thank you for helping make this ministry possible!
Project Number 85550 for basic care like food, clothing, medicine, and school fees for the needy children; and Project Number 96909 for the construction and renovation of CARE Centers.
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