BOOK SALE to purchase medical supplies for Living Hope in Kenya Come to the Mission hallway and see the totally new selection of books: religious, drama, fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, children’s, etc. Take what you want, and please leave a donation in the box on the top shelf.
Living Hope is an accredited residential Christian school that has been in existence since 2010 in Bungoma, Kenya – 8 hours north of the capital of Nairobi. Eighty eight impoverished teens who live and are educated at Living Hope have lost one or both parents due to AIDS, desertion or disease. Some have both parents but live in abject poverty. Students fortunate enough to be accepted to live and study at Living Hope find their lives radically changed as they experience, many for the first time, a bed to sleep in, three meals a day and the opportunity to envision a bright future.
Click here for a video thank you from Moses at Living Hope in Kenya – “Hello, My name is Moses. I want to start by thanking you so much for your support. I would have not been at Living Hope if it were not for your help. I want to promise you that I will work very hard to achieve my dreams, as well as, make you guys feel proud of me.” Thanks you from the bottom part of my heart.
Below is a recent letter from a student our church supports at Living Hope High School in Kenya:
God is so good to allow JUMC to use some of Aprils Mission of the Month donations for Moses Khasimo:
Moses Neil Khasimo Wanyonje are my names. Here in Kenya everybody has many names. I am 18 years old and I was born on July 9th 2003. I am the son of the late Bishop Wanyonje and the late Winrose Namulekhwa. I have seven brothers and sisters and one other boy who my parents adopted later. His name is Bob. My father found him crippled sitting beside the road, abandoned.
I had a normal childhood and did well in school. My father started a primary school called REHEMA , where I attended until P7. The school collapsed financially and my father took me to St Charles Lwanga to finish my primary learning. After P8, I took my KCPE National test and scored 325 marks. Unknown to me, my father had not paid any school fees. Now I have a bill of $280. This has to be paid before I graduate or it will cause big trouble for me. I cannot get any government assistance or apply to college until it is paid.
On November 20, 2017 we got a call that my father had been in a bus accident and was in the hospital. He had severely injured his liver and had 5 broken ribs. We were all very scared but my mother was terrified. She had a heart attack, cardiac arrest. We got the news that Dad had died at around 1:00am. We could not believe that he was no more. Mom was in the hospital but after a few days came home. We were all in shock and didn’t know how we would survive since Dad was the sole breadwinner in the family. Mom was very sad and would lock herself in her room and cry. Nothing we kids could do helped. She became weaker. She tried her best to get food for the family but the burden was too much for her. She died last November during lockdown. Now we were all orphans with very little hope. My two older brothers had their own families and I was not welcome.
My uncle, Stanley Kutiri came to the funeral and he was very worried about me, since I was the youngest. My older brothers promised to take care of me but that didn’t work out. They left me in the house all alone. Sometimes they would feed me but most of the time they forgot me. I stayed by myself since last January. No friends, no family, no food, and no school. It was sad time for me and many days I thought that I could not bare it another day. Then last Friday, May 21, 2021 my whole life changed. My Uncle Stanley came to visit me and found the sad condition I was living in. He helped me to pack up my belongings, close the house, and took me to Living Hope High School, where he was the principal. He got me into the school, as a form 2 student. In the past 5 days the whole staff has be working to get me the necessary things so that I can survive. They have been great and all the students have been helping me to adjust. It is all such a miracle, that I am afraid I will wake up and it was all a wonderful dream. God has protected me and HE will guide me through the rest of my life. I am a prayer warrior and I know HE will help me.
Last night Mum Marilyn, the director of Living Hope High School, called Uncle Stanley and me to her house. She told us that a miracle had happened. Mum Connie Damon had decided that some of the money that your church had donated would be used to sponsor me and pay my school fees. Praise the Lord! Now I truly know what it feels like to be born again and have a second chance at life, and feel the love of God. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. There are no words to thank you enough.
Thank you for loving me on short notice! Your new African son, Moses Khasimo
Jarrettown Church and Living Hope
JUMC’s Connie Damon has gone to Living Hope for the past 7 years as our Ambassador. Although the pandemic prevented her return this past January, she hopes to be able to return in January of 2022 to continue work begun there in past years.
Through her sharing of needs upon her return here each year, Jarrettown Church members have caught her sense of urgency to help with the needs of Living Hope. In 2014, we were able to raise the money to have a Well dug. In years since, we have helped with the purchase of a vehicle for emergency transport of ill students and those in the surrounding Bush. We built a Healing Hut (small Dispensary), equipped it with medicines and hired a local nurse who sees to the medical needs of the students. We helped with purchasing a parcel of land adjoining the campus for a new dorm to be built, and construction of protective fencing around the property. These are just some of the ways we have answered the call. Marilyn and the students constantly say “THANK YOU JARRETTOWN!”.
The vision and goals of Living Hope are becoming a reality as sponsored children have their lives changed and are given hope to replace hopelessness. God is at work at Living Hope, and we can continue to help.
How You Can Help
- Pray for the children at Living Hope.
- Contribute during April to our fund-raising for the ministry of Living Hope (click here for info/form).
- Sign up to sponsor a student.
Living Hope receives no support from any source except individual donors from the US who sponsor individual students, paying $110 monthly. Donations are 100% tax deductible. The total amount goes to pay for the student’s living expenses and education. All support donations are handled by the Rierton UM Church, which acts as the 501c3 coordinator.
For more information about Living Hope, contact Connie Damon Conniedamon624@gmail.com or go onto the Living Hope website Livinghopehighschool.org.
