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An International Missionary Outreach Dedicated to Evangelizing the Lost By Sharing The Gospel According to the Scriptures
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Bryce
Homes Kenya Special Building Fund |
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(Note: when using Paypal, remember to designate the donation for "Winter Offering" if/where it asks for "Special Instructions.") In 2011, Lighthouse Trails partnered with Understand the Times to launch the Bryce Homes for Widows and Children in western Kenya. Roger Oakland, founder and director of Understand the Times (UTT), traveled to the region to meet with Pastor Achilla and Pastor Nelson, who were to become the Kenya directors for this missions project. Several Bryce Homes were started right away as Roger witnessed the extreme impoverished conditions under which these Christian families were living as victims to national poverty, AIDS, disease, and sickness. |
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Grass Roof Huts |
Condition of a
widows home before UTT and LHT |
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We are blessed to say that as of the end of
2013, there are now twenty Bryce homes
established in Kenya. All of the parents in
these homes are committed believers in Jesus
Christ. Sixteen of the homes are run by
widows with both their own children and
orphaned children; and four of the homes are
run by husband and wife teams (Pastor
Achilla, Pastor Nelson, and Walter, the accountant and
treasurer). The Bryce Homes program is run
under the auspices of Understand the Times,
International, which is a non-profit
organization that has Bryce Homes in several
other countries as well. Lighthouse Trails
has focused primarily on helping to support
the Bryce Homes in Kenya as we had
originally come into contact with Pastor
Achilla and the community of brothers and
sisters there and introduced them to Roger
Oakland of Understand the Times, who, after
traveling there on a scouting trip, decided
to add this region to the already
established Bryce Homes Program. The response from Lighthouse Trails readers has been remarkable. The donations coming from LT readers have helped provide the needed funds for Understand the Times to build 10 new homes (more still needed) replacing very dilapidated ones, feed, on a month-to-month basis, the mothers (and the 4 fathers) and children of all the Kenya Bryce homes, purchase school uniforms (something required in Kenya for children going to school), install new cook stoves and chimney pipes into the new homes (replacing open fire pits on the floor), paint the new houses inside and out, buy new clothing and bedding and some furniture for the homes, and pay for emergency medical needs. |
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A boy in the
Bryce Homes Kenya Please Click On An Image To View It Bigger |
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When we launched the program in 2011, we
held a special December offering at
Lighthouse Trails, and the response was
overwhelming (in a good way). It allowed
immediate emergency food to be sent to the
families (many of whom were eating just one
meager meal a day at that time) and also the
construction of new homes for some of the
most dire situations. From there, both UTT
and LT donors have continued helping to
support the Bryce Homes in Kenya. Just a side note, but an important one, Lighthouse Trails also launched a program, which we call the Widows Basket Project. About one dozen widows in the area (not all Bryce widows) are making hand-braided baskets, selling them to Lighthouse Trails at a fair market price, and we in turn are selling them to our customers (all money goes into production costs and widows' pay). The baskets are beautiful, and it is our hope that this will spawn future projects where these families can start businesses to support Themselves. WINTER OFFERING This brings us to the present and the reason we are reaching out to our readers with this winter offering appeal. Our first phase for the Bryce Homes in Kenya is completed in that all of the current Bryce families have suitable housing, adequate food, clothing, and bedding, and safe and healthy cooking stoves. There are also some agricultural activities taking place with some of the families who live on enough land and have nearby water supplies to grow some of their own food. Our next phase is a vital one for the health and wellbeing of the families, and that is latrines. In sixteen of the Bryce homes, there are no latrines (outdoor toilets and washrooms), which means that the health of the children and widows is greatly compromised. The structure you see above is a photo of the proposed latrines for our Bryce families. The photo to the left is a view of the front. One room is a washroom. The Bryce latrines will have just two doors, not there. |
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Latrine |
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The cost to construct each latrine is $480.
This will mean a needed total of $7680 for
all sixteen latrines although in six of the
homes the hole has already been dug, which
will bring the cost of those six latrines
down to $350, leaving the total at $6900.00 If our Winter Offering raises more than $6900, it has been decided that a well will be built for two of the more remote Bryce Homes to share - the homes of Widow Lewnida and Widow Alice. Between the two homes, there are 13 children. With a well, the two families would be able to grow some of their own food, raise some chickens and perhaps goats (for milk). The cost to build the well is $1000 plus a few hundred more to build a pump house and holding tank.
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AN URGENT NEED FOR OUR NAIROBI FAMILY All but one of the Bryce Homes are located in rural western Kenya (which is safer than in the big cities). Roger Oakland visited the Nairobi slums on one of his trips to Kenya, and he said the conditions he saw were the worst he has seen in any country ever before (and he has been to 100 countries). Raw sewage was running through open ditches in the streets. IWhen the Westgate Mall terrorist attack happened recently (not too many kilometers from the Kibera slums), our concerns for the family elevated dramatically. |
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Kibera Slums
in Nairobi |
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| It was decided that UTT and LT would raise the money to build a house. The next step, which Pastor Achilla will be overseeing, is to build the house, which will be a four-room house (a kitchen, a living room, and two bedrooms). The cost for the construction of the house, which will include a chimney, cook stove, plastering, and painting is $3000. There will also be a need for beds, new bedding, a table, and chairs. | |||||||||||
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CONCLUSION To all of the Lighthouse Trails and Understand the Times readers who have donated to the Bryce Homes in Kenya, the Bryce families and the LT and UTT staff say thank you. And please know, this is not just a mission project for the physical needs of these brothers and sisters - it is an effort in helping to raise up children who will love the Lord, understand the times in which we live, and serve Him wholeheartedly when they become adults. Through Roger Oakland's discipleship when he travels to Kenya and also materials sent from both UTT and LT, the pastors and the widows are learning about the Word of God and about spiritual deception and how to avoid it. They in turn are teaching the children the ways of God through His Word by the Holy Spirit. If you would like to donate to our Winter Offering, there are three ways you can do that. Please designate that the donation is for the "Winter Offering," which will guarantee it is used for the needs we have discussed above. If donations happen to exceed those needs, Every penny of all donations go directly to the work in Kenya. The donations are tax deductible through UTT. Thank you from all of us at Lighthouse Trails and Understand the Times. |
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THREE WAYS TO DONATE 1. Through the Understand The Times website, or by clicking the Pay Pal button below. (you can use Pay Pal or your credit card) - You don't have to have a Pay Pal account to give through Pay Pal. (Note: when using Paypal, remember to designate the donation for "Winter Offering" if/where it asks for "Special Instructions.")
2.
Mail donation checks or money orders
to either location
below
P.O. Box 1160 3. For your convenience, donations can be called in to the Lighthouse Trails office. We will take your credit card information and process the donation through UTT. You can call our toll free number at 866-876-3910
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Understand The Times is an independent non-profit organization in
Canada and the United States.
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