Neema Girls in School

So, for those who have been following me for the past 5 years you know that I have invested a lot of time and energy into raising awareness about the Neema Project. From the onset of this program that Transformed International began in 2007, I fell in love with the girls, the staff involved in the project, and the hope for a better life it offers. Immediately I began dreaming, along with TI, of ways that we could help more girls. The hope was always to expand and be able to reach more girls from the Kitale area and now that is beginning to happen.

It was exciting to be there this summer to see the new Neema school being built and then to follow it up with photos and stories of others there has been great. BUT, I just kept waiting for the photos and stories from the launch of the new school opening in January 2012. While, I desperately wish I could have been there to see it all happening, the photos and stories of others who are there bring me such joy.

On Friday, Ray Smith (a friend of mine who went to Kenya with the first team I lead there and is now there for several months), went out to take photos of the girls first day of business class for me. THANK YOU Ray!

For this first semester, the girls enrolled in the school will be learning sewing/tailoring (monday, tuesday, wednesday), on Thursdays they will learn general life skills, parenting and receive counseling, and on Fridays they are learning business skills. I love the changes that are being made to add that into the weekly classes for the girls. The Transformed International staff care so deeply for each one of the girls that come through this program, and that is demonstrated in the way they teach and care for the girls.

Here are some photos from the first week of class:

Business training with Eric (TI National Director)

Eric Teaching

Girls working on an assignment from Eric during their first business class

Eric checking their work

The girls taking a break to stretch

(many of the girls are teen moms and some bring their babies to school with them)

THANK YOU to all who have contributed generously through donations, purchase of scarves, handmade bags, jewelry, and crafts. YOU are what makes all this possible!

More to come........

Buy A Brick

So back in December, as part of Advent Conspiracy, we allowed people to buy a brick to help us raise the remaining funds for the dormitories at the Neema Project. We are waiting for the final numbers but we might have done it!!! Thank you Providence Church for helping us accomplish that goal.

On top of that there are businesses that offered support, many individuals who purchased and helped sell the items the girls made. We raised close to $10,000 in 5 months! This was nothing short of a miracle in my mind. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Below is the latest update from Adam, our friend from NY who is overseeing the building of the Neema Project. The school is now filled with beautiful girls who have the hope of a new future learning a skill and finding value in who they are as moms.

Here are the latest photos from Adam:

Where In the World Are We

So, I have a wide variety of tasks on my job description as Global Missions Director. As much I as I love to travel and walk on the soil of foreign countries greeting, I am just as happy to send others out. For this Sunday, I enlisted the help of Lindsay to create a little map that shows where people from Providence are serving (around the world) this month. Some of them are involved in short term work using their gifts of medicine, finance, art, photography, teaching, evangelism, encouragement, and LOVE! Others are committed as long term missionaries committed to discipleship with the next generation of missionaries, evangelism, and using their time and talents to meet the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of broken people all over the world. They are serving with various organization and missions agencies that are committed to seeing the love of Christ reach all the world.

PRAY for these as they serve!

**Joe: will be heading back to New Zealand late this month

**Kearston: is currently doing World Race and will be in several different countries throughout the year

NEEMA CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

Thank you for your continued generosity! Over the past several months we have been able to raise over $9,000 through Mosaic Designs sale of Neema items and other items. Those sales along with donation through Advent Conspiracy at Providence Church have allowed for the Neema project dormitories to be built. The school is completed and the dorms are well on the way, just in need of the bricks. Here is the latest update from Transformed International:

After a few weeks off, Adam and the construction crew is back to work at the Neema Project working on the dorms. This week they finished the roof and the foundation, next step, bricks, bricks and more bricks.

We are looking forward to launching this pogrom this month and seeing the lives of young woman transformed.