2019, term 1

Take Root

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. —Colossians 2:6-7

These verses instruct us to take Christianity to the next level. As we often mention when discussing discipleship, conversion can tend to be the focus of the church, to the exclusion of growing and following Christ. Receiving Christ is important, necessary, vital, but it is only the first step. We must walk in him, living and thinking out of our faith. We remain connected to Jesus, drawing nourishment from the Word, so that we grow and bear fruit.

In 2019, our prayer for MKKs is that they will be rooted and built up in Christ and established in the faith they are being taught. Our camp in April will tackle these themes. We pray also that they are taught true biblical faith in their own churches and homes.

Full!

We kick off the year with our fullest roster of MKKs ever. We have had this many kids before, but we continue to move away from sponsoring primary school children and focus on high school and higher education. This gives us more high school MKKs than any other year and the lowest number of primary school MKKs since our first year of sponsorship (2012).

Five MKKs are in primary school, 21 in high school, and 3 in college, with 3 more between high school and college.

Finances

Primary schools are becoming increasingly more affordable. Kenya made public primary school free years ago, but through one loophole or another, schools were finding ways to charge parents. These loopholes are closing, which is why we no longer take new primary school MKKs (though we will continue with the ones we are already committed to sponsor, as long as they need it).

High schools, on the other hand, are requiring higher and higher percentages of school fees to be paid in January and April, and less and less (sometimes nothing) due in September. This makes our budgeting very heavy in the first half of the year. Most of our sponsors give throughout the year, 1/12 of the need each month. As you can imagine, January empties our bank account.

Prayer

This month, we ask that you pray for financial needs to be met and seek out how you, your church, or your small group can be part of meeting the needs listed below.

Sponsorship Needs!!

We have many new MKKs this year and many more opportunities for you to get involved. We always ask sponsors to give as they feel led, whether all or a portion of an MKK's need.

Details have been shared in images on Facebook. Here's a summary:

Joshua Konde
- needs $420 TOTAL for school fees each year.
- is in Form 1 and will graduate from high school in 2022.
Richard Konde
- needs $420 TOTAL for school fees each year.
- is in Form 1 and will graduate from high school in 2022.
George Ziro
- needs $400 TOTAL for a 6-month course
- plus $61 per month for room and board (for 6 months).
- may upgrade to a 1-year course, which will cost $600, but that will be decided in June.
Washe Ziro
- needs $316 TOTAL for school fees for 2018 and 2019.
- also needs $46 per month for room and board.
- is in Form 2 and will need ongoing support in 2020 and 2021 for about $160 in school fees, plus room and board.
Mwandeje Ziro
- needs $209 TOTAL for school fees for 2018 and 2019.
- also needs $46 per month for room and board.
- is in Form 2 and will need ongoing support in 2020 and 2021 for about $160 in school fees, plus room and board.

Built Up

As mentioned earlier, we will have MKK Camp for the high schoolers in April. This is the main time each year that we get to do the most important part of our job: build relationships with and disciple the MKKs. Pray for us as we prepare! And pray for God to prepare the hearts and minds of the MKKs to receive what he has for them.

They identify as Christians, and most of them have some degree of their own faith. We want that faith to be well established and growing!

P.S. Camp costs $65 per student, which includes a place to sleep, 3 meals a day, 2 tea breaks each day, and conference facilities.