The JOY of a gift!

Our Sponsors often ask us if they can send a gift for their student. We discovered pretty early that this would be hard to facilitate, as we have very little space when traveling to Kenya. Not wanting to just take the blessing of gifting the students away, we came up with a plan so that our sponsors and others can be a part of gifting every student!

Before our summer team goes we send out an invitation for you to join us in donating to put together a ‘Sponsor Gift’. When our team is on the ground, we assemble these gifts, and then have the honor of being your hands to deliver them. With the donations that came in we were able to give a ‘Sponsor Gift’ to all 850+ students! THANK YOU!!!

You might be wondering what this gift entails, so let us fill you in. This is a gift that meets physical needs, school necessities, and a little bit of fun too…

Flour, Maze Flour, Oil, Beans, Soap, Shoe polish, Pencil, Ruler, Eraser, Lollipop, Chocolate, Fun fidget toy… A great big bag of JOY!!

The joy and laughter that filled the campus as the students received and opened those bags is a sound I wish we could carry home for each of you. These small items are the gift of life and love for these kids and their families.

The students asked us to tell you… “Thank you!”, “Tell our sponsors that we love them and we pray for them", “You have changed our lives”, “We love you!”

Here are some of the moments captured as we handed out the gift bags…

Sponsors… YOU ARE MAKING A LIFE CHANGING DIFFERENCE! Thank you for partnering with us to share the message of Jesus in Kenya!

VBS days 💕

We have spent the last two days at the schools having VBS days with all the students! I’ll fill you in on what that looks like…

Fox River team members came with a plan ready… fun activities, Bible stories, crafts, and games that we would share with our students. Time was spent preparing for these days back home and now they have gotten to share and watch as their ideas came to life.

Nicole L, Tom and Susie, Jason and Larry all shared Bible stories.

Nicole P and Kristie, Taylor and Denise, Ethan all played games.

Jeanann and Sandy, Kim and Stevie, Jenni made crafts.

Caleb and Gwen had different activities for the 8th grade class!

And HUGE shout out to the awesome 7th grade class that were our extra hands and helped the teams execute their plans! ASANTE!

When I say the joy and laughter that is shared on these days is overflowing… I mean it is a constant overflowing and is so very contagious!

Jesus is shared through each and every activity and moment shared on these days… from the story to the s’mores the joy of the Lord is in these schools.

These days give us opportunity to spend loving these kiddos and their teachers! We love every moment!

We have wrapped up our time at the schools and have said our goodbyes to all the sweet faces and new friends! These days will hold such special memories in our hearts 💕

We will spend the next couple of days as a team getting to experience the Creator and His goodness as we admire His creation on Safari.

Connections and Big Day

The team has been connecting with our students and school staff, by playing games, teaching them activities for the upcoming VBS Days, and even building a mud hut! With so much happening, it’s hard to believe we’ve only been in Kenya for one week!

Today, the team took part in the Big Day in Vipingo - a community festival hosted at the campus of our sponsored school, Crossroads Academy in Vipingo. This is a major event that the community looks forward to each year. The entire village is invited to come for football (soccer) and volleyball tournaments, bounce houses, acrobats, stage entertainment, balloons, face painting, camel rides, and a delicious meal. Most importantly, the crowd is told about how much Jesus loves them, how all of this is made possible because we want to share the love that Jesus has for all of us with them. It is an amazing day that touches thousands of people.

Tomorrow, we will attend church in the morning at Crossrodas Fellowship in Nyali, and then participate in a similar Big Day - this time hosted on the campus of our sponsored school in Bomani, New Life Academy.

Two of our team members, Jeananne and Tom, share their experiences and perspectives with you as part of today’s update:

“This has been an amazing week so far with sharing a lot of love and inspiration! I was able to see the two children I sponsor and well as the two additional children that I write to. Freddy was shy at first but after visiting his home and meeting his family he is now able to joke around with me! Jennifer was very excited to see me as I was to see her! She hugged me and we were able to catch up!😊 Caren is five years old. She was very shy to meet me but after a short bus ride to meet her family and a cherry sucker she was taking the glasses off my face to try them on! 🤓 When Hariet saw me she ran up and threw her arms around me! Our sponsorship may bless these children, but they really bless us too!! ❤️ God is good, all the time!!!!!”

~ Jeananne

“What an exciting and busy day at Crossroads Academy! We were greeted off the bus by our sponsored child and her brother, and I even had my first camel ride – what an adventure. We met scores of students, some of their families, and even visited a friend's sponsored child who is now in high school, spending time with her, her family, and friends while watching a soccer game. What a wonderful and exhausting day; it's time to catch some sleep and do it again with our New Life friends tomorrow.”

~ Tom

Full days and full hearts

We have had a couple full and wonderful days!

One of our favorite things to do here on the blog is have team members share with you. Stevie, Kim, and Nicole L are sharing today and we will post some bonus pictures below…

“My heart was over flowing today when I was able to meet the student I sponsor through fox river's my gift for Jesus. We live so far apart but God brought us together this week in Kenya!” ~Stevie

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“I can’t begin to share all the different emotions and experiences on this missions trip after just 3 days, having the opportunity to meet my sponsor child (Rose) but I’ve also had the pleasure of seeing what just $25 a month can do in the lives of these children, families and schools. I’ve seen it first hand and now I want to sponsor Rose’s sister too! Jesus is Strong, mighty and faithful in any language, and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to witness his work and provision for these beautiful new friends!” ~Kim

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“Today was another awesome day filled with God’s goodness and love. The students we meet love to dance, play, and laugh with us. Here are some smiles and dancing from the day - there were thousands more smiles shared and hundreds more memories that we all will cherish!

We also got to meet our sponsor students! Meet Karen, she is 6, in grade 1, and is as cute as ever! Here’s her dad, cousin, and many friends in the community. We got to pray together at the end. If you think of Karen and these others students and community, please pray that they continue to know how much Jesus loves them!

And the teachers ARE incredible!
To all my educator friends out there following this blog, get this…. The teachers leave all their students (about 36 in a classroom), pp1 (our 4k) through 8th grade in their classrooms, alone to continue learning or on break outside (recess) while they ALL meet for breakfast and lunch together. And the kids, they stay listening and learning without harm or chaos!!

So, being a social worker in education and helping with many behaviors both in the classroom, l and outside of it I asked - how can this happen? And the teacher I spoke to share about how much their Pastor is involved in meaningful conversations with the children about God’s love for them and how to behave.

Being in public education back home I find that being told you can’t talk about Jesus leaves me feeling sad. One teacher today told me, as a follower of Christ you can’t help but want to share Jesus all the time. And it’s true, Jesus is the way-my way to be the best educator and person I can. These teachers and kids at Bomani know and love God and they are thriving in their education! It’s full of life, hope, joy, and love at New Life school in Bomani, Africa. And my prayer and hope is to bring this type of joy that only comes from the Lord to the students and staff I work at when I return!” ~Nicole L

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Kenya Team 2024

The team has gathered for last several months to prepare and get to know each other. We have sat in meetings discussing all things about traveling, what fun things we will do with our sponsored students, the experiences we will get to have, we have prepared our hearts by spending time in the Word, we have prayed for the mission and for each other… we came together to live out the Fox River mission ‘A Heart for People and a Message of Jesus’.

This past weekend we gathered for our last pre trip meeting, packing day, and team commissioning. This weekend is the last checkpoint before we take off!!

Packing day is always one that comes with a bit of stress wondering if we will get all of our supplies neatly sorted and into our limited space. And yet, each and every time God says ‘watch this’ and we get it all and then some packed and ready to go serve the people of Kenya! We cannot wait to use these supplies to love and bless the kiddos and staff at the schools!

Another special moment is when the team is commissioned by the Fox River congregation. This moment always reminds us that Fox River people are what make these trips and this mission possible! Without the generosity and prayers of those of you right here at home, these things would not be happening. Thank you for allowing and sending this team to represent so many of you!

Pastor Guy and Denise left this past weekend and have arrived in Kenya safely. Pastor Guy will spend the week teaching and pouring into Pastors at the pastors conference and connecting with partners. Denise will be meeting with our partners and preparing for the team to arrive.

The team will start our journey on Sunday, July 21.

We will be posting here and on the Fox River Missions, Facebook and instagram pages. Follow along!

A couple of moments

A couple of team members share some moments from the last few days…

Jeananne shares:

I was so touched by the Life Spring Rescue Center in Vipingo! The home they have made for babies to five year olds is amazing. The fact that children have been traumatized and sometimes abandoned have such loving care is a blessing. The children are fed, clothed, have a home and most of all are loved on!! Some new toys were given and I know they will be excited to play with them!

Sue B shares:

The staff at both schools are so amazing! Hearing their individual stories is fascinating. What you may think are struggles for them are not seen as struggles to them at all..... it's just their life!

They feel so privileged to be able to teach at a wonderful school and to have a good job. They truly feel so blessed and it shows! The happiness here is overwhelming! It really puts life in perspective! I am blessed to have met them!

We are enjoying every moment that God has laid out before us! As always God is using this time to impact the hearts of our team.

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We have a couple of busy days ahead of us… what you will see us refer to as the “Big Day!”. These are days where we invite the entire community to campus for a day of fun activities, food, and most importantly an opportunity to hear the Gospel!

Pray with us that the people coming will have softened hearts to hear the name of Jesus and all He has done for us! We will see hundreds of people, and these days bring great opportunity for the growth of the Kingdom!

Stay tuned we will have so much to share in the days to come 🙂

Also… some pictures ⬇️⬇️

An Experience to flame

What a trip! I’m writing this as we are on our final flight from Miami to Chicago. Nicaragua is a beautiful place full of passionate and friendly people. We experienced many things but a couple things stood out to me the most. First, I was inspired by the people of the church in La Esmerelda. They love Jesus and their community passionately. They all embrace their part of Jesus’ mission in their community. I heard so many stories from the Nicas that started like this “I was raised in a Christian home…I accepted Jesus at a young age…I started serving in the church”. It was beautiful to see their understanding that Jesus did just save them to save them but also to help lead others to salvation through Him. They felt the weight of our efforts as much as we did this past week. They shared our nerves and hopes as we ventured into the community to share the love of Jesus. 

The second thing that stood out to me was how quickly our team and the Nica team broke down the barriers between us and became one team on mission together. The Nicas welcomed us with open arms and warm hearts. Our group bravely stepped into the tensions of a new environment and a language barrier and immediately engaged with the Nicas. Nobody let the language barrier stop them and everyone took the work we were doing seriously. I am so proud of our students and leaders who made up this team and I am forever grateful to the team in Nicaragua that prepared for us to arrive and cared for us while there. It was an amazing experience! 

I have a couple of important things for all of you welcoming us home. First, the church in Nicaragua is so grateful to Fox River and all of you for the long-standing relationship of support and encouragement. We heard over and over again how grateful they are to all of you. They feel blessed to be able to do the ministry they do because of the generosity of Fox River and all of you. I got to see first hand how much they respect what you give and steward it well to ensure every bit of support goes to sharing the love and message of Jesus. They wanted me to pass on a big “Thank You!”

The second thing is for our group returning home. This morning we talked about how God has lit a flame in each of them through this trip. That flame represents a next step God is wanting them to take. We told them all to talk about their experiences in Nicaragua with everyone who will listen. I told them every time they engage with that flame by praying about it, telling friends and family about it or even thinking about it, they fan that flame even bigger. I also told them that if they do nothing with it, the flame will die and that is not what God wants for them. Each of them carries a flame that represents something different. My ask of all of you is that you would help us all fan our flames by asking us about our trip and praying for us. If you are a parent of a student on this trip, give them a few days to decompress and process but then dive in and help them fan that flame. 

Thank you for your prayers! See you all soon!

~ Pastor Jason

A team day

Today was our last day here in La Esmeralda… we filled it with lots of joy and laughter (and maybe a little bit of competitive anger)!

We gathered everyone and broke into teams, for a day of team challenges.

From tug of war to some intense jenga the competition was on!

It was a great way to end our week here on the mountain.

We have one last day with our friends as we go to see a little bit more of Nicaragua.

Pray for us as we travel and say our goodbyes. It’s never easy to say bye to new found friends.

Thursday

Thursday one of last days here in La Esmeralda…

We started our day with a delicious breakfast. To our delight, they served pancakes & fresh fruit and they also put out the Nutella again as a special treat! After filling our bellies, we headed to our church in La Esmeralda for our third and final VBS. We are really getting good at this now! The music team lead us in high energy songs. The craft team decorated bucket hats, the sports team played fun games and we can’t forget the Bible story of David & Goliath. Spending one on one time with the people of Nicaragua has been life changing- For ALL of us! You can see the joy and the delight in the faces of everyone involved. Hearts are being filled with the love of Jesus.

The girls spent the afternoon together celebrating with a luau. Tania shared a devotional. We also painted nails & made bracelets. Kerri & Sydney treated us to a live performance of Rescue. There were a lot of giggles shared amongst our team.

The boys spent the afternoon playing games! It was a sports day for them. They played baseball and of course- MORE soccer! Caleb lead the devotional for the guys. Fun was had by all.

We had our final church service tonight. The services have touched my heart in a special way. The Nica’s sing louder than the worship leader. Being surrounded by them in the church as their singing filled the room- it didn’t matter that we don’t speak the same language- it was breathtaking! We all heard a special message from Pastor Jason! His message was translated for the community by Tyler, the church Missionary. The message was simple and clear- it’s not just about our belief in Jesus- it’s also about making the choice to FOLLOW Jesus.

Serve like Jesus & love like Jesus.

~ Nicole

Hygiene Pack day

We spent the day handing out the hygiene packs that were put together yesterday. Here is a student perspective…

Today we handed out our hygiene packs that we made yesterday. We went to two places. The first place we went to was Las Nubes.  We broke into groups and we went to multiple homes. One home that stood out to me was when we gave it to them, they immediately started crying tears of happiness. They really took in our prayer even though they couldn’t understand it since it was in English. I had a moment where I thought how meaningful these bags actually were and how impactful they are to people who don’t have access to these items like I would at home. I liked when we hiked around even though it was difficult at times. All the homes where we were were made in different materials than the places where we’ve been around recently. There was a lot of sheets of metal, cardboard, plastic, mud floors, and anything else they could find to build their homes. A lot of the paths to people’s homes were slippery mud and I couldn’t even imagine walking that path everyday and how often they slip and fall. The second place we went to was around where we are currently staying. Something that I kept thinking about is how much trash is around. I want to ask to help pick it up but I believe it would also be insulting to them although I only mean good. Almost every home that we visited had at least one dog or animal. Some of them were nice, some of them didn’t like new people. A lot of homes also had farms on their property. I saw coffee beans, tomatoes, potatoes, limóns, oranges, plantains, and more. There was only one home that really stood out to me. She had electricity, a TV, flooring, couches, and more modern items. Although she had these nicer things, it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t deserve any less than anyone else here. Some people invited us into their homes to pray and each home looked different than the other. Almost all the homes we visited had some sort of mother figure who answered meaning I believe the men would be at work. I could feel that after receiving these gifts, something changed mentally in each of them. We invited all of them to church and a lot of them looked like they were interested in trying it out. Overall, I’m glad that we did this because I believe we did make a difference in everyone’s life today.

~Isabella Morgan

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After we finished, we took an adventure to see the waterfall here in La Esmeralda. Some explored a little deeper and got a little more wet than others… a beautiful place to spend a few moments after a long day.