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.

New things

The first couple of days we have spent traveling, settling in, and experiencing new things.

Friday was a long day of travel. A delayed flight and some baggage stuck at customs put us a couple hours behind our schedule. We stayed the night as we headed up to La Esmeralda so we could finish the trip in the daylight.

A good meal, showers and a bed did us well!

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Saturday we finished our travel into La Esmeralda and were greeted by our partners. We settled in and started to get to know the team. We ended our night at youth group and sharing stories after dinner.

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Sunday morning we got started early so we could get to church. The team was immersed in the culture with a full service in Spanish. Some of the students joined Sunday school with the kids.

We spent the afternoon preparing the hygiene packs for the community outreach and playing soccer, cards, volleyball, etc… with our new friends!

We ended our day at church, had dinner and shared some more of our stories.

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We look forward to what the rest of the week holds!

Make sure you are watching Facebook and Instagram for more of out pictures and updates.

Commissioned and packed

Fox River Students leave in just a few short days!

Commissioning ✅

The church commissioned us with a moments of prayer in our weekend services. A moment for the students to see the church come around them and send them out to be the light of Christ.

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We spent time this week getting all of our supplies packed up and ready to go.

All 22 suitcases are full and waiting to make the journey. ✅

Will you join us in praying that our luggage arrives and makes it through customs smoothly?

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One last meeting before we head out ✅

It’s time!

It’s time.

It is time for Fox River Missions to send our first teams back out since the world turned upside down.

It’s time to go and reconnect with our partners and share in the work that God is doing!

There has been heartbreak, loss, destruction, change, and yet in the midst of all of that we have seen God show up and remind us of His Goodness and Faithfulness! We have seen the Kingdom grow, we have seen healing physically, mentally, and spiritually, we have seen restoration… and that is just skimming the surface.

So much has changed and evolved over the last few years and we can’t wait to get back into it.

Our prayer as we step into these trips, with these teams, is that we are able to live out the Fox River mission… A Heart for People and A Message of Jesus! That we go in likeness of Jesus, so that more will come to know Him!

Follow along as we get to share these wonderful life changing experiences with so many new team members. (We will be posting here and on the Fox River Missions Facebook and Instagram.)

June 23-July 2 ~ Fox River Students take on Nicaragua

July 15-July 27 ~ Fox River Kenya team

Life Changing Impact

A story of Life Changing Impact!

7 years ago Mayra and Ashley came to the clinic seeking to be treated for their physical struggles, little did they know they would walk away with their spiritual needs being met. A moment that would lead to complete life change!

Mayra, Ashley, Kerri, and Mayra’s grandsons.

Recently while visiting La Esmeralda I, Kerri, had the opportunity to sit with Mayra and talk about how having the clinic in this community has changed her life. Mayra and her family live in a community called “Las Nubes” about 1-2 hours walk from the clinic. She shared with me, how when they first came to the clinic they were simply seeking to find treatment for the illness her daughter, Ashley, was struggling with. They had no idea that they would find more. Upon arriving they were directed to the pavilion behind the clinic where church members were waiting to share with them about how much God loves them. That day both Mayra and Ashley (at age 9) accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Since that day, their lives have been different.

The community they live in is known to be a pretty dangerous area and they used to live in great fear. She shared, that though it is still scary at times she knows that God is with them, always protecting and covering them. Peace that comes from knowing your Savior!

They have both been baptized, and have become some of the most faithful members of the church in La Esmeralda. Walking about 2 hours every Sunday to attend service with Mayra’s sons and grandsons as well.  Ashley stays in La Esmeralda all day Sunday and overnight to be able to serve in the evening service as a Sunday school teacher.

Mayra and Ashley have become an integral part of the ministry the Church has in their own community of Las Nubes as well. Mayra prepares food each week for the children’s outreach ministry and Ashley teaches the children about the same love she came to know at a young age. Mayra shared with me that since the first Sunday they went to church, Ashley told her that her dream was to be a Sunday school teacher, just like the young lady that was teaching her. These days she is fulfilling that dream. Their desire is to be part of the impact God is making in their own community. Ashley has also shared that she desires to go to seminary and enter into ministry full time.

Mayra wants to say, thank you for your love and dedication of keeping the clinic doors open. She says that without the clinic she doesn’t know where she would be. Not only because of the medical care she has received but, because of hearing the Gospel and meeting Jesus. She wants you to know that you are making an eternal impact in the lives of many people, including her family.

Meeting physical needs, leads to meeting spiritual needs! God is at work in and through the clinic. This is just one of the many stories of redemption that has come from this ministry. Thank you for sponsoring life change!

Join us this year!

What is My Gift for Jesus?

Our December challenge to give a gift to Jesus during this Christmas season by helping children who live in extreme poverty in Kenya and Nicaragua.

How Can I Get Involved?

Choose your level of engagement:

• GIVE: Start by making a life changing donation. Monthly sponsorship is just $25. You can give weekly, monthly or annually. Just pledge to give

• PRAY: Stop by the missions booth after a weekend service and pick up a prayer card for Nicaragua or a Kenyan child. Hang them in a spot to remind you to pray for these ministries. Not able to make it to one of our campuses in December? No problem. Email us at missions@foxriverchristian.org and we’ll get them to you.

• CONNECT: Write letters to the Kenyan child on your prayer card or write an encouraging note to one of our partners in Nicaragua. Visit our Connect page to get started.

• GO: Join us on one of the summer mission trips to Kenya or Nicaragua to see first hand what God is doing through your life changing donations. See our Trips page for more information on each trip or to sign up.

How Do I Give?

• Give online through Fox River’s website. Be sure to use the fund marked for My Gift for Jesus.

• Place cash or check in the offering during a weekend service. Be sure it is marked for My Gift for Jesus.

• Mail a check to Fox River (S46 W24130 Lawnsdale Road, Waukesha, WI  53189) or drop off at the church office. Be sure it is marked for My Gift for Jesus.

What Does Fox River Do in Kenya and Nicaragua?

Kenya: we partner with local churches to offer a great Christian education that will give these young people the opportunity to know God and break the cycle of poverty in their family and community.

• Fully sponsor 2 schools with about 775 students from preschool through middle school and 80 staff members. This includes all school supplies, 2 meals on school days, and basic health care.

• About 100 students sponsored in our partner high school.

• Clean water for the community surrounding the school.

• Farm project to supplement the feeding program.

• Adult literacy classes.

• A rescue center that provides a loving home for children who have been abandoned.

Nicaragua: we partner with the local church in La Esmeralda to provide healthcare in a remote location where no healthcare in available.

• A clinic staffed with a doctor that sees hundreds of patients each month.

• The clinic specializes in prenatal care and offers a safe and clean environment for delivery and after care

• Beyond the physical care, the pastor and staff share the gospel and minister to the needs of the soul.

• The Avance Sports ministry gives an outlet for hundreds of children and teens to engage in wholesome activities and hear about Jesus. Currently they offer soccer, volleyball, and baseball.

To all those who give and pray we would like to say THANK YOU, ASANTE, GRACIAS! We would not be able to make this impact on the world without you. Our partners in both Kenya and Nicaragua want you to know they are so grateful for your love and generosity towards them.

Beginning from the middle.

I know you may be wondering about the title of this blog, but it’s actually our current state of the school year here in Kenya as we’re making up for lost time at school.

Our Vipingo student enjoy the graduation

We are grateful for a successful and productive school year. It started with a lot of uncertainty and lack of direction from the ministry of education due to the pandemic. We had shutdowns and lockdowns in the country as measures to mitigate the spread of Covid. With these measures in place schools were shut down for the whole of 2020 hence disrupting the coming 2021 school calendar. 

It’s never gets any cuter than this at bomani

We had to play catch up with the calendar to finish the year and we have just ended the 2020 school calendar this last week. We’re so thrilled - but at the same time there’s not much time to rest as we break for just 1 week and start the new school year.

Our lovely vipingo student

The normal school year in Kenya is 3 terms. You have 3 months each term and a months break in between. So there are a lot of adjustments. We thank God for our teachers who have taken up the challenge and have worked tirelessly to make sure our students get to finish the syllabus and are ready for the next classes in record time. 

Bomani and high school teachers and staff having a fun and games day before schools started.

We seek to ask for prayers as we start this new year and face new challenges of squeezing everything into a smaller time frame than we’re use to. We seek to ask you to pray for our teachers as they prepare materials, to have wisdom on how to do it in a short time and be able to examine the learners in that same period. May you also pray for the students as they prepare for the new class they will come in with new challenges and little time for adjustment, compared to what they are used to in their former classes. 

Our Teachers from Vipingo with our current High school graduates.

We also have graduated several into universities and other institutions in the country which is a great praise! 

Happy high school teachers and staff at games day.

I can testify and say we have been able to send 30 students to the university and 60 into tertiary institutions since the beginning of the schools program here in Kenya. Most of the students who have been able to get to this level of education are the first in their entire extended families. 

Our current high school graduates heading into university

As we begin this new year, may we get to understand and adapt into the new normal, and succeed in achieving dreams and showing Christ to the children through your support, that we are truly grateful for. 

High School Graduation!!

Friday and Saturday were spent celebrating with our students who have just graduated from Valerye McMillan High School!

This group is a mix of students who came from both New Life Academy in Bomani and Crossroads Academy in Vipingo. These kids started when they in the pre-K classes. They have grown up before our eyes!

We are so proud of them and pray for their futures as the embark on the next phase of their lives!

Friday was graduation day and Saturday we took them to pick out a new outfit to get them set for interviews.

Check out this video…

Celebrating with Vipingo

Wednesday and Thursday have been spent celebrating with Crossroads Academy, Vipingo!

Wednesday we spent the day out and about with the Vipingo graduates. They got to have their fun day. Another great Mombasa City tour.

Site seeing along the way, a walking tour at Fort Jesus and Old Town Mombasa, taking in the view at the port, pizza lunch on the bus, and a shopping spree at the store. A day full of fun and new experiences!

Thursday was Graduation Day! We got to be a part of a wonderful ceremony celebrating their achievements.

And as we said the other day we want to acknowledge that this was a crazy year in education and these kids worked hard to do well and complete grade 8. Thank you to the teachers, staff, and sponsors for the fantastic support you have given these kids!!

Share in the joy of these kids in the video below…

Celebrating with Bomani!

Monday and Tuesday we have spent celebrating with New Life Academy, Bomani!

Monday was graduation day! We got to be a part of a wonderful ceremony celebrating their achievements.

After a crazy year in education these kids worked hard to do well and complete grade 8. Thank you to the teachers, staff, and sponsors for the fantastic support you have given these kids!!

Tuesday, the graduates were treated to a day of fun. A Mombasa City tour arranged by our very own O’Neal Nyanje! Getting on a bus to leave their village is an experience the students were so excited about.

Site seeing along the way, a walking tour at Fort Jesus and Old Town Mombasa, taking in the view at the port, pizza lunch on the bus, and a shopping spree at the store. A day full of fun and new experiences!