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The Grace Journal is a place where Rev. Wambugu, and perhaps occasionally others of the Grace Ministries staff, will summarize the work of the day or week. We want you to feel that you are an active part of our work and our lives, and hope that this on-going journal of our activities – our joys, our sorrows, and our day-to-day work – will help to bring you more closely into our world.
God bless you for your interest and your support!
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Author: Samuel Wambugu
Saturday, September 30, 2006 at 2:22 P.M. (Limuru time)
WEEK ENDING SATURDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER 2006:
It was a greatly blessed week for Grace School. We received a gift of $31,000 from a Foundation in Knoxville through 1st Pres. Knoxville. This is as a result of an effort of one member of 1st Pres. who applied the grant for Grace School. We are very thankful to the Foundation, 1St Pres. and to this particular brother who went out of his busy schedule to answer milliards of questions concerning the work and need for Grace School. This fund is to be applied towards finishing the three classrooms on the final floor, providing office spaces and laying the foundation for a Kitchen/ Dinning Hall.
We have received information that the Medical Team that comes to offer free medical clinics in Kenya will be coming on November 28th. This team does wonderful work to the Kenyan poor on the area of medicines. Grace facilitates their coming and they give one day clinic to children, staff and family members of Grace School. They bring one year supply of medical requirement to Monica and me.
There are two annual events that excite the children and they all look forward to this term when they take place. They go for a tour, visiting National Parks and seeing other parts of Kenya. The other event is the Christmas party in November. It is unbelievable but true that this is the only time that children have an opportunity to enjoy a bottle of Coke and candies. Jane the Head teacher wrote a letter concerning these two events to Churches and friends of Grace School requesting a $ 25 sponsorship for 80% of our children cannot afford. We hope that will shall get the necessary support and these events will go ahead. We invite you to consider the possibility of supporting this noble cause incase Jane’s letter did not get to you.
Have a blessed week
Samuel.
| Author: Samuel Wambugu
Monday, September 25, 2006 at 3:35 P.M. (Limuru time)
WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 26TH 2006:
The learning went on without interruptions. Warm temperatures are gradually setting in with high expectations that the short rain that comes in October- November is eminent. We have prepared the School Garden for planting immediately the rain sets in. We thank God that a Dairy co-operative where we sell a few litters of milk from Kate the School cow. The co-operative has rented us a one acre of Agricultural land to us at a very low rate. We gave work to the Agape Group (This is the group of people living with HIV/AIDS) to cultivate it. We also bought two trucks of manure and this land is cultivated and we have planted Corn and nippier grass for fodder.
The recruitment committee (Jane, Stella and Miriam) employed Mr. Julius Kimani as a new teacher. Julius is a professional teacher with a lot of other extra curricula gifts. The School has a gender imbalance which we want to be sensitive to. There are two male teachers out of the ten teachers in the School.
Teachers met on Wednesday to deliberate on their Merry go round organization. This Merry go round helps teachers to buy important items or pay fees for their siblings. Each teacher contributes a certain amount from her/his salary at the end of the month and the amount is given to one teacher following a voted order. This is a commendable team spirit which helps the teachers to do things they could not do if they depend only on their salary.
Miriam the School Business Manager has had a very busy week putting together the budget for 2007. We hope that the budget will be ready for circulation to friends and partners of Grace by mid next month.
It seems it has been a very busy week for every body. Monica has stayed busy putting together the agenda and food for a Pastors Wife fraternal that is being inaugurated today. This fraternity is much needed and has been long overdue. Pastors wife and the family at large have special roles, expectations and frustrations that these dear ladies will be able to help each other within this fraternity.
Thank you for praying for Grace School. The Lord is answering them at a speed and at a level far beyond our imaginations. We shall be sharing about this in our future journals.
Have a blessed week.
Samuel.
| Author: Samuel Wambugu
Saturday, September 16, 2006 at 09:46 A.M. (Limuru time)
WEEK ENDING 16 SEPTEMBER 2006.
This was the second week and learning activities have fully resumed. The Pupils are getting used to their new teachers and there is learning harmony. It was rather Ironical to keep our staff waiting for a few days to get their little financial support while they could not believe that the roofing of third floor took place in less than a week. This costed a lot of money and it was incomprehensible why they a not able to get their support. I called a meeting with the staff and I explained to them the concept of dedicated giving. I explained to them that the roofing money was given to a church strictly for that and we could not have used that gift to pay them. There are wonderful team, most of them Christians and they accepted the explanation. We have now paid them from what children have paid as fees.
I had three days counselling seessions with a member of the church who was contemplating suicide. He had guaranteed a friend to get a loan from the bank and the friend defaulted in payment. Now the property (a prime piece land of two an half acre) is to be auctioned by the bank on Thursday the 21st.
I worked with the Church Agape Team (People in the church living with Aids). I try to seek from the community people who may have work may be washing clothes or working on the farms and deploy the strong members of this group to go and do it. This has helped them to get food and pay for their rents.
I attended (not officiating) two funerals this week. Wednesday and Thursday. These were of community friends and not directly related to Grace School.
A team calling itself East Tennessee Friends of Grace School (ETFOGS) has been formed to seek possibilities of helping Grace School and its ministries get out of its perpetual financial quagmire. Pray for this team. I have found asking for money the most difficult task, but our God makes crooked and difficult ways straight.
Have a pleasant week.
Samuel.
| Author: Samuel Wambugu
Saturday, September 09, 2006 at 2:48 P.M. (Limuru time)
WEEK ENDING 9TH SEPTEMBER
We are very excited to be able to resume posting Grace Journal after a three week recess. Various factors forced us to go for this recess. Our Computer (Word processor) which we were using was very slow and it finally crushed. We are now having a wonderful Computer courtesy of Bethel Presbyterian Church. The School was partially out on break and we used the time to roof the three classrooms.
The School resumed on 4th with excitement and discouragement. The excitement came by seeing that we have already roofed the three classrooms on the top. We were able to do this through a big financial gift from Global Mission of 1ST Presbyterian Church Knoxville TN. This Church with others has supported Grace School with prayers and materials.
The discouragement was that three of our teachers left. One went for maternity leave. Another went to seminary and another found a better paying job. Teachers at Grace receive very little financial support and we understand when they get a better paying post somewhere else. We are in prayer that one day will hope that we shall be able to give adequate financial compensation to Grace Staff. We are thankful to God who has given us replacement for the departed teachers. Jane the Head teacher has done exemplary work in seeing that no class went without a teacher.
We got permission to cut down trees that were safety hazards to School building and to children. The Children now use the space in front of the classrooms as their eating space. We are in prayers that we shall one day build a dinning hall/kitchen.
Global weather change is affecting us. September is generally a warm period here. It is now very cold that we are putting heavy and warm clothing. There is however food and no more famine. Thank you very much to the many of you who responded to our famine distress.
Grace Newsletter will now be out next week since we now have a wonderful computer.
The Lord bless you and thank you for your prayers.
Samuel and Grace family fraternity.
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Please know that your donation can help, not only to save the life of a child in Limuru, but to guide that life in such a way as to loosen the stranglehold of despair and death that threatens so much of Kenya's population. Thank you, in advance, for your compassionate support!
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