“I’m writing these words on my Blackberry from Kenya, where I’ve spent the past three days in one of the poorest and oldest slums on the planet: the Mathare Valley of Nairobi. The poverty here is nearly indescribable. Families and children have been caught in a cycle of hopelessness for generations; most are convinced there is no way out. And indeed, without education, employment, clean water, or anywhere to empty their sewage except on the very dirt streets where they live in tiny tin huts, there has been little to be hopeful about.

“But the winds of change are blowing. Children who had little hope of a quality education — or any education at all for that matter — are being lifted out of life in the slums, and are now receiving a quality, empowering, Christ-centered education. What began with the heart and vision of one Kenyan couple (CMF International Associates Wallace and Mary Kamau) to do something, and 50 children in a two-room house has mushroomed to 3,400 children who are being lifted, taught, and inspired with a hope and a future. Yesterday, I had the incredible privilege of participating in a ceremony honoring 37 students from the Mathare Valley who just finished eighth grade and have been accepted into some of the most prestigious high schools in Kenya. Until now, this has been unthinkable dream for any child growing up in the Mathare slums. My heart soared as I listened to these bright, articulate young people of faith share their dreams of becoming doctors, engineers, and pastors who will one day return to Methare and be a part of a systemic solution, breaking the cycle of poverty once and for all.

“There is so much more I could say about the good things God is doing. I’ve talked to so many teachers, parents, children and others who have said over and over, ‘Please tell Eastside thank you, thank you, thank you . . . for your support, prayers, short-term trips, and child sponsorship!’ Eastsiders, you really have no idea what an impact you are making. Thank you for your tenacious spirit to unleash compassion in a world that needs hope.”

Many other churches and individuals are making a difference in Kenya through the Hope Partnership. For information on how you or your church can be involved, click here.

The students have been praying about ways to get involved in missions in different parts of the world. At last week’s meeting, the leaders divided the students into groups to pray for each of the six continents, and then think about what they could do for that continent in one week.

The group assigned to Africa took a look at CMF’s gift catalog, saw the need for church buildings in Ethiopia, and decided to raise the $750 to build a church in one week. When they heard the group’s plan, Cher Carter writes that she and the other ministry leaders were encouraging, but really felt that there was realistically no way they’d be able to pull it off. However, here’s the rest of this exciting story in the words of Auburn student Justin Guizar:

“In our sophomore leaders’ group we were each given a continent to pray for. I was given Africa along with my three friends . . . I suggested we raise the money to build the church. My group was skeptical, but quickly got on board. We came up with all kinds of fundraising ideas. The amazing part of this story is that within three hours of our decision to raise the $750 we had every penny of it! We passed a plate at Bible study and I made a call to a business and got every bit of our week’s goal in three hours! I wanted to share this story with you just to give an example of God’s power. We’ll be sending in the check within the week.”

Cher Carter adds that when they hit their goal, “Our whole ministry was screaming and dancing. Wow, God! Wow!”

One out of every three people in the world lives in a nation lacking access to pure water. Each year 3.6 million people die from water-related diseases. The problem is particularly acute in Kenya, where years of drought, along with poor management of the water supply, deforestation, untreated sewage, and a 30-fold population increase in the past century contribute to a severe water crisis.

CMF’s Overflow program is beginning new projects among the Maasai that will collect and purify water now, and drill wells in several communities in the near future. The pure water will impact the health of families and communities, plus give the church opportunities to demonstrate the grace of God. The local economy will be dramatically impacted as herd animals thrive and crops grow until harvest.

This summer, CMF’s Reach interns will participate in a variety of Overflow water programs. For more information on how you or your church can be part of the Overflow projects, click here.

Although CMF does not have any missionaries working in Haiti, two of our partner organizations, FAME and IDES, have extensive ties in this poorest nation in the western hemisphere. FAME (Fellowship of Associates of Medical Evangelism) reports on its website that it has “received updates from most of our partners and they are safe, but report much destruction of their facilities.” FAME will be involved in both relief efforts in Haiti and long-term reconstruction.

The IDES (International Disaster Emergency Services) website shares that “Lifeline Christian Mission, Christianville, and Christian Mission South Haiti have all suffered some structural damage. By God’s grace, no one was seriously injured on their premises. However, we have heard reports of injuries and lives lost within the Christian Church/Church of Christ community in and around Port-au-Prince. One of our partner missions in Gonaives is preparing to send Haitian volunteers into the affected area to render assistance.” IDES anticipates that it will be working with multiple partners in Haiti.

Your donations for relief work through both of these agencies will be greatly appreciated. To donate, go to www.fameworld.org or www.ides.org.

Clide Mukanzi, the MoHi student with the highest score at 403, is likely to receive a direct admission to a national (first level) school. His first choice is Starehe, which is the best in Kenya. Twelve other students scored in the 350-399 range, and will easily get places in provincial (second level) schools; some may even qualify for first level schools. Eighteen students scored in the 300-349 range, and should qualify for provincial (second level) or good district (third level) schools. Five students earned scores in the 268-299 range, and should be assigned to very good district schools.

Only one student scored less than 250, the passing mark, said Kamau, but she came late to the school in 2009 after several traumatic events in her family during the 2007-08 election violence. The school board team will work hard to place her in a good district high school, where they expect her to be a surprise performer.

Kamau points out that if these students had continued to attend the public schools in Mathare, and even made it as far as grade eight, it is very unlikely that any of them would have scored as high as 300 on the test, since it is rare for any student in the public schools to reach that mark.

The first book slated for publication, “The Jesus Documents,” was edited by CMF recruit Shawn Redford. This book is an anthropological look at the four gospels, and will be available in March 2010. The second book, co-edited by Doug Priest, “The Ways of the People,” is a reader in missionary anthropology. It is slated to be published in June.

Two more books on mission history in the South Pacific have been prepared and sent to William Carey Library. One is a missionary biography of John Hunt and the second is an autobiography of Fijian evangelist Joeli Bulu. Another volume of Tippett’s best writing in ethnohistory is close to completion.

Since these books were all written before computers, they must be scanned and then digitized, followed by the lengthy process of correcting and editing the scanned copy.

CMF celebrated her sixtieth anniversary at the recent Board of Directors and Annual Meeting in November. The celebration was held in Indianapolis at the Outlook Christian Church (formerly, Oaklandon Christian Church).

Preparation for the meeting included gathering relevant statistics about CMF’s growth since our 50th anniversary ten years ago. David Giles, Director of Church Catalyst Ministries, reported that in the last ten years CMF ministries planted 174 churches.

Naomi Kouns, Director of Globalscope, reported that in the last decade CMF has established international campus ministries in Mexico, Chile, Thailand, Spain, England, and Germany.

The Board of Directors gave thanks to God for His continuing blessing and provision as CMF seeks to transform lives and communities for Him around the world.

In January, the team plans to build on this success by offering further micro-enterprise training to help the churches’ CHE programs develop funding from within their communities, which will support their projects now and in the future.

Team member Tyler Crawford shared some details of the big event: “The Frisbee team was there. Our language partners were there. Students we have met at parties were there. Students we have met at the disco were there. Students who are friends and roommates of our friends and roommates were there, too. It was the beautiful coming together of all our months of collective efforts as a group to meet students and start making an impact in their lives with our love, and it was incredibly affirming to see all of our friends and family here in Tübingen in the same house, interacting with us and interacting with each other. You can practically see the fabric of our community being woven together right in front of you. There was food. There was music. There was a skit explaining the tradition of Thanksgiving and there was laughter — not a German tradition! At the end of the big meal we invited students to stand up and share what they were thankful for. It was a risk on our part; few, if any, students had ever stood up to share something personal with a large group. But before long, everyone was eager to have their chance to stand up and say their part. Students were still sharing what they were thankful for even after the meal!”

One of the things most often mentioned by the students as something for which they are thankful was the Unterwegs ministry. As Tyler explained, “Many students have a hard time placing us; no German labels will stick. We are a Christian group, but we are not a church, and we are not a campus ministry, which traditionally in Tübingen reaches out only to students who are already Christians. On the other hand, we are a place of excitement, activity and celebration, but we care more about the people rather than the party itself. We’re not a bar or a club — we don’t serve alcohol and people come anyway. But a few students are starting to better understand us.”

Martin, one of the Frisbee players who attended the gathering, stood up during the time of thanks to share his thoughts: “I’m thankful for the friends I’ve met here. I came to Tübingen, and I’ve found a place to plug in. It’s great that people are doing this kind of thing weekly, daily here at Unterwegs. I’m thankful for the community here.”

Tyler’s fellow team members Chris and Stef Coleman were especially pleased with the event because while they have had small, private conversations with some students about Jesus and Christianity, “Thanksgiving was the first time we prayed as a community. It was very powerful! This is what we came to Germany to do: build a community of students centered around Christ!”

While there has been some rain in Kenya, the showers are still inconsistent throughout most of the country. The Cluffs ask for prayers for consistent rains, for the crops that have been planted in many parts of Kajiado and, most of all, for growth and maturity in the three new church plants.