Dear Shining Hope Family,
Have you ever stopped and considered to what extent God could use you in the lives of our ministry’s children? How, for Christ, they might impact individuals across the globe for decades to come?
Evangelist Scott Pauley makes this thought-provoking statement: “Mr. Kimball went after Moody. And D. L. Moody would shake two continents with the Gospel. A village preacher one year only baptized one convert, but that convert was a man named William Carey who would become the Father of Modern Missions. A deacon in a church gave . . . a fumbling message, but gave the Gospel one Lord’s Day, and a young boy by the name of Charles Haddon Spurgeon trusted Christ as his Savior. Do you understand that God could use you to set something in motion for the Lord?!”
God is not a small God. He is greater than we can comprehend. Nothing—absolutely nothing—is impossible with Him! We want to encourage you that the Lord is using you profoundly in our 21 children’s lives and in the lives of the neighbor kids—and in His sovereign plan, He can use them in ways we can’t even begin to imagine. Thank you so much for investing in their precious lives. Thank you for praying for them. Thank you for your special support in our time of financial difficulty to ensure they are fed and well cared for.
Our beloved seven-year-old Desmond reads a book about God:
Meet one of the little neighbor children whom you help provide lunch for!
“His nickname is ‘Boy,’” Kalungi shares. “He is around two years old and lives with his grandmother. He is one of the many who never miss out on our daily meal that God has been providing for some time now. His grandmother is a weak, elderly woman whom we sometimes send cooked food to, since she’s only able to prepare one meal a day.
“‘Boy’ mostly plays by himself, and he makes playing alone seem fun for him. This could be because he isn’t yet good at communicating, though he understands everything told to him. He comes from a distance, compared to others his age, in the accompaniment of other neighbor children. These neighbors say he knows when it’s about time to come for the meal. Within that time, he hangs around them till they set out. He is always punctual!”
On February 6th, our kids will be heading back to school for the first term of the year! As exciting as that is, we just got word that Scovia, Edrine, and Jonathan passed their high school entrance exams! THEY’RE STARTING HIGH SCHOOL! Isn’t the Lord good? We are so grateful to everyone who has played a part in providing them—and all our kids—with an invaluable education. “Thank you” is completely inadequate!
Scovia, Jonathan, and Edrine:
In closing, we invite you to read what God accomplished through our Christmas outreach! In the update, you will find many beautiful pictures (and even some video clips!). You will learn the words of praise the villagers exclaimed when receiving gifts of food. And you will experience firsthand what the children’s Christmas was like. May you be greatly blessed! Christmas Outreach 2022 Update: Covered by Joy
Who knows if one of these children will grow up and become the next Moody, Carey, or Spurgeon? Only the Lord. But we do know that the extent God can use them is far beyond our imagination. Thank you tremendously for the blessings you gave this January that touched many young lives! In the hands of God, He can use those lives to touch many more.
To Him Who is able,
Kalungi + Rachel
PS: Enjoy this cute 30-second clip of “Boy” at our children’s Christmas party! He was busily eating a piece of roasted maize, but was definitely listening to Pastor Peter!
*Quote from Enjoying the Journey, episode “Pass It On!” (January 6, 2023)
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