Glory Children’s Center – Kisii, Kenya
By Edna Shaffer
Another day, another miracle at Glory Center! It seems
that when things are apparently quiet, God is silently at
work producing miracles. When they burst forth, we stand
in awe of His power and goodness.
One of the wonders is how he uses people who are in
tune to his voice as partners. How thrilled we all should be
to bear witness to what he has done and continues to do to
save the orphans and widows he loves so much. I am so ex-
cited to have even the smallest part in his plan. We thank all
of you who have joined forces with him, and those of you
who will in the future. There is no limit to the help we can
give as long as we stay connected to him.
This past week has been a busy
one. Vicki Kritzell (my daughter), has
been here and we crammed every day
full. She visited the SDA church of
Traverse City, Michigan, Sabbath
school class that supports the ministry
in such a wonderful way. Then on
Sunday she had a sponsors and donors
meeting at Lake Ann UMC for all the
faithful supporters in the area. It was a
great time of fellowship, learning and
sharing. We were happy to have Brian
Hester, who recently returned from
Glory and Hope Centers, share some
of his experiences there. Two more
children from Glory Center were
sponsored at the meeting, bringing us
up to a total of twenty-four out of the
fifty-six new children! This is another of God’s quiet mira-
cles, and I believe if we keep working they will all have
sponsors before the year’s end, so it’s time for rejoicing!
Pastor Moses and his wife Prisca (the administrators at
Glory Center), have been going through some heartbreak-
ing times and need our prayers. Pastor had three cousins
shot to death by robbers in Kisii and so far no one has been
arrested for the crimes. Kisii is the closest town, where they
do business and use the e-mail bureau. It has become so
dangerous that two or three people are shot every day. He
wants us to ask the Lord to intervene in this very difficult
situation, and we certainly will ask for his protection for
Moses, Prisca and the Glory Center family.
Some interesting situations have arisen in some of our
recent sponsorships. If you remember, Brian Juma’s pic-
ture was in last month’s Spotlight on Orphans, and the day
before it hit your mailbox, the same dear woman who spon-
sored his sister Vane, called and said she wanted Brian too!
Isn’t it wonderful that they have the same American “par-
ents”?
This brings me to another e-mail that just arrived: I had
told two friends who cosponsor a little girl about her sister
who looks like her twin. The cosponsors had agreed they
could only afford to sponsor one child. The email writer
said, “I thought and thought and thought about the little sis-
ter. How could I take one sister and not the other? But we
had agreed not to. Well, I decided to take her myself. I
could pack my work lunches and cut out all my extras. I
could do this, but how could I tell my friend after our agree-
ment? So one day I said to her, ‘I’ve been thinking about
Vivian…’ And she replied, ‘We’re going to adopt her,
aren’t we?’” They’d both been thinking the same thing but
didn’t know how to tell the other! She closed with, “So
there you have it, we want both Jery and Vivian… but you
knew we would, didn’t you?” I am so happy that these
beautiful little girls are going to have these wonderful
women to love and support them as they grow into
women. Another quiet miracle? You
bet!
If any of you who are reading this
today feel you can offer what these pre-
cious children need, just give me a call
and we’ll talk it over. I promise you it
will change your life almost as much as
the child’s.
This month we would like to intro-
duce you to two little brothers, Calvin
Ogega (7) and his little brother, Joshua
(6). The boys’ parents both died from
AIDS and they were left with an el-
derly grandmother. After she passed,
the boys were left at the mercy of their
neighbors, where their situation was desperate. The boys
made their way to Glory Center and were brought into the
family. They are very happy to have a home.
Now for some great news!!!! As your children are ex-
periencing the excitement of going back to school, our high
school students at Glory Center are, too! Many of you are
aware that there have not been enough funds for the exorbi-
tant fees for high school, plus food, during the severe fam-
ine, so they had to missa term. The elementary children did
not miss since they could attend the orphanage school.
Well, (back to miracles again) funds have come in to cover
half of the school fees for the older students so they will all
be back in class in September. They are all so happy and
grateful, and so are we.
A huge thank-you to all of you wonderful supporters!
Without you there would not be a ministry to save these
children, at least not over four hundred of them! You are in
our prayers each day.
?
-5-
Calvin Ogega
above, brother
Joshua at right.
