Off to a Great Start!

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech
but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:18

 ”

Dear Partners,

First off, thank you for your support. I say it over and over, but we could not do what we do without your support. Thank you!!!

Our year is off to a great start! Here’s just a glimpse at what’s happened so far:

• Our newest well is complete! 

• We held our first jigger clinic of 2019!

• We graduated 3 more students from our Made with Amore sewing school

• A batch of tote bags that has been lost at sea for over a year arrived (minus 96 tote bags that must’ve been a hit with someone along the way as they carefully took what they wanted and repackaged 53 of our 149 bags and sent them on to me. How nice of them!) ☹

• We have another batch of tote bags arriving the end of this month via Sheila’s luggage so we are hopeful we will receive these in-tact! 

• All of our children are in school (52 children)!

• We have plans for a great year ahead with God on our side!

I’m excited to see the visions that God has given me, and then confirmed with Heather, coming to fruition in the following ways:

Give Amore has our first fundraising event happening by someone other than Heather and myself this Saturday! If you are in the Austin area, please come by! There’s a silent auction, a donation based yoga class, private donations and I’ll be speaking and selling our tote bags. I can’t tell you how happy this has made me to see other people pour their gifts and talents into supporting Give Amore. WOW! I’m beyond blessed and in awe! 

I’ve also been asked to speak to women at my church and at another church in the coming months! These opportunities are an answer to prayer and I believe are affirmation of God’s promise to me that, after the rotten jigger experience, He would expand my territory for His kingdom. 

Please read on for a little more about some of the highlights of the month and stand with us in prayer for others to join us as love in ACTION!  

May God bless you and keep you. May he make his face to shine upon you and give you peace.

Christa Horst

How much do you like clean, beautiful fingers and toes?

A non-graphic image of the children being treated for jiggers. Trust us when we say the photos that accurately display the trauma that jiggers cause are too graphic to share in our newsletter. Please message us if you’d like to see them.

Another jigger clinic went down last weekend and multitudes of individuals had their feet and hands disinfected from the vicious parasite, this time using two removal methods concurrently thanks to a new trial technique advised by the ministry of health.

Unlike the previous clinics, this one was widely painless as the method focuses to suffocate the profound parasites to death on less critical victims. On the other hand, manual removal methods were employed on dire cases whose parasites were intensely superficial. The former method is however still on trial and if proves effective, will widely save the victims much pain during the removal exercise.

Our team this time targeted local pre-schools whose main population learns in dirt floor classrooms with neither desks nor shoes on. It is worth noting that dust provides a breeding haven for jiggers and thus the more dirt floor classrooms there are, the higher the chances of children in them to get infected by these malicious parasites.

With hundreds of beneficiaries to the project, there are still more victims to reach out to still in dire plight  and through your prayers, support and our dedicated team of volunteers, together are will save many lives.

17th Well is Complete!

Mildred and Petronilah proudly show their community’s clean water well!

After weeks of wait, our 17th well of wellness is complete and from its location in Petronila and Mildred’s home, the village nay community it was commissioned to serve is joyfully drawing from it.

From muddy pond water to safe clean water well, this is a huge upgrade for this village, given that they couldn’t even afford spring water before. 

The community as a whole is bound to reap good health, reduced tiresome treks in search of clean water over long distances, enhanced productivity, a sense of responsibility and benefits of sharing in the love of Christ extended to them.

The village has tens of families and through the well’s strategic location, access to it from the various thirsty dwellers is guaranteed.

So far Give Amore has 17 wells to its name and is focused to keep sinking more water wells since the water problem is far from over in the rural western Kenya. Thank you for supporting us through this journey!  

Graduating More Tailors of Love

Our 3 newest graduates from the Made with Amore sewing program proudly displaying their new sewing machine and table-tools to start their own businesses and provide for themselves and their families!

Made with Amore brand of Give Amoregraduated three more students this month after successfully completing a six months course in everything embroidery. The three women’s hard work, dedication and enthusiasm to learn earned them tailoring skills, sewing kits and most importantly a sewing machine each. 

Emanating from deprived backgrounds with meager to go home to, this empowerment is handy in ensuring that not only are these wonderful souls  equipped to fend for themselves and their families but also give back to the society in the many ways they’ve learned to.

The six months’ course is cost free and a Give Amore’s venture to empower men and women with skills and knowledge that is essential in enterprise development  and much more enhance a ripple effect of ‘learning to fish’ in the entire community for the long term to come.

On the other hand Made with Amoretote bags are ready and will be shipped soon. The bags are handmade with love from the finest of African fabric carefully selected to suit your multipurpose needs. For more details on how to get your favorite pattern, contact us on Facebook, Instagramor via our website www.giveamore.org.

2018 Recap/Highlights

The Give Amore Team in Kenya, June 2018

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. ”

— Ephesians 3:20

2018 was AMAZING! I can’t believe that as we embark wrap up our 4th year with Give Amore all that God has done in this short time. And as I’ve said before and will continue to say-I AM BLESSED TO HAVE A FRONT ROW SEAT TO IT ALL! If you are reading this, you are very likely a supporter of our missions and we absolutely could not do what we do without the generous giving from others. I’ve been blown away to watch this little vision God gave me years ago grow into what it is and He’s only just getting started! Read on for a glimpse into SOME of the highlights of the year that were made possible because you listened to the tug on your heart to join us…

• 6 Clean Water Wells

• 13 children added to our sponsorship program

• 9 Made with Amore Sewing School Graduates

• 3 Jigger Treatment and Prevention Clinics each helping 200 people

• Added 2 more full-time staff in Kenya

• 5 of us went to Kenya in June

• Over 300 Made with Amore tote bags sold 

• 15 computer school graduates

• Over 150 Donors supporting Give Amore

• So many various ways we’ve helped in Kenya, I’ll mention a few:

  • Paid for a few students who had extreme circumstances and were no longer in school so we caught up their school fees

  • Opportunity for Brian who has 5th grade education and is 18. We are teaching him to read and he’s in our sewing program

  • Maurice, a man who was beyond debilitated by jiggers was treated, his home fumigated, he received food, blankets, clothing and a bible

  • Mama Ruth’s surgery was paid for. She also had a new roof put on her home, her grandchildren received clothing, food, mattresses, blankets and more

  • Jennifer, mother to Fednand, Joseph and Brian, received an addition to her home and all the home makeover goodies to go inside! 

  • Cows, chickens, goats and more given to various families

  • Dozens upon dozens of scalps were treated for fungal infections

  • Painted classroom chalkboards 

  • Supplies for midwives

  • Dozens of children were de-wormed

  • Children treated for malaria

  • AND SO MUCH MORE! 

Thank you again for all you’ve done and all those you’ve blessed through your giving, your sharing, your Made with Amore purchases and, most importantly, your prayers! 

I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2019! God is in the business of miracles!

Christa Horst and The Give Amore Team

God's Overflowing Grace

“You will be made rich in every way so that you may be generous in every way, which produces thanksgiving to God through us. ”

— 2 Corinthians 9:11

2 Corinthians 9:8–11  

“God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will overflow in every good work. As it is written: He scattered; he gave to the poor.His righteousness remains forever.

And he who provides seed to the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed for sowing, and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you may be generous in every way, which produces thanksgiving to God through us”

In this chapter Paul is writing to the Christian living in the Greek city of Corinth. In the verses just before this verses, he had just encouraged the Corinthians to be generous in their giving, supporting the work of the church and their fellow Christians. But where would they get the resources to do that kind of giving? Why would they want to do it?

Paul says, “God is able to make all grace overflow to you.  “In all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will overflow in every good work.” All, all, all, every. Paul is very all inclusive here. When God is involved, there is nothing lacking. Everything we need is here and provided.

Consider this past week or month or year. How many times were you hungry? Not the kind of hungry that says it’s almost time to eat, but the hungry that says, “I wish I had food but there is none. I’ll just go to sleep and hope for the best in the morning.” How many of us found ourselves with nothing to wear—not because we hadn’t done laundry but because our last pieces of clothing were ruined and unwearable? How many of us slept under the stars, not because we chose to go camping or rough it for a few days, but because we had no access to a roof to put over our head? All things, all times, having all that you need…

God provides. He provides through our families. He provides through people who care about us.  He provides through our hard work and skills. He ensures that we have what we need, even if it means working a miracle to feed a crowd of thousands with a small lunch. God has the power, the will, and the follow-through to make sure we are well taken care of, having everything that we need for our bodies and life.

But that doesn’t even touch the real overflow of God’s undeserved love for us, does it? Why do we call God’s love undeserved in the first place? What makes it that God technically shouldn’tlove us? It’s that we have sinned against him. God demands perfection from us and we have been far from perfect. Even one sin means that God should turn his back on us, and yet we sin a countless ways each and every day. We are unkind to the people in our lives. We leave good things that we should do undone. We think horrid thoughts against other people. We prioritize other things in our lives over God and his Word. On our own, we could not be more the opposite of what God expects that we are.

God is able to make all grace overflow to you.

God opened the floodgates of his grace when he sent his Son, Jesus. Jesus was the fulfillment of every saving promise that God had made to his people throughout history. Jesus, being both God and man, was able to take the full debt and weight of our sins on his shoulders and take it all away.

How do you respond to something like that?How do you show your thanks to God? By being generous with what he has given you. Do you have food to spare in your home? Share it with those who have less! Do you have financial resources beyond what you need? Share them with those who have less!

Maybe today is a good time to take stock of your generosity. How overflowing is your thankful generosity to others?

You can find ways and organizations that will do well with your resources, who will get them to people who are truly in need. Help your family and your friends, your coworkers and your fellow Christians at church. In doing so, you also become the way that God provides daily bread for others.

But you have a treasure worth far more than any amount of food or clothing or even piles of money. You have the gospel. You have the assurance of God’s overflowing grace. You have all that you need for eternity. And that, too, is something you can share. You can invite someone to church. You can give them a basic summary about Jesus. You can share this overflowing grace with others.

There are a myriad of ways that you can help support the work that we do together as the body of Christ, not to build ourselves up but to share this overflowing love of God with a world that desperately needs to hear it. We have a God who has provided for us everything that we could possibly need, both in our physical lives and in our eternal lives. May God bless your overflowing thanksgiving, your generosity to all, as you seek to thank your Savior who has given himself for you! AMEN!

-by Jack Nerrickson, Give Amore Staffer (who wants to be a Pastor!)

17th Well of Love

Work on our 17th clean water well is underway at Petronila and Mildred’s home in a remote village with tens of families who suffice as the ultimate beneficiaries from the clean water well project that seeks to solve water related problems while creating room for growth through the massive time it will save women from fetching water in far off streams and springs, all thanks to your generous donation. 

Living in abject poverty, the family of three and their neighbors are sometimes obliged to fetch water from a nearby frog infested pond, a huge threat to their lives since they sometimes end up consuming this water without any form of sterilization.

Hopefully, the well will be completed in two weeks’ time, hence the entire village to start drawing from its clean safe waters toned with love.

This well is the very first in 2019 and 17thin the Give Amore well list. We are proud at the many lives we have saved, touched and changed since the inception of this thoughtful project and we intend to continue in the same motivation through 2019.  

Back to School in Kenya

As the year commences, it is back to school for all scholars in Kenya, and as tradition, we equip our sponsored learners with education tools to help them get the very best out of their day to day learning activities. Each of our sponsored children each received books, stationery, school approved socks and a pair of school shoes as part of their back to school supplies.

Further, Give Amore ensured their tuition fees is all settled for the next six months and their school uniforms fully paid for, specific to each school’s requirements.

Almost all of the children are progressing on to the next grade with the majority being between grades four to eight. And in as much as we graduated three of our children from high school last year, we have another three joining high school this January, a growth that is exciting to be part of.

We wish them all the best as they face the next chapter of their education

Hope and Abundance this Christmas

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
”

— I John 3:18

Dearest Partner,

Christmas greetings to you! We hope your holiday season is a beautiful time of giving gifts, joy, love and hope! That’s exactly with Give Amore is doing this Christmas season! 

Heather and I had the privilege of compiling the list of all the generous giving for our sponsored children! In addition to their monthly supplies, this is what else the children will be receiving:

2 COWS

28 BIBLES

13 GOATS

33 CHICKENS

6 EXTRA SETS OF FOOD

1 BEDDING

10 BALLS

50 CLOTHES

4 JACKETS

4 MOSQUITO NETS

2 UMBRELLAS

1 SUITCASE

3 TRAVEL BAGS

3 SHOES FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

3 SETS OF PERSONAL 

3 POCKET MONEY

1 COLLEGE STUDENT MATTRESS

And a partridge in a pear tree! ☺

We were able to provide each family with a chicken and a bible! Some children received more, some received less but all the children will also receive a new set of clothes! Wow! 

This has been a beautiful, and hard, or as I like to call it “brutiful” year. SO. MANY. HIGHS. And a few lows. But we have been blessed exceedingly and abundantly above all we could ask or imagine. God has shown up mightily. It is incredible to have this front row seat to see Him provide through His people. 

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for joining us on this mission to BE the hands and feet of Jesus, spreading his love in Kenya and giving hope, joy and love to our brothers and sisters across the globe. We will try to summarize all Give Amore has done this year so you can get a glimpse into the impact we are making. 

 We can’t thank you enough for trusting us with your time and treasures and we look forward to whatever God has planned for the New Year! It’s going to be amazing!

 Christa Horst, Heather Duncan and our Amazing Team in Kenya!

Goodbye Jiggers!

Hundreds of families benefited from Give Amore’s third Jigger clinic held in conjunction with the Cornerstone outreach ministry. Among the beneficiaries were children, middle aged adults and the elderly. 

Divided into four teams, the jigger clinic team (comprising of volunteer resident medics, community volunteers and the Give Amore team) charged in different directions only that this time they favored door to door visits to the severely affected victims to communal gatherings we are used to. 

Almost all of the target population was disinfected except for an elderly woman who passed away from jigger related complications minutes before we got to her.

Despite this campaign being the hardest to watch, many hands and feet were rid of this vicious parasite with a record high of over five hundred jiggers removed from the foot of a 101 years old man, this being the highest figure of jiggers removed from a single foot ever since the campaign begun. 

So far, two deaths courtesy of jiggers are documented in our books but despite all the hardships and the most traumatizing sights that come tagged to the exercise, your contribution is going a long way in giving a larger population of western Kenya another chance at a life of wellness. 

Early Christmas Gift of Wellness

 Give Amore commissioned its 15thwell and like its predecessors, it will go a long way in serving hundreds of deprived families with clean safe water for consumption especially during the looming dry spells.

The well is located in Marceline’s home at the center of a village that greatly relies on vegetable farming for daily upkeep, thus boosted irrigation farming will be one of the coveted advantages that come with this new baby.

Our wells are hand dug by dedicated men who work round the clock to ensure the ultimate deliverable is of the right quality and fit for its expected long-term sustainability goals.  

We aren’t stopping at that, our 16thwell is coming soon! Keep up with our subsequent monthly bulletins and social media handles to find out more on the next well and so much good work our wonderful partnership is delivering to those in need.

Graduating More Ambassadors of Love

Our latest Made with Amore Graduates have hope and skills to provide for themselves and their families!

As the year comes to a close, our tailoring program boasts of graduating three lots of students in its pipeline, the latest being the class of December 2018.

The beautiful graduates each received a sewing machine, a sewing kit, prayers and well wishes from our team and their tailoring peers. These gifts are handy in ensuring that they “fish” for a lifetime.

The motive of their equipment is to send them off to the community as ambassadors of love to the communities they come from. By embracing tailoring business startups, they not only gain financial independence but also give back to the community by bringing such services even closer while also providing mentorship and possible employment to viable assistants as their businesses grow. 

We wish them well as they share the love of Jesus to and with their communities.

My Grown Up Christmas List

It’s the time of year when ads for holiday cheer (in the form of unhealthy food and collections of junk that fill our homes and our time) are non-stop.
The thing I’ve learned after really helping others the past years is that which brings true joy and happiness is not bought in a store, it is that which we GIVE to others. I’m not talking about the Apple Watch or a new iPhone. I’m talking about generosity that comes from our hearts to help others that will never be able to repay us here on earth.

How I combat the American consumerism that is about to explode next week is by giving and giving generously to organizations like ours that are really making a difference.

We’ve made it super easy and have compiled a wish list of items we need. You can pick any items and purchase them in honor of someone else! We will mail them a card that says that you bought a cow or a goat or 3 chickens for children in Kenya in their name. Or, as a family you can come together and do a family gift for a child! Or heck, even build a well!!!!

It is my joy to have a front row seat to all those we are able to help. I’m so thankful for every one of my family and friends that has joined me the past years. We really are making a difference.

Pease join me in giving hope, joy and love and shop from my grown up Christmas list. And just watch what you receive in return. It’s priceless.

http://www.giveamore.org/wish-list/

Christa Horst

Give Amore Founder

Impacts of Cheerful Giving

Generous giving towards Ruth’s family needs went a long way in repairing their all-time rusted leaking roof, buying bedding and clothing for everyone as well as supplementing their household needs with more food and toiletries.

The family of ten live below a dollar a day and therefore, this thoughtful act of compassion goes a long way in alleviating their long endured day to day hardships. Give Amore is grateful to you for making this happen.

With their roof done to perfection and now complete, we are not stopping at that! Our focus now shifts to their bumpy dirt floor which not only makes it difficult for mobility, but also, provides a safe haven for the fatal, highly prolific jigger hosting fleas to breed and hence spread the notorious jigger parasites.  We pray for God’s hand in this perceived undertaking.

The family’s ailing grandmother so far is recuperating at home under close observation of medical personnel. We wish her quick recovery.

15th Well of Wellness

Joseph and Ferdinand, two of the children in our sponsorship program, now enjoy the convenience and wellness of clean water steps from their home!

Our 15th well is complete, commissioned and is serving the community just as it should. The well is at Ferdinand and Joseph’s home and is projected to serve hundreds of families in their remote village that highly depends on ground flowing water from springs and streams.

This well, the only in the entire village, is flowing with clean safe water for drinking and domestic use, a luxury that most of the village population only dream of. 

This new baby will go a long way in alleviating women’s long distance treks in search of water and the gruesome ineffective hustle of boiling gallons of water just to sterilize it. Also it will help reduce largely the notorious waterborne diseases causing pathogens and parasites from the community and so much more great impacts.

Now our focus shifts to our 16thwell. Keep tabs for details in our subsequent daily and monthly briefs. 

Strength of a Woman

One of the strongest women we know, Christine, caring for her beautiful child.

About 96% of our sponsored children’s guardians are women and apart from taking care of these children to ensure they are safe and well bred, they also inspire them through their daily efforts to provide for their daily needs. Our focus today is on Christine.

Living in abject poverty, this wonderful mama has not let misery and self-pity hold her back from striving and working hard in her small homemade snack business to provide for her children.

Christine, a mother of two and aunt to Grace and Everline, works for four hours daily in her village market selling samosas to locals. Her daily schedule is well laid out and her art of multitasking is admirable. 

Despite staying vigil most of the nights to make sure her son Shadrack is comfortable in his sleep, she ensures also during the day that he is well cared for and her products are ready on time. 

Speaking to her, she describes her son’s cerebral palsy as a motivation to give her all in everything she does because he reminds her of how precious life is despite the many difficulties facing her.  

Her joy emanates from the fact that her small business helps her fend for Everline, Grace and Shaddy, as well as keeping her eldest daughter in school. 

Ask. Seek. Knock.

“Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who seeks receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And to everyone who knows, the door will be opened. ”

— Matthew 7:7-8

Have you ever felt like you are on the verge of a big breakthrough? But in the meantime not much was happening or changing? Like a calm before a storm but you just KNOW something incredible is coming? Well, that’s how I feel with Give Amore right now. Things are good. We are getting by. But I know God has a breakthrough in store. And it’s coming. But it’s not here yet. So, we pray and wait with expectancy. 

Though our needs are many, the only thing I ask for right now is prayer. Prayer for mountains to be moved, breakthroughs to happen, walls to come down and the floodgates of provision and transformation to be opened up in our communities in Kenya! Prayers that we can continue to treat more jiggers, help more Mama Ruth’s, add more children to our program, grow our sewing program, do more clean water wells (#15 is about to get started!) and fix our building that’s in desperate need of repair.  And above all else, that these brothers and sisters across the globe would know the LOVE of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

I’m so thankful for wonderful friends and family that have stepped up to the calls and tugs on your heartstrings and supported Give Amore. WE COULD NOT DO WHAT WE DO WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT!  

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,

Christa Horst and the Give Amore Team

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him. ”

— 1 John 5:14-15

Kicking Jiggers Out of Western Kenya

Your contribution in the fight against jiggers in western Kenya, Africa is massively being felt through the many children, women and men receiving disinfection services that are solely funded by your generous donations.

Give amore and Cornerstone church led “jigger removal campaign” consolidated efforts and held another successful jigger removal clinic in the vas western Kenya region seven days ago. 

Being the second jigger removal clinic to our name, many showed up to get well again, learn on the best practices of keeping jiggers away while also being gifted shoes for their feet.

Unlike the premiere clinic, the second clinic covered a larger geographical location hence, hundreds more patients were attended to, tens more homes were fumigated and many more paradigm shifts orchestrated towards what jiggers really are.

Due to lack of formal education and almost zero  sensitization on the jigger subject, many people in the remote rural areas of western Kenya, perceive jiggers as an impact of a curse tagged to poverty hence they live believing that they are being punished in some way unknown to them by an unknown body through these notorious parasites. 

Fortunately, our indulgence in the fight against jiggers has kept a constant yield of awareness and positive paradigm shifts on jiggers, something that promises to spur long-term sustainability of the program in the lives nay communities we reach and touch.

Stitching Love, Joy and Blessings into Souls

Our tailoring docket continues to impact massively on the youth and women in the various communities by not only equipping them with knowledge and skills in tailoring, but also granting them an avenue towards self-reliance, in this case gifting them sewing machines.

Give Amore was proud to see off its 4thbatch of graduates from the tailoring program after successfully completing a six months of training in everything tailoring.

The graduates were awarded completion certificates, sewing kits and paramount of all, sewing machines to set them on the successful path of self-reliance and interdependence. Also, the three beautiful ladies showcased their prowess in dress making by making their own dresses in the most appealing modern African designs.

On the other hand, our new batch of tote bags have been completed and shipped to the USA and soon will be available for you to pick from. 

Made from carefully selected beautiful African fabric, stitched by hand and blessed with love from Kenya, these bags suffice as multifunctional necessities that you cannot afford to do without.

Stay in touch with us and find out how you can get ahold of your favorite patterns via our websiteor Facebookand Instagramhandles.

Mama Ruth to Walk Again

Mama Ruth underwent a hipbone replacement surgery a few days gone. She is currently recuperating and is set to walk again after years of agony and being motionless.

Having struggled to move around for years, Ruth, who also is a widow, fell, critically ill a few weeks ago from one of her hip bones which rendered her motionless due to the unbearable pain it exuded.

 With grandchildren to look after and no one to take care of her, it was lucky we got to her when we did. She was rushed to a nearby mission hospital where she was quickly scheduled for surgery to save her leg. 

After days of wait, the procedure went down well and right now, she is on the road to full recovery. 

Her hip complications arose from a road accident she had about a decade ago and since she wasn’t well taken care of medically, the fracture didn’t heal as it should have.  However, thankfully she will be able to walk better than before and care for her eight grandchildren as she has for years.

Ruth doubles up as grandmother and sole guardian to Ben and Noel, children in our sponsorship program.