He Equips the Called

We hear this often in church-“He doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called”. And I say “Amen” and nod my head in agreement. But when you don’t feel ready and He calls you all kinds of emotions take over, and usually not the good ones-Fear, Anxiety, Dread, Panic, Doubt and more. 

This has been me over the summer with my upcoming trip to Kenya. I didn’t “feel” ready like I have in years past. I was excited. I want to see my team. I know it will be amazing. But I wasn’t “feeling” ready. I didn’t feel equipped suddenly. And Satan LOVES to enter our lives through our weak spots. He uses scare tactics to get us to back off. We start to doubt God’s calling. We start to think we aren’t enough, that we can’t do it, that we must’ve misunderstood God, etc. 

But the thing about being in close relationship with God is I KNEW that He wouldn’t use fear to communicate with me. He wouldn’t use doubt either. If He wanted to redirect me then He would do it in a different way, not the tactics the devil uses. So, I pressed forward and moved on despite my mood, my emotions, my doubt, my fear. And, wouldn’t you know it, I’m ready! I “feel” it now! I’m equipped!  

God has been so good to me the past few weeks (well, He always is) but He’s given me some much needed “love nuggets” as I like to call them. Little trail markers that let me know I’m on the right path (some of the things highlighted in this newsletter/blog are such trail markers). He has given me renewed hope and energy. I feel like myself again, but I had to push through. It was rough. But just like a bad storm might be scary in the midst of it, it can also refresh dry streams, make flowers bloom and so much more!

While we know and trust that God has us on this path, it’s not easy leaving our families for 2 weeks to go literally half way across the globe, without cellular service. So, we kindly ask for your prayers for our safety and prayers for our families. Heather and I both leave behind small children that often want their mom and husbands who have pretty awesome wives running the back end of their lives! Ha! We leave work responsibilities (or try to do them from there) and we leave behind the comforts of our homes. However, when we are there, we receive so much joy, renewed passion and the ability to share with you all the voices and the stories of the lives we are impacting. It’s so, so, so worth it!

I hope you will follow along on our journey by following me on FB, encourage us through comments and share what we are doing with others. We can only do what we do though joining arms with other generous world changers. 

Thank you for bearing with me these past few months as I battled against the enemy’s attack on my joy, my peace and my passion. 

Some lyrics from my anthem right now-See A Victory by Elevation Worship

 The weapon may be formed, but it won't prosper

When the darkness falls, it won’t prevail

Cause the God I serve knows only how to triumph

My God will never fail

I’m gonna see a victory

I’m gonna see a victory

For the battle belongs to you Lord…

 I’m not backing down from any giants

Cause I know how this story ends…

 Gonna worship my way through this battle

You take what the enemy meant for evil

And you turn it for good. …

In Christ,

Christa Amoriello Horst

Launched into Business

Maurine’s pride radiates from her humble storefront as she now contributes to her community and comfortably provides for her family thanks to Give Amore’s sewing program-the only of it’s kind in Kenya!

Maurine Angolo is finally a proud business owner courtesy of your support through Give Amore. Having graduated from our tailoring program a while back, she put together her skills, sewing kit, and sewing machine and the outcome is this amazing enterprise at the heart of her village market center.

The business is her sole livelihood earner that keeps her family fed and her children in school. She recounts how hard it was at first to put everything together but is thankful at how word of mouth made her embroidery enterprise go viral in her remote village and beyond. 

Currently she has a myriad of customers who visit her shop daily in need of her services which include dress making, repair works, fabric sale and mentorship.

Ms. Maurine hopes to grow her business in the long run and be able to do more for the community that she loves and resides in. 

20th Blessing of Wellness

This well will be the site of a huge party in the coming weeks with Christa and Heather, the Give Amore team and the community celebrating this incredible blessing!

Somewhere at the heart of Ebulechia village, there is Give Amore’s 20thwell flowing with clean safe water. The well is complete and ready to serve the purpose of taking care of its concierge community’s water needs.   

The well will be commissioned soon in a vibrant celebration scheduled to be graced by Christa and Heather who are expected in Kenya on 9/17. As it is tradition, there will be a great feast full of music and dance, all done the Kenyan way!

The well is located at Zainabu’s home which doubles up as a strategic location. Tens of families in this community are the direct beneficiaries of this well; hence it suffices as a major solution to persistent water problems of this population.

Prior to this one, two wells have been dug in this community before, therefore this new baby adds up the number to three of the wells done by Give Amorein Ebulechia region.

Meet Kelvin

Battling a ruptured ear drum, Kelvin rests on his new mattress and blanket before our team took him to the doctor. None of this would be possible without his sponsorship in our program.

Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me… Mark 9:37

Collected, shy and quiet could be the words one might use to describe Kelvin, yet from another perspective they could be describing what his past experiences have thrown at him. But not anymore!

Having stayed still for over a year in our waiting list, Kelvin Just recently got a sponsor and this little fighter just can’t wait to start school soon. As a welcome package to the Give Amorefraternity, he was gifted with bedding, shoes, socks, clothes and food to supplement his diet.

Total orphan, he lives with his frail grandmother and with the help from an aunty Kelvin and his five cousins have been merely struggling to survive rather than live.

Within the confinements of Hope, Joy and Amore, We are confident this boy will grow into his own best version and achieve his full potential

Ready for Harvest

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ”

— Galatians 6:9

Esteemed Donors,

First off, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support. All of you, as one team, have allowed us to impact and transform the lives of thousands of our brothers and sisters across the globe. I  have a vision that God has given me, but without your support it would not be put into action. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

What has been happening this summer has been challenging. There’s been normal hardships, but they seem to be compounding and I fear (fear is a liar) that we are losing momentum, steam, interest, etc. I was blessed to have a conversation with someone who runs another non-profit in Africa and learned that this is actually very typical for summer months, but it will require additional pushes with additional effort to bounce back. This awareness has also opened my eyes to the fact that Heather and I cannot do this alone, nor do we want to. 

We are looking for 5-10 world changers who would like to be on our first ever Give Amore Advisory Board. Our Advisory Board will be comprised of donors who are passionate about our cause and are willing to come along side us and use their voices, spheres of influence, gifts, talents, time and treasures to support our mission. The Advisory Board will also give input, ideas, and help us plan for long term stability and growth! It’s an opportunity for Give Amore to be more than it is and it is needed in order for us to reach the vision God has given us. 

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Matthew 9:37-38

If you have a heart/desire to use your gifts, time and treasures to give hope to others, WE WANT YOU! Please reach out to me and we can discuss the process.

Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support, prayers and encouragement! Please share what we are doing with others so we can expand our support and reach our potential! 

God bless you all, 

Christa Horst

Founding Director, Give Amore

PS: Please consider donating to our general fund at www.womensnpa.givingfuel.com/give-amore to support projects outside our scope for our trip to Kenya next month!

2019 Trip to Kenya Loading

A photo from our epic 2018 trip to Kenya. Give Amore team member, Erick, Heather Duncan and Camryn Horst with their adorable classroom teaching/crafts.

Christa and Heather are set for yet another visit to Kenya in one month, the first in 2019. This time, these mamas on a mission will witness their very first jigger treatment clinics as well as get up-close with the stories and experiences of the victims.

As it is tradition, such visits give you, our esteemed partner, a fantastic prospect to bless God’s people in Kenya in a myriad of ways only you can. You can donate tangible gifts such as balls, toys, clothes, reading glasses and so much more or money contributions from as low as $5 that goes straight to changing lives immensely. To donate, contact Christa or visit our website

Such visits are paramount for our mission of changing lives as they act as an avenue to interact, bless first hand, motivation for our team and much importantly inform intimately how your generosity has given joy, hope and love to many.

Give Amore Grows by Eight Feet

Violette, Queen. Moses and Kelvin are the latest additions to the Give Amore sponsorship program. This comes at a vital moment when schools are gearing up to open for a third semester after a short break. 

For Violette, Queen and Moses, it’s a second shot at school after dropping out due to financial constraints whereas for Kelvin, it is the inauguration of his academic life after a long delay due to similar reasons to the trio.

Also from another perspective, our sponsorship program provides a potential sponsors with an amazing opportunity to positively impact a life for eternity by influencing who these children become in future by giving them a shot at education. Isn’t this marvelous?

To sponsor children, please contact us through our website

Joy, Hope and Love for Baby Ray

Sweet baby Ray enjoying a rare treat, chapati, at a recent visit with our Give Amore team.

Playful, curious and adorable are just but part of the many adjectives to describe baby Ray. This beautiful soul has been in our care alongside his mother Eugene for close to two years now but sadly and inevitably he has been abandoned.

An account from the boy’s grandmother Esther reveals that Eugene had emotional troubles after a rape ordeal she suffered and from then on lost touch with herself and only kept going with a smile for the sake of her son. Without warning she vanished and it is speculated she is somewhere in Nairobi. 

Least conscious of his predicament, Baby Ray still lives and thrives under the care of his grandmother, but it is evident, he misses her. Our hopes and prayers dwell with him to still be cared for loved and appreciated for the amazing boy he is growing into.

Join Us in Giving JOY!

Heather and I are headed back to Kenya in September! That’s just 2 short months away and we realizedthat we are a little behind in our normal trip planning!!! AGH! But we know that with God all things are impossible! While our planning and preparation time may be less than usual, we trust that we will meet our goals because we have awesome friends and family who are generous and love being a part of these exciting trips with us! Read this newsletter to see just a few highlights of the impact we are making across the globe! How can you not want to be a part of this? ☺

Since time is of the essence, I’m going to go straight to the point here…

First, we need FUNDS!!! ☺ We usually have a bank of generous donations that we use for various needs that God brings to our attention while we are there. While, we do not try to solve every problem with money, there are always so many needs we come across and we often feel led to help certain people/situations. It’s such a blessing to be able to do that and report back to our generous donors where the funds were used with daily updates/pictures/stories! These are often heartbreaking stories that we get to speak life, hope and love into. Seriously, always my favorite part of each trip! Our goal is $2000 each for these needs ($4000 total).  

Secondly, we asked the team this week how we could bless our sponsored children when we are there. In the past, we’ve brought a few balls (or purchased highly overpriced balls there) and the kids share them enthusiastically, but the balls usually pop pretty quickly since there’s no futbol fields and so many children using them. I found a non-profit that has created futbols that don’t pop and they are only $25 a piece when bought in bulk! www.oneworldplayproject.com  I’m working on a campaign page for this but in the meantime, would you consider sponsoring a ball? Our goal is 75 balls! Give Joy. Give Balls!!!!

Lastly, our team is in need of equipment to continue operating at the level we need them to. We are in desperate need of a new motorbike ($2500) and our team needs new Iphones (6). We will gladly take new or used (but in great condition) Iphones 7, 8 or newer. What a blessing this would be for them to receive these! 

I know we are asking a lot of our generous partners, but their needs are great. And it’s especially wonderful to bless others (like we’ve been blessed) above all they can ask or imagine. Please join us in giving JOY this year! 

www.giveamore.org and you can note where you’d like your generous support to go! 

Please follow me on Facebook, follow Give Amore on Facebook and on Instagram too! 

May God bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine upon you and give you His peace!

Mama on a Mission,

Christa

Housed Once Again

Paloma and family are blessed to have a new home after years of putting up in an old house whose porous roof not only excessively leaked during rainy seasons such as now, but also was life threatening as exhibited in its ever attempts of caving in on them. The new house’s walls await a final thatch then they can move in.

The new house is bigger and better than its predecessor and therefore suffices as ample space for the family of six that solely looks up to their poor grandmother for care upkeep. 

In the recent past, the family sometimes crashed at relative’s huts just to keep dry from the heavy long rains that are currently pounding across the country. Therefore, this blessing not only keeps them joyful and sheltered, but also comforts their hearts.

Again, it is worth noting that in Paloma’s village, housing poses a great challenge to locals and therefore blessings such as this are super rare and make lasting impacts not only to the family but also the entire community. 

#19 is Done at Last

Well #19 also dubbed Del Sol Well is up and running with clean safe water and the community of Ebulechia village couldn’t be any happier thanks to the thoughtful generous giving of our wonderful donors. This well was commissioned and handed to the community in a short prayer gathering graced by the Give Amore team.

An account by Sherlyn’s grandmother and guardian to this well depicts a community that was in dire need for accessible clean safe water thus endorsing its coming as timely and considerate.

Theresa described to us how hard it was for her and her four co-wives to make numerous daily treks for years to distant water sources to fetch this common yet scarce significant commodity, and even when they found it; it was in meager amounts to cater for all their domestic needs. She re-called at some point going for weeks without bathing just to save the little water they had for other prioritized needs.

Now in her late 50s, Theresa views this well as a blessing sent to save her frail body and many others like her from the daily physical and psychological melancholies of where and how to fetch and get the water onto her doorstep. And if her smile is anything to go by, it is clear she is relieved from a burden she would have traded anything to be away from and so is the rest of the community.

Giving that is Changing a Life

When we met her, Josephine was profoundly pessimistic and depressed from her past experiences with rejection, abuse and assault. She had no one to turn to and given that she was such a young orphan and homeless, this  teenage girl was prone to grave danger of a variety of malice. But not anymore!

Wounded as she was, we took her in, gave her a home/family, enrolled her in a local school, continuously support her with food and toiletries and all these have played a signicant role in the shaping the beautiful sharp young woman she is becoming.

With great support love and affection she is getting from her new family, Josephine is motivated and feels at home much than ever before. Her curiosity has heightened in bounds,  something that leaves her buried in her books just to get that extra ounce of knowledge.

She hopes to grow to make up the front row bench of successful women lawyers and give back to the society by tackling social injustices girls like her face. 

Now this is a reflection of change through joy, hope and love!

The Side Effect of Giving Amore

“Sometimes the miracle is as simple as a perspective change.”

— Somebody else and Christa Horst

                A year ago today we left for Kenya-5 of us, 10 large suitcases, 5 carry-ons…all loaded with goodies and love from our friends and family here in America. We were able to bring so much! Bras, reading glasses, balls, crafts, kids activity sets, medical supplies, books, clothes, shoes and more! Oh what fun it was to eventually get our suitcases (remember the hostage crisis of 2018? ☺). When we finally had everything it was like Christmas morning on steroids passing out all the gifts and the much needed supplies! 

We often talk about what we are “giving” them and how we are “helping” them. And yes, while that is our hope that we can GIVE, we often fail to take into consideration what we also “receive” from being a part of helping others.

We Give Hope. We Give Joy. We Give Love.  We RECEIVE Hope. We RECEIVE Joy. We RECEIVE Love. 

But, we RECEIVE all of those 10x over! While our motive is not in receiving, it’s a natural side effect of giving! One of the biggest things I have received from being a part of all the giving is perspective. Perspective makes all the difference in every area of our lives. When you’ve seen how little some people have in terms of tangible goods, suddenly your “need” isn’t so important. One of my favorite quotes I heard a long time ago that I’ve adopted as my own (since I don’t know who said it) is “Sometimes the miracle is as simple as a perspective change.”

I just pray that as you read about what we are doing you RECEIVE Hope, Joy and Love and some miracles…perhaps a perspective shift. 

Thank you for your continued support. We could not do what we do without generous givers.

Christa 

Liquid Love Flowing from the Riley Spring

Give Amore’s first ever water spring’s construction was a huge success all thanks to your thoughtful impacting giving. Riley springwas commissioned and handed over to the beneficiary community through a short prayer ceremony held on site and graced by the Give Amoreteam Kenya. 

Unlike other distant neighboring water springs, Riley is fitted with a continuous flow resistant cleansing mechanism in its underground collection tank therefore, just like a well; it will unceasingly supply its recipients with a steady flow of clean and safe water for general household consumption.

As a parting shot, the local leadership, builders and beneficiaries present on the inauguration ceremony applauded this thoughtful blessing and vowed to take care of it. They termed it the fulcrum of their livelihood!

Meanwhile, work on our 19thwell is underway and should be completed soon. The well is being constructed in Ebulechiain Sherlyn’s home and fortunately enough, this household happens to be strategically at the center of the hosting village.

May Events Roundup

The month of May was swamped with an array of activities from two jigger clinics to back to school items distribution for our sponsored children, and most importantly two graduations of students in our free adult skills training programs, that is, tailoring and computer training programs respectively. 

First off, the Give Amoreteam alongside volunteer nurses and community health workers held two jigger clinics in four different stations in the community and successfully disinfected a multitude of residents from this malicious agonizing parasite. The principally affected were school going children, women and men in that order.

On the other hand, the Made with Amoretailoring training together with its computer training counterpart held graduations of students who had successfully completed the required course necessities to mark a new start in their lives. As tradition Give Amoreequipped, prayed for them and set them off to “fish” better than they came in.

And finally, it was back to school for our sponsored children after a three month end of semester break. Our super excited children each received text books specific to their school’s demands and stationery to last them for the rest of the current semester. Also all of their paramount school expenses were settled thus, they will stay in school without any inconveniences. 

Before and After

Let her collected, silent demeanor not fool you, Gladys is such a beautiful brilliant blooming young lady you’ll be thankful to have met and spent time with. 

Emanating from a deprived background, this 11 year old girl has seen it all from going to bed hungry , sleeping on bare floors, having no access to ‘girl stuff’ and toiletries, sent off from school repeatedly and so much more hardships, but none of these setbacks ever stalled her thirst to learn. 

We met her about a year ago during one of our home visits and the cloud of sadness on her face hang so low to go unnoticed. Further, she seemed very deep in thought and pessimistic, most evidently from what she was going through at the time. It was such a sad encounter.

 However, our drained emotional state was revamped when we spoke to her. We couldn’t believe the change of perspective when she responded! Well, out of her mouth came the most eloquent utterances we hadn’t heard in a long time least to expect from a girl her age, in her setting. From every word, it was easy to tell all she ever wanted was none other than to go back to school and get the education she desperately needed and thankfully Give amore did her justice.

Currently, Gladys is undoubtedly soaring higher in her studies and dreams to become a medical doctor so as to one day save her family fromthe dreadful fangs of poverty.

Please Dream With Us...

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. -Galatians 6:9

Dearest Donors and Partners for the Kingdom,

Yesterday, I had the privilege of receiving pictures of so many blessings Give Amore has been a part of in Kenya recently! Our team is doing so much over there and I never want to take for granted all that’s been made possible. Well #18 is finished (it’s actually a Spring, read on for more info!). Made with Amore just graduated 5 more students! Another jigger clinic is happening this month! 5 children have recently been added to our program and So. Much. More!

It's easy to be content with what we’ve accomplished so far. We are forever grateful. But the vision God has given us is much bigger than this so we keep on pressing forward in trust, in faith, in confidence that the vision will be fulfilled. 

In many leadership and goal setting books I’ve read, they’ve all stated that we should write down our goals as if they’ve already happened, from the future, looking back on what’s been accomplished. So here I go…Please dream with me….

We thank you God for making a way for our Give Amore building to be a beacon of hope for communities in Kenya! We love watching our medical clinic provide much needed medical care and hope for these rural communities! Our food pantry is providing nutritious meals for hundreds of families while our skills training classes (sewing school, agriculture program, computer training, jewelry making), our library, and tutoring classes set individuals up to be able to provide for their families. Our building stands as a beacon of hope for the community and is a light for the kingdom that points everyone to You. We thank you for making this possible. We thank you for stirring in the hearts of others to use their gifts and talents to support this beautiful mission of Love. We are forever grateful we stepped out in faith and took each step toward this vision that you gave us.  

Please pray over this goal with us daily. This is what we wait with expectancy for. We are on track. The path is set and He will make a way. 

Thank you to you all for joining us on this incredible journey! 

Christa

An Ever Growing Family of Love

Our newest additions!

After the addition of Ignatius into the Give AmoreSponsorship program, Brian, Agneta, Cynthia and Franklin were shortly afterwards officially confirmed too as part of the ever growing family of Give Amore. 

Having been out of school for a while due to lack of school fees, the five  were all smiles when they learnt they will walk through the gates of a school once more with their tuition and other expenses all taken care of.

In their very first general items distribution, the five children received a welcoming package of food, bedding and clothing. They also got the chance to mingle with the rest of their peers and surprisingly, quickly enough, made new friends.

Emanating from humble backgrounds, this sponsorship is a step up to helping them achieve their once a blurred dreams, and drawing from their joy and strong will to learn, it is no doubt that these amazing little souls will grow up to become just he persons they so dream to be.

For more information on how to sponsor a child visit the give amore website for guidelines.

Spring of Life

Our first Spring!

Construction and purification of Give Amore’s first ever water spring is currently underway in the remote Matunguvillage. This comes after a survey revealed that the area has a higher water table which could not allow for sinking of a well hence the spring development.

In a village where locals trek for miles in search of water, uncertain hazardous rain water has been their bail from the water search hardship. Therefore, this centrally placed underground water source will come in handy in ensuring perennial flow of clean water and time to time purification will sure save time, effort and lives in the long-run .  

A spring’s building process doesn’t differ much from a normal well building only that it is sophisticated given the type of materials and expertise used to ensure the main source is tapped correctly and precautions taken to avert any avoidable pollution. 

The entire project should be completed and commissioned soon.

Leaving Better than They Came In

From left to right: Sylvia, Hariet, Melody, Maureen Akinyi and Maureen Angolo stand in front of their hard-earned sewing machines and tables wearing the dresses they designed and created for themselves. These women now have skills and tools to end the cycle of poverty for themselves and their families. We applaud them!

Selvy, Harity, Melody, Maureen Angolo and Maureen Akinyi leaped into another phase of their lives after successfully completing a six months tailoring course in everything embroidery. The five each received a sewing machine as a graduation gift from Give Amore.

In rural Kenya, tailoring offers a great chance at self-employment therefore, these beautiful ladies are well placed to become great entrepreneurs and mentors in their respective villages nay communities through every ounce of achievements they realize from their earned skills and tools.

If the dresses they made are anything to go by, great creativity is oozing right from the choice of fabric, style, uniqueness and so much more that goes into dress making. To us this symbolizes the value addition in their lives given that they are leaving much better than they came to us.

Made with Amoreis a free sewing training program seeking to equip the community with skills that sets them on the path of self-actualization and financial freedom. It draws its motivation from the adage give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime. 

We wish them all the best in their endeavors.  

Selvy, Harity, Melody, Maureen Angolo and Maureen Akinyi leaped into another phase of their lives after successfully completing a six months tailoring course in everything embroidery. The five each received a sewing machine as a graduation gift from Give Amore.

In rural Kenya, tailoring offers a great chance at self-employment therefore, these beautiful ladies are well placed to become great entrepreneurs and mentors in their respective villages nay communities through every ounce of achievements they realize from their earned skills and tools.

If the dresses they made are anything to go by, great creativity is oozing right from the choice of fabric, style, uniqueness and so much more that goes into dress making. To us this symbolizes the value addition in their lives given that they are leaving much better than they came to us.

Made with Amoreis a free sewing training program seeking to equip the community with skills that sets them on the path of self-actualization and financial freedom. It draws its motivation from the adage give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime. 

We wish them all the best in their endeavors.