Let's Go! Let's Love!

“God will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. ”

— Hebrews 6:10

 We are so grateful for your generous giving! We cannot believe all that God has been able to accomplish through generous hearts and prayer partners! I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes: “Alone we can do so little;  together  we can do so much.”-Helen Keller.   

Yesterday, I had a rare opportunity to chat about Kenya with a fellow world traveler. He is an incredible photographer who has a heart for Africa and is about to go to Kenya for 3 weeks. It dawned on me that I haven’t had the opportunity/privilege to talk with others in person about the work we are doing in Kenya in so long.  I found myself so excited and so darn proud of all that we’ve accomplished and it got me dreaming again for the first time in a long time about the things we still need to do there!

 First off, recognizing that when I travel to Kenya it better allows me to be the voice of our brothers and sisters across the globe,  I’m prayerfully considering traveling to Kenya in January 2022. However, I need others to join me. Please pray to see if this is something God is putting on your heart. Curiosity? A nudging? A true desire to use your gifts and talents to love on others? All are welcome! Please message me and we will schedule a conversation about it! 

Secondly, the pandemic has caused some long-term changes to our sewing program and I’m praying we can reverse those. Our recent graduates completed the classes but did not receive a sewing machine as all other graduates have received and that pains me. Our sewing program has great success in providing skills and income opportunities for its graduates. We have ae waiting list of people who want to join but, we have no funds to continue our classes, let alone provide sewing machines for our graduates. Previous trips to Kenya have allowed me to bring back tote bags and products to sell that have funded our sewing program. Without the sales and donations, we aren’t able to continue.  Please read the article in this newsletter and consider donating any amount or sponsoring an adult sewing student!

Lastly,  we wait with expectation at all that God has planned with us and through us!  Thank you for joining us on this journey!

Christa Horst

Give Amore Founding Director

Our 29th Source of Joy, Hope and Love in Kenya

Paloma (right) and other children from her community wash their hands with clean water now available just steps from their homes thanks to generous givers!

Paloma and her community have a good reason to smile after a new well was commissioned and handed to them by Give Amore in a mini prayer session. The joyful community now have found a lasting solution to their enduring clean water scarcity problem and can now do even more with their saved time previously used in search of this precious commodity in streams and springs. 

Ever imagined something as abundant as clean water to be so scarce and even the slightest of its presence to be very reassuring? Well, in Kenya women and children like Paloma, trek for miles daily in search for water and this eats up in to their time that could be otherwise be spent elsewhere with no guarantee of its viability for consumption.

This new blessing bring our total number of wells dug to 29, a major boost in our enduring quest of disease and poverty reduction as well as sharing hope, joy and love with many in remote areas such as this one. Tens of Families will drink from this well and will testify of its life changing purpose.

Launched into a World of Opportunities

These six young ladies completed our sewing program. Unfortunately, due to cutbacks we are not able to provide them with sewing machines as we have in the past. They are still extremely grateful for the opportunity to learn new skills.

Beneficiaries from Made with Amore free sewing training school are set to take on the world ‘to fish after learning how to’. The six women’s resilience, hard work and commitment saw them through the six-month training program and through skills acquired, they will be able to fend for their families.

Some of these women are widows, survivors of failed abusive marriages, while others are semi-literate individuals who had to quit school due various reasons.

By empowering them, not only do you help put daily bread in their bellies, but also keep their children in school and give them a sense of purpose. While exuding great excitement, they were so grateful to you for making their dreams come true and launching them into a world of opportunities. 

Love Lives on Amidst the Pandemic

Precious Thomas receiving school supplies delivered to his home due to new Covid restrictions.

Give Amore’s door to door distribution is back courtesy of the government’s directive seeking to mitigate the spread of Covid-19’s Delta variant reported in western Kenya. Our sponsored children not only received food and toiletries, but also books and stationery in readiness for the new school semester to begin soon.

Other School requirements are covered amidst growing concerns over the rising infection rates with no promise of a vaccine anytime soon. However, no cases have been reported in our areas of operation and we pray they stay safe.

All our sponsored children come from families that live on under a dollar a day and thus it is paramount to use any means necessary to get them the much need help we can offer until this deadly virus is contained.

God’s Timing is Perfect

““For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.””

— Jeremiah 29:11

I’m not sure if you, like me, are in need of a good dose of perspective change.  Well,  if so, or even if you just love seeing lives being transformed then read on! 

These updates from Kenya came at the perfect time for me. You see, I’ve been getting caught up in some disappointment, some first world problems as I like to call them. And I believe it’s absolutely ok to be disappointed. God created us to dream. He created me with a deep desire to travel, to make a difference, to live life to the fullest and I recently had a dream crushed. I was so sad. And it’s ok to be. But, I didn’t stay in the disappointment long because I opened my email and saw these updates from Kenya! WOW! If I ever need a little boost of some encouragement it was right then!  

I’m thrilled to share with you just 3 short articles that encompass dreaming, generosity, seeds planted long ago, hard work, perseverance and trust in God and his promise to give us the desires of our hearts if we delight in him. Well, here He is showing up for so many using his best workmanship-his people!

He also, gave me my first nudge in a long time about our next trip to Kenya! Right now, I’m considering January 2022! Who wants to join me? 

So, dear friends, be encouraged! God’s timing is perfect! Thank you for joining us on this mission to make a difference! Rest-assured, we are!!!! 

Your Sister in Christ,

Christa Horst,Give Amore Founding Director 

More Lives Anticipate Change with the Digging of Well #29

The good work of providing clean safe water to communities across western Kenya gained yet another boost after Give Amore embarked on sinking its 28th well all thanks to your thoughtful giving towards this cause. The well will impact tens of families greatly through poverty mitigation and massive eradication of waterborne diseases. 

The well is strategically located at Paloma’s home which also acts as the gate pass to the larger village that is deemed the direct beneficiary to this project. As a result, lack of a cleaner safer water source alternative will be a thing of the past soon.

Through your involvement in this worthy cause, you have helped chatter a pathway to possible sustainable economic growth through agriculture, and also allow children to go back to school off collecting dirty water all day. This goes a long way in breaking the cycle of poverty in the lives of many in western Kenya.

Compassion & Love Holding Ruth Strong

“If it weren’t for you my life wouldn’t be this possible, God bless you!” Are the words of Mama Ruth as she bid us goodbye after a successful follow up visit with her to find out her current health update after two failed unwarranted hip replacement surgeries. Despite being frail, she was in great spirits and thankful. 

Her mobility problem is still potent and getting worse with age despite having a walker and this is aggravated by her fracture pains alongside other terminal illnesses. However, this grandmother and sole guardian of seven is optimistic of living to beat it all to raise her grandchildren in the best ways possible.

As a recap, Miss. Ruth was involved in a road accident about a decade ago, a situation that left her with multiple fractures in her left arm and a severely fractured hip too impossible to repair. She currently thrives in pain meds and is overly bed ridden and pretty much reliant on charity for survival. 

The Strong Will of a Woman

Despite the dissenting economic effects of Covid-19 in Kenya, one woman in a remote village in western Kenya won’t just take it laying down. Miss. Diana Shisia, a seamstress by profession, found a way of managing her small sewing workshop from home whilst taking care of her twin toddler grandchildren simultaneously. 

The 50-year-old had to move her tailoring shop from her village market on the onset of the pandemic and so far this multitasking hardworking mama is at the top of her game. She confirms that initially consolidating both responsibilities of childcare and running her sewing business wasn’t easy but her love for what she does and commitment has seen her through.

Diana is a beneficiary of Give Amore’s free tailoring training program and is grateful that not only does proceeds from her home based tailoring business help feed her grandchildren but also help educate her daughter in high school. We wish her all the best.

Lessons from Kenya

 I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 years since I’ve been to Kenya! Most of my trips have been in May/June time period so my Facebook memories are popping up daily of so many of the amazing moments I’ve had there!   

People always ask me what I like most about Kenya. And my response is always too long as there’s too many things. But here’s a couple of my favorites:

1. The PEOPLE: My team is AMAZING! They are my family. They are prayer warriors, overcomers, conquerors, world changers, servant hearts and funny as heck. We have so much fun! And of course, the people we meet are kind, generous, inspiring and beyond grateful! Their joy, through many obstacles, is contagious!

2. The PERSPECTIVE: I always say that I’m my best self when I’m in Kenya. I wish I could say that about myself back home but it wouldn’t be the truth. When I’m in Kenya, I feel closer to God. There’s so much out of my control that it requires me to be stay connected to Him through prayer and to help me see His eternal view versus my worldly/temporary view of things. I pray more. I find more joy in simple things. I don’t expect things to run smoothly. I’m more patient.

3. The PASSION AND PURPOSE: When I’m in Kenya every year (except 2020), it reignites my passion and purpose for what we are doing. I get affirmation of how God has taken something small and turned it into something magnificent. I’m reminded of how we can all do something and whatever we bring to the table, God multiples!

There are so many more things that I love about Kenya but these are always my favorite. I’m praying for an upcoming trip and waiting to hear from God as to when to go. I’m also looking for a few others to join me. This isn’t a field trip. I won’t be a tour guide. But if you have a heart to help others (not just witness us helping others) and God’s been tugging on your heart to join us, please reach out and let me know! We can start the conversation about a future trip! 

In the meantime, I’m so thankful for these articles that share a glimpse into what we are doing across the globe. Our writer,  Paul Mukami, does such a great job telling the stories of just a few of the lives we are impacting each month so you can see how the difference we are making and how God is using your support for His kingdom!

Thank you for your ongoing support and prayers! We can’t wait to see what He has in store as life starts returning to normal! 

Your Sister in Christ,

Christa Horst

Give Amore Founding Director  

#28 Clean Water Well Bringing Joy to a Community In Kenya

As a young boy, Ben recalls accompanying his mother on long treks in search of water for domestic use, a commodity that didn’t guarantee freedom from pathogens and a venture that left them worn out and hungry. But not anymore; Give Amore blessed his community with a clean water well courtesy of your generous giving. 

Capricious and tiring as water hunting was, they held close to their heart that someday it would be a thing of the past and just as it is, their prayers have been answered. This well brings with it solutions to long strenuous walks to streams and also helps curb rampant waterborne infections.  

This marvelous well brings Give Amore’s total number of boreholes dug to twenty-eight and as things stand, we aren’t stopping at that tally. With your continued support and our prolific partnership, we hope and are excited to do more. Thank you! 

Her Best Mother's Day Yet!

Phyllis’ hope and joy are tangible thanks to Give Amore Sewing Program-Made with Amore that taught her skills so she could provide for herself and her son!

Three years ago, Phyllis’ marital walls came tumbling down and for once her life felt like there was no promise of tomorrow in what she considered a mean world with meager opportunities. However, noticeable in her eyes currently is a joy that sets her apart from the rest of her peers definitively.

After eviction from her home by her alcoholic husband, Miss. Jamosa stood by her sole promise to give her son the best a mother could and from the look of things, her elected trajectory is paying off. Currently working from home as a seamstress courtesy of the training she received at Give Amore, this motivated mama is changing her world immensely than she could comprehend.

Interestingly, her favorable tariffs not only fetch her the much-needed income but also keep her loyal customers flocked at her door step for her services now turned essential. Phyllis 38, works from home due to pertinent Covid 19 restrictions and mainly specializes in children’s clothes a passion that is chiefly influenced by her seven-year-old son.

New Beginnings, New Opportunities for our Children

We have won, lost, laughed, cried, fell but always got up because the purpose God has placed in our hands is worth everything. Through the years we have mentored our children into respectable young men and women and impacted dozens in the community something that has kept us hooked to the true meaning of hope joy and love.

We have graduated dozens from high school and advanced others to college and everyday this motivates us to even do more. Currently we graduated four girls from high school namely Grace, Everline, Frida and Emily and the good news is, they are eligible to join community level colleges according to current Kenyan educational standards.

Despite the negative effects the pandemic had on the education sector world over, these amazing ladies managed to give it their best and just like their predecessors they are on track to stepping in the shoes of becoming the women they so dreamt to be. 

Continuing to Plant Seeds and Wait for Harvest

Our life changing, life giving Made with Amore sewing program is in jeopardy of closing. We need general funds to keep it open!

Dear Partners,

Spring is here (though Winter doesn’t seem to want to let up her grip) and a new season is slowly making its way. Life begins anew though the process started when seeds were planted and there isn’t much evidence to believe that flowers will bloom. Give Amore has been planting seeds and reaping harvests for over 6 years now. It’s a beautiful thing to see the fruit of our love and labor show up! Yet, there’s still more planting to be done. Still more growth that’s under the surface ready for some warm air, sunshine and water in order for it to spring forth.

God has provided so much this past year when the outlook was bleak. He’s in the details! He’s good and wants good thing for his children! He uses His people to complete his work here on the earth and we are beyond grateful that you’ve joined us in prayer and partnership to help with our mission to be the hands and feet of Jesus to our brothers and sisters across the globe!

However, we are currently in need of additional support. Our sewing program is in jeopardy as we’ve had no funds raised for it this past year since there were no new products to sell due to me not traveling to Kenya. Or, if we are able to continue our sewing program, we will have to change things drastically. We are in need of 15 $600 per year sponsors ($9000 per year) to help us graduated 15 students per year from our sewing program. This will provide the training, the tools and the sewing machines for them to receive upon graduation so they can start their own businesses! This is how we “teach them to fish” so they can feed themselves and their own families!

 Our sewing program is one of a kind and I believe God is not finished with it yet. However, our general donations have declined and the cost of everything has  increased. If we do not receive funds for this immediately, we will have to make a decision. 

 We believe that when we ask, we receive. Knock and the door shall be opened. Will you answer the call and help us continue this life-giving program?

Please donate any amount at www.giveamore.org and it will be used to help with this. Recurring donations allow us to budget and plan better but all donations are welcome!

We could not do what we do without your support.  We are forever grateful!

Christa Horst and the Give Amore Team

Celebrating Shadrack

Shadrack taught us all so much about life, choosing joy and that each life has purpose. We celebrate he is with Jesus and we look forward to seeing him in heaven one day. Well done good and faithful servant.

A few days ago Shadrack went to be with the lord after many years of living with cerebral palsy, a condition that got worse with time until his passing. Despite being a rock to his mother and sister, friends and extended family, he was an endearing joy, glimmer of hope and most of all love to us all.

Despite his demise engulfing us with great sorrow, it is not lost on us that he is happy and healthy in heaven, no longer constricted by his earthly body. He was a cousin to Grace and Evaline both who are part of our Give Amore sponsorship program.

So much to be said about our boy but we can boldly liken him to our appealing values of joy, hope and love given that he taught us resilience courage and compassion  even in his most painful of moments. We are glad, proud and blessed to have known him for the better part of his life.

#27th Well of Great Purpose

Sherlyn’s and her community appreciate the gift of clean water!!!

For Sherlyn’s community it is good news of clean safe water putting an end to their daily search of this precious commodity in rivers and streams. Courtesy of your generous giving, tens of families will draw and consume clean water safe from pathogens, a blessing they so hold dear.

During its prayer dedication and commissioning, the ecstatic village representatives exuded gratitude of how thoughtful the gesture was and promised to protect and take good care of it for its long term sustainability.

This well adds up the total number of wells dug to twenty seven and more good news is that well number 28 is in the pipeline and should be ready in a fortnight. Just like their predecessors these boreholes are a special significance of hope, joy and love that God desires to be reverberated throughout the world among all mankind.

Catapulted to Independence

Our newest Made with Amore graduates sharing their handmade dresses they designed and sewed as part of our incredible, one of a kind, sewing program!

Made with Amore, a vibrant segment within Give Amore, marked another tailoring school graduation the second one during the Covid 19 pandemic.  As is tradition, this not only empowers the students but also instills confidence and sense of independence.  

This time we had five women graduating after successfully completing a six months training on everything embroidery. Each of them was awarded with a sewing machine and a sawing kit to kick-start their journey in business. 

Almost all of these women are single mothers looked unto to care for their families nay village. Therefore, their graduation and awards trickles down to the very last person who depends on them in both the short and long run of their business successes.*

We wish them all the best. 

An Eye-Opening Experience in Texas Leads to Even Greater Compassion

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


”

— Matthew 6:19-21

Dearest Partners,

I apologize for the delay in getting our monthly newsletter out, but we were literally frozen in Texas.  I’ve struggled with so many emotions this past week and I needed some time to process them and check my heart because I wasn’t always in a good place of choosing joy. As we went without heat, water, electricity and food shortages, access to medical care, access to transportation and more, my perspective always brought me back to my beautiful Kenyans and their daily struggles with these same basic necessities.

I’ve always said that here in America most of our problems are “First World Problems”.  You know the whining and complaining “that the order was wrong” or “the line was too long” or “the portion was too small”. Yes, there’s real struggles here as well but most of the time you hear Americans complaining about “first world problems”. However, this past week in Texas, we were unexpectedly confronted with problems that my Kenyan brothers and sisters face daily. And to be straight up honest, it sucked. 

As we slowly start digging out from devastation to our electrical grid, our plumbing, our water supply, our food shortages, and more, I can only pray that this experience gives us all greater empathy for our brothers and sisters across the globe who live with these struggles every single day. I pray that we rally with compassion like never before to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I recognize that it’s nearly impossible to thrive when you’re only focus in on surviving. Most of my day consisted of fetching water and boiling it! I carried water across the street to my house and had to have a neighbor help me because it was so heavy! 

Though I didn’t choose joy as often as I had wished I would have, I did see so much power in prayer and so much goodness in the power of community as our street, neighborhood and community at large rallied to help those in need! It was amazing! There is so much power in community and I know together, each of our contributions to Give Amore, is truly making a difference! 

Please read these 3 articles for just a glimpse at what we can do for our global community when we pull our resources and use them to impact lives so others can  THRIVE! 

May God Bless You and Keep You Safe,

Christa Horst

Pamela Vicente’s well of wellness

Well #26 is flowing and blessing many!

Emirere village was known for its sprawling water shortages and common waterborne infections but pertinently it is brimming with clean water courtesy of Give Amore’s 26th well. The beneficiaries are ecstatic and thrilled by their new gift after ages of lack all thanks to your thoughtful giving.

So what makes this well paramount in the lives of this community? Firstly, in a village of tens of families, this new baby will cut down on their time spent wandering far and wide in search of clean water. Secondly, the time saved will be invested in improving the lives of locals economically. Further, more children will spend their much needed time in school and at play and so much more.

The well is strategically located at Moses’ homestead and throughout its life of service, will remain open to the village and the larger community to draw from. Consequently, it is worth noting that well number twenty-seven is fully funded and soon its sinking will take course. 

Harriet Flying High

Harriet thriving with her sewing business after graduating from Give Amore’s sewing school.

Somewhere in Kenya’s western province, Harriet, a cheerful, hearty woman is basking in the beauty of her hard work that keeps yielding every day.  This resilient woman, 33, gave her all in our free tailoring school and successfully completed, an effort that got her where she is now.

Instantaneously after her graduation from the program, she hit the ground running and started her home tailoring shop something that she is marvelled at and proud of. Speaking to her, she asserted how her gifts of knowledge, skill, and equipment changed her life immensely in many ways she never thought of. 

Living in a low lying remote village, she used to worry about her tomorrow but now from her small living room, shines beams of hope, possibility and determination that she positively embraces to propel her into the future. Her passion led her to major on women and children clothes and all round repairs. 

Leaping into a Bright Future

Emily picking up her monthly supplies prior to her season of testing for graduation!

Via your continued support over the years, our 12th graders will be graduating from high school in a fortnight! With amore, we say a big Thank You! Emily, Eveline, Grace and Frida are due to sit their final national tests, a huge element of their viability for college scholarships. 

For over a decade you have natured and watched them grow into beautiful young people that they are and as their stewards, all we can do is support and dwell with them in prayer as they take this huge step in their lives, a milestone that will usher them towards their dreams.

They begin their tests in soon and with that in mind, we pray for good health and courage through the entire vital inevitable process.