The Bryce Homes for Widows and Children
has now been functioning in western Kenya for 4 years!
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27)
In 2011, Roger Oakland, founder and director of Understand the Times (UTT), traveled to western Kenya to launch the Bryce Homes for Widows and Children Program in Kenya. A handful of Christian families who were living in extremely impoverished conditions were chosen to become the first Bryce Homes in Kenya. Today, four years later, there are 25 Bryce Homes established in Kenya. The goal of the Bryce Program is to show the love of Jesus Christ through providing physical needs and support and helping to disciple believers and their children in the Word of God.
Looking Back – 2015 Progress
If you have been following this missions program in Kenya since its inception, you know that over 16 houses have now been built (replacing dilapidated grass huts), cookstoves have been installed in these houses, latrines have been built, funds for medical treatment and vitamins have been provided, water filtration and water collection systems have been implemented, clothing and bedding have been purchased, and monthly food support has been provided.
In 2015, two new houses were built (one still in the process), a church building has been built for several of the Bryce families and the local rural community, food support continued, and a special emphasis was placed on the SBO program (Small Business Opportunity) and the gardening program.
[The photo above shows how many of our widows were living prior to being invited to be a Bryce Home. Many fatherless families are still living like this today. We hope to bring more into the Bryce Home program.]
The goal of the gardening program is to come along side of the Bryce families and assist them in developing their own gardens. Many of the widows in the program have vegetable gardens, and some are now able to grow enough extra to sell at the market. This is exciting for us to witness as it is a big step toward these particular families becoming self-sufficient and also eating healthier.
2015 also brought opportunity for the Christian pastors who are part of the Bryce program to counsel and teach the widows and their children in the Word of God. At UTT and LT, we know that physical needs being met is important, but even more so are the spiritual needs. One of the reasons Roger Oakland travels to each of the Bryce Homes yearly (now in 5 countries) is to encourage and train the leaders he has chosen to minister regularly to the Bryce families. While the Bryce Program may be small, relatively speaking, we believe the efforts today can significantly impact hundreds, if not thousands of lives, in the future.
[The photo above is one of the new houses built with the donations received for the Bryce Homes program.]
What’s Ahead?
One of the main goals for the Bryce Homes in Kenya for 2016 is to bring in several new families, as our original families are now becoming self-sufficient. Currently, there are many many families in this region of Kenya that are fatherless because of AIDs and other diseases and are living in very deplorable conditions. It is our hope that the Bryce Homes program in Kenya will be able to reach out to as many of these families as possible, providing physical means (e.g., housing, latrines, water filtration and collection, Small Business Opportunity, etc), showing the love of Christ, and offering the Word of God to assist them in coming out of the despair of severe poverty and disease.
The Bryce Homes for Widows and Children in Kenya has been fully and solely supported by Understand the Times and Lighthouse Trails readers—there is no other financial backing. It’s been amazing to watch how the readers of just two ministries (not corporations) have supported the development of a full-fledged missions project in a third-world country. We see God’s wonderful faithfulness and mercy every day. In a world that is increasingly growing spiritually dark, we think the Bryce Program is a light shining in that darkness.
We hope you will take a moment to view the slideshow below where you can see a recap of 2015 at the Bryce Homes in Kenya. Thank you to each of you who have helped support this missions program in your giving and in your prayers.
Supporting Bryce Homes
All donations go directly through Understand the Times, and all U.S. and Canada donations are tax-deductible. And unlike most large organizations, every penny donated to this program goes to the people in Kenya; there are no overhead expenses taken out of the donations.
If you would like to donate to the Bryce Home Program in Kenya, there are three ways you can do that (see below). Please designate that your donation is for the “Winter Offering in Kenya.”
Thank you from all of us at Lighthouse Trails and Understand the Times.
Be sure and watch the slideshow below.
THREE WAYS TO DONATE (choose one):
1. Through the Understand the Times website (you can use Paypal or your credit card – choose from one of the donate buttons). You can designate the donation on the paypal website. (Note: when using Paypal, remember to designate the donation for “Winter Offering” where it asks for “Special Instructions.”
Donate Now
2. Mail donation checks or money orders to either location below.
P.O. Box 27239
Santa Ana, CA 92799 USA
(800) 689-1888P.O. Box 1160
Eston, SK
Canada S0L 1A0
306-962-36723. For your convenience, donations can be called in to the Lighthouse Trails office. We will take your credit card information and process the donation through UTT. You can call our toll free number at 866-876-3910.
Be sure and watch the slideshow below.
The music in this slideshow is from Trevor Baker’s CD, The Road Less Traveled, from the song, “I Wish I Had Your Life.” If you cannot view this slideshow below, click here.
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