In My Backyard December 2019
Season’s greetings and welcome to another publication of our newsletter.
What a year it has been! Full of challenges, setbacks, but most of all blessings. With God and your financial gifts, we were able to assist in areas such as the Furaha Primary school in the Congo. IMBY was able to support both students and teachers thus enabling the school population to grow. There were times when there were anxieties about the lack of funds to keep our various commitments going. However, God reminded us and in his word that with him "…Nothing is Impossible." (Luke 1:37).
I would like to thank everyone for your continued support and generosity! Without your gifts, most of our commitments would have not been met. As we are embarking upon a New Year, my message to you, is to have a happy holiday and a blessed New Year! Thanks for journeying with us and may you continue to do so.
God Bless You,
Stacy Gayle
VP
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
MAASAI & SAMBURU
Greetings in the name of our soon and coming King!
I am delighted that the desired level of commitment including medical, sanitation, dental, and evangelism efforts will now be designated to the Maasai and Samburu people. I believe with all my heart it was not by coincidence but by Divine Providence when I met the president of the In My Backyard Ministry, Jerome Gayle, during my visit to the United States in 2018. For years it was a burden on my heart when I saw the daily challenges these groups of people faced. I was further delighted when he told me for many years, he too had a strong desire to do outreach to this group but had no contacts from within Kenya. Since our meeting, much has taken place resulting in the ministry of In My Backyard now registered in Kenya as a non-profit organization.
This is a tremendous boost to our efforts and will give the organization much leverage.
As Kenya’s Regional Director for the ministry, I am delighted to be a part of this great initiative. I encourage everyone to learn more about what we are doing via the website. The needs are severe and urgent therefore, I urge everyone to get involved with your financial gifts and prayers so we can finish the work God has called us to do. Thanks to everyone for all your support and may the new year bring you much prosperity in all your endeavors.
Pastor Stephen Mettei
Regional Director – Kenya and East Africa
PROJECT UPDATES
FURAHA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
FURAHA SCHOOL
For the 2019 – 2020 school year, we are pleased to report that with the assistance the In My Backyard ministry we are seeing day to day improvements with the education, teacher’s payroll etc. Before the intervention of the ministry, the school was one of the most neglected schools within the community. The deplorable appearance reflected very negatively on the church, but for those who may not be aware the Congo is the poorest nation on earth so any assistance from the church or the required monthly tuition of one dollar per child did not exist.
In the 2017-2018 school year, when the In My Backyard ministry first intervened to keep the doors of the school opened, the general enrollment for the six classes was 70 students. As a result of the monthly financial assistance, we have seen significant growth in the student population as follows: in 2018-2019 the enrollment was 100 students; in 2019-2020 Furaha primary school has just opened its doors with an enrollment of 170 students.
Other areas of improvements worth noting are:
- Improvement in the quality of teaching caused by teachers being better fed
- Successful completion of the national primary government exams, with the school winning the highest percentage of 91%.
- Improvement of the school building infrastructure even though still precarious, but much improvement compared to the past. A sum of $ 850 provided a temporary construction of 4 classrooms to allow the children to have shelter from the rain. We are happy that the student population can now study when it is raining.
Despite the intervention by the In My Backyard Ministry and other accomplishments, the Furaha primary school, faces new danger with its door being closed as a result of the Congolese government initiative to make primary education free throughout the country. However, the Furaha primary school is not among the schools affected by this. We therefore ask for prayers and your financial support so that our doors can remain open and we can continue to be a pillar of Evangelism in support of our local church in Mudaka.
Thank you very much for all you do to protect the educational work and the Furaha primary school.
God bless you.
Pastor Emmanuel Kulondwa
FURAHA STATS
2017-2018
- 70 Students
2018-2019
- 100 Students
2019-2020
- 170 Students
PARENT TESTIMONY
MWA KAHAYIRA and son Olinde
“I praise God first of all for the miracle in favor of my child Olinde.” I am a widow with six children. My husband passed away eight years ago, and I had a serious problem caring for and schooling my children. People of good will have often helped me. For one of my children, Olinde who is in sixth grade, it was often difficult for me to find the fees for him to finish the school year. But glory to God because my child is cared for by the people who work with the In My Backyard Ministry. I thank the Ministry very much for the work they have done. I do not have much to say, but I thank the ministry very much for the work done.”. MWA KAHAYIRA mother of Olinde who is in sixth grade at The Furaha Primary School in Kivu DRC
BASIC HEALTH GUIDE FOR MISSIONS
Basic Health for Missions Workbook
Basic Health Guide for Missions
Eleven Laws of Health Theory and Practicum
This basic health information for missions is to help and introduce the reader working in the mission field to eleven laws of health. The reader will be able to use the information as a foundational guide as he/she works with those in need of immediate help while in the process of transferring them to health facilities or medical professionals. A time frame of five days a week for six months and constant practice will help the student to learn more by hands on and instructions from an experienced instructor. The student should not assume medical professionalism, which is not the intended objective of this book, but help facilitate and transfer those in need of medical professional help. The main objective is for the student to learn, practice as well as master the concepts of the material thoroughly and smoothly execute instructions with confidence and then immediately refer and transfer the victims to a health facility. Then the goal of this book would have been achieved. Two awesome books for one's collection written by Dr.Jerry Masarira ND. CBIS
Basic Health Guide for Missions Workbook
This is a companion volume to the Basic Health Guide for Mission.
HERBAL BREAKFAST BAR RECIPE FOR ENERGY & FOCUS
This herbal breakfast bar recipe is the perfect solution to busy mornings and skipped meals. By adding herbs that provide energy, stamina, mental clarity and focus this breakfast bar will keep you going strong all morning long.
The medicinal herbs in this recipe are adaptogens which help the body adapt to stress.
Maca - energizing and mood-lifting.
Eleuthero - increases stamina and strengthens immune function.
Lion’s Mane - nootropic, which means it promotes cerebral function.
Cinnamon - warming carminative that supports digestion and blood sugar balance.
You will want to powder your herbs before incorporating them into the recipe. By themselves these ingredients wouldn't taste the best, but combined with nuts, oats, dates and dried fruit they come alive with flavor.
A coffee grinder or mortar and pestle works well or buy your herbs already ground. You can get these ingredients from the American Herb Shoppe.
Once you have finished you are left with a very nutrient dense herbal fruit and nut bar that will give you amazing nutrition and flavor.
Recipe
- 1 cup packed dates, pitted (deglet noor or medjool)*
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup nut butter (cashew, sesame, almond, peanut)
- 1 cup roasted unsalted almonds, loosely chopped (see instructions for roasting nuts)
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- ¼ cup powdered herbs. I used 2 tbsp Maca, 1 tbsp Lion’s Mane, 2 tsp Eleuthero and 1 tsp Cinnamon
- optional: goji berries, dried fruit, nuts, banana chips, etc.
Directions
- Add pitted dates to a food processor and grind for about 1 min until finely chopped or ball forms.
- Optional + Highly Recommended: Toast your oats and nuts in a 350-degree F for 10-15. Check frequently!
- Place oats, almonds and dates in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Warm maple syrup and nut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over oat mixture and then mix, breaking up the dates to disperse throughout.
- Once combined lay the mixture between two pieces of parchment paper. Use a rolling-pin to flatten the bars from 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick.
- Transfer to baking sheet and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes until firm.
- Remove bars from pan and chop into even bars. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a five days!
I hope you enjoy these delicious, nutritious, energizing herbal breakfast bars! Make them on the weekend and you’ll have breakfast ready for an entire week. No more skipping breakfast because you’re too stressed and too busy.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know what you think! Leave a comment and let me know if you have any questions.
Blessings, Lee Wellard
OTHER STORIES
COUNTRYWIDE DISTRIBUTION
2000+
Literature Evangelism Countrywide Campaign
Seay's children
Saturday, September 29th, Undre Seay’s family did a Great Controversy book giveaway at their local library. How did they come to this idea? Well, they were looking for ways that they could share the Great Controversy with the people in their neighborhood. Trying to figure out how to distribute the book to their neighborhood presented a challenge. They had very young children and the thought of going door to door in their neighborhood with three little ones all under three years old was not going to cut it. Due to their older son volunteering at the library, they had built a relationship with their librarians.
They thought what better place to give away books than their local library. They then reserved a meeting room and brainstormed on how to do the distribution. The decision was made to then present it as a historical view of Christianity. They decided to put the table of contents, some character highlights, author biography and chapter highlights on a display board where people could see as they entered and leave the library.
The display board grabbed the attention of a lot of people including a young lady named Mckayla. She showed much interest, was keen on history and better yet had visited Jerusalem to serve the Jews in some capacity. As they continued to talk with her, they found out that she fellowshipped with the messianic Jews who kept the Sabbath. She was so excited to meet Udre’s family and talk to about Jesus. The whole experience was a blessing to the Seay’s family. They are planning to do it again.
The Seay’s family.
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS
Volunteer Part-time Content Writer (Newsletter, Blog etc.) Responsibilities
- Responsible for creating creative content for different formats (emails, blog, newsletters, social media, and more)
- Producing 3-4 blog posts a month
- Producing 1 newsletters a month
- Delivering content on-time or ahead of schedule
- Contributing to the creation of the content calendar
- Actively contributing to blog/social media
- Demonstrate understanding good newsletter/blog writing
- Writing background across multiple platforms
- Innovative, attention-grabbing writing
- Examples of past work would be great
- Experience working remotely
- Email writing
- Ability to work with Chief Technology Officer
- Content directory organization and management on SharePoint Strong English proficiency
Desired Tools and technologies: Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Suite, HTML,
Desired hours: approximately 20 hours per month
Inquiries to: branchofhope@imbackyard.org
Note: Serious inquiries only.
If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Deuteronomy 15:7
