News from Janine Stellatos - Spring 2020

Dear Friends and Sponsors,
Panic or Peace, Fear or Faith, Terror or Trust?

As the world finds itself in the grip of uncertainty and fear over the Corona Virus, I am reminded of the words of an old hymn, “We have an anchor that keeps the soul, steadfast and sure while the billows roll, fastened to the Rock which cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Saviours’ love”.

Jesus said, “My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, give I unto you, let not your heart be troubled and do not fear. (John 14:27) We choose whether to walk in that peace or swim with tide of panic, panic buying, panic talk, panic stricken. Jesus himself said, “In this world you will have trouble but do not fear, I have overcome the world”. (John 16:33)

Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble, but do not fear, I have overcome the world”. Perfect love casts out all fear. We choose whether to walk in fear, or walk in faith, knowing our times are in His hands and that we are covered by His blood.

The Word commands us, “Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it comes. Prov 3:25. One translation uses the word “sudden terror”. We are to have perfect peace as we walk in faith, trusting that our lives are as His Word states, “held in the hollow of His hands”. Let us not be carried on the winds of circumstances around us. Let the world see in us a peace that passes all understanding. Let them see that we have a firm foundation.

“On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand”.

Ministry

In January we expanded into another 16 schools in a very poor area. One of the schools is where a villager placed his young baby into the arms of one of our visitor’s and said, “Here, take her... I can no longer afford to provide for her”. Now every week over 115,000 children are hearing God’s Word through our Sunday School program here in Kenya.

In February, we spent a few days training a couple from Tanzania who have now started using our curriculum to reach out to children in schools and reach them with the Gospel!

Every week 6 teams of three go into 109 schools, some teams leaving as early as 5 a.m. to go preach life to thousands of children who eagerly await them! In some schools they teach as early as 7 a.m. Every day over 4000 meals are provided to sponsored children in 64 of the 109 schools. Our teams deliver uniforms, shoes, book bags, schools supplies, mosquito nets, food vouchers for families, hygiene vouchers, letter from sponsors, gifts from sponsors and all these deliveries are made between teaching in four schools every day. We have 19 staff on the field and 6 in the office. I am always amazed at how much God is doing through so few people. We know that this is God’s doing and it is Him who gets all the glory. I recently visited a family whose mother had just been buried having succumbed to HIV. The father already buried some time ago. All four children are HIV positive and the grandmother is in her 80’s with no income. The children don’t eat the whole weekend and the only hope of food is through our program in the schools. We gave them food and prayed with them and sang worship with them, and the presence of God came and just filled the whole mud house in the village where they were living. It sounds almost Biblical doesn’t it?

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

One of my favorite things to do is getting out on the field with the kids whether it be in our schools or in garbage dumps or squatter villages where they live. Here are some of the pictures taken over the 8 years I have been here in Kenya as God has helped me to be steadfast, immoveable and abounding in the work of the Lord, whether it is on the field, in the office or simply doing everyday tasks like washing dishes. Whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men...it is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray that God will protect the children and that they become rooted and grounded in the Word, able to follow Christ and make right choices in the midst of enormous confusing and conflicting alternative liberal lifestyle choices that bombard them daily. Please pray that God will protect their minds and they will become all that God has planned and purposed for their lives.
• Please pray for the teams going into the new area; for favour with the authorities there.
• Please pray for one of our staff members here whose twin baby daughter died 14 hours after birth. Pray that God will comfort them and the remaining twin, a son, will grow strong and healthy and become a man of God.
• Pray that we will all pursue a closer walk with the Lord. We all need His power to stand as light in the darkness.
• Please pray for our protection, that God will protect the work and keep the staff strong.

THANK YOU for staying with me. Thank you for believing in me. I truly appreciate your prayers and support. I would love to hear from you. I would love you to come and visit and see the work God is doing here with your own eyes, but whether that happens or not, I will still stand, still remain faithful, still stay the course, still reach out for one more child, for the sake of their eternal destiny, because He is still God, He is still able and He is still in control. God bless you so much and again, thank you for caring!
Janine

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