Fundraiser for Carrie!!

Last May, we photographed Carrie & Brian’s awesome wedding & reception! Since then, we’ve stayed connected via facebook and email and Carrie recently sent me this letter, asking for support for her upcoming Kenya mission trip. I gladly helped her out but she still has a long way to go towards her goal of raising almost $3,000! I’ve posted her letter here so that hopefully all of you will consider making a donation towards her trip as well…she’s such an amazing, kind-hearted person and deserves all of the help she can get! 🙂 Thanks everyone!

“Hey All!

Halo! Hujambo? That’s Swahili for: hello and how are you! I bet you are wondering why I’m greeting you in Swahili. Well, Swahili is the national language of Kenya where I will be doing mission work in September of this year. Now that you know what I am asking, you can say: sijambo bibi, which means “I’m fine”. Ok, so now you know as much as I do! My hope is to at least know how to ask what I am eating and how to find bathrooms by September…

So here is what’s going on: My home church, Central Christian Church, is sending a team to Mabatini, Kenya to help encourage the Christian leadership that already exists in the area, and also to help with numerous projects that will impact that community. Central Christian Church has adopted the area called Mabatini which is a slum neighborhood in Nairobi, the capitol city. We currently aid the community through child sponsorships and micro-enterprise initiatives, as well as sending teams to help with different church led projects in the area. There is so much to be done in Mabatini and here are just a few of the things that we will be involved in while we are there:

Nairobi Urban Poor, Mabatini slum:
·    Medical: HIV/AIDS work + Health screenings with our adopted community
·    Kid’s related work: VBS, sports, games with the children
·    Construction: Building a playground, repairs on the center, making desks or “Bring the Light” projects
·    Home Visitation: Visit the sick with HIV/AIDS who are bed-ridden
·    Community Health Evangelism (CHE) training
·    Visiting the women sponsored through our micro-enterprise initiatives

Talek/Ewaso Ngiro with the Maasai:
·    Medical Outreach: HIV/AIDS work in the clinics
·    Evangelism: Rural VBS and local evangelism + teaching (church planting)
·    Construction Projects
·    Water Projects

I have so much to do before we leave for Kenya, and that includes fundraising for the mission. The cost for the trip is $2900 per person which includes airfare, ground transportation, visa, ministry project expenses, lodging, meals and trip insurance. The thought of asking for support in this endeavor really made me anxious because fundraising was not a skill my mother taught me. My parents always bought the frozen pizzas, trash bags, and Girl Scout cookies from the kids in my family to spare the neighbors, so I kinda think of fundraising like Chinese water torture. Our outreach minister at Central explained it to me another way. He said that asking for support is making me open to God’s power and influence in my life and giving others the opportunity to hear God’s call to action in their own lives. So here I am asking for your support!

I have felt the call to mission work my whole life. God has given me a heart for people and I have always known that seeking Him by serving others in this capacity is what I am suppose to be doing. To me, a mission trip is about getting out of my comfort zone and letting God lead my life in a ways I would not have known just hanging out at my house in Fishers, Indiana. I think Kenya is about as far out of my comfort zone as it can get and I am so excited to be there and work with the women and children and I also can’t wait for the building projects. It is evident that God is already working wonders in Africa and I feel blessed to be part of the efforts going on there. Please consider supporting me as I go to Kenya to serve the people there. Every little bit helps and I will be so thankful for your contribution. Ahsante sana! Many thanks!

In Christ,
Carrie DeBruler”

***If you are able to help her go on this mission (thank you! thank you!), please make checks out to Central Christian Church and write “Carrie/Kenya Mission” in the memo line. Please mail to:
Carrie DeBruler
10391 Cotton Blossom Drive
Fishers, Indiana 46038

If you are willing to pray for her while in Kenya and in the months leading up, as well as receive her prayer requests; please check yes and provide your email address.
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Additional Family Members (who might want her updates!)___________________________________________________________________
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Prayer Partnership: yes___  no___

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If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email her!! [email protected]