Making Hope Real
As we consider God’s blessings, we are in awe of His immense goodness toward us. The greatest gifts to us are His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and the constant presence of His Holy Spirit working in the Church and in our lives.
God endows each of us with personal gifts, talents, and material possessions. Stewardship is acknowledging that God is the source of each gift and each possession.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12
Paul continues to describe our lives in Christ in a series of related short commands. The three commandments in this verse are the key to the emotional and spiritual well-being of every Christian as we serve:
The first commandment is to rejoice in hope.
The next commandment is to be patient in tribulation or affliction.
The final commandment is to be constant in prayer, or to keep praying continually.
The maternal mortality rate in Kenya remains high at 342 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Significant disparities in maternal mortality rates indicate that programming efforts and advocacy work must be adjusted to reach women everywhere in Nairobi and Kenya, in general.
The latest Sustainable Development Goals status report for Kenya indicates that the country, while showing moderate improvement in achieving good health and well-being, is still experiencing major challenges on its journey to achieving the goals.
The maternal health program of the Organization of Africa Instituted Churches’ (OAIC) is helping mothers and girls in getting a better education so that they can avoid child marriage and high-risk teen pregnancies. Educated girls have fewer children and are better able to care for the children they have.
I thank God for these signs of progress in healthcare being made around the country to save children’s lives and provide them with a healthy future.
Hope shines a light in the darkness. It’s communicable, even healing. What is there to be hopeful for? Let’s look at the year ahead, have hope, and pray so that our hope becomes reality.
Let us thank God for every precious mother and child whose life has been saved. May God give us the courage and strength to extend our love to more mothers and kids so that they may enjoy the fullness of life.
We desire to be the instruments bringing the fullness of life to every mother and child. May God give us both the will and the means to make life better for every mother and child we serve.
Let us keep on praying for the finalization of our brochure for the maternal health program so that we will be able to start more activities.
In Christ,
Brigitte Eale
Brigitte Eale serves with the Organization of African Independent Churches (OAIC) in Kenya. Her appointment is made possible by your gifts to Disciples Mission Fund, Our Church’s Wider Mission, and your special gifts.
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