amy0b87982ac418
bluewatergigi
dbeville
Patrice Miles
Lenny
In less than a month I will be headed back to Nigeria. It is impossible to contain the joy I feel! I can’t wait to spend time with my team encouraging them in the tireless work they do.
My mother, Jolene Eicher, will be joining me for her third trip to Nigeria. She will be busy interviewing and documenting the stories of several of our caregivers, our children and our C.A.R.E. Africa staff.
Ashley Beebe, a school teacher, will make her eighth trip to Nigeria. She will work with our teachers at Foundations Academy Egbe. We will be packing a lot into this short trip.
We need your help!!
We will host a back to school party with the theme “What Would Jesus Do”. Our goal is to help the kids remember in the new school year to model Jesus in all they do. To always be kind, gentle and patient and not lie, steal or cheat. We are taking rubber bracelets stamped with W.W.J.D. for them to wear to remind them each day – “What Would Jesus Do”. We will also provide each child with a backpack, some school supplies, sandals, underwear, socks and more. Can you help us collect new or gently used backpacks from anyone you know? We also need K-12 boys boxer briefs, girls underwear, sports bras, belts and white crew socks (above ankle). Monetary donations would also help us purchase needed items and/or cover any baggage fees. You can Email me at patrice.miles@sim.org with any local donations I can pick up or I can give you a shipping address.
Any monetary donations can be given to our general fund at give.icareafrica.org or checks can be made payable to CARE Africa and mailed. Email me at patrice.miles@sim.org for our mailing address.
The kids love school and are always excited to receive their new school supplies. Thank you for all you do!
*Foundations Academy Egbe has been open for almost one year now and we currently have 58 children attending. The current building is already too small so we have found 25 acres of land but will need to raise around $7,000 for the purchase plus an additional $250,000 for the building of the elementary, middle and high school, chapel, administrative offices, medical clinic, hostel, guesthouse, soccer pitch and sports buildings.
Every child should have the best chance for a successful future. But too many children in Nigeria aren’t getting the opportunity to reach their full potential. These children eventually succumb to begging, lying and stealing to make ends meet because of so many economic barriers in their environment. You can help change that by sponsoring a child through C.A.R.E. Africa. Your sponsorship will give these children the gift of hope and a brighter future.
When you sponsor a child, you achieve a special kind of giving that creates a relationship between you and the community where our C.A.R.E. Africa staff are helping to change the future. Sponsorship provides essential aid and education to the impoverished and improves the well-being of single and double orphans. It gives you the opportunity to see lives transformed. 
In the missionary world we are excited to talk about the great things we are involved in and how God is working in our ministry. We list the programs we offer, how many churches we have planted, how many widows, orphans and vulnerable people we have helped.
The cashier, bank teller, missionary, doctor, construction worker and waitress are people with actual lives. They all have passions, goals, struggles, interests, hobbies, families, and qualities that define them and make them who they are. Everyone is more than their job, whether it’s the most admirable career worldwide, or a temporary position. We are all “something” but we are also “someone.” There’s a difference!
At C.A.R.E. Africa we conduct one on one interview sessions with anyone who completes an application and meets our criteria. We use these one on one sessions to evaluate the applicant’s personal character and to see if what they filled out on the application several months ago is the same story they are telling us today. This process helps us separate those who would deceive us from those who are truly vulnerable women and children needing our help. After the interview we visit the home of the applicant. Their living situation will truly tell us if they are in need or not.
In July of this year C.A.R.E. Africa was conducting one of it’s interview sessions with a woman named Mrs Adeyemi. She had completed an application over a year ago. We had tried to call her but her number wasn’t working. Recently, her son tracked us down and gave us a note that read “Please help me, I want to go to school.” During the interview Mrs Adeyemi and her son were very quiet. Her body looked malnutritioned and her son, Michael, did not look well either. We visited their home and were saddened to see their living conditions. Inside was a 10×10 room that she and her two children slept in. The two mattresses were soaking wet and mold was growing up the walls. The smell was so bad I couldn’t even walk inside. I immediately wanted to take them into our program but at C.A.R.E. Africa we have a policy that we will do more research and pray for 30 days before taking anyone in.
My staff began their research. Mrs. Adeyemi’s neighbors reported that she would walk up and down the street yelling at them and used abusive language. Another neighbor explained how she was the second wife to a man in Lagos, Nigeria. He occasionally came to visit but didn’t take care of her or the children. We even heard that her husband was bringing marijuana for her to sell in Egbe. Overall the reports were not good and our staff were reconsidering taking her and Michael in.
We are happy to say that God has been using C.A.R.E. Africa and three sponsors to show Christ’s love to the Adeyemi family. We were able to fix up the 10 x 10 room they live in, buy new mattresses and bed posts, fix the roof so water will not enter into the room and also fix Mrs. Adeyemi’s grinding machine so she can be empowered. Michael is in school now and doing well and we will mentor and disciple his mother. Please pray for Mrs. Adeyemi that thru this ministry she will hear the gospel message and know that Jesus Christ loved her and died for her so that she might truly live! This is a story of the real Christmas message. Thank-you for us make this happen.
PVD or Parent Visitation Day is a day in Nigerian schools where the parents are invited to come and see what their child has been doing. Foundations Academy Egbe just had our first PVD day! As I walked around and observed the individual meetings with each child, caregiver and teacher I started to lose it. I had to go to the back of the center and cry outside so no one would see me. They were happy tears, thankful tears and tears of exhaustion. I experienced an overwhelming sense of joy and saw Christ’s love right in front of my face that day. These children were each told what they were doing well and how great they were. They were also told what they needed to work on. It was all done in a loving environment and the caregiver and the child were united. No shame, no fear and no judgement.
This school is the missing piece to the puzzle for our family based care program. We can disciple these kids, love these kids, preach to these kids, but when they spend 8 hours a day in a school system that fosters, shame, fear, cheating, bullying and promotion regardless of your ability to comprehend the subjects….we are fighting a losing battle. The C.A.R.E. Africa partnership with Foundations Academy completes our holistic approach to the care of the vulnerable children God has placed in our care. With C.A.R.E. Africa and Foundations Academy, we can now confidently say we are raising up a generation that will make a difference.
Miles In Missions 