He was seven years old, one of five brothers, when he came to Joshua Village. His parents died when he was five, and he lived with his aged and sick grandmother for two years. In 2006, when this was no longer sustainable, he and his brother knocked on the door of Joshua Village for Orphans. This is where he was raised to be a man. This young man completed his schooling, took additional courses in electrical work, and married. To this union came three children. He and his wife have cared for his sister-in-law since she was five. His two mentors, Felix Okumu and Osumba Benson, taught him well. Steve Austine became a Christian at Joshua Village, and as he grew, he began to serve in the Joshua Village Church of Christ. Now, with a wife, three children, and an orphan of his own to care for, it is time to go back to school to get a degree in preaching the gospel. His bags are packed, his scholarship has been secured, and his monthly support, furnished by CMI, will begin in 2024. His wife, Brenda, will continue to run their little store to help support the family. He will make the trip from Oyugis to Nairobi for two years.
Is this a story about orphan care or evangelism? Of course, both. It is estimated that there are 52 million orphans in Africa. Someone, or no one, will raise them. But they will grow up barring some tragedy. What will they become? In Steve Austine’s case, we know. He has become a disciple of Jesus Christ who is on fire to spread the gospel. He is young and could have 50 years of service to the kingdom ahead of him. If he wins even one soul to Christ each year in his lifetime, and each of them leads one soul to Christ in theirs, that one knock on the door of Joshua Village could lead to 2550 souls in one generation.
Just think, if each of the 50 orphans CMI supports in Joshua Village, and the 15 orphans we support in the Neema church were to do the same, how many could be reached for Jesus? Orphan care is evangelism. Your monthly support of $75 allows us to feed, clothe, educate, train, house, and keep healthy an army of evangelists for Jesus. CMI sends nearly $5000 per month to care for these precious children. Go to cmiministries.org, look into their faces, and see the face of God.
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