Children at Risk: Changing Young Lives

Children at Risk: Changing Young Lives

Did you know that over 400,000,000 abandoned children live on their own on the streets of hundreds of cities around the world? They struggle to just survive the day. UNICEF defines an abandoned child as one who:

Does not know where his or her next meal is coming from, does not know where he or she is spending the night,and he or she does not live with either the mother or the father.

The Cry

Alicia is a beautiful 18-month old baby girl with a smile that can light up a room. However, it takes a long time for that smile to emerge. In Alicia’s short life, she has known little love or attention. She was found alone, wandering the streets of a busy city in Honduras at 2:30 a.m. A caring woman brought her to the police, who then left her in a government-run child protection center.

Two weeks after arriving at the center, a young teenage woman arrived and claimed to be Alicia’s mother. She told the center’s director that she wanted her baby back. The mother was informed that child neglect and endangerment is a crime and if she wanted her daughter back she would have to go to court and prove to a judge she’s capable of caring for her baby. The young mother has not been seen since.

Many babies like Alicia remain in the government center waiting for someone to come to care for them… someone to love them. They will remain in the government center until a responsible family member comes to take them or they are placed in a private children’s’ home.

 

How Can You Help?

The first thing you can do is Pray! People who have been called to work with children at risk globally need prayer and financial support, too. By praying and supporting, you are helping send SAMS missionaries around the globe. Lastly you can GO! Is God calling you to missions? Learn more about missions with SAMS, whether it is long or short-term.

 

You can make a difference in a child’s life. Support SAMS missionaries who has been called to this ministry through prayer, encouragement, or giving by visiting the Meet our Missionaries page.
There are many opportunities to serve with children globally. If the Lord is calling you to missionary service, we have a place for you.

Greek Goes On in Davao City

One of the things Sora and I sought to do in Davao was to labor in such a way that what we did would not cease with our departure. Knowing that our term in the Philippines was likely to be limited to three years, we wanted to leverage our gifts so that they would be multiplied and continue to have effects for years after we left.

The power of missionary work is in the formation of relationships. And in the Internet age, these can continue to be effective. 

One of my Greek students, Wayne Dimaano, is teaching a Greek class via his church’s Bible institute. He keeps in touch by FB messenger with questions about grammar:


As you can see from the mention of Quizlet, we also share flashcards and other teaching materials. 

Pastor Wayne forwarded this photo of the large number of students who showed up for his first Greek class:


(I recall a similar huge turnout for my first Greek class. There will always be some attrition when it becomes clear that  there is no royal road to the knowledge of Greek, but with that many students, Wayne will surely have a good number left.)

Wayne and I continue to share books and discuss exegetical questions and theology. Now that I’m in the same time zone (in Singapore and soon in Indonesia), I can respond quickly while we are both awake.

Meet SAMS-USA: Missionaries David and Mary Beth Alenskis

SAMS supports over 90 missionaries. Get to know them through this blog series called Meet SAMS-USA, and discover their calling to mission, where they serve, and how you can get involved through support and prayer. 
David and Mary Beth met at the Anglican Church of the Resurrection (San Marcos), their home church. They both were in a time of growth and transition. David transitioned from being a seminarian to being a priest, to being a missionary, while Mary Beth graduated from high school, started university, and then became the church accompanist. Over the years they pastor-and-parishioner to long-distance-friends, to not-so-much-friends, to more then friends. Now they are married!

David and Mary Beth Alenskis are sent from Anglican Church of the Resurrection in California and serve together in Belize. The church in Belize needs more thoroughly-trained leaders who are willing to serve inside and outside of the church in pioneering ways, to announce the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to embody his excessive and supernatural love for sinners. David has been called to serve as the Priest-in-Charge (Senior Pastor) of St. Andrew’s and St. Hilda’s churches and as chaplain for St. Andrew’sSt. Barnabas’, and St. Hilda’s schools. Mary Beth is using her passion and gift for music as well as her heart for serving others to reach those in the church and schools.  As SAMS missionaries, David and Mary Beth are dedicated both to serving as leaders for Anglican churches and schools in Belize, and also to training up new leaders who will continue to grow and deepen the Body of Christ.

The Alenskis’ continued mission service is made possible with the help of your support and prayers. They ask you to please share in their passion for the people of Belize by partnering with them in the work of the Gospel! Consider giving to the Alenskis today.
We seek to obey Christ’s great commission by joining with Belizeans to follow him together. Pray that Christ uses us to build up his Body in the following ways:

  • To make disciples who make new disciples
  • To form leaders that make new leaders
  • To grow churches that grow new churches
David and Mary Beth

Missionaries in Belize