GO NEAR FUTURE

Melody and I will continue the work of Go Near Ministry on a full time basis. We pray that all orphans and widows would know the love of Jesus. Our part is to lead others to life changing relationships caring for orphans and widows worldwide.

You can visit our web site for a general overview at www.go-near.org We pray that God would use YOU to continue the life change stories as we all go near orphans.

A BRIEF RECAP OF MY RECENT TRIP TO KENYA – JUNE 2008

Rodney Davidson, an FBC member from Little Rock who has an interest in leading teen trips to Kenya, joined me as a friend of Go Near Ministry. We spent our time (almost three weeks) serving our partner ministries, all led by Kenyans. We delivered humanitarian aid, conducted interviews and assessments for future ministry partnerships. You will find writings and photos on our blog at http://taylorafrica.blogspot.com/

UZIMATELE (Life Abundant) Family Home - Nairobi slums

We moved in with Pastor George and Jackie Otieno. Living with their eleven children—all precious orphans—for a few days caused us to fall in love with them. As we walked through the slums delivering bread and milk, our hearts broke for the poorest of the poor. We were given the honor of speaking at Tumaini (Hope) Church/School in the slums. Our meetings with widows and orphans to hear their stories gave us a rare opportunity to really understand the vital ministry to which God has called Pastor George. After getting acquainted with his advisory board, my respect increased for George as I could see the community support God has raised up for this life-changing ministry. Go Near Ministry is commited to support this vital work. Would your family like to make a friend with a boy or girl in Kenya? Contact us for details about a very relational, interactive sponsorship program.

LIVING TESTIMONY CHILDREN'S OUTREACH (LTCO)- Kisumu KENYA

Kisumu has the highest AIDS population in Kenya; that fact alone also gives Kisumu the distinction of ranking #1 in the world to have the highest population of teen-led homes. But our friend, John Okall, is doing something about it and we were privileged to spend several days with John and his leadership team. What an impressive group of Kisumu leaders have committed to working together for the good of the children! John reaches out to help in keeping the orphaned children in their home (allowing them to be raised in their village). One of John's leadership team members, Widow Margaret, has raised many orphaned children over the years. With a heart of compassion and commitment to trust Jesus to provide for the needs of her large family, she is changing her world. As I spent time with her four boys, I was moved by the needs of Dennis, a 10 year old boy. Suffering from an advanced case of AIDS, Dennis made only one request, "If I pass my exams, I would like to have a bicycle." His request brings home the fact that above all, Dennis is a 10 year old boy. Go Near Ministry will partner with LITCO to bring kinship care to Kisumu.

OKUNDI VILLAGE - Kisumu KENYA

Located outside of the large city, this remote village is occupied by women, children, and a few elderly men. Many fathers and sons have died of AIDS or Malaria. Doing all they could to survive, the villagers pooled their meager resources to plant a crop of maize. They placed total dependence on this crop to survive another year, but the crop failed to produce due to lack of rain. Today, they are devastated and quickly losing hope.—God led us to this village through a friend from Nairobi who was raised in this small village. A successful businessman, Benson Okundi, is doing all he can to help his people. But one man is not enough to save a village. Before we left these struggling widows and orphans, we bought grain to help sustain them. More importantly, we also promised to partner with Benson and other Nairobi businessmen to help support the Okundi Village orphans and widows.

With your support we can continue to lead others to go near these precious orphans and widows.

Blessed to be a blessing,

Lewis and Melody Taylor
Leading others to life changing relationships caring for orphans and widows worldwide (James 1:27)