January - Agape Children's Ministry
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January
2021
AGAPE PAGES
Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Our December schedule was full of visits to see
family, friends, and churches. I had the privilege to attend Agape’s Board Meeting in Modesto, CA where I updated
the Board on Agape’s work in 2020 and plans for 2021. Also in December, our friends at Varnville FBC and Community
Bible Church both gave me an opportunity to share an update on God’s work through Agape during their church
services. Covid-19 outbreaks forced the cancellation of speaking engagements at two other churches, but we know
that God has a plan in all of this! While not traveling for Agape, we took two trips to Greenville, SC to spend time
with my parents, and the remainder of the time we were in Eden, GA with Tammy’s parents. We are so thankful for
our time with all of you throughout our time in the US!
We are in the last stages of packing for our return trip to Kenya. After originally being scheduled to depart on
January 2nd, Kenya decided to change their Covid testing requirements without informing anyone. If we had boarded
the plane on the 2nd, Kenya could’ve refused our entry into the country because our tests would’ve expired already.
Yikes! Thankfully, we realized the problem a few days prior to our departure date, and amazingly were able to change
our tickets to January 9th at no cost. God is good! We are now praying that our new Covid results will come back
before our new departure date. Traveling in the era of Covid-19 is an adventure!
We are so close to being able to reopen fully (with social distancing protocols) in Kisumu and Kitale. In Kitale, we are
waiting on a letter from the Ministry of Health authorizing us to reopen, which we should have in the first week of
January. In Kisumu, we were allowed to reopen on a very small scale at the end of December, though the government
initially required that all children have a negative Covid test and a court committal prior to admission. Thankfully,
the government removed the Covid testing requirement this week, but we ask that you would pray that the court
committal requirement would be removed, as well. Agape works to obtain court committals for all children, but pre-
Covid the government gave us a few weeks’ grace period to conduct a child’s initial home visit prior to going to court
to obtain a committal. Bottom line, requiring a court committal prior to admission seriously hampers our ability to
rescue children from the street, from the police, and from our partners.
Thank you so much for your love, prayers, and support; we are so fortunate to have friends and family who love the
Lord and partner with us in this work!
Okay, USA, until next time! Kisumu, here we come!
The Pages: Chris, Tammy, Sutton, Connor, Seth, Lyla, Cole & Emma
NEVER STOP PRAYING trained in our field counseling program to better care for
families of reintegrated children. We believe this is an
by Wesley Corbitt, Executive Director important work to increase the successful results of children
2020 was definitely a different and challenging year. The staying with their families, to prevent more from running away,
Kenyan government required all child care facilities to shut and to better share the life-changing gospel of Jesus within
down, believing this would help slow the spread of Covid-19. these children’s communities. Please pray for these ministers
Though this was perhaps not the most effective solution, we of the gospel, that they will be well received by the chiefs,
complied with orders, and on March 18, 2020 we closed the families, and communities.
rehabilitation work on campus and reintegrated all our children In 2021 we are also finally beginning to open family counseling
with their families. We moved some of our rehab team to offices in Lodwar and Nakuru. We have the funding for these
street rescue ministry and continued to rescue children from offices and are continuing to seek the financial provision for a
the streets, directly reintegrating them with their families or full Agape Model (Rescue, Rehab, Redemption, Reintegration)
temporary foster situations until biological family could be campus in Nakuru where 900 children are currently living
found. Reintegration without rehabilitation and full assessment on the streets. There is still a need for monthly operational
of the family situation is not ideal, but we believe it is much funding. We currently have approximately $6,800 in monthly
better than the hurt and abuse of being on the streets. commitments, praise the Lord, and will need an additional
We are very hopeful that 2021 will allow us to return to full $18,000 to cover all the costs of an Agape campus in Nakuru.
rehabilitation services with family counseling and family
assessment. The Department of Children Services (DCS)
allowed children to return to our Kisumu campus on
December 28, 2020 with two requirements – a negative
Covid test and a court committal to our care for every
child rescued. However, these requirements are impossible
to meet. If a child cannot stay on campus until a negative
result, where can that child stay while waiting for that
result? Many times it takes weeks to locate a child’s family,
a requirement for court committal. DCS has relaxed the
negative test, praise God, but not the court committal.
Even if we can locate a child’s family, the courts are
closed until February. Please pray the DCS will remove the
court committal requirement. In the past we have always
obtained it, but not before bringing a child on campus. We
currently have two boys and four girls on campus. This is
a praise, but the population of children on the streets is
rising again, and we need full operational ability to rescue
these children and meet their needs.
Kitale campus, being located in a different county, has been
allowed to reopen without the above restrictions as long as There are two churches willing to help and moving forward to
all staff working have tested negative for Covid-19. They did, raise support for the new center in Nakuru. We will need more
praise the Lord! We are now waiting on the Ministry of Health support, and I believe the Lord is already lining it up for this
(MOH) to certify the results. Certification by the MOH was the additional campus. Please pray for the needed funding.
only requirement of DCS in this county. The MOH has had the
test results for several weeks, but has not yet certified. Please A final word of praise! God richly supplied all the funding
pray that they will see the damage their delay is causing for Agape needed to meet the challenges of 2020. Against all
children on the streets and will quickly certify the results. odds, 2020 was our best year in terms of financial support. Is
our God not great? Has He not provided “pressed down, shaken
This summer Agape ceased using public transportation to together and running over” even in a Covid year? He can do this
visit reintegrated children and instead used rental vehicles in because He is the mighty God! And, “He will supply all your
order to better protect our staff. Public transportation puts needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus.” Give thanks and
15 people in a 10-passenger vehicle, making these vehicles please pray that we at Agape will serve
breeding grounds for Covid-19. Using rental vehicles increases well. Sharing the gospel, discipling, loving
the reintegration cost of child and family visits exponentially, our children and their families, doing what
but it is the right thing to do. Doctors in Kenya are expecting a is best for each individual child, and doing
spike in Covid cases due to Christmas travel, so we will need to all things for the glory of our Lord Jesus
continue to use rental vehicles for staff to visit our children and Christ.
families. We will also be increasing the number of reintegration
visits in the first six months of 2021 to provide the care and Never stop praying for Agape and each
counseling that was missed while our campuses were closed. other, for prayer is our source of the power Agape Children’s Ministry
PO Box 5062
Please pray for God’s provision for this added expense in 2021. found only in Jesus. ▄
Modesto, CA 95352
209.543.9255
Our added family strengthening ministry is operational. We Agapechildren.org
have added three field pastors and three field counselors agapekids@agapechildren.org
Ministry Support for: Payment Type:
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Cheryl Insua $_________ Modesto, CA 95352-5062
Ryan & Tamarah McIntire Address: _________________________________________________
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