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Issue No. 8 - September 2013
Fourth Family Takes Its Place at Joy Village
The renovations to the main house at Joy Village are complete. Thank you to the many faithful donors whose generosity made this possible. With construction behind us, the stage is set for four new families to join the Joy Village community over the next several months. The first of these new families has recently taken their place. Please welcome to Joy Village Momma Lucy and the eight children God has delivered from abandonment into her loving care (pictured above with members of the Tree of Lives summer pilgrimage.) Lucy’s gang is a young bunch and full of energy! Among the children, there is a set of twins - Mary and Jane, 3-years old and biological sisters - Kate, 4 and Sharon, 9. Rounding out the family are Sammy, Michelle, Kennedy and Joseph. Please keep Lucy and her children in your prayers as they learn together what it is to be a family that is truly a reflection of the love and saving grace of our heavenly Father.
How to Make a Donation If you would like to make a donation to support the many ministries of Tree of Lives, you may do so online at treeoflives.org or mail a check to Tree of Lives, Post Office Box 11390, Norfolk, Virginia 23517. Contact Becky Lyle Pinkard, becky@fpcnorfolk.org, for more information on our Kenya ministries and mission trips. TREE OF LIVES.ORG
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Complete Joy Club Earlier this year, we saw the launch of the Complete Joy Club at First Presbyterian Church! The club was formed by the children of the church to support the children of the Joy Village in Kenya. The club has already sponsored several fundraisers, as well as written letters and made friendship bracelets which were delivered to the Joy Village children by the summer mission team in July.
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HFC Greenhouse Project
Behind the HFC offices, located on the grounds of Nazareth Hospital in Kenya, is a small plot of land dedicated to a new initiative - the HFC Greenhouse Project. A 15’ x 8’ greenhouse was recently constructed by HFC staff as a pilot project with a three-fold purpose: 1) To provide practical training to HFC patients on growing crops for private food supply as well as a source of income 2) To raise money to boost the HFC social work fund 3) For sustainability purposes at the hospital
The club’s next big event will take place at the FPC church picnic later this month, where the children hope to bring awareness to the needs of their young Kenyan friends at the Complete Joy Club booth.
For more information about the Complete Joy Club, contact Hunter Johnston, hunter@fpcnorfolk.org.
TREE OF LIVES.ORG
Once the HFC staff has a little experience under their belts with raising crops in a greenhouse environment, their next step will be to train their patients with land to erect their own greenhouses and grow crops for their families and for additional income. In an area where the average daily salary is less than $2 a day, this project has the potential to improve the quality of life for HIV patients who are already overwhelmed by not only the stress of serious illness, but the challenges of poverty. As the greenhouse tomato plants grow taller day by day, drooping under the weight of hundreds of green tomatoes, the staff anxiously awaits the opportunity to market the first crop to the Nazareth Hospital kitchen and staff who live within the compound.
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