Thank You - From Sr Joanne

Dear John Newman Mission Community members, 

Greetings to all and I hope all are fine enjoying the fall.  I am writing with deepest gratitude for once more making us the mission of the month in August and for the donation of $3475 which you've given us.  2019 has been a full year and we are proud of our kids, almost all of whom have continued to excel in their studies. Having gotten more people on to health insurance this year, we've been able to dedicate more funds to education and less to surgeries and medical treatments. In 2019 we have been able to build 2 more houses and 6 toilets for families, so necessary to the dignity and well-being of people. There's nothing more unimaginable than people having to take care of their bathroom needs either in the great outdoors or by going to their neighbor's or to a neighboring church. To give people a toilet restores their dignity and worth and makes the environment cleaner and healthier. We've been able to continue the food distributions and to run our baby nutrition project.  

      The children will soon get Christmas presents and shoes for the new school year. Unearmarked donations such as yours enable us to cover for children who have lost their sponsors, for students whose costs exceed the amount we ask for sponsorship, and for emergencies. Our kids and their relatives from the slums experience things we don't normally think of. One child is recovering from a deep machete wound that went into the bone allegedly from an accident cutting sugar cane. He's due to do his 8th grade government exams in a month and is depressed that it's taking so long to heal and fears that he won't do well because he can't write well with his left hand.  One of our 6th graders was hit by a motorcycle last week. Another client was hit by a car and has a broken leg and had to have a metal plate put in his wrist. We had an electrical emergency with danger of fire in the school building ceilings due to rats chewing the wires and had to have that repaired.

       That's why I'm so grateful to have some unearmarked funds to cover these exigencies. I'm as always very grateful to the JNMC for all that you do for me and to help all the other great needs you see around you. It's definitely answering Christ's "I was hungry and you gave me food", "I was naked and you clothed me", "I was imprisoned and you visited me." etc.

    I thought I would end sharing a story from my recent visit to our local prison for ladies.  Somebody seeing a few photos them said: "Oh, how nice that children can go and visit their mothers."  I replied: "those children are not visiting their mothers.  They live there in the jail and serve out the sentences of their mothers with them."

    All the best for a great autumn with all the last-quarter of-the-year good things yet to come like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I wish you all the best for your great hearts and great love.  

Sincerely, Sister Joanne