SERVANT OF GOD MINISTRIES
New Website: www.sogmw.webs.com
Servant of God Ministries, Inc.
Missionary Rosa Brooks
This Ministry was born from a trip Rosa Brooks took to Kenya and Ghana, Sept. 2007. When she came home and began o reflect over the trip and the many churches and organizations she had visited, she recognized a need to start a ministry to go into the rural areas of Africa. The Lord impressed this upon her on the 8th of Nov. while she sat working on the Video Package from the Trip. She knew no one in the country and it was the first time she visited Kenya, traveling alone. When she was asked if she was a Pastor, Evangelist? She replied no I am just an obedient child of God doing what God asked me to do. The people began to call her a "Servant of God", thus was the name given to this ministry.
Servant of God Ministry is a Support Ministry for Churches in Rural Africa, we will do whatever we can to help equip them to continue their work and win souls for the Kingdom of God.
Due to the love I have for Africa I realized a need to branch out and do whatever I could to help. Africa has many problems and challenges in so many areas. I had no money of my own; so I sold some of my furniture, jewelry and clothing and even borrowed money to make this trip. I slept over night in the Heathrow Airport to make my flight to Kenya. Servant of God Ministry would like to take the Word of God in the rural areas of Africa where many do not see foreign ministries. God dealt with Rosa while ministering in Kenya to preach Jesus and his Love, to stay away from denominational doctrines and other church culture we have in America. This gospel has to stay in a pure and simple form to reach Africa and turn their hearts to The Lord. They must know that Jesus is the way and the only way to make it into the Kingdom of God. I have been going to Africa for 14 years, as an Independent Tour Coordinator.
Greeting Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I want to share with you what The Lord did in Kisii a Town approximately 365 klms from Nairobi Kenya. The Kisii community is a large area covering over 2000 miles and it has approximately 4 million inhabitants. This is a rural area and is known for its Soapstone products, Poultry, Dairy farming and Agricultural products. The inhabitants have traced their genealogy back to Israel and Egypt. Their ancestors followed the Nile River through Sudan and Uganda and then over to Kenya... The Maasai people who have kept their ancestral traditions more than any other Tribe; have traced their genealogy back to Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar, the Egyptian handmaiden of Sarah. Ishmael had 12 sons and Massa was one of them. They were a Nomadic people and Pastoralists, caring for cattle, sheep and goats. Throughout Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and the Congo are many Africa Tribes who have traced their ancestry back to Israel and Egypt.
MY MISSION TO KENYA
My Mission was to teach the Word of God, tell them about Jesus and his Love, The Lord told me not to minister about denominations but tell them about Jesus, lift up his name. He led me to pray for as many people as I could no matter where we were. I was on street corners, under trees, in churches, homes, businesses, schools, on the roadside, God said pray. Testimonies came forth from HIV victims, cripple people and others saying they have been healed by the power of God, their lives have been changed. One HIV lady who had given up on life tried to commit suicide the day before I arrived at their town; she had taken poison and didn't die, so the next morning she went to the river to jump in and the Lord told her to come to this meeting. God had a miracle waiting for her. I prayed for her and cast this suicide demon off of her. She was set free by the power of God and gave this testimony that "she feels good and wants to live on". The Lord told me to minister in a simplistic way as he did when he taught the people about the Kingdom of God. We need Missionaries with a call to Africa to win souls. This harvest field is truly ready for workers to go forth and evangelize this area, so we must work fast.
As I journeyed through Kenya to the Northern area I saw such beauty of green forestry, mountains and valleys with streams of water. We visited churches in the Meru area and Mt. Kenya area, high mountains and all green and lush with an abundant amount of fruit and vegetable trees. In the City of Nairobi, as with any congested African capital city, you see people hustling about everywhere, from early morning to late evening. A mixture of churches everywhere, and signs of coming crusades. When you leave the Nairobi area you don't see many Ministers going into the rural areas of Kenya, where it is truly a need to spread the Gospel. Everyone cannot go into the rural areas of Africa, you must fore-go some of the comfortable amenities you are use to. If you can't go, then support us to go.
HIV/AIDS IN KENYA
More than 70 percent of the world's HIV-positive people live in Africa, of whom some 10 million are aged 15-24 and three million are under 15. While life-extending treatments for AIDS patients now exist, their average cost of up to $400 a year per patient means they are out of reach for all but a tiny minority in Africa. A vaccine is one of the world's best hopes for ending the AIDS pandemic, but only a small percentage of the world's research funds go to Africa. In Kenya the most tragic result of this epidemic is the stunning number of healthy children left homeless and starving as a direct result of the deaths of their parents and relatives. Two million children in Kenya alone have their lives forever changed by AIDS and its horrible consequences. Kenya is second to South Africa in the number of HIV cases in Africa.
According to the UN, they have grossly underestimated how bad the AIDS crisis will be and that it has the potential to depopulate some of Africa's countries. Because of AIDS, life expectancy in parts of Africa has dropped below 40. While the epidemic has leveled off in the US, Africa is getting worse.
One reason for the increase in infection is that many AIDS myths still exist in Africa. In remote areas, doctors are even unwilling to tell patients they have AIDS, for fear of retaliation from families who are insulted by their diagnosis. Some believe that having sex with a virgin will cleanse the body from AIDS, so reports of rape gangs are not uncommon. Myths like these allow the disease to spread, so more become infected and the deadly cycle continue.
JESUS vs. TRADITION
The African Continent has to be told about Jesus and his loving mercy; they must turn from their wicked ways and seek God. I know he will heal this land and deliver this people. Many are still practicing beliefs from their ancestors, pagan gods, ju ju, rivers, rocks, mountains, trees, snakes, deer and so many other so-called-gods. Some of the so called Believers are still practicing witchcraft and going to church. Many are practicing Old Testament teaching and just a few years ago stopped doing the sacrificing they did in the Old Testament. They must be taught the Biblical teachings of Christ and his purpose in their lives. The more people I ministered to the more I realized that their Traditional Beliefs and Culture meant more to them then obeying the Word of God. On one occasion as we traveled through a town where the men did not get circumcised; my Guide made mention of it to be on a van full of people and a very heated argument ensued. This gentleman said he was so hurt and offended by what the Guide said to me, it was as if he was ready to kill this young man because of his statement. Such anger arose from this. By the grace of God I quelled it. At that instant I saw how easy it was for a tribe to turn on another tribe and actually kill each other over such a small thing. I quoted New Testament to the man what Paul said about circumcised and uncircumcised meant nothing, he soon calmed down and we had a good conversation after that. My Guide was afraid for his life and learned a good lesson. They are very much in obedience to Culture rather than God and this is a big problem because their cultural beliefs as led many wrong and caused them to practice things not in line with the Word of God.
FEMALE CIRCUMCISM
Female circumcising is another one of these cultural and tribal rules. It is the partial or total cutting away of the external female genitalia, has been practiced for centuries in parts of Africa, generally as one element of a rite of passage preparing young girls for womanhood and marriage. Often performed without anesthetic under septic conditions by lay practitioners with little or no knowledge of human anatomy or medicine, female circumcision can cause death or permanent health problems as well as severe pain. Despite these grave risks, its practitioners look on it as an integral part of their cultural and ethnic identity, and some perceive it as a religious obligation.
Female circumcising is still being practiced and its reasons are so wrong. I am told it started about 500 years ago and this is all over Africa even though some have abandoned it now, but many countries still practice it. Some do it for money and others do it because
Of old tradition from multiple marriages, the husband was not available to satisfy all his wives so he wanted to make sure the wife does not go to another man.
KENYA CHURCHES
Thank God for the real Christians in Kenya who do not practice it; however in the Maasai they are still being pressured to do it and to give their daughters in marriage as early as 9 years. The girls do not have the schooling boys have very few even go to school. Females in this part of the world are considered low-class citizens, used for manual labor, caring for the children, farming, cooking, cleaning, carrying water pots, and satisfying the man's sexual urge.
I thank God that this is very slowly changing but they need help to empower the women to do more for themselves. They need your help to start a school so the girls can get an education and have a chance to improve their lives. A few of the mothers of these girls met with me at the Pastor's house after church and asked me if I could help them , I told them I would do my best to get some help for their daughters.
CHURCHES IN NEED OF......
The churches are all in need of more Pastors, Teachers, and Missionaries to come and spend some time teaching the Word of God to them. They need Bibles in English or Swahili, spiritual books, musical instruments, almost all of them need new church buildings made of mortar and stones. The church building they are worshipping in now are all made of mud and cow dung and after a few good rainy seasons it starts to wash away. Church Partnership is encouraged to solve some of these needs. Many of these Pastors have a desire to Evangelism in other countries where they have expressed that there are places where the name of Jesus has never been heard. One Pastor stated in one such village they never heard of Jesus and thought this "White Missionary" was Jesus. When they saw him they felt sorry for him and thought he was sick, they asked if he had stayed too long in the water.
ORPHANS, WIDOWS, ELDERLY
The Organizations, Churches and Schools who care for the Orphans need adequate housing for the children, clothing, food, medicine, cows to supply milk, funds to pay the Caregivers and Teachers, Vans, Buses to transport the children.
The Organizations and Churches, who assist the Widows, Widowers; the Elderly all need HIV/AIDS medicine, food to distribute to them, Clinics built nearby, Vans, Buses to transport them. They need funds to hire healthcare workers to visit their homes for those who are bedridden.
The Self Help Groups consist of Women Groups, Brickmakers/Builders, Disabled People, and Youth Groups. They are all in need of Vans, Buses and funds to keep there projects going. The Women Groups are farmers in need of more cattle, chickens, goats, seedlings for various vegetables, fruits they grow. Monthly donors can solve their problems by taking on a project as a partner with that group.
Soapstone Groups need capital to continue their project in buying and selling soapstone raw materials. They need Buyers to sell to in order to produce revenue for themselves. They use some of their proceeds to assist others less fortunate then themselves. Money is needed to buy eye protection, hand pits, chiseling tools, sanding supplies, special paints, etc.
Basket Weavers need the same exposure to have their products shown to the world and to buy the proper tools to weave the baskets and make designs. Most of your elderly widows are involved in this.
All of these groups work and need transportation to carry and market their goods and services in the community. A cow cost approx. $3,000, goat $30, chicken $3. A grinding machine for maize is approx. $5,000; they need at least 10 in the different districts. Vans $4-7,000; Bus $20, 000 and more according to number of seats, condition etc. Man dug Well rural area $500, Iron Sheets (tin roofs) $20; Temporal Church (church built from Iron Sheets) $5,000. Bibles adult and children clothing can be bought in the country cheaper than shipping over.
HOW DO YOU I KNOW WHERE THE WILL MONEY WILL GO?
According to IRS even though a lot of these Groups, Churches and Organizations are not NGOs you can still get Tax credit for your donations to them; (New rules effective 2006/2007 New limitations in deducting donations to charity were enacted August 17, 2006 (for tax years beginning after this date). Monetary, cash-money donations of any amount are no longer deductible unless you have written communications from the charity indicating the dollar amount of the donation and the date received). Any monies given by anyone will receive a Letter from the Group, Organization or NGO who received it for your records. You will be informed on how your money was used and you will be welcomed to visit at any time. Servant Of God Ministries will monitor these Churches, Groups and Organizations and their progress. Website for the Groups is www.aaha.faithweb.com; Servant of God Website is: http://www.sogm.faithweb.com/.
VIDEOS FROM THE MISSIONARY TRIP CAN BE VIEWED AT ANY OF THESE WEBSITES:
www.youtube.com/rbrafrica .
Proverbs 19:17- He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Matt: 25: 35-40-For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in, Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Please support our Ministry and help take this gospel into the rural areas of Africa and the rest of the world.
In Christ;
Sis. Rosa Brooks
678-751-0857