A word from Katie

There is nothing like the joy of a child. Their laughter squeals of delight and carefree nature can't help but make you want to join in the fun and forget all of your worries. The children in the village that we are serving in have probably seen more heartache, pain, trials, and corruption then most of us will ever see in a lifetime. Yet, they come running to the van each time we arrive with such trust, hope, and joy. They praise Jesus with everything they have; they don't let go of our hands and for some reason trust that we are telling them the truth. 

When the Segner's begin to sing songs every child face lights up with a joy that is so hard to explain but so genuine. These children are present in the moment they appreciate what they have, they long for our relationships and to learn. The children in the village listen intently to the bible stories that are read every week and are able to summarize stories from weeks past with no review. This week one of my favorite moments was that two guest came to visit us and brought some bubbles. The kids laughter and squeals of delight were endless regardless of age, it was so was so contagious. I wanted to run, jump and dance along with them. The simple joys of childhood are the same across cultures and lines of poverty. Children want to laugh and have fun and they deserve to, no child should live in fear of what the next day holds or that a small bug could make them so ill.

My favorite part of what Healing Faith believes is how important each individual child is, it's not all about numbers. They want a relationship with every single one of them. They want to teach them about the love, joy and hope that they can have in Christ. With these relationships that the Segner's have been building for almost a year we officially began the malaria education program this week!!! 

Over the course of the next few months Healing Faith and those who partner with them will be able to use the relationships they have formed to teach everyone in the village about Malaria and provided them with the protection of a net. Healing Faith’s relationships make them so much more trustworthy and highly increases the likelihood that these nets will be used in a correct way! All of these precious children will now have a safer place to sleep each night and homes that have been prayed over from people that they know and love. Education of how these nets work and how malaria is spread are key components in making sure that nets are used consistently and properly, as well as these nets being hung by people that they know and love. 

This week we spent three days in the village, two of which we spent education families at their homes about malaria, hanging nets and spraying. The first day Kellie and I watched as Kari Segner did the

teaching and we helped spray and handed out packets for the kids at each of their homes to color. This day was a great way to see how everything ran. We met a lot of families and had the privilege of seeing how much they appreciated and understood what we were doing. I loved having the opportunity to pray over every household and this really opened my eyes to where the children we had been loving on had come from. 

The second day Kari stayed home to do some paper work and get ready for the arrival of the McMorris's (we are so excited for you to be here!!!). This meant that Kellie and I would be leading the

entire teaching section at each home. On the way to the village I was a little bit nervous but I found that with the help of God my nerves were calm, Kellie and I taught, and everything seemed to go so well. Having such a vital part in the role of the day was rewarding and terrifying, but hearing the response and questions of each family that we educated was amazing. Some of the situations that we walked into were hard to see and a little more challenging then other but everyone needs Christ love and Grace and the opportunity to pray over these situations is wonderful.