I want to thank you for your prayers and your support! It has been a busy season in ministry and in the life of our family: since the beginning of this year, we expanded both the infrastructure and staff at Mother Esther School; we hosted the Kenya Mission Conference for partners in ministry; we continued emergency food relief in areas where drought has taken a toll, and we trained 65 lay-pastors to return to their communities and share the love of God. With all that is going on, we also welcomed our son, Jeffrey Kariuki, to the family in February.

Prayer Request for Kenyan Elections

We just received this prayer request from Lauren Scharstein, Deputy Director of Mission for the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) in Kenya:

Dear friends of PCEA,

Receive Christian greetings. We ask that you join with us in prayers for peace and security, as Kenyans go to the polls to elect a new president on Tuesday, August 9, 2022.

Africa, Global Workers, Missionaries, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationAugust 7, 2022Kenya, PCEA, Lauren Scharstein

Girls' Education and Rescue Centers – Mother Esther School – July 2022 Update

It has been a heartbreaking season in the life of the world, but we worship the God who has journeyed through the depth of pain and heartbreak for us. Each year at Easter, we celebrate the promise that through Jesus Christ, God brings hope out of despair, abundance out of scarcity, and new life out of death. At Mother Esther School, we have certainly witnessed new life emerge from situations of despair, and we have experienced joy — fierce and defiant — in the face of hopelessness.

Lauren Scharstein - Hunger Relief Update - December 2021

Through generous gifts from many donors, hundreds of families in Kenya recently received food and supplies. Lauren Scharstein, global worker and Deputy Director of Mission for the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, sent this note:

Hi!

We have received the wire transfer for hunger relief. Thank you! With the funds that you sent, we were able to deliver:

Africa, Global Workers, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationDecember 13, 2021Lauren Scharstein, PCEA, Kenya

Clean Drinking Water in Kenya - September 2021 Update

In 1994, Mzee Toronke came to know Jesus Christ through the teaching of two local pastors, Rev. Nakeel and Rev. Maina. Since that day, Mzee Toronke has slept with a Bible as his pillow; he literally rests on the promises of God.

Mzee Toronke was born in a remote area of Kajiado, Kenya in 1925. He spent his early years tending to livestock, walking hundreds of kilometers looking for water and fresh pasture. As he grew older, Mzee Toronke married and started a family. Eventually, he had six wives and twenty-one children.

Partnership, Projects, AfricaElizabeth CarterSeptember 29, 2021Clean Drinking Water in Kenya, Lauren Scharstein, PCEA

Lauren Scharstein- March 2021 Update

The Rev. Lauren Scharstein is Deputy Director for Mission with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA). Lauren began this call in Kenya in 2017 when the PCEA leadership invited her to serve as a lecturer in theology and biblical studies at the Presbyterian University of East Africa. During the same period, she was invited to come alongside the PCEA Mission Department in ministries of compassion, empowerment, and evangelism.

In early 2019, the PCEA leadership asked Lauren to accept a new position as the Deputy Director of Mission for the denomination, and she officially began this role in June 2019. The PCEA Mission Department has responsibility for PCEA mission schools and rescue centers, sustainable water projects, evangelism, church-planting, and global partnerships. Lauren has been particularly involved in ministry with vulnerable women and girls, providing training, administrative leadership, and program development for schools and rescue centers. She recently shared this update:

Naretoi Women’s Co-op Update
“Naretoi” means “a place of help” in the Maasai language, and the Naretoi Women’s Co-op is a group of Maasai women who came together to help and support one another. These women live in a semi-arid area of Kenya where the main economic activity is livestock herding.

Lauren Scharstein- October 2020 Update

The Rev. Lauren Scharstein is Deputy Director for Mission with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. The PCEA Mission Department has responsibility for PCEA mission schools and rescue centers, sustainable water projects, evangelism, church-planting, and global partnerships. Lauren recently shared this update on her work with Mother Esther School:

Laughter, Cookies, and Hair-braiding
It has been seven months since many of our students were sent home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Communities across East Africa are reporting higher rates of child marriage and teenage pregnancy. Girls who were sent home from school are less likely to return than boys the same age.

Partner Updates