Projekta Apraksts
To: The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
My name is Pastor Marie (Aggie) DeJesus, founder of Gentle Ministries International, a ministry to victims/survivors of sexual abuse.
Credentials:
* PASTOR MARIE (AGGIE) DEJESUS: I was trained as an Incest Support Group Leader as well as an Incest Information Forum Facilitator by Laurianne Chutis, MSW, LCS. Ms. Chutis was the Education Coordinator at Ravenswood Hospital in Chicago, IL, until it closed.
I facilitated Incest Support Groups for 2 years, supervised by Ms. Chutis. We moved to Apple Valley, Minnesota in 1990, where I began Incest Support Groups at St John's Lutheran Church and continued for four years. Ms. Chutis continued to supervise for a time.
I was ordained April 23, 1995, in The Missionary Church International. A 501(C)(3) Christian organization that ordains men and women with a calling to not only churches but a para-church ministry, such as Gentle Ministries International.
I received my Masters of Theology Degree from Carolina University of Theology.
I have widely researched incest and other forms of childhood sexual abuse, as well as attended lectures in person and online, to keep up to date on the topic.
I want to be clear. I am not a therapist. I am a Pastoral Biblical Minister. I do not teach how to counsel. I teach how to minister to Adult Victim/Survivors of Incest and other forms of Childhood Sexual Abuse, from a Christian perspective.
* BISHOP FRANCIS THUKU and PASTOR EMMA WAIRIMU:
Bishop Francis Thuku and Pastor Emma Wairimu were ordained by Bishop of Good News, in 2014. The Voice of Redemption Worship center is a ministry of the Inter-Christian Evangelistic Missionary Association. Bishop Thuku and Pastor Wairimu are both under my charge, as the Co-Heads of GMI, Africa. Pastor Wairimu is my interpreter for classes and sermons.
My home church in Kenya is Voice of Redemption Worship Center, in Kimilili, Kenya. Bishop Francis Thuku is the head pastor. He travels all over Eastern Africa, preaching and talking about the work of Gentle Ministries International.
* LAURA LAZDA, MSW: Laura Lazda, MSW, has worked with the State of IL, for 25 years. Laura performs home visits and reports on the wellbeing of children for the IL Department of Children & Family Services. Ms. Lazda will be ministering in Kenya for 2 weeks.
Ms. Lazda is active in the Zion Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chicago, where she takes part in a string musical ensemble.
Gentle Ministries International is happy to have such a talented person volunteer for two weeks, to minister the love of the Lord with us in Kenya.
Ministry in Africa:
* GENTLE MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MINISTRY: The ministry in Africa began in 2015, when Bishop Francis Thuku asked me to teach the pastors under him how to minister to those who have been sexually abused. (As big a problem as that is in America, it is a larger problem in Africa.) I began to teach Bishop Thuku's class over the phone. As pastors heard about the class, the demand grew, and the Gentle Ministries International School of Ministry was formed. We are registered through The Inter-Christian Evangelistic Missionary Association, which is a registered Body in Kenya.
I have developed 3 courses for the Gentle Ministries International School of Ministry, and am working on the forth. Each course goes to a deeper level of understanding than the one before. All courses have a final. Students must make a score of 96% out of 100 hard questions, to pass each course. In 2017, the school graduated 35 students, from 3 villages in Kenya, from the Introductory Course: Understanding Sexual Abuse Course. In 2018 Understanding Sexual Abuse Courses were begun in Kenya and Uganda. An Equipped to Teach Course was also introduced. 7 students took and passed that course, and were commissioned to teach the Introductory Course. An estimated total of 50 students from Kenya and Uganda are expected to graduate from the Understanding Sexual Abuse Course in 2021.
There are very few therapists in Kenya. While one of our graduates was chatting with a principal, the subject of sexual abuse of the children came up. Our graduate spoke so authoritatively about the subject that the principal hired her to be the school counselor. Though our graduate told her she was not a counselor, the principal hired her anyway to help the children.
* THE GENTLE RESCUE CENTER: In 2017, Gentle Ministries International established the Gentle Rescue Center. There are 4 beds, primarily for women who have been abused, to stay and receive ministry. Occasionally, men come for ministry as well, and stay in a different part of the center.
Tailoring and computer classes are taught in the center, at no charge to students. The center currently has 2 old used electric sewing machines. They quit working when the electricity goes out, which happens quite often. Several women have learned to sew on those two old machines, and have gotten together to form, The Gentle Rescue Center Ladies Co-op. The co-op purchases fabric, thread and patterns. Co-op members take turns on the two sewing machines to create their products. They sell them at a market, then split the proceeds.
Computer class is also taught on old computers. These classes provide a career, hope, and confidence for a better life.
When people leave the Gentle Rescue Center, they will have received spiritual healing, experienced the love of God, and gained a way to support themselves and their families. The Gentle Rescue Center is as important as the classes taught on ministering to sexual abuse victim/survivors. It has become one of the hubs of Kimilili. People drop in to take a class, experience the love of Jesus, receive ministry, or just to visit.
* ORPHANAGE: We support Joy Hope Orphanage in Bungoma, Kenya. They have approximately 60 children. In 2018, Bishop Thuku, Pastor Emma and I taught, the Understanding Sexual Abuse Course, to Pastor Rosemary Nderi, Head of Joy Hope Orphanage, and the staff. Many of the children in the orphanage have been sexually abused. Pastor Nderi reported that, as a result of this class, the staff has been able to minister to affected children, because they now recognized the signs of sexual abuse.
In 2021, Gentle Ministries donated money to help build floors in the Joy Hope dorms and school buildings.
Time spent in Africa:
In my first two visits to Africa (2017 & 2018), I spent a total of 5 1/2 months teaching, preaching and ministering the love of Jesus. When I leave after this trip, I will have been in Africa a little over 8 1/2 months, collectively.
Plans for Summer 2021:
My upcoming visit to Africa, from the end of May through August 31st, will be my 3rd visit. While there, I will teach, preach and minister in villages in Kenya and Uganda. In Kenya, Bishop Thuku, Pastor Emma and I will facilitate a Marriage Seminar, a Pastor's Preaching Seminar, and an Adult Victim/Survivor of Childhood Sexual Abuse Information Meeting.
Request:
Gentle Ministries International is requesting funds for four (4) Singer Treadle Sewing Machines. The Gentle Rescue Center Ladies Co-op, in Kimilili, Kenya, is growing very quickly and more sewing machines are needed. The cost of each Singer Treadle Sewing Machine is 18,500 ksh, which is $200 USD. With new treadle sewing machines, when the electricity goes out, the ladies can light candles and continue sewing. Bishop Francis Thuku, as Co-Head of Gentle Ministries International, will be responsible for transparency in purchasing the treadle sewing machines. Pastor Emma Wairimu, Co-Head of Gentle Ministries International, Africa, and Head of the Gentle Rescue Center Ladies Co-op, will oversee the treadle sewing machines' proper use.
Contact Information:
If more information is needed, please contact, Pastor Aggie DeJesus at 1 (936) 355-0126, or Bishop Francis Thuku at +(254) 729-718-236.
We are honored that you are considering helping Gentle Ministries International with much-needed treadle sewing machines for the Gentle Rescue Center, in Kimilili, Kenya.
Sincerely,
Pastor Aggie DeJesusFounder, Gentle Ministries International
pastoraggie@getleministries.org