The Work of ASM in the Community

Adventist Social Ministries (ASM) of Meru Central SDA Church has been trying to reach out into the larger community, aside from assisting church members and contacts who are battling with the affects of HIV/AIDS.  A recent venture into the local prison resulted in 50 baptisms of prisoners.  Now the ministry is actively fundraising for a satellite dish to install in the prison so that prisoners can watch 3ABN.

ASM has also recently started a library in a local high school with materials and resources that were donated.  Some of these materials were donated by individuals in the Michigan Conference.

If you would like to partner with us in furthering the work of ASM, please consider one of these sponsorship opportunities:

1.  Pledge per mile (26.2 miles)

     Platinum Sponsor: $3/mile ($78)

     Gold Sponsor: $2/mile ($52)

     Silver Sponsor:  $1/mile ($26)

     Bronze Sponsor: $.50/mile ($13)

2.  Goal Sponsor:  $100 for reaching personal goal

      David:  Under 4.5 hours

      Tennille:  Under 6.5 hours

3.  Record Sponsor: $250 for reaching personal record

      David:  Under 4 hours  

4.  General – Just for finishing

5.  Other – Make your own

All donations are tax-deductible.

Checks may be made payable to:

CAMPUS

Memo:  Meru Project

Please mail donations to:

13153 Hitching Post Rd

DeWitt, MI 48820

Then keep checking back to see the progress on our marathon, as well as what your donation is doing through ASM.

Lansing Half Marathon

David and I, along with other members of Team Revolution, just finished the Lansing Half-Marathon today!  This coincided with our marathon training program.  David met his goal of sub-2 hours, coming in at 1:46. 

I met my goal of staying at/above a 14:00 min/mile pace (which is the pace "they" say I need to have for a half marathon if I want to finish a whole in 6:29), and sub-3 hours, coming in at 2:53, with an average 13:16 min/mile pace! On top of that, I was so excited because I actually ran the last 3.1 miles!  It was thrilling to be able to do that for the first time, after having walked 10 miles. 

Another source said we could expect a marathon to take us twice as long as a half, plus 30 minutes.  So hopefully, we are right on track.  

Chicago, here we come!  

Thank you for your pledges!

The pledges are rolling in and I'm overwhelmed with excitement.  Thanks everyone!  I might have to see about raising our pledge goal! =)

Who Does ASM Help?

JANE KARIMI is a 45-year-old widow and HIV+.  She has one child and two orphans under her care. Bon Mambo Mugambi is 10-years-old and in 7th grade, Vivian Kajuju is 9-years old and in 2nd grade, Eva Makena is 6-years old and in nursery school.  Jane works at casual jobs for survival. These jobs are not stable nor long-term.  Food is scarce in their household and they depend predominantly on well-wishers.  Her children are not able to receive constant, quality education as there are many fees she must pay in order for them to continue attending, as well as provide them with school uniforms and books.  Jane is also suffering from many complications associated with HIV/AIDS. Highest priority is to stabilize their income to provide steady education for children.

GLORY NKIROTE was born in 1998.  Her Mother died in 2000 and her father died in 2006. Glory lives with her grandmother who is a peasant farmer. She is 10-years-old and in fifth grade. Glory's academic ability is above average, yet she is in poor health and lacks very essential necessities for general sustenance.  She needs medical attention, lacks good nutritional food, and lacks parental love. She lives with her grandmother who attempts to pay for Glory's school fees with garden vegetables because of a lack of cash.  The school administration has allowed this due to Glory's age, but this will not be sustainable.  Highest priority it to obtain a donor to sponsor Glory through school.

LOYCE MUTHONI is 38-years-old and single. She grew up in a family of eight children to a single, poor mother. Loyce is from a very dry, poverty-stricken region of Kenya where nothing can be grown without proper irrigation. She has chronic chest problem's which has contributed negatively towards her physical development. Her illness has never been diagnosed due to lack of funds. She has been doing casual jobs for many years to raise money for her medication. Loyce needs proper medication in order to get permanent relief, any income-generating activity to sustain her, and better housing.  

Why Meru?

Ever since David and I first talked about doing races together, including triathlons, it was a dream of ours, with some of our friends, to do so while raising money for missions. A friend of ours, Israel, had the idea of starting a race team, called Revolution, that would do just that.  Here is one of our recent projects:

In 2007 I spent four months in Meru, Kenya and became very involved in the local church.  While I was there, a church ministry named Adventist Social Ministries (ASM) was started, designed under a similar model of what is known as Adventist Community Services (ACS) in North America and Bermuda. ASM is a ministry 1) designed to meet the needs of local church members suffering from the affects of the AIDS epidemic, and 2) has a vision to expand to reaching the needs of the local community.  Beneficiaries consist primarily of widows whose husband's have died from AIDS, and their children.  Through donations, ASM has helped widows start and expand small businesses, providing training, and enabling them to provide for their children both physically and educationally.  As beneficiaries receive assistance and in time generate income, they are giving back what was originally given them, providing an opportunity for ASM to expand their services to even more families in need.  Most recently, also, ASM has reached into the community by starting a library in a local secondary school from materials that were donated.  


This has been a passion of mine since 2007 and witnessing the lives changed through the work of ASM is profoundly rewarding.  Although ASM continues to make an impact on many lives, there are still many more on waiting lists.  Won't you partner with us to help women like Mary Berthe, Catherine Coullabaly, and Ceclia Makena, widows who have been left to beg from well-wishers and whose children are suffering with no hope of a future without an education?  These are our sisters, sons and daughters.


You can partner with us in this mission project, and give us even more motivation towards finishing our first marathon, by considering one of these sponsorship opportunities:

1.  Record Sponsor: $250 for reaching personal record
      David:  Under 4 hours  

2.  Goal Sponsor:  $100 for reaching personal goal
      David:  Under 4.5 hours
      Tennille:  Under 6.5 hours

3.  Pledge per mile (26.2 miles)
     Platinum Sponsor: $3/mile ($78)
     Gold Sponsor: $2/mile ($52)
     Silver Sponsor:  $1/mile ($26)
     Bronze Sponsor: $.50/mile ($13)

4.  General – Just for finishing

5.  Other – Make your own

All donations are tax-deductible.  Please post a comment below with your pledge, then follow this blog to hear about the remainder of our training (Chicago is just 2 1/2 weeks away!), how we did at the race, and continue following to see the lives you've impacted through your donation.

Checks may be made payable to:
CAMPUS
Memo:  Meru Project

Please mail donations to:
13153 Hitching Post Rd
DeWitt, MI 48820

Why a Marathon?

My husband, David, and I are set to complete our first marathon on October 10, 2010 in Chicago. This has been a life goal of David's as his father has run multiple marathons.

As for me? Well, to be completely honest, marathons have never been my thing ... but I guess it's growing on me. =)

It all started when I was talked into the Heart Throb 5k in February of 2009. Then it was the Capital City River Half Marathon in September later that same year. More 5k races followed. Then, my unofficial race partner, Lynda, mentioned she wanted to do the full Chicago Marathon. The rest is history and here I am. =)

For the record, David is running the marathon and is undergoing the grueling 18-week training program.  I'm walking it and hoping for the best!  (Yes, I'm training too....)