LifeNets Livelihood Development Grant for Beauty Salon
in Lilongwe, Malawi

 Posted September 5, 2009 ShareThis

• LifeNets Home

• LifeNets Malawi

Last year LifeNets awarded Loveness Luwanja a grant for beauty equipment, supplies as well finances to build a small shop in a busy commercial section of Lilongwe.  The shop has since been built. She is married to James who is a plumber. They have a small son Harrison. Victor and Beverly Kubik were able to visit with them in October 2008 when the shop was first being built.  It now has a steady stream of customers. Loveness is very good at what she does and people like coming to get their hair done at Lovely Looks Hair Dressing Salon. It was named by Christina Davis when she did her internship with Seattle University in connection with LifeNets earlier in 2009. 

It's not been easy even with the finished building.  Electricity has not yet been brought through and they rely on a generator for electric power.  There has been connected to water either and have to bring it in.  Read their letter below the photos.

Loveness and some of her new equipment Customer! Last October 2008 when the shop was going up

Shop nearing completion Loveness, James and little Harrison

Letter from Mr. and Mrs.  James and  Loveness Luwanja 

We are very appreciative for the project that LifeNets funded for our family. Now the Salon side for Loveness has started operating and the community has already starting benefiting. We have employed one lady who has two fatherless children both of them girls.

We are not yet connected with water.  We are being supplied with water which we buy at a nearby kiosk.

The community is thanking us for building a smart and well designed shop which is offering good services of Loveness’s hair styling skills at an affordable price. While we have no electricity, people have nothing to worry because we use a generator which provide power all day and we are also thankful for that.  

Because of the site where the building has been located we have decided to hold on to opening the plumbing shop but decided to open another shop which can attract customers for Loveness and help to open up the place that more customers can be coming for different items for ladies. Another woman who is a widow will be coming in to help. She is also going to paint the shop. Proceeds from this adjoining shop will go towards paying for more equipment and furniture for Loveness' side   

This has been the first high class salon in the area ever since and we are ready to work hard as an appreciation to LifeNets who has spent a lot of funds freely for the benefit of our family, extended families and the surrounding community. The salon has been named by Christina Davis who came to Malawi to do research on LifeNets projects.  She called it Lovely Looks Hair Dressing Salon. 

We thank God for answering our prayer through LifeNets and ask the same God to bless all those who are working for LifeNets voluntarily to help the needy.  May the Good Lord add more days for your life and give you all good health so that the needy prayers are answered the whole world. We are ready to support LifeNets wherever we can can and when we  are needed. 

-- James and Loveness Luwanja

LifeNets Livelihood Development in Malawi

Posted September 4, 2009 

• LifeNets Home

• LifeNets Malawi

We would like to feature this story and pictorial by Wordsworth Rashid, now the proprietor of a mini shop in a densely populated neighborhood of Lilongwe, Malawi.  The store has been an instant success. It's not just because of the startup funding provided by LifeNets. It's also because of the discipline, accountability, record-keeping and hard work put in by Wordsworth and his family.  We are happy to share this report with you as it represents successful outcomes of LifeNets mission. 

 A REPORT ABOUT THE GROCERY STORE BUSINESS   by Wordsworth Rashid

LIPASI Mini Shop is in Area 25 to the north of Lilongwe the capital city of Malawi this is one of the most populated areas in Lilongwe District since it’s close to Kanengo Industrial site.

The shop is just close to LifeNets office where I stay. This is one of the best places for business since it holds people of different classes; high, middle and even low. LIPASI which stands for Linda, Paul and Simeon (my children) as a Min shop was started on December 30 with a small capital of MK22,409.00 from my living expenses. On January 13, 2009, LifeNets boosted the shop by assisting me with a grant of MK40,000.00 to make the capital come to MK62,409.00. LifeNets has also assisted me with a deep freezer and I am able to keep cold drinks, milk margarine and many more.

MORE 

I’d like to mention this month’s issue of UCG’s Virtual Christian Magazine.  You can link to the magazine and to the individual articles below

September Issue of Virtual Christian Magazine  

• Spank the Book—Heal the Heart by John Fox
• Your Responsibility in Healing by Ed Dowd
• Confronting Loneliness by Becky Sweat
• 10 Questions to Ask About Evolution,
  Part 3 by Dr. Allen Stout 
• Overcoming Apathy by Jeremy Lallier
• Letters to the Editor 

I’d like commend Managing Editor Lorelei Nettles from Phoenix and Webmaster Chris Rowland from our congregation in Lafayette along with a team of volunteer writers, editors and proofreaders produce ten issues a year of this electronic-only publication.  The cost to the Church is negligible. 

This publication was started 12 years ago with the vision of becoming a “Guideposts”-like publication with practical, short articles focused on Christian living. 

If you have not done son, please check the magazine out and refer it to others.  The main Web address to is

www.vcmagazine.org

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude on behalf of those living in Chember, Gokwe, Zimbabwe for the money that I received from LifeNets through South Africa LifeNets Director Mr. Andre van Belkum to buy goats so as to help the 11 people to start a goat keeping project. We were able to purchase six goats, one he-goat and five she-goats. 

Four of the goats will be having kids sometime in November 2009.  We are planning to visit Gokwe again and take pictures of the goats and members and send them to you. 

Once again, thank you and may God bless you for the wonderful work you are doing .

Yours faithfully, 

Stephen Tshabalala.

(We hope to add more information and photos to this report soon)

Today I was interviewed by a reporter for the Tartu Postimees, the main newspaper of the second largest city in Estonia. They had found me through my Travel Blogs (http://www.ucg.org/resources/blog.htm).  The woman reporter Helena Nõmmik told me that they were interested in several things that we did in Estonia: visiting prisoners, repeated visits to their country, the Feast of Tabernacles and more.  She first called yesterday asked for a one hour interview which she did today. 

Helena was very articulate and spoke excellent English. We used Skype for the interview. I had given them a number of other links to read before the interview which included our keeping the Feasts of Tabernacles, the Church Office maintained by Johnnie Lambert, outreach projects through LifeNets and more. 

The interview was very thorough, positive and respectful. I was amazed as to how much they had researched the Church. Helena had lots of questions about our visiting Valdur Vesingi at the prison  (www.kubik.org/prison/vesingi.htm).  They were impressed by the fact that he translated articles and booklets for the United Church of God and how this was good for both us and him. 

They asked about the Feast of Tabernacles and about the big crowd of nearly 100 coming this fall. She asked about the biblical authority for the Feast and what it was all about.  She wanted to know the difference between our faith and the Lutheran Church which is the largest denomination in Estonia. In particular she was quite specific about what we actually believed about Christ’s second coming and how it differed from the Lutherans. 

She asked me what kept me coming back to this country.  I told her it was my being able to communicate with most of the population in Russian and my desire to do the Mission of our Church.  She then asked me about my background in Ukrainian and Russian.  She herself is fluent in that language and talked some about the issues they have between the Russians and Estonians.

She asked about our church office in Tartu and what we did. I told her that we used it to mail literature including magazines, booklets and a Bible Study Course to Estonia and the former USSR republics. 

They had done enough research to know of UCG’s roots in the Worldwide Church of God.  She wanted to know how and why the UCG came to be.  She asked about our main beliefs which I explained a number of the Fundamental Beliefs. 

She then asked about the outreach work that LifeNets did in Estonia from our Web site at www.lifenets.org/ok.  Over the years we have helped the School for the Blind in Tartu, but in recent years have sponsored the OK movement which is a national program for underage alcohol abuse and for FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome).  She wanted to know where we got our money and how we related to the United Church of God.  We told her about our interacting with Lauri Beekman, a Seventh Day Adventist who runs these programs. He has helped us with translation.  He has a national daily afternoon radio program from Tallinn that’s info and call-in.

We talked about connection with the Rotary Clubs in Tartu and our acquaintance with the former Tartu mayor Andrus Ansip and now Prime Minister.  I told her that this was through our Rotary connection.

I invited her to come to our Feast Services in Tartu in October.  She said she might come.  In any event, she did want to meet our people in person. 

All this started by a search for TARTU in the TravelPod Travel Blog that led to other links—one leading to another. Some of posted information was 13 years old, but still of great interest to show our Church’s history and commitment in this area.  I’ll be very interested in how the story will look in the Tartu newspaper.  

by Janet Treadway

 Posted August 14, 2009  ShareThis 

Read Council reports from August meetings

After a busy day of meetings, Monday, August 10, the Council of Elders, along with their wives, headed off to Doris and Floyd Phelps home to host a picnic for the staff. 

When I arrived for the evening’s activity, all I could hear was lots of chattering and laughing.. Mrs. Monica Kiefer, wife of Councilman Mr. Paul Kiefer, knew exactly how to get a hungry crowds attention from all the chatter. Monica lifted high in the air, two large spoons and banged them together. It brought immediate dead silence.  Chairman Mr. Roy Holladay, decided to take full advantage of the opportunity of silence. He asked everyone to gather around while he asked God to bless the food and the evening’s activities. 

Norma Holladay with Emma Kennebeck

Chef Darris McNeely

 

Then it was time to chow down on some awesome burgers and hot dogs, grilled by Glenn Creech and Mr. Darris McNeely. There was plenty of wonderful fixing to choose from, and let’s not overlook the desserts! Because we didn’t! The Council and staff sat around and fellowshipped, and ate, and not necessarily in that order. 

Even the rain did not dampen peoples’ spirits, as it helped to cool down the 90 degree temperatures especially for those who hate the heat. We were all protected under a very nice, covered shed from the rain. Dorothy Shoemaker, in Mail Processing, pointed out “she loved the rain hitting on the tin roof.” 

Rainbow

President Clyde Kilough looks at Rainbow

There were many positive feedbacks from the activity. Chris Stewart of the IT department, said, “It was nice to be offsite, unplugged, in a very relaxing environment, with fellow co-workers and council members. It really helped with solidifying relationships.” Emma Kennebeck, in the data processing department, said, “While enjoying a perfect evening of food and fellowship, a beautiful, double, rainbow appeared across the sky, which really added to what was already a perfect evening.”  

Thanks go to all the council members, and their wives, for hosting this wonderful activity for the staff. Thanks also go to Doris and Floyd Phelps for opening up their home. And especially thanks to God, for He did honor Mr. Holladay’s request, and blessed the entire evening. God also added on His final, finishing, touches, to a wonderful evening, by displaying a spectacular, beautiful, double rainbow. I hope we have many more of these special occasions. 

Dr. Barbara Walls and Beverly Kubik

  ShareThis

Once again, a beautiful Charity Tea was held in Piscataway, New Jersey on an ideally beautiful day. The chief organizer was Dr. Barbara Walls again put forth a phenomenal effort to raise attention and money for disadvantaged children in Balaka, Malawi where LifeNets operates the LifeNets Orphan Care Centre. See a description of last year's Charity Tea for information about what makes Dr. Barbara Walls go through so much to help these children.

More than $4000 was raised for this coming year's efforts.  Two thousand dollars, however, was given to provide goats for the community.  Goats are very important for milk and meat. Orphan children under age five come to the Balaka Chizeni Clinic from two communities within walking distance where children are given a medical assessment, food and instruction for their guardians and caregivers. LifeNets has operated this Centre now for six years at a cost of about $5000 a year.  This essentially provides for the food and medicine.

We want to share the spirit of the Tea with photos, the program and a video clip.  Beverly and I thank Barbara Walls and all her supporters to make this a memorable event. Christian Davis, who was LifeNets representative in Malawi from January to March 2009 visited Balaka clinic and obtained some personal stories.  Here story is also in the May UCG United News.

MUCH MORE!

Mobility After Four Years in Malawi...

July 24, 2009  ShareThis

• LifeNets Home
• Wheelchairs
• Malawi

Four years ago disabled Merekina Filipo was pushing her hand-operated wheelchair in Salima, Malawi.  A moving vehicle pushed her and the driver ran away leaving her in painful wounds. This woman has two children and two granddaughters.  

Her wheel chair was broken, but no one even the government helped her. Her wheel chair was a nice one because she could cycle it using her hands. She approached Wordsworth Rashid, one of our LifeNets representatives in Malawi, if we assist her with the repair of her wheel chair. This was in February 2009. 

We were glad to help and provided the funding to repair the chair that she had been without for FOUR years. The repairs are done and Merekina Filipo is able to be mobile again.  We are so happy to help this lady completely change her life!

Miss Melekina Filipi is proud of the wheel chair that LifeNets has helped to bring it back to functional use. She said her appreciations is to God the Merciful Eternal One. Orientation and mobility will now be easy for her. She is able to go to many places within a single day. She thanks LifeNets so much.

What did this cost?  Only $129!!  This included enlarging the door to her house so she could bring in in inside. What a difference it's made!!  We want to thank all our LifeNets supporters to who bring happiness through the simplest means.  

Here's what the chair was reduced to four years before LifeNets repaired it   Final tweaking

Look at her GO! Here's how Merekina got by for four years before the chair was repaired.

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UPDATED June 16, 2009 5:00 PM

An eyewitness account relates: "I had a chance to visit with Lauren today and the Grahams. She is really looking good - good color and healing well. So relieved to see this. Just anxious to see the foot taken care of and the breathing tube removed."

Cards can be sent to the hospital address at:

           BroMenn Regional Medical Center
           1304 Franklin Ave.
           Normal, IL  61761

From the Graham's:

When we got here this morning, the doctor had already removed the ventricular catheter from Lauren's head (this catheter gave a pressure release valve and was pressure sensitive to the cranial cavity).  This is great news, because the neuro surgeon had emphasized to me that he would not remove this until he was certain that nothing dangerous or harmful was going to occur in her head.  In other words no more worries about further damage from pressure or bleeding!
They also had her on a much lower dose of sedative, and she was extremely active, moving and shifting around in her sleep, trying to yawn, trying to turn over.  The activity is a very good sign.  However, they've had to give her a little more sedative, because at this level she will occasionally try to pull off some of her tubes, and try to pull the breathing tube out.  She doesn't like all that stuff on her.
Following tomorrow mornings CT-scan they hope to release her to the orthopedic surgeon to do the foot surgery.  At that point they can begin weening her off of the respirator and sedation.  This is when we will find out how much of our "original" Lauren we will be getting back.  We have been warned of possible memory loss and personality shifts.  We have faith that God will answer everyone's prayers and bring back Lauren as we know her.

One final thank you again for your love and prayers.

Warm Regards,
Ken and Susan

more

Fifty Years Together -  June 13, 1959

On Saturday night June 6, Tom and Sue Peine's four children organized a surprise 50th Anniversary Reception for family and friends.  The location: Meridian Hills Country Club in Indianapolis, Indiana, the exact place where their wedding reception was held 50 years ago.  Many family and friends came together to celebrate this special event toether. 

Tom and Sue Peine have impacted the lives of so many with their service and love. While Tom has filled many important roles in his life, the ones that we have intereacted with him on are his being an elder of the United Church of God and also Chairman of the Board of LifeNets.  

We'd like to share some photos of a surprise reception that was organized by their four children.....

The Peine's with their four children

Family and friends await the Peine's arrival outside Meridian Hills Country Club

A panorama of the reception inside