Partnership!  And God!  The only way to reach a vision so big.

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Big Audacious Goals are often spoken to set a vision, and one of your FAME partners had his 100th Birthday Celebration and his team met a critical Big Audacious Goal for a whole county in Kenya.

If you’ve ever volunteered at FAME you have probably seen or ridden the hand-cranked, three-wheeled, sturdily built wheelchairs for leg-handicapped persons, which FAME has sent hundreds around the globe.

Mel West, who started building those colorful carts in 1994 in his garage, believes one day there will be a country where everyone in the country has mobility. A place where no one crawls on the ground or has to be carried from place to place or is unable to leave their house for the lack of a mobility device. God gave Mel a vision that that country is Kenya.

The ministry he and his wife of 79 years founded let us know they would be celebrating Mel’s 100th birthday on May 9, 2024. “While we can not obtain a mobility device for every person in need in Kenya before Mel’s birthday, with help we can give mobility to everyone in need in one county” – Transzoia County.

Transzoia County is located in the Western part of Kenya and borders Uganda to the North West. It has five sub-counties namely, Enbess, Cheraganyi, Saboti, Kiminini, and Kwanza.

According to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census, the population of Tranzoia County is 990,341 people. The first step in ensuring all persons have mobility was to determine the persons who need of an adaptive devise and what devise they needed. An assessment was conducted throughout the County by Community Health Volunteers and the disability heads of the Transzoia County Disability Network Team. They identified 6,103 disabled people in Transzoia County who need a mobility device to have mobility.

The FAME team sent a large number of devices many months ago, but in April received a message that they had only reached “4,230 pieces of adaptive equipment!

Soon after that message, our team received a 25-pallet donation from Franciscan Health Alliance. There were five pallets included in that donation of BRAND NEW, IN THE ORIGINAL BOX cases of crutches! They were loaded, along with additional walkers and wheelchairs, and sent on their way by a monthly volunteer team from Greenwood Christian Church.

On May 7th, the eve of Mel’s 100th birthday, our team received the message that 6,118 pieces of mobility equipment had been received! One county in Kenya of nearly a million people will have the provision of mobility equipment for every person who needs it!

What a vision! Because of you, partnership is providing help and hope to the world’s most vulnerable.

Thank you for partnering with FAME!

Thanks be to God for His repeated miraculous provision to meet the needs of the world!

 

 

 

 

Isn’t it fun to be part of something so amazing that happens over and over again? What’s one of your Big Audacious Goals?

Partnership, and God – nothing is impossible.

Blessings!

Bill Warren
Executive Director

Our staff is asked this often. “Are you able to do anything right now in Haiti?”

And often the follow-up question is, “How can I help?”

The first answer is “Yes!”

You have many FAME partners who are quietly serving in Haiti, even in the midst of turmoil.  I am not going to name any of them for their own safety, but yesterday I learned something new!

Food insecurity is listed as one of the current tragedies in Haiti, and children are at great risk. Through a series of events here in Indiana, FAME has received multiple pallets of Infant Formula! This is not a normal “medical” or “health” solution, but malnutrition leads to some of the most serious health problems in children. The amazing thing is that one of your FAME partners in Haiti has a quiet, trusted way to ship and deliver the medical equipment AND the Infant Formula which is such a critical need! (BTW a pallet of Infant Formula contains 1000 containers of Formula)

The answer to the second question, “How can I help?” is two part.

1. Pray. Pray for Haiti, and pray for YOUR FAME partners in Haiti, there are 16.

Pray for shipments to arrive at their destination, Pray for Haitians to find Jesus through medical evangelism!

2. Partner. Keep Partnering with FAME. It can be volunteering in Indy, going on a Short-Term Trip, collecting and sending medical equipment and supplies to FAME, or financially partnering with FAME.

When you give to the “Yes!” Fund, you don’t need to designate to Haiti, to help Haiti – the daily work at FAME has supported 63 Mission Partners this year- Haiti included. Partnering with us changes the world!

Infant Formula. One more way God provides to meet the needs of the world’s most vulnerable. If you think this story is amazing…wait until you read next week’s!

Dear FAME Prayer Partner,

Thank you for your continued support of the ministry of FAME through prayer. Whether your prayers be for our numerous mission partners around the world, FAME international scholarship students, our numerous and faithful volunteers, participants and team leaders on our medical mission trips, our devoted Board Members, or our passionate staff, your prayers ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

This month we ask for prayers for a short-term mission team going to the Dominican Republic. This team will be serving alongside the mission, G.O. Ministries, providing medical care through medical outreaches.  Medical teams help provide physical and spiritual care to some of the most underserved communities in the Dominican Republic. The FAME Medical team will spend three days helping lead mobile medical clinics alongside “GO’s” local medical staff. This team will intentionally serve in GO Church Planting communities so that it can be an effective outreach tool for local pastors. Mobile clinics consist of four stations: Triage, provider assessment, pharmacy, and prayer. Team members work in all four areas.

Other days will be spent exploring other Focused Areas of Ministry, doing service projects and children’s ministry, and serving alongside “GO’s” Dominican and Haitian local leaders. Please pray for each of the team members going on this trip to serve and those they will be serving and treating in the name of Jesus.

Other items of prayer this month include:
• Wonderful volunteer groups
• Church visits being made by FAME Executive Director, Bill Warren.
• FAME staff members.
• The preparation for the Annual Inventory Audit scheduled for July 1.

Thank you so much for your continued partnership with FAME through prayer.

Click here for the June Prayer Calendar

In a bustling village in El Salvador, Maria faced challenges daily that many of us could hardly imagine. As a caring mother, she worked tirelessly to help her husband provide for their child, doing everything in her power to ensure they had a chance at a better future. Life in El Salvador was a delicate balance, with Maria often walking the tightrope between hope and despair.

One morning, Maria noticed her youngest son, Diego, struggling to breathe. His little chest heaved with every breath, and a deep, painful cough racked his tiny body. Panic set in as Maria realized that Diego’s condition was worsening by the minute. The nearest medical clinic was miles away, and without a car, the journey seemed impossible. But the day before, she had seen people from the church and Americans in scrubs distributing food in her village. They had invited her to a free medical camp the next day and she had asked permission to take one of the food distribution boxes they had used. Maria took the box, gently placed Diego inside, and began her cross-village ride. As she began pedaling towards the medical camp, she whispered reassurances to her son, praying they would make it in time.

Maria rushed up, calling for help. The medical team, recognizing Diego’s condition, quickly took him in. Only a few minutes later, the Physician’s Assistant approached Maria with a reassuring smile. Diego was going to be okay. The respiratory infection had been caught just in time.

Relief washed over Maria as she held her son close, gratitude filling her heart. She knew that without the box from the food distribution center and the medical camp of local providers, FAME staff, and a University P.A. program discovery trip, the outcome could have been very different. Maria’s story is repeated daily around the world, especially those facing overwhelming odds.

This is where FAME comes in. Organizations like ours partner with others (the food distribution supplies were from our dear friends at I.D.E.S.) to bring healthcare and the gospel closer to the millions who would have no resources without these partnerships. The partner there in El Salvador is building an Urgent Care Center out of shipping containers, so that access to the gospel and healthcare are available to thousands in their region.

Many clinics are underway right now, to provide essential resources to families like Maria’s, but we need your help. Your donations can make a world of difference, ensuring that no mother has to make a desperate journey further than necessary. Together, we can provide more than just food and supplies; we can offer more than treatment. We offer the cure.

Please consider donating today. Your generosity can transform lives and give families the support they need to overcome life’s toughest challenges. Thank you for being a part of this vital mission.

Blessings!

Bill Warren
Executive Director

In a small, picturesque village nestled in the heart of Central America, life moved at a pace set by nature and tradition. The village had its share of challenges, particularly when it came to accessing medical equipment. For Mayor Rafael, this struggle became deeply personal when his beloved mother, Doña Maria, began to lose her mobility. (Both of their names have been changed for their privacy, Doña means Mrs.)

Doña Maria was a cherished figure in the village. Known for her wisdom and kindness, she had been the backbone of her family and community. As her mobility declined, Rafael grew increasingly concerned about her quality of life. In this village, even basic medical supplies were difficult to obtain, let alone a specialized item like a wheelchair.

Rafael reached out to various organizations and individuals, hoping to find help. He was met with numerous obstacles, but his determination provided a very old used wheelchair. Doña Maria used that wheelchair for many, many years, even after tragically losing one of her legs.

Until this month.

One of your FAME global partners is establishing an urgent care facility in that village area, so they just received a full shipping container of medical equipment and supplies. One of the opportunities was to provide Doña Maria with this new wheelchair.

But the story didn’t end there. The wheelchair opened the door for the gospel, now she has also clearly heard the good news from these partners. Doña Maria can now share her testimony of how God has provided for others!

On Memorial Day, we all have people who are with us (like the Mayor) and those who have influenced our lives but who are no longer with us, and for whom we are grateful! Memorial Day is a special time to remember those who have gone before us!

Below are some gifts that have been given to FAME in Memory and in Honor of folks recently.

These gifts not only honor each individual’s life and legacy but will also help in making an eternal impact on the lives of people around the world for years to come. People around the world echo Doña Maria’s thoughts below as they are grateful for YOU!

Doña Maria, with a voice filled with emotion, said, “This wheelchair is more than just a means to move; it is a symbol of love and hope. I am forever grateful to everyone who made this possible. You have not just given me mobility, but new life.”

Thank you for your Partnership!

This little girl is such a great example of a simple solution that is NOT ACCESSIBLE to millions of children.

Her mom had been concerned for a number of days that she had not been eating, not been sleeping, crying, and had a high fever. She heard of your FAME partner in El Salvador who has a clinic in development, but was having a small exploratory medical camp with a Christian college team and FAME staff. The attending Physician’s Assistant in the photos was able to not only diagnose the ear infection, but prescribe an antibiotic.

Any parent knows the situation created when a child has an ear infection, and we know that left untreated, permanent changes to the ear and nearby bones are possible. Additionally, hearing loss can even occur if no treatment is available or provided.

Simple solution IF identified and treated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Same as our need for a Savior… a simple solution IF identified, the gospel is shared, heard, and responded to!

That is why FAME says, not just treatment, but the cure!

Thank you for your partnership in church planting and church growth through medical evangelism!

Elizabeth lived in a remote region of Kenya and had lost 2 children at birth because of the lack of care and availability of Maternity services in her region. When she was married in 2020 she never dreamt that she would have such struggles. More about her in a moment…

One of your long-term FAME global partners in that region recently opened a new Maternal Newborn and Child Health Facility. The facility has now been operational for two months.

It has had a profound impact already in this short time. The FAME partner there wrote, “Even I did not realize the extent to which women in the Maasai Mara were suffering in silence; so many babies were dying unrecorded. We have now had 5 ladies through the facility who had experienced multiple pregnancies or newborn loss (as many as 5 babies) due to inadequate support during childbirth and had no living children. All five of these women have now gone home with a healthy baby in their arms – this is thanks to your support!”

Over the first two months, the facility has conducted 88 deliveries, including 24 cesarean sections. And your FAME partnership will be funding a remodel of the facility’s previous location which was inadequate for such wonderful work.

“Elizabeth smiles when telling the story of her being wheeled into the theatre at 9 am on Friday morning so that she could meet her son. She was awake throughout and was talking to the medical team. Within a few minutes, her baby was delivered. She saw the baby boy as soon as he was born with a strong cry. Elizabeth named her son Goodluck Seria as he was born on Good Friday and explained that it was such a good day for her. Six days later she was discharged after a steady stream of happy family members and friends came to share in her joy.”

This long-term partner (Clinics, lab, Equipment) is an example of how meeting the needs of the most vulnerable can open the door and hearts for the gospel. When you partner with FAME you send help and hope, which doesn’t provide just treatment…but the cure.

Thank you for your partnership!

On Saturday night during FAME’s Night of Hope Banquet, the unique opportunity came to be able to interview a partner of FAME who had been trying to visit the USA for 33 years. I’d like to share part of his interview with you.

But let me tell you about him. Simon is part of the team of Asia Christian Services, he grew up in a village called Putao. If that sounds familiar it may be because that is where J. Russell Morse and his family led the Lisu people out of China and into the safety of this mountain region. 20 years ago FAME partnered with the Morse family and built a clinic in Putao which still serves people today. In September of last year, a clinic was opened in Mae Sot, and next a clinic will be constructed in Miao Town, across the border into N.E. India!

Here is an edited version of the story Simon told Saturday night about a woman who came to their clinic in Mae Sot. “This refugee woman was brought to our clinic because she passed out. Our medical team learned that she had high blood pressure and other heart issues. After one week of care, she was doing well physically. But she also had heard the gospel from Moses our evangelist and accepted the message. Upon release from the clinic, she shared the good news with her husband, cousins, and some neighbors…all 7 came to the church and soon all were baptized and became children of God.”

To that, I responded, “That’s Medical Evangelism.” And the crowd at the banquet erupted in applause!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because of you and your generosity over the recent months, story after story like this is told over and over again. 1000 people are treated in the name of Jesus and hear the gospel, for every $500 given to FAME. That still amazes me, even though I see it every day!

Thank you for your partnership in the gospel.

 

 

 

Dear Prayer Partner,

Thank you for your continued partnership with the medical ministry of FAME through prayer. We are blessed to have so many praying for the ministry and the people we serve.

This month we have 2 short-term medical mission teams going to the Philippines and Honduras that we ask you to pray for as they serve.   The first team will be partnering with the staff from Charles Selby Memorial Hospital in Aparri, Philippines. They will be hosting multiple medical outreaches in local villages in and around Aparri.

Medical outreaches open doors for our Filipino hosts to engage in personal relationships with those who come to receive treatment from our team.  Through those relationships, the good news of Jesus can be shared, and ultimately lives will be transformed.

The second team will be serving with the mission His Eyes in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. This team is comprised of college students from Corban University.

Please pray for each of the participants that will be serving on these trips, the mission partners in those countries, and the people they will be serving. Pray that the love of Jesus will be shown to the people who will be receiving medical care in the name of Christ.

Please pray also, for our FAME scholarship recipients that are studying to become medical professionals. These International Christian students are all studying in their home country or one of similar socioeconomic standing and after graduation will serve with a mission partner providing medical care to those in need.

We also would like to ask for prayers for some new sustainable healthcare project grants that were approved at the last FAME Board of Directors meeting in April. Please pray that the necessary funding is raised for these projects and that once built, they will bring people to Jesus through medical evangelism.

Lastly, take time this Memorial Day to remember those who have sacrificed so much for our country.

Blessings in the coming month

Click here for the May Prayer calendar.

This week, a FAME team is in the high-altitude mountains of Mexico, in the shadow of the12,188 ft. peak of San Rafael. These villages are many hours away from any source of healthcare.

A children’s pastor and pastor who have been going door to door in this village inviting people to church and preparing to start a Bible Study in their village joined our team. For many hours, your team treated patients, but also the gospel was shared. The first station upon arrival at a ‘medical camp’ is the “waiting area” and this is where the pastor or children’s pastor shares the gospel very clearly over and over all day long. There were government officials, some farmers, business leaders, and mothers who came for themselves and many well-child checks!

Some impressions from one of the team:

• Joy! The children’s pastor is always laughing, talking to parents and children about Jesus
• Joy! The children were singing in Spanish about Joy in the song that has the line…” happy all the time…”
• Joy! The team caregivers and the partner doctor from the church there served with such joy.

It made me think of the Scripture, “The joy of the Lord is our strength.” But then I realized it could be said another way, “One of the strengths of FAME teams, global partners, and partners like you is joy.” One Strength in the Lord is Joy!

Because of you – JOY is a strength, JOY is contagious, and JOY sends a message of help and hope!

Thank you for partnering with FAME to send JOY which results in help and hope to the world’s most vulnerable!