$15,000 FoM Grant to Fund a Palliative Care Seminar for Kenya's Lutheran Deaconesses with Arthur Just (Lutheran Gifts Making a Difference!)

Friends of Mercy Announces a New Partnership with Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne

Last January (08), Pastor Sell made a presentation at St. Paul's in Fort Wayne. Dr. Just heard the presentation and asked Friends of Mercy if we could possibly provide a grant to have him and Parish Nurse, Pamela Boehle-Silva train Kenyan deaconess to serve those who are in need of palliative care (comfort for those in pain). Pamela serves at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Rocklin, CA. Thankfully, we are in a position to make this happen. (Below, Dr. Just with ELCK deaconesses at 2006 seminar.)


Dr. Just and Parish Nurse to Train Kenyan Deaconesses

In June (08) Dr. Just and Parish Nurse Pamela will travel to Kenya to conduct a seminar at the Ogongo Deaconess College. Dr. Just said, "This seminar will engage them in the theological foundations for such care, along with the medical aspects of caring for those who are sick and dying, especially those who are suffering from HIV/AIDS."

The focus is the spiritual, emotional, physical, and end of life care. Friends of Mercy will fund the travel for all the Kenyan deaconesses to go to Ogongo, where ELCK's deaconess school is located. (Picture above right is the ELCK deaconess logo.) This would also be a time of fellowship for them, and an opportunity for them to engage our team in conversation about what it means to be a deaconess.
The highlight, as it is for all of our trips to Kenya, is to make home visits and attend gatherings of widows, orphans, and others who suffer from HIV/AIDS.