Trip to Kenya to Visit Orphanages - St. John, Rochester MI

Faith & Mercy Expedition Set for Oct. 16-26

In a couple of weeks, Pastor Sell will lead a Faith & Mercy Expedition with members of St. John Lutheran Church, Rochester MI. Pastor Karl Galik, Elizabeth Nelson, and Kirk Radford will spend a week in Kenya for the purpose of building a relationship with the Kenyans and to offer the love of our Lord through acts of mercy. St. John wants to help with an orphanage to support the work of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK) with their ministry to AIDS Orphans.

Please keep us all in your prayers as we travel to Kenya. You will also be able to follow our travels online. Pastor Galik will check in regularly and we expect to be able to upload pictures while we are traveling the Kenyan countryside. You can check in here or at St. John's blogspot.


While in Kenya, we will visit the land for the Entito Rescue Center, the Massai Mara, Kibera Slums, several orphanages, and pastors and leaders of the ELCK.

Do You Know Who Waris Dirie Is?

Waris is a supermodel.

She is beautiful, wealthy, and circumcised.

Her name means "Desert Flower" which is also the title of one of her books about Female Genital Mutilation. You can learn about her story from her foundation, the Waris Dirie Foundation which leads her fight against Female Genital Cutting.

"Born into a nomadic Somali family, 39-year-old supermodel Waris Dirie survived the traditional form of female genital mutilation that kills hundreds of women in Africa every year - including her own younger sister and two cousins...
... Dirie remembers the mutilation only as 'that horror.' As a little girl, she was blindfolded and held down by her mother, with only a cloth to bite on to relieve her pain, while her clitoris was cut out with a dirty razor. The same procedure, Dirie says, killed her sister - along with many other girls in Somalia who were cut in the wrong vein and bled to death or died of an infection. But Waris, who survived this tragic procedure, shows a strength, not only of the physical sort, but also a strength of mind, body and soul. Dirie underwent this crime...survived...and she is living AND campaigning to tell about it."

Friends of Mercy is working to raise awareness among Lutherans about the problem of FGM with our fellow Lutherans in Kenya. I met with the Maasai elders and other leaders to develop a program that will build a refuge center called the Entito Rescue Center for girls. This compound will include a grade school, a medical clinic, and other facilities so that the school could board 500 girls and up to 200 girls who want to break the cycle of FGM.

What Would You Do with Scissors?

What a weekend! My daughter played in a state volleyball tourney for Missouri Lutheran grade schools. We had a great time watching the girls play (4th place).

My wife and I enjoy our time with the parents. One of the subjects that came up this weekend was Female Circumcision. What sparked people's interest was an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about a man who performed female circumcision on his daughter.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that this is the first case of FGC and the first case that was brought to a US court. It is a landmark for everybody who is fighting FGM. Khalid Adem, 31, was sentenced to 10 years for mutilating the genitals of his daughter with a pair of scissors.

WELCOME to the Friends of Mercy Blog. Here you will find information and commentary about the work of Friends of Mercy. I expect to post at least once a week. Feel free to comment and look us up for other information at Friends of Mercy our web page.

Friends of Mercy has two international projects and one domestic project.

Our international projects are in Kenya. In partnership with LCMS World Relief and Human Care. Our domestic program is to raise the awareness of Hospice and provide materials and help from a distinctly Lutheran perspective.

• AIDS orphanages in Kenya
• Sanctuary Homes for girls fleeing Female Genital Cutting (Mutilation, Female Circumcision)
• COMING 2007 Lutheran Cancer and Hospice Society