About a year and half ago, God brought Tom Andersen to Oasis for Orphans.  From the start it was clear to all of us that Tom was an excellent leader, accomplished businessman, and friend of orphans and widows. Tom had recently retired and was looking for an 'epic' place to serve and impact the kingdom. After several conversations to discuss his skills and our organizational needs, we asked Tom to lead Oasis for Orphans as the Managing Director.

Tom and Ruthmari Andersen

Since that time, Tom has put his fingerprints all over this ministry, and God has used him to create alignment across our staff, volunteers and sponsors; to stabilize our day-to-day operations; and to create scale and leverage across the ministry so we can accelerate our mission.

Over the last few months, Tom has been prayerfully considering a few life changes for his family and his work. In particular, he has felt God calling him to serve in a new ministry over the next season of his life. After weighing the options carefully, Tom has made the decision to leave his role with Oasis and move to Madison in order to be close to his family. While we are sad to lose Tom as a member of our leadership team, we are excited that he will be leaving as a strong ambassador for this ministry. On behalf of the entire board, staff and volunteers we want to express our heartfelt appreciation to Tom and Ruthmari for their service to Oasis. 

Over the coming weeks, we will be working on a transition plan for Tom's responsibilities. Consequently, the board will begin a search for a new Managing Director immediately. If you are interested or know of any interested candidates, please reach out to one of the board members or contact the Oasis office (contact below) for more information. Lastly, please pray that God's hand of blessing will continue to be upon this ministry and all those involved. As a board, we are very excited about the ministry opportunities ahead of us and the team of staff, volunteers and sponsors who make up our Oasis family. We are looking forward to seeing how God will provide for our needs.  

Sincerely,

Oasis for Orphans Board
Brad Beitzel
Greg Haecker
Scott Hayward
Chris Herden  

Please Pray

1. Over the next few months the Ruzga and Derse families and the Education, Sponsor and Dental teams are traveling to Kenya to serve at our Oasis sites. Please pray for safety, effectiveness, and spiritual growth for all involved! 

2. Please pray for the leadership search for a Managing Director for Oasis and that, even at this time, God is preparing the heart of the man or woman whom He has chosen for this next leg of the journey.  

3. Please pray that God will give Ann Smith and the leaders of The Valley wisdom and discernment as they go through the selection process for the children who will enter our sponsorship program. 

4. Please pray that God would raise up godly men and women who are willing to invest their hearts, energy and resources into the lives of our Valley children through the gift of sponsorship.

Upcoming Events

Kenyan Market - Join us for a Kenyan Market at Hawthorn Woods Village Hall Barn held at 2 Lagoon Drive on Saturday, July 26 from 9am - 4pm to support the Dental mission trip to Kenya. There will be a bake sale, refreshments, Kenyan jewelry and crafts, rummage sale with items from kitchen to man cave. Specialty vendors who are donating a portion of their proceeds include Cooke Lee jewelry, Tastefully Simple, My Steeped Tea Party, Miche Bags, Jockey Person to Person and more. 

Want to Help? We are taking donations of twin sized sheets and medium-weight twin blankets that are new or like new for Kenya. Please bring them along to the Market to donate!

TEAM Oasis Races - TEAM Oasis has many upcoming races and we need runners and fans to cheer us on. See the complete listing at our Oasis website or click here to go directly to the race page.