Dear Oasis Family,

JoAnn Hungness, Delilah Fritzler and Robin Thieme

Runners Needed!

By Dr. T Scott Derse M.D., Oasis Medical Adviser

As most of us are aware, since early this year there has been a growing epidemic of the Ebola virus in western Africa. You may have also heard that Kenya has been designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a high-risk country given its status as a transport hub in East Africa. However, it is important to note that the outbreak has only affected the countries of Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone at this time, all of which are on the northwest side of Africa and are more than 3000 miles away from our children's home sites. In addition our in-country missionary staff closely monitors any and all health (and other) threats and receives updates from the State Department in Kenya frequently. 

The Ebola virus is a rare, but serious disease. This illness is spread by direct contact with a sick person's blood or body fluids. It is NOT spread through the respiratory tract like influenza, tuberculosis or other similar illnesses. The world's health organizations are working to try to contain this outbreak but there are numerous challenges being faced.

The World Health Organization recently called a press conference to address questions associated with air travel to Africa. Dr. Isabelle Nuttall has stated, "Air travel, even from Ebola-affected countries, is low-risk for Ebola transmission. Even if an individual infected with Ebola travels by plane, the likelihood of other passengers and crew coming into contact with the individual's body fluids is very low." In addition, Kenya Airlines is no longer flying to Ebola-infected countries. At present, travel within Kenya is considered medically safe and low risk. 

by Charlotte Kaiser

Charlotte Kaiser and part of her family in their fundraising tee shirts!

I first became involved with Oasis when I was in the 6th grade. From the very beginning, before ever actually going to The Hill, I could feel the love that radiated from Oasis. Hearing stories and seeing videos of the Oasis kids, it was apparent that they found great joy in their love for Jesus. It caused us to want to do something to help, and raising funds was a natural choice. Since then, I've had the opportunity to visit The Hill two times. It was there that I experienced first-hand the love Oasis provides for each individual child and the joy that comes when you are able to bring a smile to their faces. I was able to see the effects of our fundraising efforts, and this motivated me to seek more ways to help. Knowing we can help just by selling items or hosting a fun event is exciting and has enabled us to experience the blessing that comes with answering God's call. 

Finding ways to fundraise came fairly easy! Once we began sharing the Oasis story with our church and school, the entire community seemed to be intrigued. We began with a fundraising goal and a simple idea- designing and selling shirts with the Oasis logo so we could purchase much-needed textbooks for The Hill. We also wanted to be sure that people would not only buy our shirts, but that they would tell everyone about Oasis. So far, my family and I have sold these shirts three years in a row, only changing the color each time, and every year they have been a HUGE success. 

After the success of our first batch of t-shirts, we got a little more comfortable and started fundraising in different ways. One of our favorites was making Oasis the recipient of all the profits from our high school's Senior Men's Pageant. We sold tickets in the community, sold concessions and some people even donated extra money. We were the first people to request that the money from this annual pageant go towards a charity, not towards the school, and all it took was a suggestion and some effort on our part. Over the years, we have found more and more ways to fundraise by expanding the Oasis vision here in Houston, Texas and finding support within and beyond our community. With the joyful smiles of the Oasis kids motivating our hearts, we have used our talents and resources to send life-giving hope to kids who need us, and you can too!"
 

  

 

For more information about coordinating a fundraising event for Oasis please contact us at info@oasisfororphans.org

 

Photograph by professional photographer and Education Team member Rebecca Jasper

• "Wow!  What a day of accomplishments today has been... can't wait to see what tomorrow brings." - Bob Ruzga, after a great day of progress for The Shelter.

• "I loved seeing Sponsors meet their sponsored child for the first time - it is magical!" - Dan Huffman, Team Leader for the Sponsor Team. 

• "On The Hill, the children have become a family. Watching them do homework after devotions gave me the best picture of them: working cooperatively to complete work, physically leaning into each other's "space", asking great questions about what it's like in America... This was my favorite night in Kenya. Although they have deep pain from their losses they now have hope." - Kathy Ford, teacher on the Education Team.

• "The children Oasis serves are incredible. By far, the kids touched me the most. They are sweet, fun-loving, and have a heart for Jesus. They love to laugh, play games, and smile. They are beautiful children of God and they are furthering their relationship with Jesus every day." - Ashley Burgess, teacher on the Education Team.

www.oasisfororphans.org 

info@oasisfororphans.org

224.277.5678