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June 16, 2017                                                     Issue No. 29
In this issue
To our LifeNets Supporters and Friends! 

We are greatly saddened by the death of Mark Rorem of San Francisco, California, faithful LifeNets board member for nearly 15 years. He died on May 31 and the memorial service was held on June 10th  He faithfully attended every quarterly LifeNets board, maybe missing one in those 15 years. He also served on the Malawi LifeNets board. Mark  had been ill for a few weeks and then succumbed to a coma and died.  He was a man of great humility and service. He is survived by his wife Linda, son Gregory and daughters Stephanie and Jessica.  

Mark Rorem

Mark grew up in Mexico City and was fluent in Spanish.  He traveled to Mexico and Guatemala to care for congregations as he was also an elder in the United Church of God.  By profession Mark was an attorney.  

His son Gregory. who is talented in several languages, went on two LifeNets Youth Corps trips to Ukraine and led the last one two summers ago.  Greg also traveled to other youth camps around the world.  All of us who knew Mark are greatly saddened and shocked at this great loss.

We will greatly miss this wonderful servant who loved God, his family, his Church and LifeNet s.

In this issue  of our eNews we have selected stories about our scholarship program in the Philippines. The scholarships have borne good fruit and have changed the lives of the students, their families and even the congregations they attend. At this moment we have 113 scholarship recipients at about $78,000 for the year.

We also have a story about a successful fundraiser by Ambassador Bible College to raise funds for solar panels for our LifeNets Business Centre and church building in Lilongwe, Malawi. And, there's a story of helping a father of ten children in Malawi to get a driver's license that will certify him to drive a commercial vehicle and have a better paying job to help support his family.  

The Edmonton Alberta churches with the support of  elder Bob Berendt have contributed greatly to the Lilongwe building projects. This project is nearing completion and we are very g rateful for their help.
Bev Kubik
Beverly Kubik.

Many churches in the U.S. also send contributions to help with the many LifeNets causes.  Again, we cannot thank all of you enough for helping LifeNets to help others.   

Please read our other stories and follow us on Facebook at LifeNets.  I'd like to hear from you about your thoughts.  Write to us at [email protected].  Check out the look of our newly redesigned Website at www.lifenets.org. 

Again, my husband and I, as well as the entire LifeNets Board of Directors, thank you with all our hearts for your trust in us. 
Thank you for you interest in the work of LifeNets.  We thank all our donors who have   been so enthusiastic to see people succeed in life. 

Thank you for making LifeNets the charity of your choice.  

Our love and appreciation to all of you!     
 
Beverly Kubik  
President 
Philippines Scholarship Report 
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Leah Manumbas
LifeNets has supported students in the Philippines with scholarships at $10,000 per year. We have been happy to see good outcomes as students have not only completed their education but have gotten work in their field of study.   

From Earl L. Roemer, UCG Senior Pastor for the Philippines and Hong Kong:  

LifeNets Student Scholarships do make a difference! Since 2011, 12 students have matriculated and graduated from either 2 year, or as in the case of most of them, 4 year university programs in the Philippines. Many of the graduates are employed in their field of education, while a few are awaiting for positions to open up.

Here are stories from five LifeNets scholars: 

Shena Mae Bacor

Shena lives on the Southern Island of Mindanao. She graduated in 2014 with a 2 year degree in Bookkeeping. She worked as office staff at Nelshen Marketing in Tagum City for three years. She is currently working as office clerk at Conchin Textiles in Davao City.

Zeeryl Joy C. Verde  

Zeeryl lives in the Visayas on the Island of Negros Occidental in Bacolod City.  She graduated with a BS in Secondary Education (Major in English), March 2016. In March 2017, she passed the Board Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (BLEPT). She currently teaches at Livingstone International School in Bacolod City (handling Grade 6 Class Advisory).  Her goal is to be an International English Teacher for Secondary Education.

Emmanuel Larosa
 
Emmanuel lives on the Northern Island of Luzon, in the greater Manila area. He graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Secondary Education, with a Major in Mathematics, from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Santa Rosa Campus. He just passed the Licensure Exams for Teachers March 26, 2017. Presently he works as office staff for a private company, Sykes Asia. Now that he is a Licensed Teacher, he hopes to land a teaching job soon.

Wrestly Cinco 

Wrestly lives in the greater Manila area on the Island of Luzon. She matriculated 2 years at University. She had planned to enroll at Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Santa Rosa Campus, to attain her teaching degree, but decided to take a job as a swim instructress at the Aqualogic Swim Company.

Leah Abigail Manumbas  

Leah lives on the Island of Luzon, in the city of Bulacan, North of Manila. Leah's Dad, Larry Manumbas, died very young of cancer (1997) leaving his widow and Leah. Life was not easy for them.  Leah was able to attend university with a generous scholarship from LifeNets. She graduated May 2016 with a Bachelor Degree in Elementary Education, from Bulacan State University. She passed the Teachers' Board Exams, November 2016. At the start of this current school year, Monday, June 5, 2017, she has been given the opportunity to be a substitute teacher in a public school in the province of Bulacan. She hopes to be given a permanent teaching position soon. Leah is very grateful to LifeNets and the Church for giving her the opportunity to support her studies and finish her college education.  Following is a quote from a card Leah sent to the Senior Pastor..."Good day, Sir!  I just want to express my sincere gratitude to you for allowing yourself to become God's instrument in giving me the opportunity to study once again and to pursue a bachelors' degree in education...."(dated May 6, 2016) 

To state again, it is the generosity of LifeNets and their scholarship program that has allowed the funding of these students!  THANK YOU LIFENETS!!! 

More about the LifeNets Scholarship Program on our Legacy site at  http://lifenets.org/scholarships.
ABC Fundraiser for Solar Panels
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On March 19, 2017 Ambassador Bible College held a Charity Auction to provide for Solar power panels for the LifeNets Business Center and UCG Meeting Hall in Lilongwe, Malawi. They raised $5,471. In addition, another $2,000 came from Kohl's department store.  We were glad to find corporate sponsors who,  through LifeNets, support humanitarian projects that benefit the community.  


The bidding goes on...

The funds raised this year provided for new solar panels in Lilongwe, Malawi, Africa. In Malawi, electricity is not reliable and power outages are a daily occurrence  It was becoming expensive to run our gasoline generator, so the solution was installing solar panels. Now we have reliable power for our Internet cafe, our grocery store refrigerator, freezer and meeting hall.


Joseph Mughogho, LifeNets Business Manager in Lilongwe, Malawi writes  the following:  

"We really appreciate the students of Ambassadors Bible College for the wonderful work. It has gone along way in boosting the business as we are the only business Centre in Lilongwe to have solar power to conduct its business. God bless you and the good work of LifeNets in Malawi and the founders of the organization." 

For a full report on the event and lots of photos please go to: http://lifenets.org/abc-charity-auction-march-19-2017/.
Driver's Training for Paliza Hussein
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Isaak Hussein of Blantyre, Malawi earns $30 a month as a security guard.  He and his wife Agnes have ten children.  They lived in a one room rented dwelling that cost them about $5 a month.  This is poverty and a story that made a particularly powerful impact on us.


Beverly Kubik with partial Hussein Family. Paliza and Agnes on the right.  Taken April 12, 2017 in Blantyre, Malawi
  
When we heard this story on our April 2016 visit to Malawi we could not help but elect to help them with a better dwelling place. We also wanted to help him find better work to care for his family.

We are providing him with a special driver's training course that will help him get the licence needed to work as a truck driver. 

Our LifeNets Assistant  Business and Finance Manager Daniel Ringo told us: "you couldn't imagine the joy the father showed when he learned that he could have this kind of training."   
Australia - Newest LifeNets Affiliate
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We at LifeNets are very happy to welcome our newest affiliate LifeNets Australia who recently became registered as a public charity.  In Australia's November 2016 United News a two page article appeared about how this all came about and what Australia is doing to further the mission of LifeNets.  

The Australian churches over the last three years have funded five boreholes in various areas, numerous scholarships, support of needs in the Congo and generous contributions for the Blantyre Malawi construction project which when finished will support youth camp and the Feast of Tabernacles in the Blantyre,Malawi area.  In addition they have helped with the Chipata, Zambia church building and outreach program as well as various youth camps. 

Read about it here in Australia's United News at 


Also, read our history working with Australia on our legacy Website at  http://lifenets.org/australia.
 
 
How to Effortlessly Double Your LifeNets Donation 
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Many companies will match their employees' and retirees' charitable contributions. Check with your personnel office to see if your company will do so. They will provide the necessary forms and instructions. Then send LifeNets the completed form. Thank you very much! Donations to LifeNets are tax-deductible in the United States.   
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Contact Information
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LifeNets International
1227 Woodchase Trail
Batavia, Ohio 45103-2605

513 843-7744
513 201-8850


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