Move to SERV - March 2008 Update

OFFICIAL TRANSITION to SERV Ministries International

Though we have officially transitioned from The Mission Society to SERV
Ministries International, our ministry will continue as planned.

The Dickerson family has been working with The Mission Society for four
years, two going through their excellent training and evaluation programs
and another two on the field. We thank them greatly for acting as a bridge
to our mission field, the advice to take time and learn the language and
to explore the culture before delving too deeply into ministry. May the
Lord continue to guide you in the right direction for His sake and the
sake of His people.

After several discussions with The Mission Society over the last 6 months
and with their blessings, we have officially transitioned as full-time or
career missionaries with SERV Ministries International. The scope of our
ministry has evolved over the last two years focusing to a greater extent
on mercy and compassion to the hopeless and to the very poor, something
that fits well with the vision of SERV Ministries.

SERV Ministries International has been working in the USA, Mexico, and the
Dominican Republic through food relief, orphanages, and building churches.
They¡¦ve been in Kenya since 2006 working with several indigenous churches
and para-church organizations providing food relief for the very poor.

On a ¡§chance meeting¡¨ in 2006, I (Laura) met Steve Kasha, Executive
Director, and Lee Johnson, Chair of Leadership Team, after a Sunday
service at Glory Outreach Assembly in Nairobi. Don eventually became
Co-Director of SERV Ministries Kenya along with a Kenyan, Shem Okello, who
works with The Baptist Mission of Kenya. We thus found ourselves working
more and more with SERV Ministries and it was a natural progression to
move with them full-time.

SERV Ministries International (www.servintl.org) has applied for a USAID
grant to ship approximately 4 million meals to Kenya. We just found out
the grant was approved! More details will follow in the coming weeks. In
2007, SERV Ministries distributed approximately one million meals to three
orphanages, two schools in Kibera slum, to many churches and schools
throughout Kenya, and to hurting individual pastors.

Also, SERV is planning ¡§House of Hope¡¨, the fulfillment of a vision of a
Turkana missionary for an orphanage in Lodwar (north-western Kenya). This
missionary grew up as an orphan, was schooled by World Vision, and now
wants to return that gift to other orphans. Twenty children have already
been identified in the community, some with physical and/or neurological
disabilities. The buildings will initially hold these twenty and then be
able to expand to perhaps fifty in the future.

We are also grateful that 100% of your donations will get to our family or
any of SERV Ministries¡¦ projects.

Please send your support of us or any of SERV¡¦s ministries to:
SERV Ministries International
500 Arnold Mill Way
Suite B
Woodstock, Georgia 30188
Attn: Brenda Sherer, Director of Communications

Latest in Politics

Now that the peace accord has been signed and leaders are moving into
their new positions, the country, for the most part, has gotten back to
normal. I¡¦ve noticed the ¡§sigh of relief¡¨ in our own home as well as on
the streets and in businesses. But I say ¡§for the most part¡¨ because
there are still people in camps who are afraid to go home and others
express optimism hesitantly, waiting for Parliament to follow up with
appropriate laws.

Light-hearted Satire

With so much stress in the past two months in Kenya, we thought you would
enjoy the following political satire involving the monkeys, dogs, cats,
and cows on our property. Anything you find humorous can be credited to
revisions by Donƒº. Should you be offended, Don says it¡¦s not his fault.
Otherwise, the responsibility for the article rests entirely on the
shoulders of one capable Amos Mirera, a journalist here in Kenya.

No Political Settlement After All

The rivalry between the Dickersons¡¦ dogs and a group of monkeys calling
themselves, ¡¥The Hope of Our Race¡¦, is far from over.

There were some rumors alleging a political settlement between the two
warring camps, but the monkeys have since dismissed the reports as mere
propaganda aimed at frustrating their cause for justice.

The Monkey group has now renewed their call for mass action across the
Dickersons¡¦ residence on coming Tuesday, hoping to evict the missionaries
from what they call, ¡¥the sweat of our forefathers¡¦. And, they claim,
any food grown on this residence in the meantime, it rightfully theirs.
The Monkey group has vowed continued mass actions until the humans vacate.

But barking to the press later, the Dogs declared the land out of bounds
for the Monkeys and threatened to use their ¡§bite to kill¡¨ order if the
monkey family makes good their threat. They say the real reason the Monkey
group has planned mass action is that the crops are almost ready.

And in an obvious reference to the residential cows and cats, the Dogs
swore dire consequences for those deemed to sympathize with outsiders.

The warning follows allegations that Mother Cow had used innuendos aimed
at invoking barnyard civil disobedience in the compound, which tended to
undermine the Head of Estate in the estimation of right thinking
residents. This same mother cow has been seen gladly accepting gifts of
banana peels from the Head of Estate, but then promptly trying to gore
him.

However, the cow later withdrew the supposedly seditious statements after
the Head of Estate threatened her with extinction, claiming he would
barbeque her for the Dickersons¡¦ 21st wedding anniversary in May, per
Executive Order OICU812. The message scared her enough that she could not
give milk the following three days.

She is now working with dogs in preparation of what is expected to be a
battle of titans this Tuesday. The cats have remained unusually quiet and
their loyalties at the time of this writing are unknown.