Remember the Poor is staffed and run entirely by volunteers.
Interested in volunteering? We’re almost always “hiring”!! E-mail Cindy May.
Board Members of Remember the Poor:
Rob Brooks
Randy Elliott
Rowena Freelend
Tom Gender
Brad Keogh
Cindy May
Frank May
Philip Mouw
Who We Are
All of the individuals below volunteer their time to help with Nkumba Ministries. Nkumba Ministries originated in Uganda and is run by Ugandans. We on the US side serve in support roles.
Frank and Cindy May- U.S. Directors E-mail us
John Mugabi, Frank and Cindy May
Frank and Cindy communicate with donors and with the sister-school (NCS), and oversee the U.S. side of the ministry.
We began partnering in ministry with John Mugabi in 1996. He was a young man of 19 years old, attending Bible School and leading a fledgling prison evangelism ministry. Cindy’s dad, Bill Phillips, began traveling to Uganda in 1994, and met John on one of his first trips there. He was impressed with John’s maturity, sincerity and faithfulness.
We were married in 1991 and hope someday to add children to our family through adoption. For now, we are loving many little “chocolate drops”– as our family likes to refer to the children in Africa–from a distance. We currently live in Phoenix, AZ.
We have been profoundly influenced by Randy Alcorn’s books on money—both The Treasure Principle and Money, Possessions & Eternity.
Mid-way through 2009, we read an article in Christianity Today about David Platt, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL. We watched “the most powerful sermon in the history of the Southern Baptist Pastor’s Convention,” and then delved into His sermon-series, RADICAL and Faith Works, which are gripping, compelling, challenging and anything but boring. David Platt unapologetically speaks truth. We believe these video series are a must-see for every Christian. You will see links to the sermon series at the top of the side bar at right.
Our prayer and hope for ourselves and for the body of Christ in the West is that we would delight in and worship God alone–not our personal comfort, enjoyment, entertainment, financial security, etc. Our delayed obedience or disobedience in keeping so many resources for ourselves is costly for those in both physical and spiritual need around the world.
Cara Murray- Uganda Field Service and U.S. Travel Coordinator- E-Mail Cara
Cara Murray
In October 2009, I moved to Nkumba, Uganda to work with Pastor John and Nkumba Ministries. I was originally introduced to Remember the Poor and Nkumba Ministries through Rob and Ashley Brooks in May of 2008 when Mark and Seggy came to Chicago to visit – from the moment I met them I was hooked! In June of 2009, I went to Uganda for 2 weeks. I had a wonderful time and what I witnessed changed my life. I saw a community that truly lives out the Gospel everyday in the way they serve each other and use all the resources they have been given for God. On that trip I asked Pastor John if I could come back for a longer period of time to partner with him in whatever needed to be done. I am working both with the administration of the primary school as well as with the children that are sponsored through Remember the Poor.
Before I came to Uganda, I was living in Chicago and working in Human Resources for a consulting company. I spent most of my free time volunteering with an after-school program in Cabrini-Green, one of the housing projects.
Tonya Brown- Uganda Field Service-E-mail Tonya
Tonya and Christopher Brown
Saved in May of 2005, on that day I was given a vision of little black faces as far as I could see. I excitedly told my friends that the Lord was sending me to Africa. That dream was quickly derailed when I felt led to serve the orphans of Guatemala. Not long after, I happened across a photo of a 4 month old sick baby in Guatemala who needed a mother and knew I was the chosen one. Now, almost 4 years old and completely healed, Christopher Reign calls me mom (yay for me!). Entering into 2009, I began to feel a stirring inside that would not subside. I was longing to discover my purpose and began questioning everything about my walk with Christ. As I sought God, he began to reveal his truth and change my heart; breaking it for the things break his. After nearly a year of isolation from a church body, studying The Word from home while flat on my face before the throne and visiting many churches in-between, and then months of teaching under the preaching of David Platt on-line, God opened the door to the people I now call my faith family. I was introduced to Cindy May and immediately began asking what I could do to serve this ministry. Within 8 weeks of our first meeting I had resigned in my job, per the Spirit leading, and am now on my way to Gulu, Uganda to walk with Jesus in meeting the needs of the least of these… a calling that I can clearly see now was 5 years in the making.
Ashley Brooks- U.S. Child Sponsorship Coordinator E-mail Ashley
Rob and Ashley Brooks
We (Rob and I) were married in 2005, a week after we both graduated from the University of Arizona. We lived in Tucson for a year and then moved to Chicago to get degrees in law and social work. I graduated with a Master’s in social work in 2008, and Rob finished in 2009. We both received fellowships from International Justice Mission and are currently working in Southeast Asia.
Read Rob and Ashley’s blog here.
Jenell Te Velde- Bookkeeper E-mail Jenell
Steve and Jenell Te Velde
Steve and I have lived all of our lives in the Pacific Northwest, and are currently in Bellingham, Washington. We were married in 1996, and have two children ages 8 and 5. Our family attends Sonlight Community CRC in Lynden, Wa. We enjoy camping in the many parks of the area and being near, or on, the ocean. We were introduced to the work in Nkumba by Dan Smythe (on staff with GTN) who married us! We feel very excited and blessed to be a part of this ministry.
Heather Sidler-Child Sponsorship Assistant E-mail Heather
Heather & Dan Sidler
Daniel and I got married on February 3, 2007. We were high school sweethearts and also both graduated from The University of Arizona. Daniel is a graphic designer/illustrator at our church, Calvary Community, and absolutely loves his job. After U of A I attended Grand Canyon University for my degree in nursing and have been an ER nurse at Banner Thunderbird for the last four years. We just had our first baby boy, Luke Daniel end of May. We are so excited and extremely blessed. Our other family member is our much loved yorkie Oliver who is 1 year old. In the summer of 2006 I was fortunate enough to visit Uganda with Frank and Cindy and a small group. It was a life changing and unforgettable two weeks. I am very excited to be able to help out more with the Ugandan ministry and look forward to seeing what amazing things God does in the future.
Sharon Brooks-Intern–E-mail Sharon
Sharon Brooks
I graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in June of 2008. A month before I graduated I was introduced to Remember the Poor and Nkumba Ministries through Rob and Ashley Brooks when Mark and Seggy came to visit. I began to sponsor a child in Uganda and God started to develop a growing desire in me to work with nonprofit organizations that are seeking to serve the poor and oppressed while showing the love of Christ. I lived in Cusco, Peru for a year after college working with children with speech and language delays, and then returned to Phoenix, Arizona. I am now enrolled at Arizona State University pursuing my Master’s of Nonprofit Studies. I am excited to be part of what God is doing through Remember the Poor and Nkumba Ministries and the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in my field of study.
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