Named for Mary's favorite words

Gifts that keep giving

We help churches and children's homes in East Africa become self-supporting, through lasting gifts like dairy cows and biogas.

Our Story Get Involved

Why 'So, So Good'

Meet Mary

Mary Gathoni cooked and baked for the Wallace family in Kijabe, Kenya, in 2017. She walked an hour and a half up a mountain to their house, in flip-flops, and back down at the end of the day.

“If you asked Amy or me to name the happiest person we've ever met, neither of us would have to think about it. It is Mary.”
— Chad Wallace

She had buried her husband not long before. And if you asked her how she was, or how the day was going, or what she thought about almost anything, she would tell you it was so, so good. … And mostly she said it about Jesus. … Jesus is so, so good.

The logo shows her the way they remember her: Eyes gone to creases, head going back, mouth wide open… And it came with her hands. Both of them up, palms open. Open hands were her invitation: come here, sit down, you belong in this kitchen.

Mary went home to be with the Lord in April 2024.

So, So Good Ministries is named for Mary's favorite words.

Mary, in a striped shirt, sitting beside Amy in Mary's kitchen, both smiling — Mary and Amy in Mary's kitchen, June 17, 2017.

Pastor Stephen with his arm around his mother, Mary, both smiling — Mary with her son, Pastor Stephen, July 1, 2017.

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines… yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
Habakkuk 3:17–18

Pastor Peter's fields, planted in faith for cows he didn't have yet, June 17, 2017.

Our Mission

A gift that gives every day

A one-time handout meets a need for a moment. A gift that produces milk, income, and fuel every single day helps a church or children's home stand on its own — and frees them to serve their communities with dignity and joy.

What We Give

Lasting gifts

Pastor Stephen's dairy cows. One of them is named Faith.

Dairy Cows

Fresh milk for children
Income from milk sales
Calves that can be passed on to bless another community

Biogas

Turns cow manure into clean cooking gas
Less firewood to gather and buy
Less smoke in kitchens and homes

The Story

Faith the cow

In 2017, Chad and Amy Wallace and their sons went to Kijabe, Kenya, for a three-month term. Chad taught chemistry at Rift Valley Academy.

Mason with his cookie tub, his sign, and the money, May 2, 2017.
1
Cookies
Their son Mason, 13, baked and sold cookies with Amy — and Mary helped bake too — to raise money for a dairy cow for a children's home. Its pastor had planted fields in faith during a drought, for cows he didn't have yet.
Faith arriving at the children's home, July 1, 2017.
2
A cow named Faith
The cow, named Faith, came from the farm of Mary's son, Pastor Stephen,
Mason and Faith, delivery day, July 1, 2017.
3
Delivered
and was delivered by pickup truck to the children's home.
Mary with her son, Pastor Stephen, July 1, 2017.
4
Biogas for Mary's kitchen
The last of the money built a biogas system on Stephen's land, halfway between his house and Mary's, so both kitchens could run on it. It had been the dream of Mary's late husband, George. Mary cooked on it, and the family no longer needed firewood.

That is the model of the ministry: gifts that keep giving.

The full story is told in Chad's book, Planted Before the Rain — coming soon — dedicated For Mary Gathoni, who thought that almost everything was so, so good.

About the book

Get Involved

Join the joy

A green corrugated-metal church building with blue windows

Pastor Stephen's church in Mai Mahiu, July 9, 2017.

Partner

Churches, classes, and groups can partner with us. We'd love to hear from you.

Pray

Pray for the churches and children's homes we serve, and for wisdom as this ministry takes root.

Give

Online giving opens once our nonprofit status is finalized. Leave your email to be notified.

Portrait of Chad Wallace, smiling, outdoors — Chad Wallace

About

Chad & Amy Wallace

Chad Wallace is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and former Dean of the School of Science and Engineering at Anderson University. He and his wife, Amy, live in Pendleton, Indiana. Their time in Kenya — and Mary, a boy's cookies, and a cow named Faith — inspired So, So Good Ministries.

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