ORU Students do their presentation!

Becky , Lindsey, Ruthann, Mike, Tripp, Daniel, Grant

The Oral Roberts team of senior students made their presentation for us yesterday. This team of dedicated students showed their skill and hard work with an outstanding multi media presentation defining the need in West Pokot for repair and restoration of water wells. In this drought ridden area many are suffering major health crisis and even death without clean water. I wish we could post the entire presentation here, but we will make parts of it available as soon as we can get it formatted properly.

Water is so vital to our survival: clean, disease free, and sufficient for our needs - we take it so much for granted in our culture. I will post more photos of the water problems in Northwest Kenya.

Seeds for Planting

Crossroads Church along with a generous offering by The Church on the Rock provided seeds for planting by the people of West Pokot, Kenya. After several years of drought, many of the farmers found themselves without seeds for this season. Famine in this land is always just around the corner, and the specter of starvation is real and immediate. Leroy, Mary, Mike and Ruth want to thank the members of these two great churches who provided $3,ooo together in seed for the farmers. In the last few weeks the farmers have been preparing their land, digging, making rows, and getting ready in faith that God, through the H.I.M. organization, would provide the seed for their fields. Praise the Lord, the seed was provided! Mike & Ruth Hervey were able to bring the money with them just in time for the planting season. When the crops come up we will post more photos, but for now all of you who donated and support these great churches, just know that your obedience to the Lord, has been the answer to the prayers of a people far into the bush country of Africa. The elders, widows, Moms and Dads and children of West Pokot, will have a crop because of your generosity and willingness to extend the Love of God around the world. God bless you all.

Crossroads Church Kenya Trip

I wanted to share this letter from Claudia Hopper, a member of the "Go Team" from Crossroads Church in Wasilla, Alaska. I will add some photos soon.........

Our time with Leroy, Mary and the Pokot people was absolutely life changing for our team! Phil & Sondra Markwardt, Pat & Claudia Hopper, Tracy and Josiah Moffitt spent 10 days in Kesai and Kitali. I am amazed at the sacrifices the Hawn’s are enduring to minister to these people. Pastor Phil and Sondra spoke numerous times at the Pastors conference in Kitali. Many men walked for hours to attend this 3-day event in a humble church with tree trunks for pews on a dirt floor. We were able to prophecy and speak words of life over each one. It was phenomenal to see the joy radiate from their once downtrodden faces.

We held a Baptismal service after church on Sunday. I think the count was 98 in all! Men, women, children gathered together, all in brightly colored clothing and hungry hearts to witness this event.

The Pokot people were so warm and welcoming to us in every way. We were invited into a Pastor’s home for a meal of goat and rice. It was so humbling as they served us their best, topped off with a warm coke!

Playing with the children was one of my personal highlights. I took bags of balloons and they didn’t know how to blow them up! It was great fun watching the amazement on their faces as some of the balloons floated off and popped on the sticker bushes. To see them value ownership of a small hot wheels car or a pack of gum was amazing.

There is such a great need in this area of food, medical needs and education. Leroy and Mary are working hard to supplement what they can but there is SO MUCH NEED! If anyone is interested in seeing our pictures or hearing more, please contact Pat or Claudia Hopper at 907-376-7896.

Claudia Hopper

Nathan and Lacy Steel - SCION productions

Everywhere we went there were children, laughing, playing, and ohhh.. so excited to see us! They crowded in and often were so curious they would almost overwhelm us. Lacy was so good about letting the children see the pictures she took, and this removed much of the fear they had of the camera.

I just had to add this photo of Nathan and Lacy. This is how we saw them most of the time with the cameras lifted and operating. They worked so hard and were real troopers. We asked so much of them and they never complained and were gracious in every situation. When we would come back at night from our day, we would talk over our experiences. Whether we were in the slums, the garbage dumps, or the market places they showed the Love of the Lord in all their interactions with the people. We cannot thank them enough for their fellowship and labor. Please pray with us as they work, that the videos will inspire others to join with us in the support and blessing to these precious children.

Back from Kenya

Dear friends, Ruthann and I, are just back from our trip to the work in Kenya. Nathan and Lacy Steel from Church on the Rock in Wasilla, Alaska went with us and took miles of film and pictures. We were so blessed to spend time with them and just know they will be a friends of this ministry for many years to come. We first went to Nairobi and visited victory Times Ministry, the work of Bishop Philip Karanja in Kamarock. We filmed the children in the feeding program as well as many in the garbage dumps and slums of Nairobi. The House of Hannah Children's home is primed to open as soon as we are able to obtain sponsors for the first 20 children. Please be in prayer for these kids. For only $40 a month an orphand child can be housed, fed, clothed and provided an education. As Lacy and Nathan work to produce a video explaining this ministry, Ruthann and I will be seeking these sponsors. Contact us if you can help.

After Nairobi we went up country to Kitale and West Pokot where the ministry headquartered of H.I.M. is being maned by Leroy and Mary Hawn. What a blessed time we had vi sting and sharing the Love of God with them as well as spending time in the "bush" country of West Pokot. We will be posting many photos and stories of our travels there as we have time. Expect almost daily updates for the next week...we have so much to share! The work there is greatly blessed of the Lord and as lives are charged, souls led to the lord and churches built, we give the Lord all the praise and Glory for the work. It is truly a work of grace and evangelism that is taking place there and we pray daily for the work. A mission house is in construction at Kamagetto, and churches are growing.

Leroy and Mary UPDATE

Hello Mike and Ruthie,
Well we are back in Kitale again. The visitors from Alaska left on the seventh. We enjoyed them very much. I think they enjoyed the Pokot people very much also.
We had a baptism service at Kasaka on Saturday the 31st. According to my count we baptized ninety eight. The record book for baptisms will show the exact number. It was held in a small river that the Pokot dammed up for a deeper water hole. It was a long and hot service but wonderful.
Sunday we traveled back to Kasaka after spending the night in Kasei, for a great Sunday service and a meal at Benjamin's house.
The Leadership seminar went well too. We also held a ladies seminar at Kamaketto on Wed. the 4th. The ladies seemed to enjoy it a lot;.even had some men meeting with the ladies under the trees.
I received a letter from ACCK that they have changed their mind about letting us live in their house at KaseiI, So we have found another house at Kamaketto. Will start Monday to fixing it up for a place to live while we are there working on the new church building for Kamaketto.
We have two things we need help with. One, is the famine in the area has many people without food. So we need some financial help to keep them from starvation. Two, we need to build a church at Kamakatto.
The elders have given us some land for it. The members have cleared the land and are gathering stones for the concrete. I think the church building will cost about twenty thousand dollars. The famine food costs are about one hundred thousand Kshl if it doesn't get worse. I don't see much way for it to get better without rain and seeds to plant. But prayer can change that.
We still have several students who don't have sponsors for secondary school. If interested I can give names and standings in school for people who want to help.
Love you. Leroy and Mary

Crossroads Church "GO" Group

Crossroads church sent a team to Kenya for several projects and we were blessed they chose to spend some time with Leroy and Mary and the POKOT people. The wonderful congregation of Crossroads have been a major sponsor for the work there, and continue to give monthly to the support of Leroy and Mary as missionaries in Kenya. I will write much more about their trip when Claudia Hopper gets her newsletter done! Can't wait to hear all the news. In the meantime, I wanted to post this picture taken while the team was there of some POKOT children. Pray we get rain this season and the famine is not too severe. More soon...Mike.