Visions of Hope

August 22, 2010
Vision of Hope is now one step closer to obtaining its 5013c tax exempt status. We are excited about the Vision God has placed before us and the passion He has given us for the people of Nyadoung Kenya. Extreme Poverty , disease and lack of education has crippled this area for generations. Combining with the efforts of Bruce Germain of Calvary Jesus Church (www.CJCK.com) and our partners (you who are reading this) and the Power of Jesus living in and through us, we will defeat these strongholds of satan in this area. Our Mission is to Preach, Teach and Heal. This was the basis of Jesus ministry on earth and I think if it was good enough for Him it will be great for us.
We plan to build a small health clinic to provide basic health care in an area that has no health care. This will be life changing, giving relief from and eradicating some diseases that have been a stumbling block to overcoming poverty. Basic life giving antibiotics probably found on almost every street corner in the US, but rare and unaffordable in Kenya. Along with this clinic we want to provide a Tractor to assist with the everyday farming needs in this area. The effect of AIDS in this area has depleted men in the community and has left mainly older women taking care of small children. To work the land they must plow with Oxen and this limits the effectiveness of farming. A tractor will greatly improve farm productivity and allow the growing of a wider variety of Crops to improve nutrition and overall health to these people. Improving productivity will provide them with the ability to have excess crops to sale at the market having a huge financial impact to this community and moving them one step closer to breaking the cycle of poverty, disease, and lack of education.
The above assistance in improving health and farming will be a magnet to share the Gospel of Jesus. We all know that we can make a person feel better with a pill when they are sick, but to truly Heal them is the Power of the Message of Jesus and them having a personal relationship with Him. This will change their lives forever, giving them this life changing relationship and encouraging them in their walk with profound and meaningful bible studies. We can show them a better way to live and manage their life’s.
To obtain this goal we will need to raise about $200,000 to build, equip and staff this operation. This seems like a lot of money to most, but let’s put in perspective to our everyday lives. If all of our friends committed just the cost of one soda a day $1.49 over a year’s time you would contribute $543.85 we will only need about 340 people to contribute. Most of you reading this can and probably will contribute more. We simply ask that you prayerfully consider and ask God how He wants you to give, and ask yourself are you willing to be open to be used by God in a spectacular way. All of you know that you can’t out give God, and when you do for the least of His children you do it unto Him.
The money will go toward the following:
1. Building Missionary housing
2. Building Clinic
3. Equipping Clinic with Technology and Supplies
4. Lab equipment
5. Radiology equipment
6. Dental Equipment
7. Medications
8. Buying a Tractor and implements
9. Pastor Teaching area
10. Jobs that will make a huge difference in the lives of local families
11. Van to bring children to Church and transport vegetables to the market

Come with us on this journey. Make a difference in the lives of others.

We believe that God has called us to serve in a remote area of Southwest Kenya. We visited this area in June 2009 and we know we heard the voice of God calling us to this place. We have recently spent 4 months from January 2010 to April 2010 there in Migori Kenya. This is a very rural area that has been devastated by AIDS and unemployment. About 60% of the people in this area are HIV positive and unemployment is about 55%. These two factors lead to a sense of hopelessness and despair. Chaos and confusion are the spirit of the day and the area has been devastated.

There is much hope though when you know the power of the message of the Cross. Healing, hope and prosperity are all available through the power of Jesus Christ and we know we have been chosen to deliver this Message. While in this remote area of Kenya we met a great pastor who is making a difference in the lives of the people who live in this area. His name is Bruce Germain and he has planted a church called Calvary Jesus Church. We attended the church during our stay in 2010 and now know this is the specific area of ministry God has called us to be a part. The Word is being taught and preached and its being heard and understood. While we attended church we began to have small medical clinics after service and saw the great positive effects it was having on the people there. God began to plant a vision in our hearts. We know a long term medical clinic in the area would meet so many needs. We have committed to build a clinic, and live here for as long as needed or until God gives us another direction. This will be a focused effort to help change the lives of the people who live in this community. But, the results will be far reaching and the implications of changing a few lives will grow as people will be attracted by the magnificent power that occurs when God is the motivation for change.

First we want to use the model Jesus used in Mathew 4:23(Jesus went throughout the area teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news and healing every disease and sickness amount the people.) What better model than one that is proven to work. We will need to minister to the people in three important areas. Physical, spiritual and emotional. Physically we want to provide the people with quality medical care and follow up. The people here are often use witch doctors or quacks who set up offices proclaiming to be medical providers, but often do more harm than good. We will provide a place where we can diagnosis and treat according to known disease management guidelines to provide quality outcomes to improve their lives. We will also provide them with quality medications not cheap knockoffs currently seen in the area. By improving their physical health we can make them more productive and have more enjoyable and meaningful lives. We also want to teach them how to farm more effectively and efficiently, and teach them how to eat foods better for their health. They farm the land with an ox and plow. Because many of the people in the area are widows with small children, we want to purchase a tractor with all the implements to help them in this area. We will require them to give back to the community for this assistance. We do not want this to be another hand out program we want to empower them to be independent and self sufficient.

The second area is the Spiritual area, and we believe this to be the most important. We all know that introducing a person to Jesus Christ and His ways is the most important thing we can do. But we also need to take it further. We need to teach them to live a life resembling Christ, by showing them. We need to teach them the Word of God. The Word of God is powerful and is the only options to change their lives and give them the hope for a great future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 -13 states, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen. You will seek ME and find Me when you seek me with all your heart.” This is the message we want to teach them, believe in Him and seek Him. We will provide Bible studies and counseling to assist them in seeking after God.

The third area is emotional. Aids has had a huge impact in this community. About 60% of the people in this area test positive for HIV. The men who because of the stigma of Aids do not seek treatment and die faster than the women and children. This is devastating to the family unit and the economy leaving behind mostly women and children to farm and earn money. This area in the next 10 years will be made up mostly of children, and many of them are dying. Through proper counseling we can help the survivors remain positive about their lifestyles and make good decisions about their future. We can encourage them and train them to be self sufficient in many areas of their life. We can encourage the community to come together to assist widows and orphans so they will not have to be institutionalized. This will bring back their self esteem, and empower them in all areas of life. We can encourage them daily by living in the area and living out our walk with Christ in front of them and walking beside them as their friends and being a part of the community.

The above simply out lines our belief as to what God has called us. We are now looking for partners who share the vision of Christ for this area. We need partners who will commit to pray daily, who will take a part physically and those who will give financially. We have named this ministry Vision of Hope Kenya. We know that God has blessed us already and we have secured the land for the clinic and our home site, on a hill that overlooks the whole area. We believe we can accomplish this vision with about $200, 000 initially to build the buildings and purchase the initial equipment for the clinic. We also believe God has already lined up all the partners He wants to be a part of this ministry as He always plans far in advance. We are in the process of creating the 501(3)c organization here in the United States and a CBO (community based organization) in Kenya. You do not have to be a medical professional to be a part of this ministry, anyone who loves God and wants to serve can be a part. He has already planted seeds in your heart know it’s time to let them grow. We want to design the house to be our primary residence, but to also have the capability to house short and long term missionaries.

We want people who have a passion for sharing God’s love and introducing others to His Son, Jesus Christ. We are looking for partners who understand the primary reason for this mission is evangelism. We now know that at the end of the day you can give people money, medications, food and clothing, but if they do not change their circumstances, then they will just be back again. I know Jesus is the only one who can change circumstances. We want to see the people of this region grow spiritually and thrive abundantly just as Jesus promised in His Word. Teaching, preaching and healing these will be the legs of our ministry. If God has called you to any of these then come along on this journey with us as we go along for the ride. Do not be afraid to get involved, we need all areas, marketing material, board members, encouragers, prayer warriors, secretarial, envelope stuffers, missionaries, doctors, nurses, pharmacist, therapist, chiropractors, x-ray tech, mri tech, ct tech, massage therapist, mental health workers, child psychologists, preachers, teachers and all else who want to be involved.

Cary and Robin Nail

Well we have been back in the US about 2 weeks now, and I think we all long to move back to Migori, Kenya. We know God has called us to be in this area to share and care for the people in this area. The needs there are great with 55% unemployment and about 60% of the people there are HIV positive with many health problems. Many villages we visited most of the men had died leaving behind a host of widows and orphans. I have a visual in my mind I cannot get rid of, it is of a women who looked as if she was about 60 plowing with an oxen and 2 very small children and you could tell she was tired and weary. So God has enlightened Robin and I with a new ministry and a vision of what we are suppose to do. You know God has to have a great since of humor, because we are sitting here with no money and very few earthly possessions asking of us to start a new ministry. But we know He has already provided the way and the finances to build this ministry and our faith and trust is in Him, all He ask us to do is be obedient, very simple faith just like Abraham when he went to sacrifice his son he waited for so long, he had so much faith that he believed God would raise his son from the dead if Abraham went through with the sacrifice. That’s the faith we now see in our lives, God provides all our needs and even provides for our desires. GOD is in complete control! And He is providing for our needs, I just don’t want to be afraid to live in His perfect will and do the things He ask me to do. I am so blessed to have a wife who lives her faith out day to day and encourages me to continue to follow and seek God first and foremost even when it doesn’t make any since whatsoever. She is truly the wife described in Proverbs 31.
James 1:27 (Amplified Bible)
27External religious worship religion as it is expressed in outward acts that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.
God has kept this verse in front of me for many years, I did not know what the implications would be, but in the time we spent in Kenya He reveled to us a need to begin a new ministry in an area hard hit by the AIDS virus, leaving behind a tremendous amount of widows and orphans with tremendous physical, spiritual and emotional needs. I remember when my own father died, my mom was lost she did not even know how to balance her check book, and so many friends came to her aid to assist her in this difficult time. In Kenya this is so difficult with the lack of resources most have no electricity and many do not have water, the needs are great but our GOD is greater and He is going to bring about change.
God has given Robin and I a vision to establish a small health care clinic in a hard to reach area of Migori, Kenya. To provide quality health care, and medications in an environment where it will be easy and inexpensive to access. There are a few so called health care providers in the area, but none are trained and most use witchcraft and inappropriate treatments to provide care. We want to establish a clinic with Trained Kenyan health care providers and a pharmacy with quality medications to provide a seed of change in an area where death is an everyday reality to most families, if not death than they are burdened with people who are so sick and afflicted they cannot work or function in society. I remember one day we were driving on a dirt road heading for church, we saw what looked like a pile of cloths in the road, but as we got closer we discovered it was a women who was unconscious having had a seizure. Turns out she was a widow with many small children and no means to care for them. We provided some care and encouraging word, but did not have much more to give at the time, we did follow up and our pastor took her to the hospital for follow up. But she needs more she needs a place to obtain follow up care, then she needs help with planting and raising food and maybe teach her a skill so she can provide an income for her children, and she needs GOD!. We want to empower and equip people in this area to become more healthy, have better nutrition, learn to farm and grow crops with better harvest, to share and assist others in the community, to learn to give back some of what they have been given. Then and foremost we want to share the love of Jesus Christ with them, they have such a false view of religion, we need to share the TRUTH with them. In this venture we want to partner with our Friend Bruce Germain, he has started a church in the area and he is so committed to sharing the Gospel of Christ and equipping and encouraging people. Without this all our efforts are in vain.
We will need to build a building to house the medical clinic, then equip it so that we can provide quality health care, medications and treatment. I am thinking a 2500 square foot building so we will have room to grow as GOD provides the resources, this will also house the pharmacy. We will staff with a Kenyan Nurse and Pharmacist as well as me. We will be hosting short term mission groups with MD’s, Dentist, Nurses, therapist, pharmacist, preachers, teachers, construction worker, engineers, farmers, veterinarians, business people and all types of lay people who simply want to come and share their time , skills and love for God with the people in this area. To this end we will need to build a home to house these people, it will be 2 story with our living area upstairs and be able house and feed the missionaries God will be sending to assist us in this ministry. So keep in touch and watch for your chance to be a part of this ministry and prayerfully ask GOD what He wants you to do.
I want to share Katie’s dream with you. Last night she dreamed that she was sitting in the church in Migori where Bruce is the pastor. She was supposed to get up and speak however someone handed her an envelope and when she opened it –pictures of all the kids at Brittney’s Home of Grace fell out. She burst into tears.
Our hearts long for the children and widows that we left behind.

We want to say “thank you” to all our supporters, both prayer support and financial support. We want to keep you informed about what it happening with the ministry. We are leaving the Kenya Relief Organization. We hope that we have made a positive difference in the organization and the many wonderful children living at Brittney’s Home of Grace.
We will be headed back to the States to fundraise for a vision that we believe God has put before us to come back and minister to the people of Migori. So, please hold onto your donations for now. We will be leaving KR on Saturday morning and taking Josh and Katie to the Mara Hippo Resort for a few days of rest and relaxation then back to the States next week.
We pray that God will richly bless you and your family for being a part of this ministry. Check back for future details!! It is amazing what God is doing! I am so thankful that He allows me to be a part of the plan.

Because of heavy rains in the area we had to choose an alternative route to church today. As we topped the hill we saw what looked like rags in the middle of the deserted, dirt road. As we approached we discovered that it was a woman who had just had a seizure. We stopped to minister to her and the locals gathered around. Both of the lady’s legs were badly burned from seizures near an open fire in the past. Upon speaking with our pastor, he knew her and he planned to take her to a nearby hospital this week.

Cary also made arrangements last week with the pastor to offer some medical care to the people located around the church as an outreach to that community. He consulted with 31 people after church and before lunch! They were so grateful for the assistance. We travel about 45 minutes to an hour to this remote area to go to church. It has been a real blessing to be a part of Calvary Church, an outreach of a church in Atlanta.

We were also blessed with a message from Pastor Jerry at Daystar on Generosity tonight. Thank you to our Charleston friends for your prayers!

With many struggles this month at the orphanage, we see God’s mighty hand at work. We are at a crossroads with a strong need for unity amoung the Board Members and Staff. The little kids are beginning to speak English, and it is amazing to be able to communicate with them. Bahati has been here for about 6 weeks and he is about 3 years old (no one really knows). Originally he thought that Mzungus (white people) were going to eat him. However, now he runs to all of us if he sees us around the campus. He is expecially fond of Katie and even called her “moma” the other day.

Wow, we have been here for 2 months now. Time really flies by here, we generally rise at 6:00 am and go to bed around 10pm and the in between times are filled with much activity. The days are very hot with temperatures rising to over 120 degrees in the sun for about 4 hours in the middle of the day. So the shower and the bed feel better here than US. We have 66 children in the orphanage on a daily basis, than some days we have more children because the neighborhood kids somehow make it inside the compound, and everyone wants to live here because it’s so nice. We also have 36 children in about 13 different boarding schools scattered throughout the area, and we are there guardians, so if anything goes wrong or they get sick we take care of them, no matter what time of the day or night it is. Night time travel is very interesting, whites are encouraged not to travel past 5:00 pm so I have to take a guard with me, usually a Masai who is armed with various weapons, bow and arrow, some arrows have black mamba venom so to kill quickly, then usually various sizes of knifes and other killing instruments I haven’t figured out yet, but I do feel safe. No one here wants to mess with the Masai so I feel we have made a good choice in our guards.  There are many thugs in the area, but as in most cases they prowl on the weak and only come out at night, we are protected with 3 guard dogs a wall and at least 2 guards, I know all of you envy us. Above all this we are protected with prayers and angels, we pray out loud Psalms 91 frequently and receive emails and letters daily indicating people all over the USA are praying and that is comforting. I now realize just how important prayer is and why missionaries request it; please pray for all the missionaries it is really powerful.

We have just finished our first medical clinic with a 20 member team from the USA. We saw 810 patients and performed 78 cataract surgeries. It was a blessing as so many people who were blind can now see and the sick have been made well, and all were seen with love, compassion and prayer. Jesus showed up in the faces and bodies of all who participated and it was obvious that this team cared so much for the people. We saw many religions, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, those who practice witchcraft and others. But they all saw Jesus for 3 days. So far in following up there are no complications from the surgery.

Our family is doing great, Katie and Josh have been such a blessing to have here, the staff and children love them and they do much work here as well as keep current with their school. Robin, the Love of my life, keeps us all grounded with her encouragement and tremendous faith. She is organizing the staff and holding them accountable (which by the way they hate) and her job is difficult, but she is a trooper. I think mainly my job is to hand out money, yell at the government employees and vendors who ask us for bribes, and maintain some kind of business order. We are looking for a new member, a good guard dog who can live with us inside our small family compound, this is at the recommendation from the Masai guards so we are looking, but there does not seem to be many big dogs in Kenya, so anyone looking to start a business here it is, you would be in high demand.

We are seeing Gods hand in all this, though it has been a difficult course. I know our sufferings are nothing compared to what Jesus suffered, we press on toward the goal of sharing the gospel and encouraging people to have a personal relationship with Christ. Many here can quote the Bible front and back, as a matter of fact it is amazing to see their knowledge of the Bible, but there is no fruit, they drowned themselves in culture and tradition. They don’t hold one another accountable for anything, lying, stealing and gossip is tolerated and accepted as part of the culture and they seem to take offense when we call them on it. We are starting to see there are people who don’t like the characteristic so we will start changing staff members in the next few weeks to begin to see the difference Godly people can make.

The children here are the blessing, in James it says real religion first of all takes care of widows and orphans. I understand this now. These children want people who will give them love, direction and set boundaries in their life. They now seek us out to give us a hug and their actions show love and a deep desire to understand the things of God. They are spoiled just like most children in US, no one has ever told them no, but they are starting to hear it and understand it. They are responding and it is such a pleasure to see them laughing and enjoying life.  They know we love them, and they see the children outside the gate who just sit and stare and want to come in. I go outside sometimes and greet them and they are so poor and hungry for love and our American “Mazungos” touch they see as magical, I believe they see our relationship with Christ more visibly than we know, as they just want to touch us.

Just want to close and say, this is the most rewarding thing I have ever been a part of in my life. The opportunity to effect change in people’s life by sharing Christ. I know this my true purpose in life, all of my family and friends have had a part of forming who I am today. I was raised by Godly parents who taught me to give, I was encouraged by a brother who prayed and supports my decision. I was encouraged by church family who prays for me and so many currently support us financially. I was encouraged by pastors who preached the Word without fear, who helped us make this decision to serve. Thank you all! Please continue to pray for us, for encouragement, endurance, good health, wisdom and discernment in how we live out our everyday life.

On Sunday after a pentecastal worship service with our first team of 2010 from America, we were presented with a ram!  You can imagine the surprise as they handed off “Bar-B-Que” (our new addition to the livestock family) to Cary.  This actually was a huge sacrifice for the congregation to give away in appreciation for the American team attending their church.

This was my favorite moment in Kenya so far!  Bahati, one of our newest children, is so afraid of the “Muzungos” (white people).  Before today he would start to cry if we even tried to get close to him, but today he came to me and fell asleep in my arms.  This is a photo of Katie and I with Dorothy, Sandaliza, Oliver, Bahati and Faith.  It was a wonderful afternoon. 

We have completed our first week in Kenya, it has been very busy and we are learning a lot, but God has truly blessed us by sending us here.  We have done many things this week and it has been good to see Katie, and Josh jump right in and begin to help. I think they are really enjoying themselves, and they really love the children. The children have already taken a special liking to Katie and Josh and request for them to come and play every night. Katie has taken a rock star status as no one here has ever seen a young white girl with long hair and she turns every head as she passes by. I thing she really enjoys the attention.  Robin is adjusting well to she has the tough job here of running the orphanage and keeping up with the kids we take care of outside the orphanage. She is also adjusting to having chickens walk into our house at any time during the day.  I think we will be having chicken for dinner if they can’t adjust to us living in the house they think is theirs.

The people here have been very accepting and we feel very at home in the compound. We have been traveling outside much and everyone in town has been very friendly and inviting, the fact they drive on the wrong side of the road means nothing to them.  We have seen poverty like no other place we have ever been. Most people live in mud huts 1 to 2 rooms with mud floors and very little furniture, but they are appreciative of what they have. Most smile all the time and talk about how good God has been to them.  This week I visited an orphan that is assisted by Kenya relief, she has seven children at home and lives on about $150 dollars per month that a sponsor from the US sends her. She buys food, clothing and school supplies from that. She has started a part time job to bring in more money, about another $50. All the children were smiling and having a good time, they did not seem to know they were poor, but they did know God and his goodness and praised Him for all he had done. Craig a pastor from Arkansas who was with us has 7  pieces of candy to give them, he laid them on the table and each one of them came up one by one to get a piece each making sure there was enough for each other, there was no selfishness at all. Each unwrapped the candy with such care as to save to wrapper so they could remember this day for a long time. This was an amazing blessing to see.

The next day we admitted a 4 year old child who looks like he was 2. He was found in a open field by a couple when he was about 18 months old, they have cared for him for 2 years, but are very poor and cannot afford care for him any longer. They wanted the best for him and brought him to us so he could go to school and be educated and he could eat everyday and have appropriate medical care.  He has been here 2 day s know and he is happy and has already started to school. The other children are helping to take care of him and he seems very happy.

 This is Bahati:

At night the children have bible study which we have attended, they are so happy to have us come. They sing at the top of their voice how good God is and the sound is so beautiful, it will make a grown man cry every time I hear it because I can see on their face they mean it.  I am so blessed to be apart of this.  The staff loves the children and you can see they know all of us are changing the children’s lives, and we are all being changed also.

I remember the day Robin and I felt the Lord say who will go and together we said, here am I send me. I did not realize this would be a blessing instead if a sacrifice,  so we turn back all the blessings into praise to God who is doing wonderful miracles in this small orphanage and raising up men and women who will change their villages and country for the better.

Internet is slow so one picture took 45 mins.>>> Hopfully it will improve