December 2, 2019 – Harvesters

End Of The Year Ministry Needs

POM’s ministry in Kenya continues to expand with churches being planted, giving rise to the need for additional pastors. There are several ways that you can help the growing church and advancement of evangelism. Currently, 40 church buildings need roofs at a cost of $300 each. Thirteen students are waiting to attend Bible College. The cost is $1,000 per year per student.

Providing a Bible in the native Pokot language is an important component of the continued discipleship of new believers. We would like to provide 300 new Bibles at a cost of $12 each.

Recently, construction of a rescue dorm in Kodich was finished. This dorm will house young women who are taking a stand against FGM, especially those in immediate danger. This safe place will allow girls an opportunity to finish their education and live a life free from the effects of FGM. The dorm, which will house 60 to 65 girls, needs furniture. One third of the $15,000 cost has been provided leaving a need of $10,000.

We are grateful for the partnership that we have in bringing the love and good news of Jesus to the needy world. Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

Another Year of Summer Camp

Another year of camp has come and gone, but its effects will forever remain in the hearts of the many orphans who were blessed to attend. This year, 25 orphans accepted Christ as their personal Savior! Each child who accepted Christ has a mentor from an HFL home or church that will follow up with them and encourage them in their walk with the Lord. Two testimonies stand out and show us God’s grace and His unfailing love for the orphans in Russia.

Ksusha is an orphan who accepted Christ this year at camp. She is pictured (on the left) with her sister and brother who have also come to Christ through the camp ministry.

Polina (back left) came to Christ five years ago at camp. This year, she went to the camp to serve as a cook’s assistant. After a few days, the camp director asked her to be a mentor’s assistant because of her strong testimony!

All of the Hope for Life Homes have shared with us that the kids have come back from their time at camp encouraged, renewed, and with a greater desire to serve the Lord. Many of our house parents serve in the camp as counselors or in the kitchen. It is a great opportunity for our families.

Hope for Life Homes exists to equip Christian couples in Russia to care for orphans. While our flagship home has ten orphans, we also help couples that care for only one or two children. This has allowed us to help many more orphans without the start up costs of purchasing a new home for a larger family. These families are typically in need of funds for a bedroom or small addition, beds, school supplies, and clothes. To date, we have assisted 20 couples that are collectively caring for 56 orphans! This month, we are considering helping three more families. Any gift, small or large, will help us provide a loving family for an orphan in Russia.

Committed To Orphan Care

There are more than 20 million orphans in India, with the number growing every day. The parents die of HIV/AIDS, addiction and other diseases, accidents, violence, and the ever-looming complications of poverty. Children are left to fend for themselves at very young ages and do not receive proper nutrition, education, or care growing up. These children then continue the vicious cycle as they try to survive by any means necessary – prostitution, drugs, gang violence, and crime.

SAC committed to being a solution to this epidemic and established a Christian orphanage in 2010. The home can care for up to 200 orphans, but at present, they serve 45.

Most orphans are severely malnourished. As a consequence, they are stunted in growth physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. SAC Ministries provides these children with consistent and loving care, starting with their most basic needs – shelter, clothing, and plenty to eat.

SAC Ministries also provides primary education and skills training for the youth, along with a strong, Christian foundation. Our ultimate goal is to raise our children to have a rich relationship with Jesus Christ.

When you sponsor a child at SAC Orphanage, you are giving them an opportunity for a hopeful and prosperous future. Through love and a consistent upbringing, these children can break the poverty cycle and become contributing members of society. Through their Christian foundation, they will become part of the solution to fighting the orphan epidemic.

At the SAC Orphanage, the children can learn to be children once again. We also provide many opportunities for fun and games, and positive life experiences. The children learn what it means to be a family who cares for one another, regardless of their life’s circumstances.

Would you please join with us in raising up the next generation? The cost to provide for a child is $49 per month, or $588 per year. Your generous commitment gives them an opportunity to grow up and live as a walking testimony of the love of Jesus Christ.

New Rwandan Construction Standards Require Churches To Rebuild

Recently, much has been reported about the challenges being faced by churches in Rwanda, including Harvesters’ ministry partner, the Seira Community Churches. New governmental regulations led to the closing of thousands of churches nationwide because they did not meet stringent building construction standards. The impacts to SCC have been significant with 12 of its 17 churches (as seen here) initially shut down by Rwandan officials. We are thankful that through the giving of our donors, three church buildings have been significantly remodeled and are now open and growing. Also, earlier this year, a completely new church was built in the town of Ruhango to replace the previous building, which had been closed by the government. This new church was dedicated in September.

Currently, support is needed to build nine churches in order to reestablish the SCC congregations. The village of Kivu is a priority location in need of a church. Kivu is located in western Rwanda in a remote, mountainous area. Since the closure of the previous church building, there is nowhere for the local believers to meet as a congregation. Rwandan laws do not allow house churches, open-air meetings, or other typical arrangements that occur in many other countries. The believers there have a strong desire to gather for worship and to have an active church to evangelize their community. Construction cost of an adequate building is $30,500. Due to the remoteness of the location, the price to construct is higher than in other areas. We are praying for supporters to provide the funding needed.

Another aspect of the new laws impacting churches are the educational requirements now imposed on pastors. Essentially, pastors must have a bachelor’s degree in Theology to serve a Rwandan church. The deadline to accomplish this for existing pastors is in three years. Currently, we have two pastors attending Bible College and several others who are capable and willing to obtain their degrees, but need sponsors to do so. A gift of $135 per month will cover tuition, books, supplies, transportation, and other costs in most situations. We ask that you prayerfully consider this urgent need.

Building The Church

God has truly blessed the ministry of Harvesters’ partner in the D.R. Congo, the Union of Baptist Churches (UBC), led by Bishop Athanase Habimana. Currently, they coordinate 300 churches, 175 ordained pastors, and 285 evangelists working throughout the troubled eastern area of the country. Planting churches is a priority for UBC. Likewise is helping them to grow in their impact of the people in the areas they are reaching with the Gospel. Most of the congregations are very poor and many lack the resources to construct an adequate church building, especially the roof structure.

UBC has identified five congregations that each need roofing for their churches. Specifically, “iron sheets”, which is typically referred to as metal roofing or tin in the US, is used to cover the structures. Each church requires a total of 80 sheets to complete the building and increase its usefulness as people gather to worship and learn more about God’s Word. Each sheet cost an average of $9 to obtain, depending on the remoteness of the location.

The churches in need of roofing include the Muheto village church located in the Masisi territory. The church was planted in this village because most of the population had not been evangelized. Many people there believed in the false gods imposed by the culture. The church was started nine months ago and has grown extremely rapidly to include hundreds of Christians. The local believers contributed and have built the walls of the church, but it still lacks a roof. Here you see church members working on the building. A gift of $720 would provide a roof for one church. A gift of $3,600 would completely meet the need for five churches! Will you consider a gift that will allow congregations to gather with protection from the elements? Visit our website at www.harvesters.net to give.

Changing Lives Through Education

Our two schools here in India currently serve over 300 students. Our students receive education, uniforms, textbooks, exercise notebooks and stationery, all FREE of cost. They are provided with a nutritious lunch three times each month. Snacks are given as frequently as possible. Both schools have several computers. Students are taught basic computer skills, including a “Fundamentals of Computers” course and also practice drawing (utilizing Paint Brush). Our students sing and dance as children’s rhymes are shown on the computer screen.

Each school day begins with the students and staff members singing choruses and joining in Christian prayer. Bible stories are taught during Moral Sciences sessions. Several villages are being reached with the Gospel through our students. In a few instances, our students have counseled the elders in their homes and stopped their addiction to drugs and liquor.

Nitin is from a very poor family. He was affected by polio and hardly able to get up. He became terribly depressed. His elder sister was a student of our school, and Nitin would tag along with her. He has now been our student for the past five years and is in the second grade class. He is very happy, active, and full of life. We thank the Lord for this miracle!

Area parents are very keen to enroll their daughters in our school, knowing they are totally safe here. One student, Kareena, having passed 8th grade in our school two years ago, was very keen to study further, but her parents were totally opposed. We sent for them, and after long hours of counseling, they finally agreed to allow her to continue her education. Kareena is now in the 10th grade in a nearby school and has consistently been at the top of her class. When you educate a girl, you educate a future mother, her family, and descendants; thus it has a ripple wave effect.

We currently have several urgent needs at our school in Kollukhedi village.
• 197 pairs of shoes and socks costing $10 each
• 197 school bags costing $10 each
• The cost to sponsor a student is $19 per month

Motorbikes For Pastors In Pakistan

As the church in Pakistan continues to grow, so does the need for pastors. We would like to provide financial support of $100 per month to these hard-working servants as they bring the Gospel into new areas. This allows them the economic freedom to focus on the difficult day-in and day-out work of the ministry without the worry of how to provide for their families. Omega has 60 pastors, none of which are well funded.

There is a further need of transportation for pastors as they travel from location to location to hold services and minister in the villages. The easiest mode of transportation is via motorbike. Presently, there is a need for ten motorbikes costing $1,850 each. Will you help the pastors of Omega Ministry as they continue to share the Gospel in a country that so desperately needs the love of Christ?

Expanding our Mission, Expanding the Kingdom

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus! We thank God for what He has been doing in us and through us this year. We have witnessed great impact in the lives of our teams and the people in the places we are serving. So far, we have strengthened and built our teams serving in different hubs, Using The Timothy Initiative Training for church planters has blended in so well with our mission. We have witnessed multiplication of churches on a different scale. Our Timothy Initiative program started in mid-July; with 7 Pauls (trainers), who in turn recruited 79 Timothies to the program. In turn, they are discipling over 45 Tituses, and 18 fellowships and village churches have been started. We are excited about the people coming to the Lord!

We want to share with you our needs for the near future:

Addition to Kapoeta mission house

Kapoeta is the mother mission hub. There, we receive missional leaders from all our hubs for quarterly meetings, seminars, and conferences. It is sometimes difficult to host them, as there is no extra guest space. We began a project to extend the existing house to add three guest rooms, a kitchen, indoor toilet and closet, and extra storage space. Changes will also have to be made to the existing roof and ceiling to accommodate the addition. Furnishings are needed for the new rooms. The project has been partially funded, but an additional $4,950 is needed to complete it.

Infrastructure development for our hubs

Construction of simple structures is needed in three of our hubs in Toposa – Lotien, Mogos and Riwotoo. What we envision is to be able to have a simple structure which can help host local trainings, seminars, and programs customized for a particular area. So far, our localized trainings happen under trees, which is adversely affected by weather conditions. Our plan includes putting up iron poles, iron sheet roofing, and iron sheet walls. Each hub’s construction will cost $8,800.

On the same note, we wish to construct a permanent structure in Chukudum hub because of the long-term importance to the church planting efforts to the Didinga tribe. This costs $33,000.

Need for a well in Napopo – Martha Lokwale’s village

We have talked about Martha several times in the past. She is a great woman of faith who is also a leader and evangelist to her people. This village has no water source; people walk for long distances to get water. We are praying for the day her village gets a borehole. The borehole will serve over 1,000 people. The average cost for a borehole is $24,000.

Bringing Power to Kerith

On behalf of Kerith Ministries, I would like to thank God for His continuous blessings over our ministry in Uganda through Harvesters International.

Praise Report

In the last two months, our ministry has had a tremendous success on one major project that we have been praying for over the years – electricity in our orphanage and school compound. This project is 40% under way! We hope that in the next two to three weeks the project will be completed. We shared this need with Pastor Doug during his visit a few weeks back. The Lord used you to provide for this need!

Besides Kerith Ministry, the entire village and the community leaders are very, very happy for the miracle of electric power. This will help to improve the finances of some of the people since they can start up a small business with the help of power.

As we celebrate this big project, we have two other projects that we are believing God will provide for.

Roofing of Four Classrooms

Through our model of saving and utilizing the funds we receive, we have been able to raise walls of the four classroom block that was remaining to finish the nine classroom plan. We are now left with roofing, which is always the challenging part. We need $5,900 to roof these remaining classrooms. This will provide us with enough classrooms by the beginning of the next school year which starts in January 2020. We currently have two classes that do not have a proper learning classroom.

School Toilet Facility