We love children here at Harvesters! Across East Africa and Asia, we care for more than 1,500 children in a variety of settings with the ultimate goal of demonstrating the love of Christ to these children, their families, and communities. Our response to the physical and spiritual needs of orphans and underprivileged children varies from large homes in Kenya to group homes of 6 to 10 children in Russia to low caste schools in India. The needs are great, but so are the opportunities… and the potential.

A pastor friend let me listen to a song last year entitled “Kings & Queens” about how children who we often view as “the least of these” will be crowned kings and queens and “clothed in majesty” someday. What a great picture for all of us of what heaven will be. Why wait until heaven? We have an opportunity now to clothe these children in the majesty of Christ’s love, not just because they are the least of these that Jesus referred to in Matthew 25, but because they are kings and queens with dreams and potential to impact the world around them.

In this issue of our newsletter there are a number of reports and articles about how and why ministering to children is such a big part of what we do.

As you read please keep in mind that these future doctors, pilots, journalists, architects, pastors, and teachers are not children to be pitied and they don’t need our sympathy. They need hope that comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ and an opportunity to reach their full potential.

Uganda

In Pallisa, Uganda, approximately one third of all children are orphans. Another 10% are considered “vulnerable children”, meaning that many basic needs of the child are unable to be met. Currently, Kerith Ministries provides services to 220 children each week. Seventy-six of those children receive help with school fees and would otherwise be unable to attend school. Pastor Sam and his wife, Mercy, provide housing, food, clothing, and education to twenty children living at the children’s home.

Abedi’s father died when he was two. His mother moved from house to house providing labor in exchange for food. They only had three meals per week. Abedi attended a Bible club conducted by Kerith. He is now living in Kerith Children’s Home and is healthy and happy. He wants to become a doctor.

Congo

Pastor Habimana has taken a multi-pronged approach to responding to the needs of children in his community. Eastern DRC has been plagued by decades of rebel fighting, government mismanagement, and natural disasters. This has resulted in there being many orphans and children living in extreme poverty. The ministry tries to place children in the homes of church members or at a small orphanage managed by the ministry. There is also a school providing education for 2,000 children, many on scholarship that would not be able to go to school otherwise.

Several of the orphans assisted by the ministry have graduated from high school and college and have returned to teach at Christian schools or work in ministry. 

Bizi, one of children helped by Habimana says that “at five years old, my mother passed away when delivering my sister, Angelique. Three years later our father died. We went to live with our grandmother who also died. We were taken in by Pastor Habimana. We are living a good life and are happy to be considered his children. We now attend school. We thank God for having a parent like him.”

Myanmar

Pastor Ben in Myanmar has a different perspective. He was orphaned at age two. God gave him a heart to care for orphans and poor children. The ministry began a small orphanage with ten children, which has grown to 30 children. The ministry now works with four local families that care for 125 children. While they provide food, shelter and education for these children, Pastor Ben says that the most important thing they provide is the security and hope found in a relationship with Christ.

Andrea Burris recently joined our staff as Director of Communications.  She spent 25 years as Director of Corporate Communications for a multi-family management company.  Andrea felt God’s call for something more.  He placed Harvesters directly in her path and she now uses her skills in story-telling and communications to share what God is doing around the world.

Andrea is active in numerous ministries at Metrolina Church.  She is passionate about music and worship, and serves on the Worship Team.  She lives in Harrisburg, North Carolina, with her husband, Andy, and their daughters, Ava and Arden.

Today is Giving Tuesday.  It began in 2012 as an answer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  It’s a time to celebrate generosity and determine how we can best give of our time, talents, and resources.

In celebration of Giving Tuesday, our goal is to provide 500 Bibles for believers. Our ministry partners have a consistent need for Bibles in their native languages. Together, we can put God’s word into the hands of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.  The cost of one Bible is $10.  Click donate to be part of helping believers grow in their faith as they read and study His Word!

Yeats said “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” The fire ignited by education by all of our partners is a catalyst for change; it promotes development within families and communities; it provides dignity and hope for the future; it builds capacity within the church; and equips leaders with the word of God.

Education is an important component of Harvesters’ holistic approach to ministry to encourage and assist national missionary initiative and to equip believers with the tools necessary to read, study, and share the word of God with others. Dedicated pastors and evangelists work tirelessly to share the love of Christ.

Harvesters is working with national ministry leaders to promote many different types of learning with more than 1,200 children in primary and secondary education and more than 100 students in Bible colleges and training centers.

Twenty years ago when Harvesters partnered with Julius Murgor and Pokot Outreach Ministries in Kenya, the population was more than 95% illiterate and parents did not want their children to attend school. Animals needed to be grazed, water needed to be collected, and younger siblings needed to be watched were all reasons given for why school wasn’t good for the Pokot community.

A generation later, the church is thriving, and education is increasingly being seen as a catalyst for positive change for the Pokot community. It is often out of a desire to study the word of God that has changed the minds of many parents who have now decided that they want more for their children. Scripture memory has led to many learning how to read and write by recognizing words in the Bible.

Reuben Meriakol, a Pokot missionary to South Sudan, says, “We don’t study to gain credentials, but to acquire proper knowledge and skill for ministry.”

In India, Kamlesh recounts the boldness and confidence of Kaajal Tilodia, a student from a Hundu family, whose father was an alcoholic that returned home each evening only to beat his wife
and shout at his children. With tears in her eyes, she asked one of her teachers, “when you pray, you say all things are possible with “Isshu Masih” (Jesus Christ). Can Jesus free my father from alcohol habit?” The teacher replied, “Yes, Kaajal, Jesus will surely do it. With faith we should pray for your dad.” Each day teachers prayed with Kaajal privately for her father, Mr. Tilodia.  On a Sunday morning when he was sober, Kaajal talked to him in detail, telling him “Isshu Masih” can grant him freedom from the dreadful habit of alcohol. Then she had the confidence to pray with her father. The next morning, Mr. Tilodia came to Kaajal’s school and told the teachers, “I have no craving for alcohol anymore. “Isshu Masih” has liberated me from the curse of alcohol addiction! Now our home is very different and greatly blessed!”

In Myanmar and Kenya, children who grew up on the ministry are now returning to the ministry after college to serve as teachers and choir directors and to fan the flame of Christian influence for the next generation of children. Other children are becoming pastors, teachers, lawyers, and doctors, and influencing their churches and communities with values and character reinforced through their education.

It is incredibly exciting to witness the impact that education has on people like Kaajal, who have the confidence to share their faith and to influence their communities for Christ.

The cost of sending a child to high school in Kenya is $1,200 per year. $450 per year allows a student to attend Bible College in Myanmar or equips an evangelist in Kenya with the tools and knowledge to start and lead a church. Please partner with us to keep the fire of education burning bright.

Join us in welcoming Doug Radford, our new Director of Development, to the staff of Harvesters! Doug has served in pastoral positions for the last 17 years. He has been very involved in both local and international outreach efforts. God used numerous mission trips and involvement with international efforts at his church to draw him into this full time position focused on spreading the Gospel around the world.

First Free Will Baptist Church in Wilson, North Carolina, where Doug most resently served as Outreach Pastor, has a long history of supporting Harvesters. That relationship led to opportunities for him to visit several of our partners and become passionate about their evangelistic work and practical ministry to people. As a powerful speaker and communicator, Doug is now working on behalf of our partners by sharing their stories in every opportunity God provides, as well as traveling with short-term teams and assisting in ministry.

Doug remains an ordained minister and lives in Wilson with his wife, Pam, and their two daughters. Being part of Harvesters is the fulfillment of a desire that God placed in him many years ago. Doug is thankful for this opportunity saying, “It’s both humbling and exciting to see God move in my life and open doors for ministry.”

Harvesters wants to partner with you to accomplish the work that God has set before us. Even as we celebrate how He is moving through our partners, there is much left to do, and you can help to accomplish it! To learn more about our partners and our initiatives, begin a campaign, or have Doug speak to your group, please contact him via email at doug@harvesters.net.