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From The Field-India 8/08

We praise God for Harvesters International for standing by us at all times, during success, joy and also during trials and tribulations. Dear prayer partners we thank you for your faithful prayer and financial support.

Jagat – Jyoti School

DSC00232_article This year when we started a new section of our education efforts; we have 130 students (all are non-Christians) on our rolls. We provide them with text books and exercise notebooks. Additionally, we provide them free nutritious food four times a month. Students coming from distant villages are provided with transportation to and from school.

As we said earlier we have 130 students on our roll. But in village school they don’t come regularly. Some of them have to supplement their family income by working during agricultural season and festival. We have four classes- standard I to IV that meets Monday to Saturday. School starts with the prayer at 9 in the morning and goes on until noon. We are altogether four teachers, two of which are Christians, and one Janitor.

You may remember that one of our Jagat – Jyoti school students, Ritesh, fell down and had to be taken to hospital. He had to be in ICU for four days, before he was transferred to a general ward. We were all on our knees in prayer and you also joined us in fervent prayers. Praise the Lord, Ritesh has recovered. It was a real faith- stretching experience for every one.

Another faith building experience was the drilling of our water well. We went up to 350 feet deep with no sign of water. Even at that depth the soil was very dry. The villagers were making fun of us. The bore well digger was discouraging in his report. We kept crying unto the Lord. At the same time you all also joined us.

Just as we hit 356 feet, there was a mighty splash of water to a height of 10 feet. We all shouted for joy and kept praising the Lord! If this not a miracle, we don’t know what a miracle is! To note that our Lord listens to prayers of sinners like us. What a mighty God we have! Praise Him!

The academic year came to a close on April 25, 2008 as we had a meeting of the village leaders, all our staff, students and their parents. What a joy to note that most of the older people joined our students in Christian choruses and prayers!

Jeevan – Jyoti School

We started another school Jeevan Jyoti (Light of Life) in this new academic year 2007-08, located in the southern outskirts of Ujjain town. In this school we have 60 students (All are non Christians). In this school we have 4 staff and classes are from pre- nursery to II standard.

Outreach Ministry

We hired one pastor and two more village evangelical workers who work for Jagat- Jyoti ministry. They all go every week to hold worship services and fellowship. Twice a month we go to villages and join our Pastor and evangelists to have worship with children and adults. Ujjain evangelical work is not so easy. Despite all this, the Lord has enabled us to start Worship Services in two more villages called Dhaturia and Daloda. Praise the Lord!

In His service,
Ranu (Jyotsana) and Kamlesh

Is This the 21st Century?

The one room school house was the standard in education in rural towns in this country up until the beginning of the 20th Century. Children walked to school, so each geographic area had a small area where the children were taught by a single teacher. Generally the school encompassed grades one through eight and might have as many as thirty students. As rural communities grew, transportation became available and the need for labs and computers evolved, public and private schools became the norm.

india1 The scene here is not from the turn of the century, it was just taken from the Jagat Jyoti School in India this past month when the new school year began. This classroom is not only the center of learning over 100 students ranging in age from 6 through 14, but it also serves as the school lunch room – in the photo they are having a meal.

These children, known as the cobra children, are thrilled to be able to receive an education as one would not be offered to them by the government since they are among the lowest caste of India. For the teachers, however, who strive to give them the tools that they will need to make a difference in their lives and their families’ lives, teaching so many grades all together in such cramped conditions becomes a challenge.

There are really two Indias – the first India – the modern India. The second, and much larger, India is an entirely different world. Nearly three-quarters of the country’s population live in rural areas characterized by grinding poverty and social injustice – this India has been bypassed by progress and opportunity. (Two India’s – One Future. Web article).

The work of our India partners falls into the second India. The children that they teach will not be able to succeed in society if they are not given opportunities to develop the skills that are offered to those in modern India.

Without separate classrooms and the ability to teach a variety of grade appropriate curricula these children will still be at a disadvantage. Good Samaritan Sewa Kendra currently owns about ten acres of land and has a plan in place for a new school which would offer 8 classrooms to accommodate separation of the various grades. The total cost of the project is estimated at just under $85,000 US Dollars.

In 2007, HIM’s former director, Harold Stevens, went to be with the Lord. His family set up the Harold Stevens Memorial Fund to honor Harold through the building of this school in India. To date the fund has received about 20% of the amount necessary to complete this project. We continue to pray for this the school and we continue to seek grant opportunities to supplement the fund and to aid these children.

As we look out around us at our often “taken for granted” world, we need to remember our roots in the one room school house when the number of school-aged children was small and teachers were not readily accessible. Our partners in India have teachers, and they are not dealing with a small number of school-aged children, but they are still in the one room school house.

They are accepting as many children as their small complex with handle, but there are hundreds more wanting and needing an education. They are teaching in 1800’s standards in a 21st century world. Help the children to have an opportunity to go to school and to learn about the love of our Lord and Savior – bring them into the light!

Athanase Habimana

My name is Athanase Habimana. I was born in 1957 at Butumbalonge in the Masisi commune, Kivu Region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to a pagan family.

My mother was the third of my father’s three wives and she had five children. Four of us are still alive, while my sister passed away. My family practiced many of the pagan ways, like worshipping idols and offering them sacrifices. They killed cows and prepared beer for them.

At the age of ten, I attended Kirumbu Primary School (Roman Catholic) in 1969. During my studies in standard six, I received baptism as a Roman Catholic as every student in standard six was forced to do in order to attend secondary school.

I attended secondary school, but nothing changed in my life. My family and I continued to worship idols. I didn’t know the difference between the practices of pagans and Christians. My father died in 1970. I remained with my mother, who was not able to perform the pagan practices.

After my graduation from secondary school, I went looking for a job in order to help my family overcome the circumstances in which we found ourselves. I attended a Protestant church. They told me that before I got a job, I needed to be a church member and baptized. I was baptized in 1978 in order to get a job and help my poor mother. But nothing changed in my life.

God is great and has a plan for his people. One day in 1979, Pastor Sebakara Barore was preaching in a conference in Mayadja. He spoke about sin and its roots, how it grows and that the end of sin is death. He was reading Romans 3:23 and gave an illustration of a drunkard. He said that this man left home earlier in the morning and went to drink. That day it was raining and when he returned home from his journey he fell down in a ditch and drowned.

Sure, I was a drunkard more than that man when the pastor was explaining what happened to that man. My heart was beating, fearing that the pastor saw me drinking somewhere. It was the time that God planned to save my life.

At the end of the sermon, he invited people to give their life and accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. I was the first to stand and ask for forgiveness. The elders prayed for us. From that time, I feel free from sin and have full peace in my heart.

Since I have trusted Jesus Christ as my Saviour, I have freedom from my past sins and there is no need to look back to the things of my former life. Soon, God placed on my heart the desire to tell others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastor Sebakar Barore and Pastor Musindi Rugero helped train me for the ministry. It was during this time that God called me to be an evangelist. I have faithfully served Christ ever since by planting churches, preaching in churches, schools and open air meetings.

Joy in the Midst of the Masses

I recently had the opportunity to visit with Kamlesh and Ranu of the Good Samaritan Center in India. This is written to describe what God is doing among the people of India.

On landing and leaving the airport, the first impression is people everywhere in great numbers. It is projected that India will pass China in the next few years in total population in a land area which is one third the size of the United States.

The faces around are grim, but generally kind, but seen without hope. Then we see Kamlesh, Ranu and Kushy. They are all smiles and have true joy. They greet us with great excitement and humble concern for our well being.

A major focus of Kamlesh and Ranu’s ministry are two schools. The first one, on the fringe of Ujjain, serves the lowest social and economic level from local villages. There are 130 students presently enrolled with four teachers, including Kamlesh, and one helper.

Classes and activities are conducted in one medium sized and three small rooms. The children are taught knowledge, skills and character using teaching materials and the scriptures.

Some of the students are transported by tempos (motorized rickshaws) as they live too far away to walk. Many walk from nearby villages. These children would not be attending school if it were not for “Jagat-Jyoti” – “Light of the World” school. All are Hindu and are hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The newest school, Jeevan Jyoti English Medium School (“Light of the Life”), is in Ujjain and has 60 students. All are Hindu. They are from families who could not afford to pay full school costs, but do pay a small fee. The students are ages 2 – 8 years and they are divided into 4 classes for studies. There are four teachers, including Ranu, and one helper. The Lord our God is proclaimed in everything with His truth.

The plan is to add a class each year as funds allow for teachers and space to increase. Ranu is currently pursuing a Bachelors degree in education, which she will complete in May. She already has bachelor, masters and doctorate degrees in Sociology.

Another focus of the ministry is church planting. Our visits to families and groups of Christians in nine rural villages were times of great joy, fellowship and teaching. Kamlesh and Ranu visit these villages to worship and fellowship with these people monthly. They travel great distance over very bad roads that take much time and bodily abuse. They are faithful!

An 83 year old pastor ministers to the two newest village groups. A young pastor and family are assisting at one village and two evangelists travel to some of the other villages. It is very evident that these Christians are well grounded in God’s Word – praise Him.

Kamlesh and Ranu are very grateful for the Lord’s provision through the partnership with Harvesters, which include a vehicle, a water well with clean, fresh water at the village school and Kamlesh and Ranu’s support.

The next project being planned is a new school building on the site of the village school – the land and a good well are already there. The Harold Stevens Memorial Fund is the beginning of the funding

Please continue to pray for them and for those who have not had the opportunity to hear.

Inside a War: New Ministry Partner in the Congo

If you were passing by two people having a conversation and overheard them say something about the “world’s deadliest war”- to where would you think they were referring? Would it be- Iraq? How about Darfur? In both cases, you would be incorrect.

The UN’s International Rescue Committee has stated that “the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has cost more lives than any other since World War II” (www.irinnews.org). This conflict has received minimal coverage in the world press as it has ravaged a nation that lies in the heart of Africa. Fighting continues today despite a peace agreement that was signed in January 2008 and the deployment of UN peacekeepers.

More than two years ago, a Congolese pastor struck up a conversation with Ed Hirshman, Harvesters’ Director, at the Methodist Guest House in Nairobi, Kenya. The pastor, Athanase Habimana, spoke of the great need and opportunity in his home area of Goma, North Kivu district of eastern Congo. The Guest House is a popular place for Christian conferences and teams, so it is not unusual to cross paths with such people. Likewise, Harvesters is often approached by ministries seeking a partnership with someone in the US.

It is not often that meetings, such as the one between Ed and Habimana, amount to anything. However, in October 2007 a group from Harvesters, Ed Hirshman, Jonathan Lancaster and J. Lucarelli, traveled to Goma, Congo to visit with and survey the ministry led by Athanasi Habimana, The Union of Baptist Churches of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

What the group saw was both eye-opening and encouraging. The level of poverty was quickly evident, as was the graciousness of the people. The encouragement came when the group saw the incredible work taking place through the efforts of Habimana and the Baptist Union and how little they had in the way of financial resources.

Started in 1989 with 1 church and a group of 15 believers, the Union has evolved into a network of 81 churches, more than 6,000 believers, a Christian school educating more than 1,000 students, a small Bible school that trains pastors and a small orphanage of about 35 children. Much of the ministry takes place in and around the city of Goma, located only a few kilometers from the border of Rwanda.

The stated mission of the Union is to “proclaim the Gospel to every Congolese and to plant churches and to promote social and economic development through programs and projects.” This mission is remarkably similar in both scope and execution to that of the Pokot Outreach Ministry in Kenya.

The conflict between Hutu rebels hiding in the forest that surround Goma and government troops has forced the evacuation of several rural areas in which the ministry works and displaced more than 500,000, many of which have taken up residence in refugee camps located outside of Goma.

Upon hearing of the wonderful ministry taking place in Congo that was very similar in methods and purpose of other ministry partners, the board of Harvesters approved the partnership of Harvesters International with the Baptist Union. Harvesters committed to telling the ministry’s story, informing God’s people of their needs and providing financial resources as the Lord provided

It is with great excitement and expectation that we introduce to you, Pastor Athanasi Habimana and the work of the Union of Baptist Churches of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

From the Field-POM 4/08

Dear Prayer Partners,

Greetings from Pokot to you all in the precious Name of our Lord.

We are all doing fine as a family, and the Ministry too is doing great.

Josephine, 14, is doing well at school both academically and socially. She is well liked among her class and room mates. She moves to 9th grade this summer.

Rebecca, who will be 10 years old in June, has adjusted well to boarding school where she is learning with her sister. She hardly speaks much but she is more diligent in her school work than Josephine when she was her age.

Miriam the singer continues to sing. Now that the two older ones are not there, she and Jumboy continue to get along well.

Jumboy, now 4, seems to have been told by somebody somewhere that he is the baby and must just not grow but keep hanging on mama’s skirt. He is so different from the girls!

Church Planting and Evangelism

We had a very successful evangelistic campaign in the last week of February in Kalowani, Uganda. About 700 people came to hear the word preached and over 200 of them committed their lives to Christ. We praise the Lord for them and pray that God will bring them up spiritually. We faced challenges like witches, sorcerers, tribal prophets who are powerful and feared by the people in these areas.

For the young believers in the village, these demonic powers are a threat to them. Nomadic lifestyle is the other problem because they move from one area to another looking for food and pasture.

Our evangelist’s training started on the last week of March. We have 15 men training to help us to take the gospel to places we have not been to.

God has really used the simplicity of the presentation of these men as they share the gospel. In the villages, they are really ordinary people and God has used the ordinariness to show himself as extra ordinary in them.

This time seems to be challenging East, West, North for all of us because of shortage of food that is largely looming all over Kenya and already realized in some parts of Pokot, The East Pokot and Sigor near Lomut School.

We look forward to working with a team coming in July around the waterfall area, Kodich Orphanage, Kauriong and Chemolingot in East Pokot.

As teams work with our people physically, it really touches our people spiritually and sends a lot of messages about God’s love.

Our team to Sudan leaves in May to be established in Riwoto, Kapoeta district. Pray that God will have met a need of $18,000 for a used Suzuki or Toyota R4 because the road does not have public transport.

Orphanages

The beginning of this year was really challenging for us at these Institutions.

Supply of food and the situation of teachers became a problem when Kenya had skirmishes after the general election.

Many people in Kenya believed that they voted out the current President of Kenya and so when he was announced to have won the election, violence broke out and over 1,000 people were killed.

This made it impossible for teachers at the orphanages to report to schools, suppliers of food commodities and of building materials and even transportation and mobility became impossible.

The whole situation however made us more prayerful. Five more orphans passed their national 8th grade exam and joined high schools in various parts of Kenya.

Even though this is good for us as a Ministry but of financial troubles in paying school fees is also increased by five more and some more will go to Universities.

Water Drilling

We are very thankful for the sacrifice many of you have made to make it possible for Pokot to drink water.

We are drilling boreholes and God is giving us good success with the old drilling equipment on a new hope that will move our drilling work very fast. Vincent Onyango our main driller and mechanic will leave next week for India to try and bring in a new drilling machine.

Our people are very happy and are looking forward to a blessed time with a lot more boreholes! God is really good. When we first thought about the possibility of having a new machine, it was truly unrealistic and beyond reach. But by God’s grace, he has made the impossible with man to be possible.

Medical Services

While the country was been going through difficult times with skirmishes it has made it very difficult for us to operate too. Nurses could not move around easily and communication was generally difficult. But normalcy is returning slowly and we are particularly grateful that it’s returning before the months of May-July when malaria is normally very rampant and breaks out very strongly.

Dr. Josephine and her team are busy taking medical services to the people and requests for establishing clinics all over continues to be high.

The people also continue to press us for a hospital in Kapenguria so that some of the referral cases which are so pressing now can be solved in the facility yet to be constructed in Kapenguria.

Please pray for Kenya that God will restore our country to what it was before.

Pray that God will continue to call our people in the unreached places such as East

Uganda, Pokot Mountains and the far and difficult areas as our men go.

Pray that God will meet the need for $ 18,000 for Sudan by May.

•Looming starvation and shortage of food, a big threat. Pray that God will meet this need.

Thank you and God bless you,

Sincerely Yours In His Bonds,
Julius Murgor

Building the Kingdom by Building a School

In the early stages of their life, Pokot children are looked upon as the hope for the future. By the age of three or four, the girls generally stay at home and learn child care and cooking while the boys are sent to look after the cattle. Traditionally, education was not considered important to the nomadic Pokot. Less than four percent of the Pokot tribe of almost one million is literate. Only two percent of the tribe is gainfully employed.

The Kenyan government introduced free compulsory primary education, but there are not enough schools to handle the influx of students since 2003. Secondary school was not included in the government mandate. Only 10% of students are even eligible for secondary school based on National exams. For those who pass the exams the costs are prohibitive at around $1,200 per year per student without transportation. Children may be assigned to any secondary school in the country – most several hours from their homes and families and for the Pokot there is no public transportation.

Because of the Lord’s provision, the area of Lomut, which is centrally located, will now have a secondary school that eventually will accommodate our thirty plus eligible orphanage children as well as those from the local area. This school will facilitate sharing the Gospel and will stand as a testimony to the love of Christians around the world for those who are in need. The Lomut Secondary School project will change the lives of many children of the Pokot tribe. This school will help to train the future leaders of Kenya.

The school complex was designed and received government approval in 2006. The complex is scheduled to have eight classrooms, and administration block, library, two laboratories, a dining hall and kitchen, initially one dormitory for 120 students and ultimately three dormitories that size, staff housing and a sports field. Currently there are three buildings under construction on the fifty acre plot in Sigor Division of West Pokot. Students have been attending classes for the past year while construction is underway. These three buildings will provide the beginnings of a wonderful complex that will offer these young people a quality Christian education. We are praying for finances to be able to complete the entire complex in the Lord’s time.

Quality teachers are also needed for the school. Some of the former orphanage children who have attended University are returning to help to fill these positions. It is estimated that the school will initially require four teachers at $250 each per month in addition to salaries for the dorm parents and the cooks. As with any project, the people want to know that the school is going to be able to operate once it is completed. As with the additional finances to complete the complex, we would also ask that you would lift up the ongoing operating costs of the school to the Lord.

Phillip Ochieng

After High School, Phillip worked for three years as a school teacher. He then went to India for undergraduate studies in Economics, English Literature and Public Administration. Phillip holds a Masters Degree in Industries and Management. During his time in India Phillip came to know the Lord and attended the Asian Christian Academy in Bangalore South India where he received a Masters in Theology.

Phillip returned to Kenya where he felt the Lord calling him to be a pastor. Phillip is married to Rose and they serve the Lord in Miguri. Together they have three children of their own and operate an orphanage for approximately 25 children. Phillip has a small church with about 20 adults plus many children.

In addition to these two projects, Phillip has a small Christian library which attracts many of the village people and allows him to share the gospel. He also has a small training center at the orphanage that helps to equip the children with a skill when they start out on their own. Some of the skills that Phillip desires to train the children in include furniture making and welding including making metal trunks and stoves.

Phillip has also started a small farm. A portion of the crop is used to feed the children and widows and the balance is sold to help with other expenses. In order to make the operation more efficient, Phillip is praying for a tractor which will eliminate the middle man and open the doors for further agricultural training for the children.

New Rig an Answer to Prayer

In our fall of 2007 newsletter, you may remember the story of the divine appointment that Harvesters International Missions (HIM) had with Godfrey Kibua ten years ago that led to the purchase of our first water drilling rig. Harvesters, by faith, committed $65,000 for the purchase of this rig, which was old, and in great need of repairs. Through that purchase, the Lord was faithful and He brought water to many Pokot for the first time in their lives.

Five years ago, it became apparent that repairs for this equipment were becoming nearly impossible and the Lord again blessed us with the donation of equipment from the United States. Again, by faith, HIM committed $50,000 to ship the rig and other necessary equipment to Kenya. Although this was also a used rig, it had a lot of life left in it. Since the rig’s arrival in Kenya, the Pokot have dug twenty-seven wells, but now, five years later, as with the first equipment, it is getting harder and harder to find replacement parts and to get repairs accomplished.

We are pleased to give testimony that the Lord has provided $300,000 through individuals, churches and foundations for a brand new drilling rig from India. This rig is capable of drilling much deeper wells that will open new areas for evangelism and it will also drill wells much faster. We have placed an order for this equipment and are excited about what the Lord has provided and how the equipment will be used to share the Living Water with those who have never heard the Gospel.

We praise the Lord for His great provision and for His faithfulness in answering the prayers of His people.

Murgor Wins Election

Julius Murgor Continues His Ministry to the Pokot as a Member of Parliament

Ministry is the act of serving. Serving is to work for or be a servant to. The concept is usually related to some type of religious action or capacity. The life of Jesus is a tremendous example of the concept of service and His death was the penultimate act of service.

For over 20 years, Julius has served his community and countrymen with integrity, honor and energy despite circumstances that would have been the undoing of lesser men. In all that he does, he is resolute to address both the physical and spiritual needs of others.

Through his effort and God’s blessing, Julius has become the Pokot’s advocate to the outside world. He has stood in stark contrast to government and parliamentary officials who have done little to help the underserved community of West Pokot. The people know that he genuinely cares for them and he has selflessly dedicated himself to their betterment through the gospel of Christ.

For a number of years, Julius has resisted community pressure to represent them in the government as their member of parliament. Prayer, church politics and the status of ministry leadership led him to the conclusion that the time was not right for such a step.

As time has passed, the obstacles that had previously kept Julius from putting his name in the hat for MP were removed. Julius has a dedicated and talented team overseeing many of the daily activities of the ministry and church politics are being taken care of through other means.

Therefore, it was with peace of mind and the full blessing of the Harvesters Board of Directors that Julius agreed to seek the post of Member of Parliament for the Kapenguria constituency of West Pokot District. During the Kenyan election season, which is thankfully much shorter than that of the U.S., it wasn’t necessary for Julius to do much campaigning. He is well known in the area as a man of God, integrity and unflappable moral standards.

Elections were held on December 27th. The Presidential election has been widely contested and chaos has broken out across the country. One thing that wasn’t in question was that Julius won his seat by garnering more than 50% more votes than his nearest competitor, Samuel Moroto, the incumbent.

There is no question that he will represent his constituency with the same energy and resolve that he has exerted thus far. Please pray for Julius as he adjusts to his new responsibilities and the nuances of politics. It is believed that his new duties will dovetail nicely with his ministry responsibilities. It is with great anticipation that we surround Julius with prayer and thanksgiving as he moves into a new phase of his ministry serving others.