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From The Field-POM 12/08

Dear Prayer Partners,

Greetings to you in our Lord’s Name. We are all fine as a family, the “Murgorites”. Josephine is in ninth grade 15 years and doing well in school. She is well liked by both her teachers and peer group who swarm around her whenever I take her in from school breaks. We are trying to go to Michigan around Dec 15 for two weeks trying to see about the possibility of her going to school there for a year in the tenth grade.

Rebecca is in fourth grade and is doing very well in school. She is very bright in class work though she speaks very little. She is also well behaved and well liked. Both girls like memorizing scripture and singing.

Miriam 8, is still in the village school was thrilled to be moved up to the fourth grade, like her sister in boarding school. We are hoping she will join her sisters next year starting from third grade in boarding school.

“Jumboy”, or Jared, will be 5 in three weeks, will be in his final kindergarten year next year before joining the village school as a first grader. He is very hyper and does not really concentrate on his work. We thank God for our children and for good behavior.

Church Planting and Evangelism

Christmas time is usually a time that all of us have some anticipation both spiritual and physical in form of materials. Normally we would be feasting in some of the new places where we would be taking fellowships to, for our new ones to learn about Jesus.

But this year started with a lot of problems. It started with conflicts, chaos and even deaths that have haunted our country. Shortage of food has been reported all over the country and the Minister for Agriculture has ordered maize millers to avail the food commodity at an affordable price.

A bag of maize now goes for Ksh. 2,300 in Pokot, Ksh. 1,500 more than it usually is. Ed’s medical team planted a lot of seed for us in October. Siwa is already reporting a lot of abundance of fruit where the team distributed medicine.

We intend to follow up this seed with water projects by drilling boreholes in the generally dry area.

Water Drilling

We had a day of prayer in Kapenguria on November 15. Among the guests invited for the great occasion was the Deputy Prime Minister of Kenya, Hon. Musalia Mudavadi.

There were nearly 10,000 Pokots who swarmed into the little town of Makutano in Kapenguria. They came on foot the previous day and through the night for one thing mainly. They heard that a new water drilling machine that drills very fast and will give water to Pokot people will be prayed for in Kapenguria.

It was an emotionally touching moment. People praised God for coming down to their aid. They called it an instant miracle. They expressed joy that stomach sicknesses from contaminated water, typhoid problems and bee stings which sting and kill children while they try to get sweat and even tears for water, will be a thing of the past.

Orphanages

Towards the end of every year, the orphans in 8th grade sit for a National Examination that allows them to go to high school. About 50 of them sat for the exam and we are hoping that they will pass it so they can progress on to the next level.

The ones in High Schools and Colleges bring us a lot of good and encouraging reports both academically and spiritually. Some of them have been made student leaders, which is a sign of leadership and responsibility in the making.

I would like to report here that between this year and next year August, it is going to be very difficult for us to feed these children because of scarcity of food in the country and the high cost when available. So we will be making appeals from time to time.

Please pray that:

God will meet our needs for safety as Josephine and I will travel to USA.
That God will provide so that the drilling machines will be kept busy – right now they are just in the yard.
That God will provide for the needs that we have to keep the Orphanages.

Merry Christmas And Happy New Year.

Sincerely yours,
Julius Murgor

Crisis In Congo-Update 10.7.08

In an email received on Tuesday from The Reverend Habimana in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we learned that conditions have worsened since our report of September 14th. He is now describing them as critical.

The death toll has been rising in Goma as a result of lack of food. When food is available, the prices have escalated drastically. Communications with the rural areas of the country have been cut off and crops are not being delivered into the city for fear of attack. Many of the roadways have been closed off by the rebels, so traffic flow into the city is virtually at a stand still.

The UN currently has a large ground presence in the Kivu province to help to press back the rebel National Congress for People’s Defence (CNDP) which has been pushing against Government forces. There is a great deal of fear that conditions may escalate to where they were at the peak of the Civil War when over 4 million people lost their lives.

Please pray for the people of the Kivu province and for the Reverend as he strives to share the love of the Lord with these people in their time of fear and distress. Pray that the food will be able to reach the people and that the inflation will stop.

Crisis in Congo

Harvesters received word from Pastor Habimana last week that fighting has again flared up in close proximity to Goma, North Kivu District, where he lives with his family and where the ministry of the Union of Baptist Churches (UBC) is headquartered.

The pastor and his family are safe, but the ministry and its congregations have been greatly affected as people have fled into the forests to escape the clashing parties. Communication is difficult as congregations are uprooted and scattered.

Congo has been in the midst of what has been referred to as the “World’s Deadliest War” (Time, June 2006) with an estimated 5.4 million people dying since the conflict began in 1998. It could also be referred to as a “Silent War” because the world media has given it very little coverage.

Reuters and the IRC both report that “More than 850,000 people have been forced from their homes by fighting in North Kivu since late 2006, in one of the world’s worst conflict-driven humanitarian disasters.”

There was hope that the fighting would diminish when a peace agreement was signed in January 2008. However, war and violence continue to be a way of life in eastern Congo despite the efforts of the more than 17,000 UN peacekeeping troops stationed in the area.

The fighting became especially bad on August 28, 2008 when UN peacekeeping troops fired on rebel fighters of Laurent Nkunda’s National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) in Sake, a town approximately 20 kilometers northwest of Goma.

Pastor Habimana remains in good spirits despite the difficult circumstances, uncertainty and the realization that his countrymen, fellow believers and colleagues are suffering in the midst of this conflict.

The Pastor’s message to Ed Hirshman, however, expressed for the first time a sense of fear that Goma may be taken by rebel forces. Up to this point, the fighting has remained outside of Goma-proper, which has been somewhat of a refuge.

Pastor Habimana has requested our prayers that the fighting would not reach Goma and that he and the ministry of UBC can minister to the needs of those affected by the current crisis. Pray that churches would remain strong and retain their commitment to outreach despite the dispersal of congregations throughout the area.

We are far removed from this conflict, but we are connected to it through Pastor Habimana and the men and women with whom he ministers in and through this crisis. We can help with our prayers and we can help with our finances. Please consider helping in both areas.

From The Field-POM 9/08

Dear Prayer Partners,

Greetings in the name of our Lord!

We are doing well as a family and the kids returned to school a few days ago after having a break from school from July 10.

Josephine is going to 9th grade! Unbelievable and will be 15 years old on September 26th. She is doing very well academically and we were very happy to read comments from her teachers about her humility, obedience, hard work and diligence helpfulness to her peers on her end year’s report. We are praying about the possibility of visiting the US with her in December and pray about her going to school in US for a year from next fall.

Rebecca who turned 10 in June is also doing fine and academically doing very well also. Miriam 8 continues to get along well with Jumboy, but only when the other older girls are not there. (Talk of relationship of convenience)

Church Planting and Evangelism

We thank God for the August Women Conference which was attended by about 700 women. Out of the total, 300 came from new and very remote areas where we have just started the work. Over 130 came forward to receive the Lord. Nyangayta, Takar and Marich are among our baby congregations to be planted.

We have had a great persecution in Uganda. The tribal prophet alleged that he has been put ‘out of network or coverage’ since Christians started planting churches in the district. That opened fire on the Christians since the tribe believes that their day to day activities are guided by the tribal prophet who is expected to foretell about the future welfare of the tribe.

Our people were rounded up and beaten all over wherever we have a congregation. Please pray about this situation. Another looming concern is about a food shortage for the lowlands. The rain did not fall in April for planting. Instead it came in July and now it is over. From now until next August, food will be a great concern and a matter of prayer in Pokot.

Water Drilling

For a long time we have been grounded because our old drilling machine broke down and the part was not available in the country. The part came in from the United States at the end of July. So now we are back on the job and pray that God will put water in the holes we are drilling. The other great news and praise to God’s hand for provision is that our new drilling truck is expected to get to the port of Mombasa any day. I know that some of you have been praying so much about its arrival and even the provision of it and God has done it all!

This instrument has been waited for very much by the Pokot people. Each area is hopeful that shortage of any water and of clean water for some areas will really be solved. It is also expected that water related diseases such as typhoid, abdominal problems will be greatly reduced, if not eliminated in these areas.

I have just received news that we hit water in a borehole we were drilling in Kapchok area. We praise the Lord for such a success because it means so much to so many people.

Pray that the Government will grant us a tax exemption so we that wont have to pay tax on this instrument.

Orphanages

The kids at Kodich always look forward to the teams coming in July from USA. There are several reasons for this occasion. The Great Kodich Chicken Race, where they award chicken to the winner, is an event that the children really look forward to in addition to fellowshipping with the visitors.

The Great Kodich Chicken Race however was not held. The group from Kensington Community Church that stayed in Kodich were particularly busy this July and did not hold it. The team did a great job building a girls dorm for us. They went to the nearby bushes to gather stones for the dorm. As they gathered stones and loaded to the tractor, we were becoming afraid that they might run into scorpions under the rocks as they try to turn every stone.

The orphan children are doing well and are academically leading in the district. We thank God for their devotion to God and high level of discipline which has brought the good academic results.

Another team from South Carolina headed to East Pokot and helped finish an orphanage home there that will house 100 kids. That will be such a relief and hope to the hopeless Pokot children in East Pokot.

Medical Services

Because of the delay of the rain, May- July malaria breakout that is normally such a killer and ‘a dark hour’, as I usually call it, was not as dangerous as it usually is.

As demand rises for medical supply, over need for drugs is increasing by the day. On the other hand the proposed Kapenguria Hospital that we hope to begin by the end of the year is greatly anticipated. The Government District Doctor met me about two weeks ago and asked if he could give part time service in our hospital when finished. He said the Government Hospital has a lot of problems from lack of drugs to lack of commitment on the part of services.

Thank you all and God bless you.

Sincerely,
Rev. Julius Murgor

Hope For Those In Great Need

Our partners in India work among the Cobra people – the lowest caste of Hindu society. Life for families under the caste system is basically locked in – the upper castes are highly respected and have many opportunities while the lower castes are shunned and have no hope of moving up in society.

Through sharing the love of Christ with the Cobra people, many of this caste are beginning to see a God who lives outside the caste system – a compassionate, loving and caring God who believes all people are created equally. This is a hard concept for these people to grasp, but faith in motion is one of the things that is showing Christ to these people.

One story Kamlesh and Ranu shared was about Meena Jaiswal and her family. Meena married in 1994 and her husband worked in a textile mill in the neighboring state of Gujrat. In 1996, they were blessed with a daughter named Megha. Their joy knew no limit when a son (Karan) was born in 1998.

In 2005, tragedy struck the young family when Meena’s husband died suddenly. Their meager saving was spent on his medical care and funeral rites. Meena was left totally helpless with two young children. She returned Ujjain to live with her brother. Meena started doing any odd jobs she could find, but she was struggling to meet the family’s needs.

An old Bible class classmate of Kamlesh and Ranu brought Meena to them. They have been privileged to help Megha and Karan with their tuition, text books, educational materials, clothes and necessities. Megha is in 8th standard and Karan is in 5th. They gave them books of Bible stories and they share the Gospel with them. They are praying that the Lord will bless their efforts as they present the plan of salvation to the children and their mother.

Kamlesh and Ranu have over a hundred children at their first school – Jagat-Jyoti (Light of the World). These children would not have an opportunity for an education if it were not for Kamlesh and Ranu. This ministry supplies these children with clothes, a daily snack, school supplies and healthy meals twice a month. The families of these children are most grateful to Kamlesh and Ranu for the provisions, love and schooling that they receive.

This year, as a special gift to the children, Kamlesh and Ranu had backpacks printed with the name of the school made for all the children. A backpack is something that none of these children had ever had before and from the picture below you can see how much they appreciate what our God has given them. Through the generosity and love of Kamlesh, Ranu and their staff, these children are seeing Christ as a loving and caring God – one that is real in the lives of those who know Him. Please pray for these children that they may break out of the chains of their caste through the love of Christ.

Never Too Old

s_3_043 During a Harvesters Vision Trip to visit and encourage Kamlesh and Ranu of the Good Samaritan Services Center we witnessed the wonderful work of God’s hand.

Over the years, the janitor at the Jagat-Jyoti School (at left) witnessed day after day the lifestyle evangelism of Ranu and Kamlesh. He saw that they had something that he did not. It took many years, but just prior to our visit, this man invited Jesus Christ in to his life.

The gentleman in this picture (at right) celebrated his 75th birthday while we were there. He is a widower and continues to serve as a pastor to three village churches that are located a great distance away from Ranu and Kamlesh.

s_3_022 This man is a Christian and oversees one of the church buildings in one of the 15 villages in which Kamlesh and Ranu minister on a regular basis.

One of these men is just beginning his walk with the Lord, while the other continues to faithfully serve. In both case, neither of these men are too old; not too old to start his journey and not too old to continue his journey as an effective ambassador for Christ.

We praise God for giving each of us a purpose for each stage of our lives and that none of us has an expiration date.

Rising Prices & Political Unrest

Each day our news is filled with reports of rising fuel and food prices. For some of us, these increases have hit home, making it more expensive and, thus, more difficult to get to and from work and to feed our families. Some of you may have decided to go on vacation a little closer to home or, maybe, forego a vacation all together.

The increases that we are experiencing are being felt worldwide. In most parts of the world, food is difficult to come by in the first place and a small increase in the price of it often means the difference between having and not having food.

By all estimates, the world food situation will continue to deteriorate and relief agencies like the World Food Programme will continue to be strained to the breaking point as they respond to an increasing number of situations around the world.

Kenya is one of those places. The endemic food shortage has been exacerbated this year by inadequate rains and political unrest that disrupted distribution routes and forced farmers to watch their crops rot in the fields.

Pokot Outreach cares for more than 400 children at three orphanages throughout East and West Pokot. Providing food and clothing for the children has always been a challenge. The current prices on the world market have hit the people of Kenya hard, making it even more difficult to survive. The price of a bag of beans has risen nearly 300% in less than a year.

On a recent visit to the U.S., Pastor Julius Murgor reported of the ministry’s struggle to provide even basic food and clothing for the children. He reported this not as a means of garnering pity or inspiring guilt in his audience. Rather, he said it in his matter of fact way of recounting how the Lord continues to provide for the needs of the children and those involved in the ministry.

His account of the situation brings to light a need of utmost importance that we feel needs immediate attention. The need is for financial assistance for the purpose of caring for the basic needs of the children under the care of the Pokot Outreach Ministry in Kenya.

Please consider helping us respond to this situation. A situation that has been made more pressing by the economic and political environments far removed the Pokot. As you feel the impact of rising food and fuel costs, please think of and consider assisting those a world away in the name of a God that transcends countries, color and economics.

Whom Shall I Send?

Have you heard the Lord calling you? This summer, Harvesters helped 34 people answer that call in Kenya, East Africa. It is the desire of Harvesters to assist churches in preparing groups for short-term mission trips. Thirteen members of the summer work team went to Chemoligot Orphanage to assist with construction projects and to share the love of the Lord with the children and villagers. Fifteen people, all from Michigan, headed to Kodich Orphanage where they completed construction projects and ministered to the people through the Gospel.

Many people make excuses for why they can’t answer the call. Isaiah made no excuses; he accepted the commission to be used by God. This summer, as with all our mission trips, the groups were varied. There were college students, newly weds, people from all walks of life and church staff. God chooses each person for a different reason, but all have a common calling – to share the Gospel message with the lost.

The two construction teams worked hard in the blazing heat, shared prayer and meals. They gave their hearts to the fatherless and were blessed in more ways than they ever believed possible. They stepped out in faith to answer the call and the Lord equipped them to accomplish the tasks He set before them.

The third group of six left for Kenya on the 2nd of August. This was a vision team that spent a couple of days at several different locations capturing an overview of the different ministries that Harvesters International Missions is involved in throughout the country. This group ranged in age from 14 to 80. They visited both East and West Pokot and then proceeded to Migori where they stayed at Grace Outreach Ministries’ orphanage compound. They put many dusty miles on the vehicles, as it is a long days’ travel between each of the locations. At each stop along the way they had an opportunity to encourage the believers and to learn more about the various outreach ministries each location offers to share the Gospel.

Does any of this sound interesting to you? Have your heard that wee small voice calling you? If so, there is still an opportunity to join Harvesters on a short-term mission trip in 2008. In October Harvesters will again return to Kenya and the Pokot with a medical/evangelism team. This team is scheduled to depart October 4th and return on October 18th.

People walk days when they know that a medical team is coming. During the periods when they wait to be seen, there are opportunities to share the Gospel. You do not have to have medical training to participate in this team – there are many jobs that non-medically trained people can do and everyone can share the love of the Lord.

Maybe Africa isn’t your heartbeat. How about one of the holiest Hindu cities? From Nov. 5-20th 2008 we will be traveling to Burma (Myanmar) for a few days to visit an orphanage that was destroyed by the Cyclone at the beginning of May. From there it is onto Hyderabad, India to visit a Bible School and then to Ujjain where our ministry partners operate two school complexes. We will have a chance to encourage our Christian sisters and brothers serving in this densely populated land. It is the “cool” season, so it is an ideal time to travel to India.

The majority of full-time missionaries on the field today began with a short-term mission trip – just ask our staff – we all did! The Lord can open your eyes in unique ways once you have been obedient to His call and then He equips you to share with others. Harvesters would love to partner with your church in helping to grow your missions program.

A Different Kind of Tractor Pull

images In 2007, a church in Hickory North Carolina heard from Julius Murgor that a farm tractor would be a tremendous help to the Pokot Outreach Ministry. Intrigued, they asked “if there is so little rain for raising crops, how could a tractor be of use to them.”

Julius described the twenty plus acre plot of land on which the ministry has grown corn (maize) for a number of years. A tractor would save the ministry money in the planting and harvesting of the crops because it will not have to rent equipment or pay someone to do the work for them.

In addition to helping with the farm project, a tractor would be helpful in many other ways. Poor road conditions in the remote areas where water wells are being drilled, mission stations being constructed and orphanages are located makes hiring vehicles to transport supplies to those areas very expensive.

In fact supplies are often delayed for lack of transportation and at times the cost to transport is more than the cost of the supplies being transported.

In late 2007, the Hickory North Carolina church graciously sent $28,000 towards the purchase of the new tractor. This money combined with funds from other donors, provided the $60,000 needed to purchase the tractor.

We are so thankful for each of you who are doing missions with Harvesters and the impact that we can have together in Christ.

Raisin’ The Roof In Congo

At Hekima church, 500 people gather at a small, weathered, wood plank structure with seating for maybe only half the congregation and dozens spilling out of the doors and listening through windows. They come hungry for the Gospel and possess a unity of the Spirit and a desire for growth.

The church is vibrant and it is evident that God dwells with the people. The congregation is made up of all age groups and is led by a group of men united in a common vision that above all else, Christ be preached and the church continue to grow in faith and maturity. The people rejoice in God’s gracious provisions and are very generous despite their own needs, giving freely beyond their own means.

Outside that small wooden church stands a large block structure. It is a project of those faithful church members and what will become their new meeting place. With no outside assistance, the congregation at Hekima church has given beyond their means and built a church that will comfortably house the 500 people regularly attending church and leave room for further growth.

The new church building has come through much prayer and strong leadership in the Union of Baptist Church of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, of which Hekima is apart of. Construction has definitely been a lengthy and painstaking process but the church family and leadership have continued to walk by faith and trust in God’s provisions.

For some time the skeleton of a church building sat idle and no resources existed to complete final phases of construction. Wooden rafters were exposed to the elements and the leadership began to fear that they would deteriorate resulting in added costs.

The church leadership continued to walk by faith, believing the Lord would finish the work He had started. The Lord heard their prayers because through a series of events and with no outside assistance they have been able to generate the necessary $10,000.00 needed to fully enclose the church building. These funds came through the sale of a separate plot of land, which the church leadership felt would better serve the church sold than kept.

The church building still needs much work before it can replace that old wooden structure. The floor, windows, walls, and so much more still wait to be completed. God’s people at Hekima church still seek Him to provide so that they might have a place to meet and that will show their community what God can do. And in need the people of Hekima church continue to rejoice in God’s gracious provisions.

“God has helped us a lot and we thank Him for the wonderful work He has done. We believe that God will continue to come near to us because what we are doing is not for our benefit but for His glory.”

If you would like more information on The Union of Baptist Churches of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hekima church, or how you and your church might partner with them to complete the work that has been started please contact Harvesters for further information. The people of the DRC are hungry for the Gospel and Hekima church is one bright light in a world of darkness.