HisArms Kenya Orphan Mission

Kenya Orphan Sponsorship

2012-01-25T08:20:00.000-08:00

Today I am happy to report we now are sponsoring 54 orphans in the greater Maseno area of Kenya. How blessed we are to have great sponsors that have pledged $20 per month to sponsor kids so they have food, hygienic needs, medical needs met, and they get to go to school! What a huge blessing. This is in addition to our 75 other kids who receive the $25 US per year so they can attend grade school/elementary school which covers their uniform and their fees each school requires of them. Plus we now have 6 that are currently enrolled in high school with generous donors from the USA making those dreams come true for those children. May the Lord continue to wrap HIS ARMS around each one of our precious children and our many volunteers and sponsors both in USA and in Kenya. ASANTE SANA! MUNGU AWABARIKIE! (Thank you and May God bless each one of you!)

Mungu Tumaini Upendo

2012-01-21T15:44:00.001-08:00

We are about to begin a fundraiser to sell the rubber/silicone bracelets that are so popular. But ours will be special. You see they will each say, Mungu, Tumaini, and Upendo on one side, and www.hisarmskenya.org on the other side. They will sell for about $2 each and available in youth or Adult sizes. The profit will go toward our $2000 bill that must be paid by end of May for the 75 children we sponsor to go to Elementary school. These are school fees and uniforms that Kenya requires. They may say education is free. But it is not. We of course, also send our 53 orphans we sponsor as well via our USA sponsors so they can go to school too. But as they say "it takes a village to raise a child" well it takes several villages to sponsor all these kids so they can go to school and have HOPE that life will get better with their education. By the way, those words are Kiswahilli for God, Hope and LOVE! Let us know if you can help us by selling some/or buying some!

Kenya School Fees

2012-01-09T05:43:00.000-08:00

Habari, as we say in Kenya which means Hello! Hope you realize how important all of our USA sponsors are to our ministry. We would not have this ministry without you all! Whether you sponsor a child, pray for our ministry, pay for a primary or high school scholarship or donate toward our Ebenezer animals/projects YOU ARE A BLESSING!

Just this AM we received word that all schools including our high school kids have raised their fees for 2012 some by $50 each! Can you believe that? More and more children will not be going to school or getting their basic education. So we are scrambling to come up with more funds ourselves, but praying that God will help us do that. However it makes me so sad for all those children, who get no help, whose families are so struggling, as I know this will prevent them from getting their education, which means HOPE out of that poverty. SO WE WORK and try to do our part. Thanks for listening and for your prayers to overcome!

Kenya Orphans In 2012

2011-12-31T10:34:00.000-08:00

We thank the Lord for blessing us with such great sponsors and supporters for our precious children in greater Maseno Area of Kenya. We ask the Lord to bless them with good health, and enough food to survive & thrive and good growing & harvesting of their crops! We thank God for blessing us with seeds from Seed & Light International so that they had even more crops to grow. We ask all in Jesus name, AMEN!

Florence Oyosi our Coordinator in Maseno, Kenya

2011-12-20T16:08:00.000-08:00

Florence Oyosi is a Social Worker by education, but often a miracle worker for His Arms. She not only coordinates our ministry at the Kenya end, but she personally cares for these children in our program. She stands up against rape and the mis-treatment of the women in the area who can often be exploited. She stands up against domestic violence. She walks and hugs the HIV+. One might describe her as a person who stands against much that is evil and wrong in that area. Well recently she was robbed herself of all of her chickens. She is not a wealthy person herself, but tries to make a living for her children as well. So tonight I ask for prayers for justice, and the Lord's protection against the evil one who lurks around our His Arms program and that of our brave leader. May the LORD protect her, her children, our children in the program and their loved ones.

Our Thankfulness for Gerry & Nan Hardison's Years

2011-12-17T07:55:00.000-08:00

Today we thank the Lord for the ministry of Drs. Gerry & Nan Hardison in Maseno Kenya. They have now left that area and are returning to USA in retirement. May the Lord bless them with PEACE, and good health to enjoy some more time with their family. May He let them know how grateful we are for their missionary work. If it had not been for them, sharing the message, sharing the needs of Maseno area of Kenya, this ministry would not have happened. We thank God today for them and helping www.hisarmskenya.org become a reality.

Health Care for Orphans

2011-12-13T05:50:00.000-08:00

HI All,

As I sat at the bedsite of one of our very ill sponsors here in ICU, I thought about the difference in healthcare for us, and that of our precious friends in the Maseno Kenya area. Part of our programs money is set aside that they receive for sponsorship for medical care. But the vast array of specialist, critical care units, medicines, IVs, ventilators, breathing treatments, etc that we have in our country to use to help bring us back to life, just do not exist in the area these children are in. My dear friend would not be here, probably if she had lived right there. My own little granddaughters both within the last couple of years, very ill, lots of test, treatments, and now fine. What would have happened if they had lived where there Kenyan "brother" lives that they sponsor. Sometimes it is difficult to understand many things. Maybe this is one of them. I just know I praise God that we can at least give these children that are in HIS ARMS program some medical help which the majority do not have in their area....and the funds to get them to those clinics. May the Lord continue to bless my dear friend here with a return to good health and May HE keep our precious children of His Arms Kenya Orphan project safe as well.

You Tube, Hisarmskenya.org

2011-12-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

HI ALL,

In effort to keep up with the latest technology, I wanted to point out that we have two videos on You tube. So you just go to www.youtube.com and in the search area, put in hisarmskenya.org. You should see two choices in the list. One says, Kenya orphan project, and takes you to 2010 video made after that trip. Another one is listed below by same author, that starts out with orange screen and 2010 but it has a different back-ground song on it. Both have lots of pictures of our ministry. Enjoy!

Overcoming Kenyan Cultural Barriers

2011-12-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

I love it when I get on my early AM email check, and I have a message from Florence who of course, is at least 9 hours ahead of us. She is able to walk over to an internet cyber cafe and use when electricity is working in the area. Well this AM there was a message. And it was a good one. See over 6 months ago, one of our dear sponsors sent $300 to re-roof a poor woman's home who was caring for her little kids, with holes all over the place. Well just after our sponsor did that, the in-laws kicked her off their land and she was left to live in a worse rented shack near the market. That is typical cultural policy when the son dies, the woman & kids are kicked of family property. So Florence, our Kenya coordianator is not afraid to go against such battles. She met with the family for over 3 hours, and mediatated....and guess what? They welcomed her back, and the money will now be used toward building her and the kids a more safe home. PRAISE THE LORD!!!! Thank you Lord for giving Florence such courage as well. Continue Lord to bless Felix and his family!

Kenya Orphans getting hope!

2011-12-06T11:14:00.000-08:00

HI all,

We are so excited to let you know we now have our 51 sponsor in His Arms Kenya Orphan project! We are over-whelmed and know it has been God working HIS miracles every step. So today I was blessed to email our Kenya coordinator and give her the good news. She will now assign the 51st child so we can let the new sponsors in Wisconsin know about their child! PRAISE THE LORD! Incidentally, we have a waiting list in Kenya. However before a child is "cleared" to be in our program, a home visit is made so we know all referrals are ligitimate. But we wait until we have a sponsor as we do not want to give anyone false hope on the Kenya end either. So it takes a little time for this process. But believe me, we in the USA and FLorence in Kenya, are so excited when we hear this good news. Asante Sana new sponsors!!!

Kenya Orphan Projects

2011-12-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

It is our prayer that you will closely check all charity organizations you contribute to this year. One of the places on the internet is Charity Navigators. Since our 501c is under Peace Lutheran, Baldwin WI you will not find us on Charity Navigators. However, our books are audited and we do not keep any of our funds in the US for any of our His Arms Projects. Instead 10% is kept within Kenya for administrative fees due to the fact that no one has cars of course, but we must rely on public transport to pick up our funds, transport our supplies, etc. None of our volunteers are paid a salary even in Kenya. We are so blessed. Feel free to join us on a future trip and check out for yourself here our funds go. Thanks for checking out our blog today. Mungu Awabarkie...God bless you all!

World AIDS Day

2011-12-03T06:38:00.000-08:00

This week on December 1st the world celebrated World AIDS Day. We especially remember our precious children that are affected by this pandemic. Many are even infected by HIV. We pray for them. We pray that their medications continue to be available to them. And we pray that God helps a cure to be discovered. God Bless. Mungu Awabarikie, from Nancy

2011-11-15T20:03:00.000-08:00

This year due to increased electricity problems we were unable to blog regularly. We were able to periodically update our supporters via Facebook. You can find us on Facebook as "His Arms Kenya". Feel free to contact us and be our "friend" Facebook and stay current to our latest additional news. This July 2011 trip was greatly blessed. We had enthusiastic travelers, and again were so well-received in Kenya. If you ever want to consider joining us on a future trip, contact us and let us know. We will keep you updaed to our plans. At the present time, we have made no definite plans yet as to when we will return.

We are so thankful this Thanksgiving, and for the entire year, that you are sponsors to these special, precious children in Kenya. Thank you so much for that.

Many have already contacted me about Christmas items. First of all, we CANNOT mail any items at this time as cost are high, but the worse is the corruption at other end, where they might not get it, and if they do, they have to pay huge import taxes to pick up from post office, which would be more them items worth.

However, if you still wish to do something, of course you can give some of our Ebenezer items, designating them for your child's family. (For this list, check out www.hisarmskenya.org )

Additionally, we also found out this summer that the children that attend school that are very well dressed are treated differently (better)then the poorly dressed ones. Your monthly sponsorship buys them a uniform about once every other year, but wear and tear can occurs on them. So here is a list of some items you could help for our children

New uniform.....$8

Sweater to match uniform......$8 to $10 depending on size)

Leather shoes.........$13 to $16 depending on size.

Socks........2 pairs for $2.50

Blessings to All!

Nancy & Brenda

We are home!

2010-07-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord that the whole team is safely back on US soil. IT was a great adventure, so many lifes touched, our lifes touched and changed forever. In the next week, as my energy returns, I will relay more stories as I remember them. One of the heartfelt ones, is precious Sophy, the little thrown away, special needs (physically/mentally) tossed away. Now we visited her in her boarding school, that a dear family in Michigan pays for. She is so happy. She has regained usage of some fingers (greatly burned) and is able to draw letters. SHe spends her off time praying for the ministry, our dear Kenyan sister Florence Oyosi, and us! She is 16, but educationaly at about 4th grade or so. I feel the Lord communicates directly to her, in her prayer ministry. HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!!!! How humbled we are. more stories will come. thanks for your prayers. They were needed, heard and appreciated. Love, Nancy Rowe and the 2010 team!

All is well in Kenya!

2010-07-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

There is a lack of internet so I'm (Renee Rowe) writing to say I heard from Nancy and all is well there. She is so excited to give more details when they return. So continue to watch :)

Thursday in Kenya

2010-07-01T04:51:00.001-07:00

Habari.....we are all well. Went to the Mothers Union today that sponsors all the oprhan feeds. There are now 10,000 children involved in the project...many parishes in the Anglican church. Padre John spoke to the women on their importance, that they were created in God's image. We then went to the Luanda market which is big, noisey, lots of people, a great experience for us Muzongeos....whities. People continue to protect us, and are always watching our backs. THey are such a caring people. We feel so blessed. We passed out door prizes to the ladies today again....all had so much fun. Of course we sang, and praised God and danced together.

THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYERS. We so appreciate it. Ministries here need the prayers for the Spirit's protection from the evil one. We see that danger....not for us personally, but for the valuable ministries. May we always do what God would have us do....

bless you all.........thanks for your prayers....Nancy & the Team!

Wed

2010-06-29T23:17:00.000-07:00

HI ALL<
A change of plans this am....as we await a vehicle to proceed to Womens Empowerment event. All is well. We continue to have internet...occasionally. This AM it is working. PRAISE THE LORD! We are healthy. Made more visits into homes. See so many people still lacking good protein sources, but so hopeful in the programs we have started. This time we bought water systems for all of our HIS ARMS families of children we sponsor and the overseers that work with our program. Now the water they gather can go into large pot, be covered after the add water guard/a disenfectant...and the water that will come out a spicket below when they wish, is cold. They think they have refrigerated water now. And it is safe, children cannot contaminate...lifes will be saved. We are seeing more fungus of the head this time, more worms ingested/affecting GI tracts, and jiggers. So upsetting. They struggle so. for us treatments are less then $20...or less....and yet lifes can be lost. But we pray in homes, we ask God's protection for these precious souls. How humbled we are when we hear of life changes, of women holding their heads up as life is better, they have a goat and chicken! So keep praying. You will hear so much more when we return.....;love from the team in Maseno Kenya!

We are back

2010-06-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

It is Tuesday, all is well. We have not had internet, which was so frustrating for us USA communication freaks! But we are ok. All are healthy, and seeing so much. We had an orphan feed we helped with on Saturday.....in the am. Then in afternoon, we put on a huge celebration for all of our 34 orphan children, their siblings and all our overseers and their kids. Between 150 and 200. Such a celebration! Everyone laughed, played, jump roped, games, snacks, and all. It was another time of being on Holy Ground. God was with us, jumping and singing and laughing with us. Then Sunday we said good-bye to Michigan troopers. They were such a good team. SO then Pastor, Abby and Laura and us older 3-some, continued home visits on Monday. Sunday AM was in Sunday school classroom, and reg. worship. TOmorrow we travel some and meet a new group of women for Women's Empowerment. Today was choosing scholarship candidate. We took all three with various amts. So that means we have to fundraise like crazy for those at home as each had such a heart/stirring story. Blessings continue. We pray our MI troop arrive home safely. We thank God for all of our good health. SO many new friends, so many old friends we have greeted. God is GOOD! Mungu Awabariki. Nancy and all the team

2010-06-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

I (Nancy's Daughter-in-law) want to report that we got a phone call saying all is well in Maseno, Kenya. Communication and blogging is very difficult due to lack of electricity.

Please continue to pray for safety, encouragement and energy.
Thanks so much for all the prayers and support!

Renee Rowe

Thursday in Maseno

2010-06-24T05:25:00.001-07:00

Today is Karen's blog....Karen says, "today we went to the Luanda market. It was wild, hectic, but I shopped!".......then Brenda adds"I am excited to go to market again next week. Danced, Lalabamba dance of praise with the Mothers Union women. Loved it" Renee says, "She can't wait to meet Noshon's family tomorrow at their house!....and to find out new orphans are "......Nancy says, this is great team to work with.....lots of laugh.....lots of stories, lots, of education we have learned.... love you all. Did enjoy the Mothers union empowerment event. Renee has done excellent job of educating on grief. It is new for them to talk about grief. Today we found out 2 orphans died from another church's program. The reality of death is tough. Yesterday visited a baby in peds, who is dying of ccirrhosis of the liver.....Papa just holding him, nothing to be done. Reality does smack us in the face sometime!. Jeanne(now officially GIgi.....)spent the most shopping. Enough said!". We love you all..... The Group! Mungu Awabarikie....Praying for safety for Pastor and crew as they begin trip....

Wednesday in Maseno

2010-06-23T05:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was visiting more of our orphans in their homes. Such a blessing. Such precious children. Such hardworking guardians. One was a granny that looked 80 but actuallly much less, with the horrible jiggers. But then stories of hardworking orphan children trying so hard in school. One little girl Carren reads everything she can find. Many dream of being a teacher, doctor, and other stuff. We try to encourage dreams. TO HOPE! Today we met with HIV support group. Such a blessing. THey introduce themselves, say their name, then say how long they have lived with "hope"....not how long they have lived with HIV. So many said, please take my picture before I die. TO have a picture to leave your loved ones, is huge. But their crafts were gorgeous....we bought.

All needs prayers. So many challenges doing the Lord's work here. The Evil One wants to mess everything up as we are doing this in the Lord's name. Pray for the hard working Kenyan volunteers! Ask for God's blessings....

Asante Sana/thank you....love from the Whole Kenya Mission Team....
ps....we walked alot yesterday in heat....God sustained us all! Praise the Lord!

Tuesday

2010-06-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

HI ALL
It is Tuesday in Maseno. All is well. We pray the same for our dear friends in USA. Yesterday was awesome. Some walking, some gardening with a Granny of Samson's, some tree planting. We met at Clinton's home.....such a brite boy. Such a sad home. Granny sleeps on ground, full of jiggers. We shall buy her a mattress. Praise the Lord for those of you who sent money for mattresses! We also visited in Samson's. He is progressing, slowly. Such a sweet granny....she tries so hard. We gave her a sweater, she thought it was a fur I believe! She sparkled! We visited goats, and chickens we had passed on. We found out they are breeding the goats, with better quality, so eventually the next generations will be even better milk producers. we visited in Collins home. It is a kind grandma, younger with depressed Mom. Many of our later children in program have not been tested for HIV. We may have to do that, as of somethings we have noted. Justo, still finds us.....(Deb's) I said, "Justo you must go to school". He shakes his head, like uh huh......he just wants the warmth and love of the group so much. Such a blessing. We also visted their newest projects.....stoves for the homes we can get for $45 us.....they are more smoke free....kids can't get burned. They are selling water systems that are safer water.....for $25 that could save lifes. It is exciting innovative changes. We are so blessed. thank you for your prayers. Esp....for Renee's back, as it is bothering her. Thank you to all our readers. Mungu Awabarikie!
Nancy Rowe

We are here!

2010-06-20T23:09:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
Habari! All is well in Maseno Kenya. We have met with many of our orphans from His Arm program. Could not believe how much they had changed just in a few months. Even Samson smiled! The first time we had ever seen this "thrown away" little boy smile as we played and sang. One of our children had to be removed from the home he was in as was being abused. Our Caregiver/Overseers are keeping a close eye on our children which we are so greatful for. We heard a report from the group on the impact that our program His Arms was having. They said one of the biggest impacts was when we found a sponsor to cover a special needs young lady Sophy to go to a special needs school. Unfortunately these children are also often "thrown away" little children. We have danced, sang, praised, hugged, and just been having a great time. Today we head out walking, so ask for prayers for strength. So far all are well and feeling so humbled that the Lord has blessed us so. oh one more thing......we all kissed and blessed a 10 goat give away yesterday with also chickens and malaria nets included! The community roared, we laughed....and it was a fun event. May the Lord guide our steps everyday. We cannot thank our donors and sponsors enough. To see the joy on your children's faces,is unbelievable. Mungu Awabarikie/God bless you!
Nancy Rowe

We are in Maseno, Kenya!!!!

2010-06-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

Many people are being touched and encouraged. Please continue to keep us in your prayers! Updates will be difficult because of lack of internet connections.

Mission Trip 2010

2010-06-10T22:29:00.000-07:00

On June 16th, 3 women from Baldwin WI and 4 women from Michigan leave for Maseno Kenya. We plan to visit our orphans in our His Arms Program. While there we will due crafts with the children, play with them and of course, sing! It is also in our plans to make home visits of these children and all the recipients of our Ebenezer animals and nets and mattresses. We also will be joined on June 26th with 3 more Baldwin WI residents that will join the team.

So follow us as we attempt to regularly post on our blog. Of course, with frequent electrical outages, this may not be a daily possibility. But try us!

Also we ask for your prayer for our safety, and of course, for the Lord's clear direction and guidance as we attempt to be HIS ARMS in Kenya!

Asante Sana/Thank You
Nancy Rowe
USA Coordinator

2010-06-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the His Arms Kenya Orphan Mission Blog!

Please visit us as we take our 2010 Mission trip June 16th - July 5th. We will be posting brief messages about our journey and the children. Please keep us in your prayers!