What is “Building Hope?”

Let us attempt to paint a vision for you, a picture if you will of human suffering and need, a picture of children without parents, without adequate food and shelter, sometimes without clean drinking water and with absolutely little hope for the future. Is a picture developing in your mind?

Can you envision yourself walking along dirt roads, dusty and dry and seeing orphaned children thin and emaciated from drinking water unfit for human consumption? Carrying water, food and other staples on their head for miles and miles? Do you see a sick child being taken for medical treatment 20 miles in a wheel barrow? Yes! We did say a wheel barrow. Are you getting a vision?

As you walk through this village watching the children, you may feel tears welling up in your eyes. Imagine,these children who do not know what tomorrow holds for them. They know not whether they will eat or go hungry, be healthy or sick, live or die.

The picture we hope you will see when you close your eyes is not from a popular novel or from someone’s imagination, no, not at all. It is life, each and every day, in the small village of Wachara in the country of Kenya on the continent of Africa. It is reality for 2.5 million orphans of which 1.8 million of these children are living by themselves, sometimes on the streets in Kenya.

Many of these children would never know the Love of Jesus Christ if it were not for missionaries like Michael Agwanda, Julie Campbell and Life for Children Ministries. As you may be aware, Julie is a member of Hempfield UMC, presently working for Life for Children Ministry in Wachara, Kenya. Christmas 2009, through the generosity of our congregation and others, the funds for a new community/church building in Wachara were raised. In March 2010, Michael Agwanda visited our church and stressed the importance of supporting orphaned children and once again, generous and loving members from this congregation pledged support for 22 of these orphans. We believe that Christ is calling this congregation to a personal relationship with our brothers and sisters at Hope United Methodist Church in Wachara, Kenya.

The Building Hope Team, which is associated with the Reach Out Commission has done a great deal of research as to how our congregation can begin to build a personal relationship with a community which has so many needs. It is our hope that we can learn much from the people of Wachara as we grow together, helping one another to share in the work that Christ has given to us.

To begin to the seeds and development of this new relationship, we sent a group of  people to visit Michael Agwanda, Julie and the ministry of Life for Children in Kenya. Pastor John Longmire, Dan and Cindy Macha, Tom and Barb Clingan, Deb Flores and Julie Welles traveled to Kenya August 29-September 9, 2010.

Our vision for this trip was to develop a spiritual partnership between Hope UMC in Wachara and Hempfield UMC in Lancaster for the purpose of furthering the kingdom of God in East Africa and Central Pennsylvania.

Our mission was to Build God’s Kingdom, build Kenyans hope, build Hempfield UMC’s spiritual growth Listen,  hear what God is doing
Learn, how we can be a part of it
Lay, the foundation for it

The team spent two days in Kisumu, the primary headquarters of Life for Children Ministries. The experienced first hand the needs of the guardians, widows and orphans in the LFC program in Orengue (a rural area of Kisumu) and Nyilenda, the slum area, and met some of the “street boys” that literally live on the streets of Kisumu. Then for four days, the team was in Wachara, visiting with the widows and orphans in the Life for Children program. “We thought that God had forgotten about us.” one widow said to our team, “but now that you have come, we know that God is faithful.”  The days were filled with visiting the people of the community, the members of Hope UMC and of course, Julie Campbell!  The team taught and encouraged the adults and youth of Wachara, shared stories or their own lives and what God has done for us, read stories to the children, handed out the care packages, soccer balls and other gifts that we brought with us. But the highlight of the trip was the commission worship service of the newly finished Hope UMC. Pastor John and the team were extremely honored to be a part of the official commissioning service of Hope United Methodist Church in Wachara! Over 350 people from miles around came to share in the momentous event. One elderly woman with a cane walked 12 miles from a neighboring town because she had heard of the great things that the ministry of Life for Children was doing for Wachara.

View Pictures from our 2010 Mission Trip HERE

This is just the beginning of a momentous, long-term journey for our church!

Upon the team’s return, the Building Hope team will continue to network with organizations identified and develop a plan of hope and assistance for the future so that we as a congregation, and perhaps other congregations can share in being servants of Christ together with the people of Hope United Methodist Church in Kenya.

In order to plant the seeds for this new, long-term faith mission, we must join together and pray fervently, encourage and lift up the Building Hope team, support the year-round mission work of Life for Children Ministries, Michael Agwanda and Julie Campbell, and give generously of your resources.

Read More about Life for Children HERE

Support Julie Campbell Here

Support Michael Agwanda Here