In response, the European Union has pledged €250,000 in relief funds for Kenya’s drought-impacted communities.

One ministry working on the ground is Kenya Hope, which supports Hope Centers in Narok villages. Each Hope Center has a well for clean drinking water and provides meals and other community resources.

Bryan Haley, executive director of Kenya Hope, says, “This area really missed out on all of the rain and water that they rely on for the entire year. So a lot of…the communities that we serve are really dry and in drought right now.”

(Photo courtesy of Kenya Hope)

As the drought drags on, Kenya Hope is pivoting to meet people’s growing needs.

“We’ve increased the water supply that we are providing. Normally, we ask our centers to collect a small fee for water so that they can prepare for ongoing maintenance and things. But we’ve stopped that so that water is free and accessible to everybody,” Haley says.

“We’ve also increased the amount of…meals that we are providing so everyone in the community is still being fed during drought because obviously, without water, that means they can’t sell their livestock. A lot of their sources of income have dried up, literally, because there’s no water. So we want to make sure that people are cared for in the most essential way possible.”

Even as Kenya Hope responds to physical needs, Haley says the ministry’s mission goes deeper.

“The word hope in our Hope Center means so much more than just water. The Gospel is key to that as well…. We want to see the Gospel flourish in every area of life.”

(Photo courtesy of Kenya Hope)

As Kenya Hope meets peoples physical and spiritual needs, your prayers are an encouragement. Haley asks, “Pray for rain. The next rain season isn’t really until March, but we are praying for God to deliver water at any time and to sustain people during the drought.”

You can find ways to support Kenya Hope’s mission at kenyahope.org.

Header photo courtesy of Kenya Hope.

(Photo courtesy of Mueller family)

The new school will be named in memory of Dave and Joy Mueller, Kenya Hope’s former executive directors who died in a car crash in Kenya eight months ago.

Steve Holman, U.S. Director of Kenya Hope, says the ministry is still searching for new leadership. “We can’t replace Dave and Joy Mueller. They’re very unique. I would say they’re once in a generation. But we’re asking God to raise up other people.

“The Gospel is never advanced without someone somewhere paying a price. That means sacrificing your own culture and your own comfort and going and living close enough so that you have an impact. So that’s very much on our minds.”

In the meantime, additional responsibilities are being expertly handled by the ministry’s local Kenyan staff, such as Neddy Wafula, coordinator of the Widows Might program.

Holman asks, “Pray for Neddy. She’s a godly Kenyan woman. I’ve talked to her many times face-to-face in Kenya, and now it’s laid on her the administrative task of seeing to it that the cohorts of widows in six or seven locations are each moving along in the program, growing in their skills, and coming to know Christ and follow Him wholeheartedly.”

Neddy Wafula, Widows Might program coordinator [front right]. (Photo courtesy of Kenya Hope)

These community-boosting projects allow Kenya Hope to begin a Gospel presence there, and they open the doors for audio Bible distributions and JESUS film showings.

Pray that the Lord would guide the right people into leadership at Kenya Hope. Ask God to continue working through this ministry and ultimately lead more Kenyans to the Savior, Jesus Christ.

“We’re just reminding ourselves this is something that God is doing,” says Holman. “We’re asking God to do what only God can do — to provide, to raise up people, and to bear fruit.”

Learn more about Kenya Hope.

Header photo of Kenya Hope’s Emmanuel (Hope Center Representative) and Duncan (Hope Center Caretaker and Jesus Film Evangelist) at their newest Hope Center Oloshaiki. Photo courtesy of Kenya Hope.

Cambodia remains one of the poorest nations in SE Asia as well as the world.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Cambodia (MNN) — You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” Pregnant single moms in Cambodia live it out day after day.

Many vulnerable women end up having abortions because they feel like they have no other choice.

Extreme poverty drives them to eke out an existence in the muddy slums outside Poipet.

Each morning, they cross the border into Thailand with thousands of their peers, searching for enough money to make it through one more day.

“Amplify any of the issues that we have here in the United States many times over, and that’s what these young moms are experiencing,” says Kurt Dillinger, founder of LIFE International.

This photo shows subjects affected by the issue of child labour.
(© ILO/Jeffrey Leventhal shared via CreativeCommons)

“When you have a couple of children, and you’re hardly able to feed those two, and then you become pregnant: it becomes extremely difficult.”

Abortion seems a better alternative to putting one more child at-risk of trafficking and exploitation. That’s why LIFE International teams make visits to countries like Cambodia to provide life-giving training.

Through the Hope Center, pro-life Cambodian Christians are offering scared moms-to-be another option.

The Hope Center

Before a foundation was laid or funds were raised, the idea for a Hope Center grew out of LIFE International’s pro-life training held in 2009.

(Photo courtesy LIFE International)

At their training sessions, LIFE International staff works through God’s design for life, marriage, and family with national church leaders. They also discuss what happens when people live outside that intended plan, and how things like STDs and abortion factor in.

“They [church leaders] work through a whole period of repenting and recognizing what that sin was in their life,” Dillinger adds, “and they are freed up.”

From a newfound place of freedom, church leaders share what they’ve learned with their congregations and communities. Out of unfettered and empowered congregations and leaders come life-giving projects like the Hope Center.

Officially opened in 2013, the Hope Center shines as a beacon of Gospel light amid the slums outside Poipet.

Physical needs aren’t the only ones being met, though.

“So often, the Gospel does such powerful work in their hearts. When they come to know Jesus, there’s a hope. There is new energy; you can see the change in their eyes, and they understand that God is able,” Dillinger shares.

“We hear of miracles all the time: how God has helped–once they make choices for life–how God helps, every step of the way, through all of the challenges that they face.”

One prime example came via e-mail just a few days ago.

Hope blooms

(Photo credit: Ivo Posthumus via Flickr)

In an impoverished village about six kilometers (roughly four miles) from the Hope Center, national staff met *“Botum” — a young mom caring for her newborn and three-year-old son.

Along with Botum’s mother, they’re squatting on a piece of land outside Poipet with no running water, no toilet, no kitchen, and no money. Their “home sweet home” consists of shabby walls and a plastic roof.

Yet, amid rampant poverty, Botum and her small family have hope.

The outlook is a stark contrast to Botum’s perspective a few months ago. That’s when her husband left without warning. He hasn’t been seen since.

“Here she was: without a husband, pregnant, living in a little hut [with] a plastic roof,” says Dillinger. “She thought, ‘There’s no way I can have another baby; I need to abort this child.’”

Representative photo
(Photo credit: Cambodia4Kids.org via Flickr)

Learning of Botum’s decision, her mother spoke up.

“Her mother reminded her of the training that they went through [in 2009],” Dillinger recalls.

“‘Remember that abortion is a sin. No matter how difficult it is, we need to give life to this baby.’”

After further discussion, Botum conceded and gave birth to a healthy baby girl a few days ago. According to LIFE International, the hospital sent her back to the shelter a few hours after she gave birth, because Botum has no money.

There’s room for you to get involved, too.

1. Pray
2. Sow
3. Go

* name changed for security reasons

The Director of the Hope Center Tanya Shbygunova says, "Every year, more than 1,000 students go through our education program where we're talking about drugs, prostitution, smoking and alcoholism." Many of these students are orphans or street children.

Shbygunova says they also helped local hospitals. "More than 1,000 people received equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, electrical wheelchairs, and things like this. Hospitals received more than 100 medical beds, which are extremely needed in Ukraine."

That's not all. Shbygunova says, "We did have summer camps, and for these 10 years, more than 4,000 kids were at the Hope Center and were able to hear the Gospel. Our aim was to introduce them to Jesus — to tell them He can be their friend."

The most recent highlight is the Dream Project. "It's for girls who were involved in prostitution. We invite them to the Hope Center. They stay will us for a few months, and we help them to get an education. Yesterday, eight girls received their certificate for cosmetology. They're able to do nails, hair."

All of these efforts are rooted in the Gospel, which is why the final day of the program one girl received more than an education. "All of our staff are Christian. And we want to show them what God did in our life. It was amazing. It was the last day of our program, and one of our students became a Christian."

Because of the far-reaching impact the Hope Center has had on the region, area school officials, hospital directors, government officials, business leaders and other partners were invited to celebrate the anniversary. Shbygunova says this celebration was more than that. "We want to do more here in Ukraine. We want to show people how we can be involved — how we can volunteer, how they can take responsibility for their own conscience."

Funding is needed to help the Hope Center and all of the programming. They need sponsors for summer camps, funding for girls at the Dream Project, and support for the work they're doing with area hospitals. Click here to connect with them.

Orphan Outreach came from similar humble beginnings, using folding trays and lawn chairs as office furniture.

Today, they have grown and expanded past a sparsely-furnished office to move into the Hope Center in Plano, Texas. There, with 40
other Christian ministries, their team of 7 U.S. staff work together with over 50
years of experience in orphan and child care.

But it's not just their offices that are expanding. They
have seen their work to orphans in Russia, India, Guatemala and Honduras grow
tremendously in the three years since their work begin in 2007.

Just last year, Orphan Outreach helped 14,100 children around
the world, distributing $418,000 in humanitarian aid.

With each child they touch, they share Christ's love through
every word and deed.

You can join Orphan Outreach in their ever expanding work by
clicking here to volunteer, serve, pray or donate.

The industrious Chinese people are slowly trying to pick up the pieces of their lives, but about 5 million are still homeless. In addition to this, because of China’s one-child-per-family policy, many have lost their only child, and with that child, their hope and future.

WorldServe Ministries sent workers into China right after the earthquake to help with the devastation. Now, they still have workers there not only to rebuild, but to restore some of the hope lost.

“We’re putting people there that can actually provide hope,” said Brian Rushton with WorldServe. These workers range from seminary students to church planters to any other volunteers. Rushton said as these individuals go into the area, “They’re sitting down with the people and, even though they’re not professional counselors, they can still listen to the people’s stories, they can still provide hope, and most importantly, they encourage them and become a friend.”

Rushton said while the workers want to share the Gospel with the people of China, they first focus on ministering to them by the restoration they are accomplishing and by being the hands and feet of Jesus.

“It is then that we can actually earn the right to share the message of Jesus Christ,” Rushton said.

A tangible way WorldServe is doing this is by constructing a Sichuan Hope Center in the heart of the area struck by the earthquake. This center will provide various resources for the Chinese, such as skill training, teaching English as a second language, a senior center, a youth center, various camps and a social place for them to be with friends.

“In all of this, we're trying to minister to the people in such a way that they can have their hope re-established,” Rushton said.

From June 30 to July 10 this summer, a group of 30 youth and college age individuals will be traveling to the area to help construct the Hope Center.

However, they cannot accomplish this task without your prayers and support. Consider contributing to this cause or supporting the workers currently in Sichuan by clicking here. Also, continual pray is needed as the church planters and volunteers in the area seek to restore hope to the broken-hearted people of China.

Although the catastrophe occurred almost a year ago, the scars of its effects are still fresh. Many people in China have not yet returned to their homes and remain in temporary, plywood structures. Some were left unemployed after the disaster, and these numbers have only grown in the presence of a global economic crisis. Mentally, many people have been unable to cope with the loss of family members and have been overcome by depression.

"One of the things that's come out of this disaster is that it has radically changed people's worldview," says Ken Leggatt of WorldServe Ministries. "People are desperately thirsty for hope."

WorldServe sent volunteers to China directly after the earthquake to bring that hope through Jesus Christ. After just two months in the region, the ministry saw about 5,000 people come to Christ. WorldServe now endeavors to build the Sichuan Hope Center, to continue to bring light into a bleak region.

"While we can't employ everybody, we would like to have a place where people can come for counseling," says Leggatt. "We would like to have a place where people can come to learn about Christ. We'd like to have a place where [people's] children can experience some hope and experience the Gospel in a practical way. That's really why we're developing the Hope Center."

The ministry plans to reach people on multiple levels, reaching out to both believers and nonbelievers through a variety of aid.

"It'll be a real holistic approach to equipping the believers in that area through physical needs, through developing spiritual relationships with Christ with them, discipleship programs and even some other vocational training as well," says Leggatt.

The Hope Center will offer pastoral training, children's camps and even an agricultural program. Through its various ministries at the Sichuan Hope Center, WorldServe will help to rebuild the community and the body of Christ.

After encountering so much loss, a tremendous amount of prayer is needed for the people of Sichuan. "People are desperately thirsty for hope, and the Gospel message of Christ is our hope," says Leggatt. "We're coming to them with that message. Just pray that people would continue to be open and thirsty to hear that."

Pray also that the necessary funding would be provided to build and operate the Hope Center. If you would like to donate, click here.