So long, summer!
It’s almost hard to even think where to begin; this has been one incredibly eventful summer. We thank God for the various opportunities that He has allowed us to be a part of here at World Hope. From teams going to Kenya and Haiti, to the second floor being finished at Hope Academy, we have surely witnessed an abundance of blessings that we can’t wait to share with you!
In June, Avalon Church partnered with World Hope for our first mission trip to Haiti. After a plane ride to Port Au Prince and a long winding journey through the mountains, the team found themselves in the small city of Jacmel. They arrived on a Sunday afternoon and later that evening were able to worship together with many Haitian brothers and sisters in a church service. As the week began, so did the work. Our team was able to assist in mixing and pouring the concrete to finish the floors in the school we are working with that educates about 300 kids from pre-school to the fifth grade. The team was also able to provide medical care for hundreds of people who otherwise would have to travel several hours down the mountain to the nearest hospital or clinic. God is doing great things in the rural mountains of Haiti.
Also in June, another team of 50 travelers spent time at Hope Center Kenya. We conducted a medical clinic and saw close to 1,000 people over the span of three days and part of our team, teachers from Orlando Christian Prep, were of great help and blessing in ministering and sharing resources with our teachers at the Hope Academy. Several of our teachers commented how impacted they were to see the teachers in Kenya be happy and educate the students in spite of their limited tools. Thanks to the cheerful giving hearts of our team in Kenya who committed $31,000 to finishing the education building of the school, all the contributions came through and grades 9th and 10th will be able to begin in January!
This surely has been an exciting year for the construction projects at the Hope Center and the Hope Academy. The team that traveled to Kenya this summer also was able to begin to cover the exposed steel columns in Hope Center with stone to improve the atmosphere in the building. They completed 14 columns at a height of ten feet each! In addition to that, the foundation for the new toilet block was dug and completed. Then both the slab and walls were constructed. We are currently raising some additional funds to complete the work on the toilet block, including the roof, the plumbing, the sinks and toilets. This toilet block is required by the Minister of Education in order to open our High School in January. We are pleased to report that the doors and windows will be installed the week of September 7th. Upon completion of these tasks we will have exhausted all funds and the building construction phase will be completed. The next step for the Education building will be to outfit the classrooms with electricity, desks, chalkboards, and teaching materials.
Also this summer, we were pleased to have partnered once again with Camp Electric, the premier music camp for Christian youth. Between one week in Nashville and a week at Cedarville University in Ohio, we saw over 1,400 campers see the great need of spreading Hope in Kenya. And, they responded overwhelmingly. These teens gave nearly $12,000 to help the Hope Academy finish their high school building and help kids just like themselves receive an education that will help rescue them from the slums. Even at a young age, these musicians and campers are being taught that they have been blessed so that they can bless. Thank you, Camp Electric, for doing your part this year to help us bring hope! We are delighted to return to this year’s Music Boat, setting sail from Miami on November 7. Please consider joining us on this expedition once again as we interact and engage with those traveling to partner with us in this movement.
These are just glimpses into the great work you have helped us accomplish this summer. We are thankful for your partnership that allows us to accomplish more for the Kingdom. We are reminded of a “scene” in the Bible during the building of the Tabernacle in Exodus that is reflective of what we envision our partnerships with Hope to be. In Exodus 36:3b-5 we see the people of Israel pouring out their finest of possessions in sacrifice to build the Tabernacle, in fact, they brought too much: “But the people continued to bring additional gifts each morning. Finally the craftsmen who were working on the sanctuary left their work. They went to Moses and reported, ‘The people have given more than enough materials to complete the job the Lord has commanded us to do!’” In the following verses Moses had to tell the people to actually stop bringing in more, there was just too much! Isn’t that incredible? We pray that the Lord would continue to bless our donors because of their faithfulness in contributing to World Hope, and for all our partners to experience the same as Moses did in the building of the Tabernacle: an overwhelming surplus of blessings to be more than enough to get the job done!
Thank you for following the ministry and for your loyal response to the call! Please be praying as we prepare for more trips, and eventually the building of Hope Centers in more hopeless areas of our world.