As the daughter of a
pastor, I remember my fa-
ther’s reluctance to preach
on money. He rarely did,
making the statement that it
was the best way to lose church members! He simply pre-
sented the needs and asked his parishioners to consider them.
Folks seemed to appreciate this approach, and Dad’s congre-
gations gave mightily, supporting many missions on the con-
tinent of Africa.
Such has been our experience with our donors and spon-
sors. We put the needs before you and your hearts open.
Many a time we have wondered, “How will we ever be able to
meet this budget,” but before we can even put it to God in
prayer, we are blessed with your generosity. You have saved
starving children, fed the hungry, built a new orphanage, and
supported the expansion of the ministry into Nairobi and
Uganda. School fees have been paid, a vehicle purchased, and
gardens planted, all because of your faith and love. But just
like my father, I must on this rare occasion speak of money.
The work at Glory Center is proceeding nicely, with
eleven of the children already sponsored. As we were facing
the deadline of having to pay the remaining balance of
$2,000 in school fees, we began to panic. Ifnot paid, the chil-
dren would not be able to continue enrollment. The very
week before they were to be suspended, a group in Atlanta
sent the entire amount! Close to that time, Pastor Nyamora’s
station wagon broke down. Even as we informed him we had
no funds for
the repairs, a check was on its way in the amount
needed.
Last week, another supporter sent the $400 for the
knitting machine that Prisca had told us about. She never
dreamed she might actually be able to get this machine, and
it will save lots of money as she knits the pullovers the chil-
dren need for school.
Similar experiences keep us
marveling as donations arrive just
at the right moment. So why, you
might ask, am I speaking of
money? Mainly to keep you in-
formed of how our operations are
progressing, and also to let you
know of what is needed.
We are faced again with a sit-
uation of unforeseen expenses
(malaria meds for all the children,
license and tires for the Hope Cen-
ter van, all amounting to nearly
$900) that have taken a big bite
out of our general savings for
emergencies. In January, we paid
over $12,000 in school fees at
Hope Center, leaving little for a
cushion. In May, we will need to
pay the second semester fees for
the form students. Although much
less than the first semester, the
fees will amount to well over
$2,500 for the 23 students. Add to
this the addition of ten new chil-
dren to the center, and an inflation
rate of nearly 13% last year in
Kenya, and you begin to see the
picture. Since the money sent for our 101 sponsored children
must now support 118 children, it factors out to about 85
cents a day per child. This must cover food, education, medi-
cal, and unexpected needs for each child, as well as the ex-
penses of maintaining the orphanage. This would include
firewood for cooking, fuel for the vehicles and generators,
laundry and bath soap, sanitary supplies, etc.
I wish to share information from a recent letter from Pas-
tor Maurice, explaining why they were asking for their dis-
tribution two days early. “These are the most difficult
months for most Kenyans who live below the poverty line.
Almost 80% of the population lives on less than Kshs 70 a
day (about 77 cents in America). Life is becoming more ex-
pensive and in some areas, hunger and starvation is the order
of the day.”
-4-
Victoria Kritzell—affectionately
with her husband, Larry. Vicki has b
beginning of our work with orphans
A lifetime advocate for the dow
tered into this work with a zeal and
optimistic attitude has endeared h
and her talent for sharing the nee
brought many tugs to our heartstri
We are greatly indebted to Vick
her significant financial outlay in th
grateful to Larry for sharing her with
standing of her passion to help thes
Through Thick and Thin, Y
By Victori
Wonderful News!
If God is willing and enabling, Pastor Maurice and his family
from the Hope for Children Center, will be visiting us this summer.
They are, even now, working feverishly to get their passports and vi-
sas and make arrangements for the Center to run smoothly in their
absence.
We are planning to take them on a tour of much of the United
States during the months of July and August, and are hoping that
they will be able to speak in various locations; perhaps even a loca-
tion near you! We believe such a trip will serve to create a clearer un-
derstanding between us a nd our African workers.
In order for this to take place, the following needs to happen:
Please keep this matter in your prayers. We know our God is
able to provide.
If you have any suggestions to offer, or if you would like to host
a meeting in your area, please contact:
Esther McDaniel, 304-294-8424; esther@smyrna.org or Vicki
Kritzell, 419-547-8147; kritz@winesburg.com.
1) They need to obtain
passpsorts and visas.
2) We need to raise money
for tickets for Edith and their three
young boys or get the airline to al-
low them to travel free of charge.
(Money for Pastor’s ticket has al-
ready been promised.)
3) We will need the loan
of a large vehicle—preferably a
15-passenger van.
4) We will need to sched-
ule places where they can
speak, along our route.
5) We will need a clear in-
dication of God’s will.
