Hello Dear Friends:
On January 9th Valerie and I will be heading off to Kenya for 3 months. Please keep us in your prayers during this time. We have been working overtime to prepare ourselves for the busy schedule that awaits us. Our purpose for going is to prepare our organization for the future. Remember how we prayed the Jabez prayer a few years ago? “Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil”. Well that prayer has certainly come to pass for us in our world in Kenya. In the last few years we have seen a dramatic increase in number and size of our programs for the poor. We have found ourselves breathlessly running behind the blessing of the Lord, trying to keep up. We are not complaining, mind you! Quite the contrary, we are awed and overjoyed at what the Lord has done in his passion to bless the poor and the needy in Kenya. Even now as I write this I am deeply moved and honored that the Lord has raised us up for “such a time as this”.
There are a number of things to get organized in our infrastructure. We plan to establish two separate teams in Kenya, one to serve the Central Nairobi District and one to serve the Western Kisumu/Kakamega District. This is now necessary in order to keep our Kenyan Staff from overload. Actually it is a good problem for us to have, because it means that many of our current leaders will be stepping up to new challenges without having to leave their home areas.
Worldcomp will be launching 5 new projects while during our stay.
THE NAIROBI RESCUE HOME FOR ABANDONED CHILDREN: We have been talking about this for years with our Kenyan staff. On many occasions our workers in the slums have encountered children who have been abandoned and left to wander around the slums and the dumps looking for food. We know that timing is right for this because we have been offered a 9 bedroom house near the Dagoretti slums with ¼ acre of land and a working well for $250 per month. We intend to fix up this house and house up to 30 children. Our plan is to find families that will take them in and care for them in the long term.
THE SECRET GARDEN: A safe house for Masai girls. This is the dream of a Kenyan woman named Lucy Kamau. Lucy herself had to run away from home in order to avoid being sold to an elderly man when she was 12 years old. She and her husband have taken in many young girls at the request of their mothers and grandmothers to protect them from being sold, abused and undergoing the process of female circumcision practiced in the Masai villages. This home will be a place where girls can live, received an education and be trained in vocational skills to support themselves.
THE KAKAMEGA WELL: Through a financial miracle The Kakamega well project is underway. We are thrilled that we will be on hand during the construction. This well is the answer to the prayers of Pastor Simeon Obayo and the congregation of the Kakamegatown PEFA Church. For many years they have dreamed of being able to provide clean water to the people in their community. This well will serve thousands of people in the Kakamega area and it will provide water for the community latrine and showers that the church build last year. This facility will allow families who have no access to clean water to come and bathe their children.
THE NORTHWEST UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING: From February 7th to March 7th Worldcomp will be hosting a group of nurses from Northwest University as they complete a one month medical mission to Kenya. It looks like this will become an annual event. The graduating senior class will serve in hospitals, clinics, medical camps and other areas during this time. These nurses will also visit our feeding centers, schools, and other projects during their time in Kenya. We will provide transportation, ministry opportunities and advice to this group during their stay.
THE SOLID ROCK WIDOWS CENTER BUSINESS PROJECT: Our dear friend Nancy Odwaro heads up a ministry that involves 600 widows. They are just finishing up a building project in Vehiga (just outside of Kisumu). This facility will be a center for their widows ministry. It is a very large 3 story building with many rooms. It will house a number of businesses run by widows, a marketplace, and a meeting facility. In the back is a community pea patch where widows can cultivate gardens to feed their family. On this trip we have a vision donating 4 or 5 sowing machines to start a sowing business in the center and a candle making machine that will enable up to 15 widows to make and sell candles for a living.
THE SHIKUSA BOYS BOOK DRIVE: We are about to ship 500 pounds of books to fill the library of the Boys detention center. In August, during our medical camps I made a commitment to have a book drive to supply the school and library with Bibles, dictionaries, reading books, and curriculum. The school has next to nothing at this present point because the detention centers are at the bottom of the list for government support in their school program. I want to thank all who worked to collect books for this project and I want to especially thank Marci Wilson and the staff of Ingram High School for their participation. We are still hoping for some cash donations to buy suitable curriculum for the boys in Kenya and for the cost of shipping the books.
Valerie and I want to thank all who are supporting Worldcomp and our projects in Kenya. Together we have been a huge blessing to the poor and the suffering in Kenya. Even more, we have seen hundreds of people come to Christ this year. Thank you for being God’s hand extended to the poor. Please pray for us especially during the next three months. Pray for our health, for wisdom and for God’s continued provision.
We’ll be sending regular reports from the field.
If you feel led to help us financially there are several ways to give:
Send a check to:
Worldcomp Kenya Relief
7758 Earl Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98117
Give online at:
www.worldcompkenya.com/ways-to-give
Contributions are tax-deductible
All our love,
Richard and Valerie Vicknair