WORLDCOMP KENYA RELIEF INTERNATIONAL
7758 EARL AVE NW
SEATTLE, WA 98117
RICHARD AND VALERIE VICKNAIR
IT WAS LIKE THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES
Hello Again Friends of Worldcomp:
Before I share with you our latest news let me give praise and thanks to the Lord for His abundant blessings. This year we had set a goal to raise $10,000 during our December “Somebody Cares” campaign. We took a step of faith in this because we had never set a goal this high before. The proceeds of this campaign go exclusively to buying food for our children’s feeding programs in the Nairobi slums. Through God’s miraculous provision we have managed to raise the money to feed over 600 hungry children (two meals a day) for over 7 years. In addition to that we have added at least 50 more children to the program each year.
Well, something glorious happened this year. It started with some friends of ours who felt directed by the Lord to match every dollar we could raise in our offering (up to $10,000). Perhaps there was more to it than this, but this year more people gave to this campaign than we have ever seen before. The number of donations we received was 3 times greater than ever. In our little church at Westside we estimated that 90% of the congregation felt led to give something in the offering. The bottom line was this! We raised just over $33,000 this year.
Everyone gets excited about money, but for me the excitement was in seeing people opening their hearts to the poor. With the help of the Lord I consider it part of my calling to inspire people (here and in Kenya) to open their hearts to those who are sick, in need or defenseless. This is not only pleasing to God, it is the only way that we will ever make a difference in lives of the hundreds of millions of people in this world who are suffering.
As I ponder these things of am truly moved to tears. I am grateful to God and grateful to you my friends.
NOW THE NEWS: WE ARE OFF AGAIN TO KENYA ON JANUARY 27
Valerie and I will be headed back to Kenya for two months on January 27. We are never excited about making this trip, but we are always excited about seeing our dear friends in Kenya. We count ourselves so fortunate to be harnessed together with over 150 Kenyans who labor tirelessly beside us to help the poor and to share the Gospel with the nation. We will be moving around the country visiting our works in Nairobi, Narok, Vihiga, and Kakamega. Through the generosity of two families the Lord has provided the $25,000 we need to begin construction of our second orphanage. This one will be on the other side of the country in Kakamega and will house over 50 children. It will be our base of operations in Western Kenya. Here we will have storage for medical supplies and equipment, an office for Worldcomp, guest quarters for missions teams and (as God provides) a large greenhouse to grow food to make our feeding programs more self-sufficient.
There just isn’t enough room in this email to list all the plans that are in the works, but I will be writing a “Daily Email” like I did last year for you to tract with us on this adventure. Let me tell you the adventure is increased about 5 times over when Valerie is with me. Not that I don’t get things done, but I tend to stubbornly stick the printed agenda, while Valerie tracks spontaneously with God’s agenda. What a team we make! We like to say “between us we make one good Christian!” Last year as we worked together in Kenya is was one “Wow” after another. BY THE WAY: We’d love to hear from you while we are gone. It was truly a blessing to sit in the morning and read the comments and words of encouragement to came to us every day from friends back home. So if you hear a word from the Lord, have a word of encouragement (or good clean joke) please respond to any of our emails.
We are so glad that Garth and Danielle Neufeld will be joining us in March for 10 days. Garth is on the church staff as our Worship Director and Danielle has a deep passion for missions. Also we will be hosing The Northwest University nursing team again this year from Feb 5th to March 5th. They will be working with us to do 3 or 4 medical camps on the weekends.
Please pray for us! We so desperately need God’s protection for our health. We are well aware that traveling to Kenya has its risks, but life without risk is just not life in Christ. “Where he leads me I will follow, what He feeds me I will swallow. (Author Unknown, but very wise!)
Please pray about supporting us during this time. It cost us about $5000 per month to live and travel around. If you could send something for our support in January, February and March, we would appreciate it so very much. You may give to our support on-line at www.worldcompkenya.com/ways-to-help or send a check to Worldcomp Kenya Relief, 7758 Earl Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117 Your contributions are tax-deductible!
P.S. If you are friends of Garth and Danielle please consider helping them to cover the expenses of their trip. Valerie and I both believe that God wants them involved in the future of Worldcomp.
All our love to your dear friends. We thank God for you
Richard and Valerie