Reaching Beyond The Children's Home

To God’s glory New Hope Initiative’s Children’s Home in Sierra Leone is meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the children residing there. Amazingly, the overflowing love of Christ is spreading beyond the confines of the home. Ultimately the goal of both Pastor Rogers and NHI is to declare and demonstrate Christ’s love to the surrounding communities and the children’s home is a pivotal piece to the overall evangelical plan.

I have personally witnessed how the love within the children’s home is overflowing into the community and region. The children attend a Christian school run by Pastor Rogers’ church, which allows poverty stricken children to attend. The dedication of the teachers and the success of the students within the school have drawn non-Christian families to the school where Christ and the bible are taught. Many of the children have given their lives to Christ and now attend church regularly.

The church is also growing physically. Each trip I can see how the walls of the building have been moved and the building expanded. The growth of the church body also means larger offerings, some of which goes towards supporting missionaries to plant more churches. In 2003 Pastor Rogers began his church with only a handful of believers. Today he is happy to report 12 churches have been planted from his church and he has no intentions of stopping! He has only reached 6 of 11 chiefdoms in his region and he is dedicated to seeing at least one church in each of these chiefdoms.

The people in the region have come to see the home as a beacon of light in an otherwise dark existence. The children’s home has made a name for itself as a place of love and compassion run by a man of God that is honest and full of integrity. The financial support NHI provides for the home aids not only the children’s home but also these ministries in reaching the people. May God continue to bless Pastor Rogers, the children in the home, and the people of Sierra Leone.

Ebola Finally Ends

Our New Hope Initiative orphanage in Sierra Leone has struggled greatly for the past 18 months as the Ebola crisis has ravaged that country. So it is with great joy that we can tell you that the country has been Ebola free for almost a month and that early in November the World Health Organization should be able to declare Sierra Leone Ebola free! This is the day we have been praying for. Thankfully our 72 children have remained healthy during this crisis, but the country as a whole has suffered untold damage. Economically inflation is running 20% and the GDP is in negative numbers. Educationally the school system is in shambles after months of closure. Practical things like food are in short supply as farmers abandoned crops in fear of epidemic.

We would ask you to continue to pray for our children and their leadership and to consider a special gift to help us offset the sharp rise in food and educational costs. Finally we would ask you to consider visiting this facility in 2016 with one of our teams. We have missed so much visiting the children and we are very excited that we have scheduled a mid February team.

If you are interested in being a part of that team contact our NHI project director Phil D'entremont at phildentremont@yahoo.com

Servant Leadership

One of the things that makes New Hope Initiative so successful is the amazing local leadership that we have managing our many projects. This is the point where so many other mission efforts break down with a lack of leadership, integrity, and accountability from the local staff. However we are so pleased to tell you that it is not the case with New Hope Initiative. Our local staff is comprised of committed, skilled, caring men and women of strong Christian character and integrity. One sterling example of this is Pastor Francis Rogers who is the Director of our orphanage in Sierra Leone West Africa. Pastor Francis consistently makes large personal sacrifices in his own life so that the orphans can receive better care. He regularly eschews personal comfort so the children he loves will have the things they need. Our local staff around the world are also extremely hard working individuals and again Pastor Francis is a perfect example of this. He is never afraid to get his work clothes on and do the things necessary to help the ministry progress. In this picture he has taken off the "pastor" outfit and is making bricks that can be sold to supplement the children's care.

We are so thankful for our local leaders and their staff who sacrifice daily to show the love of Christ to those they have responsibility over. We love our local leaders like Pastor Francis Rogers!

It Is Always Worth It

Saturday was one of the toughest days our family has ever experienced. My wife Karen and our children Kyle and Kelsey arrived in Nairobi from Sierra Leone after having gone to make application to adopt a precious little orphan by the name of Brian. The week in Sierra Leone had been a challenge, but was seemingly successful and the adoption process is moving steadily ahead with hopefully about 6 months to go. They arrived at the Nairobi airport to be reunited with me and Beckett our grandson, who I had traveled ahead with (I know I am a brave grandpa), and to continue our work in Kenya and Tanzania.

However, after arrival in Nairobi they were turned away at the airport due to unfounded Ebola concerns. They were then locked in a small room for 16 hours. It was a very frustrating, confusing, and challenging day as we fought to keep them there. We fought to have them sent back home to Texas instead of back to Sierra Leone as the authorities desired. And we fought to allow them to take Beckett with them which at first was denied. Sadly this strange story did not have a happy ending. They were deported later that night, although they were allowed to take Beckett with them and they were allowed to return home. This was a crushing defeat for our family and emotionally and physically very exhausting (they were traveling or detained for 70 straight hours).

As I was dejectedly leaving the airport after the 15 hour ordeal I heard a strange noise. Tollowing a disorientated moment, I realized my phone was playing a song from my iTunes list. I want to preface this story by explaining that although I am a person of faith I also am a very pragmatic person by nature and I often scoff (to myself) at people's so called "miracle" moments. But as I walked in the rain through the Nairobi airport parking lot, inexplicably, without even removing it from my pocket my phone began to play a song and as I strained to hear the word I soon recognized it as a song called "Orphans of God" by Avalon. I did not even know the song was on my iTunes, it must have been left over from a presentation we did 7-8 years ago. I have never even one time played that song on my phone. But in my moment of discouragement I heard these words:

So often abandoned by life's circumstances Come you unwanted and find affection If grace exists, then grace was made for lives like this There are no strangers, there are no outcasts, there are no orphans of God

- Orphans of God, by Avalon

I was powerfully reminded in that moment that doing good can sometimes be challenging and difficult. I was powerfully reminded in that moment that rescuing the hurting, the hopeless, the orphaned, and the outcast can at times be painful, but IT IS ALWAYS WORTH IT. For the little Brians of Sierra Leone as well as for the children of East Africa, India, and Nicaragua where we work, we cannot allow discouragement to defeat us. God was faithful in my very dark moment to wonderfully and perhaps miraculously remind me of why we do what we do and why we can never quit. If you are discouraged today, in some good work you are engaged in, I hope my story will lift your spirits. Don't quit!

Sandy Baird - New Hope Initiative Director

Sierra Leone Recovers

This has been a very challenging few months for our orphanage in Sierra Leone as we have fought to keep our children safe in the midst of the Ebola crisis. Not only have we had the primary concern of the children's health in the midst of this crisis but we have also had to deal with the food shortages and rising cost of living associated with the economic meltdown that has followed the Ebola situation.

We are happy to report to you that all of our children and staff remain healthy and free from the virus. We have an enclosed compound where the 72 children and staff reside and we have been diligent under the leadership of Pastor Francis Rogers in maintaining a secure perimeter in which the children are isolated and safe.

We are also happy to report that the crisis as a whole in the country is abating. There has been a dramatic reduction in new cases being reported and schools are set to open in March for the first time in 10 months. The economic situation is still dire as food costs and living expenses for the children remain very high however we are praying for a reduction in these costs in the days ahead. We are looking forward to the situation returning to normal in Sierra Leone and we are anticipating being able to resume our trips later in 2015.

Thank you for your prayers for our children and for continuing to stand we NHI I as we reach out to these children who have suffered so much.