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December 2016 Newsletter

This is one of our projects not yet completed. There are thirty children in an orphanage in Busia, Kenya that Helping Hands helped build and construct starting in 2005. We work along side End Times Ministry and Bishop Edwin Agogo. His church started the project with only the land. I led a team of twenty-two people to Kenya. When I was asked by a pastor why we were going, the only answer I could give was the same answer God gave me, “to spy out the land.”  I’m not going to share all the things we did and all the miracles we saw because that would be a whole newsletter. I want to share with you about the orphans. The mattresses on their beds are worn out, they need new ones. In fact, ten of the children are sleeping on the floor because the mattresses are so bad.  Cost to replace: about $275.00.

We sent money for a chicken pen to be built so they could have eggs. Helping Hands then paid for 50 chickens. Some of you helped financially with these projects, and the orphans and I thank you. They now have fresh eggs and milk daily and still have some to sell.

This is a short update. I don’t have the time or room to share all that we are involved in or doing, but I wanted to share about the orphans in Busia, Kenya. The orphanage needs some repairs to the walls, and we have an estimate for that. We want to start a program for the older children to train them for a job. By the way, Busia is located on the Uganda border, about an hour north by car, of Lake Victoria. There are three widows' homes on the property, since they help care for the orphans. There is a social worker that also lives on the property. Pastor Edwin said the government of Kenya has asked him to expand to include a home for battered women. I do not have all the details on that yet. 

Help us pray about right projects and the funding to complete them.  We are praying about another trip soon.

Tony and Donna Haywood

As I sit here contemplating what to include in this year-end report, I think about all the lives God has touched through Helping Hands Ministry. I think of the countless numbers of blood pressure cuffs, shower benches, potty chairs, walkers and wheel chairs that have been requested by the Home Health care agencies and donated by us to the needy and elderly. I also remember the two shipments of needed items of all kinds shipped to Honduras and the third shipment that I will deliver to Pope Army Air base this week totaling about 50,000 pounds.

I also think about the trips made to the Robbins Area Christian Ministries to donate clothing and nic nacs to be sold in the thrift store. The money they raise helps with light bills, heat and many other bills, plus buying food when the food bank is low. 

The photo above shows the children in the orphanage now. The orphanage is the building in the background on the right, Pastor Edwin is on the back row in the blue shirt. I’m told the clothing they are wearing is pretty tattered and needs to be replaced. Cost is $250.00 to buy enough clothing for all the children.

This year we bought them a pregnant cow for milk, and paid for a pen or stall to be built to keep the cow in at night. The cow has since had a calf that the orphans named “America”, and the cow has been rebred. She will give birth to another calf in May. We were also informed that the pasture grass was not good enough and needed to be resown with a better grass to sustain the cow, so hay did not have to be purchased.  We had to send money to prepare the soil and then sprig the grass. This is a picture of the newly sprigged grass. This picture is old as the grass is now looking good and the cow and calf are grazing on it daily.