Rispah Olesi with her crutches and leg brace in February

Dear Friends,

Rispah Olesi is from Meseno, Kenya. She was born with polio. The metal brace she must wear on her leg makes it possible for her to walk, but with great difficulty. Worse, Rispah is often ridiculed by neighbors and family, because in her culture many believe that those with disabilities are cursed.

Although she grew accustomed to verbal abuse as she grew up, Rispah was not prepared for what happened to her 15 years ago. One of her tormentors raped her. Rispah found herself pregnant.

Looking back now, Rispah acknowledges God’s grace at work in her life to help her overcome her trauma, and she thanks God for her son, John, now a young man and a great blessing to her.

Thanks to your kindness, Rispah has recently received another blessing. After years of moving slowly and painfully with the aid of crutches, she is now zooming along on her very own hand-powered tricycle provided by Heaven’s Family. With her increased mobility, she no longer has to depend on others for her care. She is now able to transport herself to places where she can do small jobs to support herself and her son. Praise God!

Rispah with her new tricycle

Would you like to bless another disabled brother or sister in Christ like Rispah?

Each month, Heaven’s Family receives requests from others just like Rispah for life-changing mobility assistance and everyday necessities. Their requests range from critical surgery to a simple pair of crutches. Knowing that many of our supporters would like to help some of our brothers and sisters directly, the Christians with Disabilities Fund (formerly the Handicapped Christians Fund) now has a special page on our website that lists several of our recent requests that remain unfunded. Please click here to check out that new web page…maybe there’s a special project that will touch your heart.

If you choose to give towards any of the special projects listed, I’ll send you an email update once the project has been completed. Below are a few of the current individual needs of some disabled members of our family. Click on a project to learn more and to contribute.

In Christ,

CJ McDaniel
Director, Christians with Disabilities Fund

Restored to health, Van is rejoicing with her family

Dear Faithful Friends,

I am so happy to tell you that Van Thang is alive and well and back in her village, home with her family! It was almost six months ago that a team from Heaven’s Family first met her in her very remote village in Myanmar after learning of her life-threatening heart condition. Sensing that God wanted us to help, we sent out a plea to all of our Heaven’s Family friends (see An Urgent Request For Prayer).

We soon received many generous gifts, so Van made the long, difficult journey to the hospital in Yangon for surgery. We then sent out an update (On the Burma Road to Recovery) to let you know that her open-heart surgery was a success.

Two weeks ago, Van walked back into her village—praising God for the miracle in her life. “My love of the Lord has grown deeper and deeper,” she told our partner there, “and I so thankful that He send Heaven’s Family to make this miracle happens for me.” Van’s husband thought many times that he might lose his wife, but now she is home and he says he will never stop smiling or thanking the Lord.

Words of praise and thanks have also come from her friends, one of which said, “Before she took the operation all the villagers believed that she would gone [die] so we gather in her house every day and night to pray. The Lord raise her up from cemetery! We all thank God!”

Thank you for praying for Van and for giving to the Critical Medical Needs Fund. God did an amazing work, and you played a vital part!

Love in Christ,

Patti Samuels
Director, Critical Medical Needs Fund

Jane Kinya with old newspapers from which she will profit

Dear Friends,

We hear a lot about America becoming a “paperless society,” but that isn’t the case in Kenya, where newsprint shows no signs of falling into disuse. And that’s good news for Jane Kinya, a widow I met during my recent trip to Nairobi. She supports herself and her three children by selling old news.

Jane started a newspaper recycling business in October of last year with a $200 micro-loan from her pastor—a Heaven’s Family micro-banker. Jane pays a few workers to collect newspapers from house to house. Then she bundles and sells the old newspapers to butchers and other merchants who use them to wrap their wares.

In March of this year, Jane made her final loan payment. Because Jane was faithful with a small loan, she is now eligible for a second loan, this time for $500, to expand her business. For Jane, old news really is good news!

Thank you very much for helping widows in their time of need through gifts to the Christian Widows Fund!

Peter Wray
Director, Christian Widows Fund

An Easter feast for the poor at the “Village” in Mexico

Dear Friends,

I just received a letter of thanks from our partners Jason and Nicole Fitzpatrick, who live in a remote region of central Mexico. They serve forgotten descendants of the Aztec Indians, members of the “least of these” who need our love and support. As you may recall, the Fitzpatricks established what they refer to as “The Village” several years ago, a community where they live and work with the people whom they disciple, educate, and teach vocational skills.

Here’s what Nicole wrote:

God is so good! Last Sunday we had a great Resurrection Sunday at The Village…. about 60-70 people showed up from La Gallera, San Lorenzo and Cutzontipa to celebrate Christ’s resurrection and partake of the Lord’s Supper here…. Pastor Costa, Bishop Juan, Bro. Asher and Deacon Pedro led us in a beautiful time of worship, teaching, and breaking of bread.

Thank you for the money you send each month, making it possible to feed the church body when they come to worship our King Jesus together with us. It is a pleasure to feed them often, both spiritually and physically…. Thanks again and may the Lord Jesus bless you!

Thank you for making this ministry possible!

God bless!

Chuck King
International Director, Food Fund Director

North Korean soldiers patrol the Yalu River along North Korea’s border with China, looking for any who attempt to flee their repressive country

Dear Friends,

Can you imagine coming home one day to discover that your sister has been arrested and imprisoned in a labor camp for the “crime” of helping her church? Now imagine discovering, not only that your sister has been arrested, but also your mother, husband, and your 8-year-old son—only because they are all related to your sister. Now imagine the authorities seeking you for the same reason.

This is exactly what happened in North Korea to Kim Young. Knowing that she would face the same fate as her family members if she were caught, Kim had only one option: secretly cross the border into China. And so she did. Once in China, Kim found other believers who helped her find a safe place to hide.

China and North Korea, however, work together to search for North Korean defectors. Undercover North Korean police patrol the border cities inside China to track down escapees. Because Kim’s family had already been sent to a labor camp for her sister’s illegal church activities, Kim had become a high-profile defector. As a result, it was too risky for her to hide in China. So she made the difficult decision to relocate to South Korea. Kim knew that she would probably never see her family and friends again in this life.

Because of gifts to the North Korean Christians Fund, Heaven’s Family paid the expenses for Kim’s underground journey to South Korea. One of our operatives told Kim that he will continue to search for her family and, if he finds any of them, will try to help them escape too.

Please keep Kim in your prayers as she makes the transition to life in South Korea. Pray also for her family, that they may survive a very harsh life in prison and one day be reunited with Kim.

For the “least of these” in North Korea,

Elisabeth Servant
Director, North Korean Christians Fund

Click here to read previous updates.

Cleophas and Beatrice Makona, with Cleophas’ new motorcycle

Dear Friends,

When you give to the Heaven’s Family Mutual Fund, a percentage of your gift is deposited into our Focused Funds General Fund (formerly called the I Was Hungry General Fund) to be used to meet needs among our spiritual family that fall within the scope of our 24 Focused Funds. Over the years, we’ve met many varied and important needs through the Focused Funds General Fund, but few have been reported in our monthly magazine. So I’ve decided to periodically send you a mini-update to keep you abreast of some of what is being accomplished through your gifts.

Last month when I was in Kenya, I traveled with one of our key partners, a micro-banker named Cleophas Makona, to meet a few of his 43 borrowers at their little businesses or farms. It was such a blessing to hear the testimonies of how they are prospering as a result of their micro-loans.

But going to see those borrowers was a chore. The dirt roads on which we traveled for miles was rocky, rutted, and slow-going. Cleophas only owns a bicycle (a gift from Heaven’s Family), and he told me that he either walks, takes his bicycle, or hitches a ride on passing motorcycles to visit his many borrowers who are scattered over a broad area, and who live in some very remote locations. It was during our long and bone-crunching ride that day that I decided it was time to upgrade Cleophas to his own motorcycle. And I recently received the photo above of the purchase.

Cleophas is also an evangelist who travels practically every month to far away places to preach the gospel where it has never been heard. So his motorcycle will also be used to spread the good news and plant churches. (Heaven’s Family has also helped Cleophas with funds for his missionary outreaches.)

Cleophas standing by the sign for the Christian primary school that HF helped him start, and Beatrice working at her sewing machine, another equipping gift from Heaven’s Family

Here’s what Cleophas wrote once he received his motorcycle:

You have done a great thing for me with it. At my age, almost sixty, walking and cycling on a bike was really a problem. Thank you, thank you so much.

Thank you so much for making this blessing (among many others) possible because of your gifts to the Heaven’s Family Mutual Fund.

Together in the Master’s plan,

David Servant
Director, Heaven’s Family Mutual Fund

A new Kenyan flag at Heaven’s Family Christian Academy, in Saboti, Kenya

Dear Friends,

If they knew about it, children in the U.S. and Canada would be envious: Kenya and Myanmar are wrapping up their school years and are ready for their summer break! Those same Western children would not envy, however, the striking lack of supplies that their poor counterparts suffer.

Unlike schools in prosperous nations, the governments of most poor countries have few, if any, educational supplies for their public schools—and they usually ignore the needs of private Christian schools. Heaven’s Family’s Education Fund exists, in part, to help poverty-stricken Christian schools that need our help.

A few of the items our Education Fund has supplied in the past year are: hundreds of student curriculum books, 50 teacher guide books, 4 sewing machines, 2 computers, a printer, and school uniforms. We’ve also helped a Christian primary school in Kenya with a water tank, electricity, desks, and tin sheets and wood posts for roofs and walls. The photos below show some examples.

We’re working with several Christian schools to implement strategies for self-sustainability, and we’re already seeing a dramatic decrease in requests from those schools. For the very first time, however, our Education Fund balance is empty, and we still have a request list that includes tuition for visually impaired students as well as destitute children who live in slums, toilets, chalk, building materials, desks, school rent and teacher salaries. Any help you could offer at this time would be greatly appreciated. Through your gifts to the Education Fund, we’re working to equip children both spiritually and academically for a better future.

Thanks so very much,

CJ McDaniel
Director, Education Fund

Van recovering in her hospital room with an ice pack on her incision and a big smile on her face

Dear Praying Friends,

I know many of you have been praying and wondering how Van’s heart surgery went…and I’m happy to report that it was a success! As you can see in the photos, she is now recovering nicely in a hospital in Yangon, Myanmar. The surgery was originally scheduled for March 6, but Van woke up that day with an intestinal infection and the doctors could not operate. They rescheduled the operation for the next day, but then another obstacle surfaced—an infected tooth! The operation finally was performed at noon on March 8.

The patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), a persistent opening between two major blood vessels leading from the heart, was repaired and the vein leading from her lungs to her heart was replaced. She spent many days in the intensive care unit and has now been moved to her own room. She will continue her recovery over the next several days, and hopes to be going home to her family next week.

Van sends her heartfelt thanks to all of you who have prayed for her and helped her financially through gifts to the Critical Medical Needs Fund. She knows that if the Lord had not used you to help her she may not have survived much longer. Please continue to pray for her as she gains strength and gets healthier every day.

Van sitting up in her hospital bed with her cousin, Pension, who has been at her side since leaving their village on February 21

In His service,

Patti Samuels
Director, Critical Medical Needs Fund

Waiting for wife and mom to return home well again

A heart-to-heart message to my friends,

To all of you who contributed to the Critical Medical Needs Fund to help Van Thang, the 35-year-old mother of 6 children in Myanmar who needed a lifesaving heart operation, I want you to know that her journey has begun.

About ten days ago, after three days of arduous travel, Van reached Yangon and was admitted to the hospital. Over the next five days she underwent more tests that confirmed her diagnosis, but the doctor also discovered the vein leading from her heart to her one lung was too narrow and would have to be replaced—doubling the cost of the operation. When Van told the doctor her testimony, however, and how Heaven’s Family friends provided the funds for her surgery, the doctor waived the extra fee! Our national missionary who first contacted us about Van’s grave condition wrote, “For this matter I found Lord’s hand work through unbelievers indeed.” The doctor has been giving Van pre-operative medications and says she is now ready for the operation, which will take place March 6 at 7 a.m. in Yangon (that’s 7 p.m. EST today).

I will keep you updated on her progress. Please pray!

In His service,

Patti Samuels
Director, Critical Medical Needs Fund

North Korean families stretch whatever food they have to make it last as long as they can (this photo is a dramatization)

Dear Friends,

This month I want to tell you about “Rebecca,” a North Korean woman in her late 40s who has two children. Her husband’s family, with whom they live, is part Chinese, so the North Korean government treats them all as second-class citizens. As a result, her husband and oldest son can only find the lowest-paying jobs, making life very difficult as they struggle to survive.

Rebecca is not a Christian, but she has a neighbor, Mrs. C, who is. Mrs. C is part of a secret network that Heaven’s Family assists to send emergency food supplies into North Korea. Mrs. C has been getting to know Rebecca recently, and has grown to trust her enough to begin sharing some of the network food with her. By doing that, however she has also opened the door for many unwanted questions.

For example, Rebecca began asking where Mrs. C’s family got their food during the current severe food shortages. Mrs. C explained that the food was from Mike, a relative in China. Rebecca then asked if it was possible for her to meet Mike. Knowing Mike’s heart for evangelism, Mrs. C agreed to arrange a meeting with him the next time he was in North Korea.

In December, Rebecca joined Mrs. C on her way to the secret warehouse where Mike meets leaders from the North Korean underground church for the food distribution. Mike greeted Rebecca with a warm smile and talked with her, offering some encouragement. Mike gave her a 110-pound bag of rice, a large amount for a starving family.

Evangelism in North Korea is very risky, and due to safety concerns, Mike was cautious about sharing the gospel with Rebecca at their first meeting. He is, however, excited about continuing to reach out to her and her family the next time he brings food.

Please keep Mike, Mrs. C, and the entire network in your prayers as they build relationships with Rebecca and other seekers. We look forward to the day when Rebecca will hopefully join our spiritual family.

Through gifts to the North Korean Christians Fund we are working to save many lives—and many souls for eternity. Thanks so very much.

In Christ,

Elisabeth Servant
Director, North Korean Christians Fund

One of the lepers who is thankful for receiving treatment at our new medical clinic in India

Dear Friends,

This past year has been one of exciting new beginnings for our Lepers Fund! We’ve partnered with some very godly men and women who are faithfully loving Jesus by serving lepers—members of our heavenly family who are often overlooked.

One year ago, we helped Pastor Joab Lohara of Hyderabad, India, open a school for children who are not permitted to attend public schools because they are members of leprosy-affected families. So far, 22 of the 35 children have been “adopted” by monthly sponsors through Heaven’s Family, but now we have a good problem—many more children of lepers are pleading to get into our school! As a result, we’re planning to expand this year. (To learn more about sponsoring a child to attend our school, click here.)

Last December, again with Joab’s help, we opened a medical clinic for leper families right in their neighborhood. It is proving to be a huge blessing to leprous families who otherwise could not receive medical attention.

As we continue to trust the Lord, this new year looks just as promising! This month we are opening a sewing training center that will equip lepers and their families with skills that will help them become self-sufficient. Until now, they’ve survived mainly by begging on the streets.

In March I will be traveling with my husband, Bob, to India to meet with Joab and the lepers he serves. We’re very excited about visiting our school, medical clinic, and training center.

I’ll have lots of stories and photos to share with you when I return!

Here are the faces of just a few of the beautiful children I’ll be visiting in March

Together with Him,

Carole J. Collins
Director, Lepers Fund

Han Kham Pau and me in a Kalaymyo market

Dear Friends,

I had an incredible “God moment” during my visit to Kalaymyo, Myanmar, last November, and I want to tell you about it!

During a bit of free time I went to a local bazaar filled with dozens of small shops crammed together and connected by little narrow walkways. Two of my Kalaymyo friends, Nu Bawi and Nan, were with me when we spotted a man sitting on the ground begging. I immediately noticed his bandaged hand and feet—telltale signs of a person with leprosy. He introduced himself as Han Kham Pau, and we talked with him for a while, getting the quick version of his life’s story. My heart went out to him. Before we left, we put a little money in his bowl.

Later, I felt the Lord tell me to do more for Han. I left some money with Nu Bawi and Nan from our Lepers Fund, asking them to use it to meet any pressing needs that he had.

The following weekend, after meeting with Han to find out what he needed, my two friends delivered a wonderful blessing of rice, blankets, and medicine to his doorstep. They also had the opportunity to meet his family and talk to them about the Lord!

God really does work in amazing ways, and I’m glad He worked a blessing for Han and his family through me and my friends that day!

At left, Han Kham Pau with his family after receiving rice and blankets for the winter; and at right with Nu Bawi (left) and Nan Aye (right)

Heaven’s Family also continues to help forgotten lepers in China and India, where our physical assistance continues to soften hearts to the gospel. The Lord is doing some wonderful things, and we—together with you—are glad to be a part.

Together with Him,

Carole J. Collins
Director, Lepers Fund