Angie's last day and smiles at the baby house....but those two things are not connected!

We were sad that yesterday was Angie's last day at the baby house. Angie has been our social worker for 16 months, through babies coming, babies going, the preparations of adoptions, our first adoptions. She has learned so much along the way, taught me much and been such a great asset to our leadership team. Now, Angie leaves us to go to Nairobi to continue her education in social work.

Thanks, Angie for a wonderful year! We wish you the very best in your next venture. May God bless you greatly.


Sometimes smiles are extra special. All babies' smiles brighten my day, but we have a few babies whose smiles have absolutely changed my day, given perspective and blessed me beyond measure! Kennedy is a special little boy and to see him connect with people and with the world around him and actually have happy, appropriate, interactive responses is simply amazing! The change in this little boy over the past few months is absolutely a blessed work of God.

Jabali Silas is another boy of blessing. His smiles are evidences of hope. His movements are proof of a healing God. And his life is a testament of redemption. And the smiles from this little guy warm my heart.

We are very blessed to have a staff who love our babies. They enjoy playing with them, watching them learn new things, and teaching them new skills as they develop and grow. We have some wonderful aunties!

Our beautiful staff ladies

I just got home from our weekly staff Bible study. We have had a few very good weeks and I can tell God is doing something in our HCO family.

I think I should probably write a few posts about teaching Bible study in Kenyan culture. We are studying the fruit of the Spirit right now, and the approach I take in leading it, the points I make, and thought processes we go through are so completely different from the way it would be taught or approached in America. In fact, we have been going for about seven weeks and are only on the third fruit. We spent the first four weeks just doing a preparation study and learning what the role of the Holy Spirit is in the life of a believer. In fact, most conversations in general have to be approached from a totally different angle than we would naturally do. That makes for some interesting discussions.

I am so excited to see God working in the lives of our staff. It is a blessing to be a part of the lives of these wonderful ladies. They are the ones who pour their lives into our babies; the ones who are there with them day in, day out, showing them the love of Jesus. Please pray for these beautiful ladies, that the Lord would continually fill their cups, fill their hearts, so that His love will overflow onto our precious babies.

If you want to pray for them by name, we have:
Jully - baby caretaker (lives at the baby house full time)
Suzy - baby caretaker (lives at the baby house full time)
Maggy - baby caretaker (daytime - 8am-6pm)
Christine - cook
Eunice - housekeeper/laundry
Lucy - weekend baby caretaker (stays overnights on weekends when Jully & Suzy go on their offs)
Tracy - social worker
Angie - manager (Angie has been with us for 16 months and is leaving at the end of the month to go to school in Nairobi. She is currently working part time, training Tracy, and preparing to leave us in good hands!)

Tracy - Education investment at work

Trinity Vineyard, my home church in Houston, gave the gift of eduction to HCO last year as a part of their "Here, Near and Far" campaign. What a BLESSING! The gift went towards the boys' school fees as well as towards one of our staff's continued education.

Tracy is our weekend baby caretaker who had a desire to go to school for social work. Thanks to Trinity Vineyard, we were able to help her with that! And now, that gift has come full circle as I just hired Tracy as our new social worker! At this point, she has just completed her first level of social work education, receiving her social work certificate.

The timing of Tracy getting her certificate comes at a perfect time, just as we are needing to hire a social worker! Isn't God great that way? We look forward to working with Tracy in this new capacity, and she is looking forward to learning new things and putting her education into practice.

Thanks to Trinity Vineyard for their "Far" gift, and for all of those HCO friends who make it possible to invest in the lives of our HCO Kenya family so that we can continue to work and multiply the efforts that God  places before us.

A great day for the staff of HCO Kenya!

I love my home church! Trinity Vineyard is such a great support and encouragement to me - and to my staff! One of the many ways they have shown this is the amazing gift they gave to my staff this past week.

My Associate Pastor, Adam & his wife Melody, have just been to visit HCO Kenya. One of their primary objectives was to be an encouragement to the ones serving on the ground. Trinity Vineyard has a unique thought toward and approach to missions. They see the value of supporting those on the ground, the ones doing the day-to-day work that makes the change in lives possible. They also have a strong sense of personal, long-term partnership. They are investing in relationship, not just projects. They are in contact with our staff and boys year-round and have real, personal relationships with them.

Last week, they demonstrated their love and appreciation for our staff by investing in that relationship. In order to spend quality time with them, subs were brought in to help take up slack as the staff spent time talking with Adam & Melody, hanging out, and just enjoying time together. On Adam & Melody's last day there, they gave the staff an amazing gift! They took them on safari!

Almost all mission teams go on safari to see the animals while in Kenya. Yet, very few Kenyans have ever been on safari. We have a game park just minutes from the baby house. In fact, Nakuru National Park and Lake Nakuru can be seen from the baby house, yet only one of our entire staff have ever been to the game park. Maggy and Eunice have lived in Nakuru their entire lives and have never been on a safari in our very own game park. This was a priceless, once-in-a-lifetime kind of gift!

The difference this makes in the lives of our staff is invaluable. Showing them how they are loved and cherished is another way we can show them Jesus. Just look how much they loved it! The joy on their faces - and even the fun of dressing in their best for a day at the park!

 I am so thankful to Adam, Melody, and Trinity Vineyard Church! It is wonderful when people come to love on our babies, but these ladies and men need and deserve that as well. Our babies do receive love; they hear about Jesus and are told of God's love for them ~ because of the ones who are there to do it every day. Making sure that these people are supported, appreciated and know that they are valued is key to taking care of our babies. As much as I love my babies and boys, I would say that I spend much more of my time with, and working for, the staff than with the babies - so that they can be prepared to love the babies and boys every minute of every day. What a blessing it is to have a support church who sees ministry the exact same way and are willing to invest in them.

Meet the Staff - Angie

Angie is our new Manager at Haven of Hope Baby Center. And let me just tell you, she is amazing! She has been with us for about six weeks and my life is already better because of her.

It did not take long at all for Angie to fall in and become part of the HOH family. She quickly became “one of the girls” and they all seem to enjoy working together very much. The babies love her, and she, them. It is fun to watch. One moment, Angie is preparing documents for the babies’ files or filling out expense reports, the next minute she is changing diapers in the babies’ room or cleaning the floor after a messy meal.

Angie has had experience in working with children’s homes as well as with Westerners and Western organizations. That may not seem like a big deal to you, but that is really huge! It is great to have someone who understands where I am coming from, and being able to convey that to those we work with in a way they can better understand and grasp. It is great to have her to help bridge the gap between me and the general Kenyan population, especially government offices and businesses!

Angie knows how to get things done. She has done so much to help get the women’s project started and off the ground. From buying supplies, to hunting for a place to rent, to listening to the ladies’ stories and getting to know them, Angie has been a huge help.

It is great to have Angie as part of the HCO/HOH family! My stress level has definitely decreased in the past few weeks. Thanks, Angie!

Meet the Staff - Tracy

Meet Tracy. Tracy is our weekend baby caretaker. she is a full-time student who wanted to help us out when she could. As it turned out, we needed someone to come work at the baby house on the weekends, and it worked perfectly with her schedule.

It has been a huge blessing to have Tracy. She has the best attitude and will do whatever is needed to take care of the babies. Whether it is covering for Julie when she takes Kate to court in Nairobi or staying late to help out with sick babies, Tracy is always willing to do more than her fair share!

With a happy smile and cheerful heart, Tracy loves our babies like her own and takes such great care of them. We are very blessed to have Tracy as part of our Haven of Hope baby caretaker team!

Meet the Staff - Joyce

This is Joyce, our awesome Social Worker!

Joyce has been a life-saver the past few months! After waiting for over a year to find someone who knowns what to do, is qualified, and available, we finally found Joyce. Joyce previously worked for the adoption agency in Nairobi that we will working with for our children. After having her first baby, she decided to move to Nakuru where her family lives. Fortunately for us, she is here, available, and KNOWS adoptions and process of the Children's Department!


Joyce is very knowledgable in the areas I have needed the most help with. She has done so much to help us get ready for our final registration process with the Children's Department, and she has helped me to understand and interpret what it is that I need to do for the many Policies & Procedures I have been writing. I could not have done this process without her!


We are VERY blessed to have Joyce working with us! I appreciate her help so very much. 

Meet the Staff - Maggie

Maggie is one of our new additions since moving to Nakuru. She is a lovely lady.

Maggie was initially hired as our household assistant, doing cleaning and laundry. However, we soon noticed her gift in caring for the babies and moved her to the position of baby caretaker. From the very beginning, she was so comfortable with the babies and very interactive with them. She is a true natural when it comes to little ones. Her grace and softness is perfect for the babies. She loves them, and they love her. 


I first interviewed Maggie at my house a few weeks before moving the babies to Nakuru. As she sat on my couch, so timid and sweet, Nelly had to interpret when the conversation got too advanced for my limited Kiswahili skills. That was a few short months ago and now there is no need for any interpretation for Maggie! I'm still not sure if she really needed it then or not, and I tease her about it often. Either she was just too shy and hesitant to speak English (which I totally understand), or she is a really fast learner.


We love having Maggie on our staff! She truly brings joy to the house each day. She loves the Lord, loves the babies and it shows!

Meet the Staff - Suzan

We love Auntie Suzy! 

Suzy is one of our baby caretakers who joined us when we moved to Nakuru in June. She is a super-sweet young woman who loves the Lord and serves Him wholeheartedly with her life. She loves to sing and play with the babies, and they love to sing and play with her. She makes a difference in their lives.

I love walking into the baby house and seeing Suzy spinning Jeremiah around or tickling Elijah so hard that he belly-laughs. She is soft and gentle with the tiny babies, and happy and playful with the big babies. And the sound of her sweet voice singing worship songs floats from the kitchen whenever she is hard at work preparing bottles for the little ones or cleaning up after a meal.

Suzy is a blessing to have in our baby house. She lights up the home and brings joy to our babies' lives. I love seeing how Suzy allows God to work in her life and use her each and every day. She is a blessing and an inspiration. 

Meet the Staff - Julie

Meet Julie. I love Julie! The babies love Julie! She is our Senior Baby Caretaker.

Julie has been with us at Haven of Hope for about a year. She came with us from Nairobi and we are SO glad she did! She is perhaps one of the calmest, most gentle people I have ever met. She is so very sweet and patient. The perfect qualities for a baby caretaker. 

Julie is a trained teacher so now that Julia, Jeremiah and Elizabeth are older she will begin to have a little school time with the older babies while the little babies nap. 

We LOVE Auntie Julie, and we are so glad she is part of our HCO/HOH team! 

 Julie & Julia are special friends..."Namesakes," as Julie says.

Thanks for all your hard work, Julie! We appreciate you!

Meet the HCO Staff - Kennedy

Last week I started a weekly introduction of our HCO staff. It takes a team to make things run and work efficiently, and God has blessed us with a great team.

Meet Kennedy. Kennedy came with us from Ngong. He was our night watchman. Once we got to Nakuru, Kennedy began to step up and take on a lot more responsibility. He was showing a great deal of initiative and giving many ideas of how we could improve our new compound. 

I came to learn that Kennedy was way overqualified to be our night watchman. He is a very skilled mason and landscaper. We made some changes and switched him to be our groundskeeper and he has done wonders for our compound! We are so blessed to have someone who is not only skilled at work that we need him to do, but also has a heart for helping and a desire to work to the best of his abilities for the glory of God. And an added bonus: he loves our babies and loves to play with them. They love him too, and it is great for them to have a male role model around.

Thanks for all you do for Haven of Hope, Kennedy! We are glad you are on our team!

Meet the HCO Staff - Kris

His Cherished Ones International Ministry is able to operate because of the great team we have. It takes the whole group to make things function. I wanted to take some time to introduce you to the rest of HCO, so each Monday we will do "Meet the HCO Staff" so that you can get to know them.


So....Here's Kris!! :-)

Kris is the Director of Stateside Operations for His Cherished Ones, Inc. She is also the Secretary of our Board of Directors. I am starting with Kris because she is the one who has been there from the inception of HCO and makes it possible for the rest of us to all be a part of the ministry. I could NOT be here without her! 


Kris is a Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer at Texas Sports Medicine Center in Tomball, TX. In addition to her full time job, she puts in many hours a week tending to the business and finances of the ministry. As I am here spending money on the ground, Kris is always behind me to make sure it is well accounted for, used properly and in line with the IRS guidelines. She is the one who keeps us on track! She does a fabulous job of keeping up with all the details of the business side of things and keeps our finances in order. Kris is actively involved in the daily operations of what goes on here in Kenya as we talk at least several times a week. She is truly my backbone and support here!


AND...in addition to her full time job and putting in the hours for the ministry, she is also busy planning her wedding. She is a busy girl! So, after October 16th, 2010, she will become Mrs. Barry Heslop and we will welcome Barry into the HCO family as well! (He's actually already part of the family!)


Thank you, Kris, for all you do for us! You ARE appreciated and we couldn't do it without you!