Heaven's Family Stories

Reconciled Rider

How could a father treat his own children that way? I wondered in disbelief. As a mother, shock (and anger) rushed through me as I listened to Jackson Muthoni tell me his story as we stood on the sidelines of a soccer field in Wamuini, Kenya. Last year I told you about an entire Kenyan soccer team that turned to Christ after their troublemaking captain, Manu, was transformed by the gospel. That miracle was the result of the ministry of an evangelist named Herbert, who was able to reach the soccer team's village on a bicycle provided by Heaven's Family. Jackson is a member of that soccer team, and he, too, experienced the transforming power of the gospel.

30 Sep

Playing and Growing

Hello Friends of Orphan’s Tear, This month I’m sharing with you a brief sampling of the reports we’ve recently received from our orphanages. You can read updates from the specific orphanage where your child lives by logging in to your online account at OrphansTear.org. Then […]

01 Sep

Future Valedictorian

Early one morning in January of 2003, at the doorsteps of thousands of simple school buildings across Kenya, more than a million children showed up for school who had not attended the day before. The reason? Kenya's newly-elected government had abolished school fees for primary school children. Impoverished parents were thrilled that their children would now have an educational opportunity that had previously been denied them.

01 Sep

Hu Holds Fast

American missionary Todd Matthews has certainly obeyed Jesus' command to take the gospel to the world's "uttermost parts." He has been trekking into the mountains and gorges of China's Yunnan Province for 16 years, bringing the good news to the remote villages of China's ethnic minorities like the Lisu, Naxi, Bi, and Yi. He has also been arrested numerous times by Chinese police. His efforts have paid off with fruit, however. Churches have been planted and disciples are making disciples.

01 Sep

The Bamboo Oven

I thought we would melt as we climbed out of our air-conditioned van. The heat and humidity were oppressive. Little did we know that the worst was yet to come as we made our way towards a little bamboo shack. Barely bigger than a one-car garage, that shack was home to twenty orphans plus Tha Cung Bik and his wife, Sui Tha, the directors of Zion Children's Home. The year was 2008, and Cyclone Nargis had devastated this part of Myanmar a few months earlier. Zion's tiny shack had been completely flattened by the storm's fury, and though Tha Cung Bik had propped it back up, it leaned noticeably.

01 Sep

This Man was My Enemy

"When I got drunk, I would have the strength of twelve lions. I was a very wild man." It was difficult to imagine that the gentle and soft-spoken man standing before us was speaking of himself. As Elong elaborated in more detail about his former criminal life, we learned that he had been a murderer who was feared and hated by everyone. Some even believed that he was possessed by a demon, not an uncommon phenomenon in his nation of Cameroon, West Africa.