Scott Sweat’s Blog: Back from Kenya!

one of the classrooms, taking a quick break

Hello David’s Hope Friends! I’ve just arrived back in America after an amazing trip to Kenya! What has been accomplished by David’s Hope in just two years is almost mind-boggling. There is a school where there was no school. There is a church where there was no church. There is an orphanage where there was no orphanage. A small community ministry now has electricity and water where there had been none before. These things have taken a lot of generosity, hard work, and, most of all, God’s grace. Thank you all for your help and prayers in this effort. It has made a huge difference in the lives of so many people that I’ve met with this week.

I learned so much and grew to appreciate even more the sacrifices Pastor Steve, Mary and their team make each day. I was able to spend over a week really walking in their shoes and learning first-hand about their vision for the ministries there. We are blessed to have partners in Kenya who are so selflessly committed to the work there. God is really blessing the church and its ministries. The new church is thriving, and I was priviledged to have fellowship with the church members all week. The school, orphanage, clinic, and church have all grown so much more than Steve and Mary ever hoped, dreamed or imagined. But with that expansion comes great responsibilty. I arrived in Kenya with a to-do list and I’m coming home with an even bigger to-do list. I am excited about how David’s Hope can help provide more avenues to share God’s love and hope with more people. I hope you will come hear about what I learned and how we can help this Sunday afternoon (June 19th, 2pm, 312 Wesmond Dr., Alexandria).

me and students from the school

Have a glorious day!
Scott

Scott Sweat’s Blog: Your Past Donations are Helping!

Jambo from Kenya!! What an amazing trip this has been. I’m getting close to the end of my time in Kenya, and I still have lots of questions (not surprising for those of you who know me!). I feel like I could be here several more weeks and just be scratching the surface of all the things God is doing and leading Steve and Mary towards. One of the projects whose blessings have been apparent is the water system. David’s Hope has provided $8,000 for piping and drilling for a steam well (basically converting steam trapped below the ground’s surface — Eburru sits on a dormant volcano). This source of water is consistent and clean — two major feats in Africa! In fact, it is so clean that I have been drinking it for the past three days with no problems. There is clearly a need for a larger storage tank and almost 5 km more in piping. What’s really amazing is that this water, coupled with the newly arrived electricity, are allowing the ministries to reach more people than they ever could have otherwise. The water will enable the school and medical clinic to enlarge — bringing much-needed care and education (both physical and spiritual) to larger numbers of people. So we will likely be fundraising to expand the water system pretty soon.

Many of you helped last year by donating funds for chickens, goats, and cows. I’m happy to report that all four of the cows are now pregnant! So your investment has had a great return and provided milk to the children at the school. Eggs are being sold in the markets as well. This is a great step toward sustainability for the ministry. Thank you for your support. It goes very far in this area, and I know you are reaping rewards for your generosity.

In Him,
Scott

Isaiah 58:10-11
“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

Scott Sweat’s Blog: So Much Work To Do

We finally have a consistant water source for the ministry! Steam!!

Hello from Kenya! It was another good, although exhausting, day! We drove around alot today — meeting people and picking up some trees, bushes, and bags of corn. We also visited the home of a mother of 14 and grandmother of 5 — all of whom live with her. She is destitute – no land and no decent income to support her family since her husband left her. Pastor Steve and Mary have made sure two of the kids are in the Camp Brethren school and hope to take in some more next year. Right now all of their classes are full. This kind of story really shows the need for more classrooms at the school. David’s Hope has committed to raising the funds to build at least one new classroom a year until they are able to serve preschool – eighth grade. We have 4 more classrooms to go, but it is clear to me that we could build them all tomorrow and have them full the next day. The school is such a great refuge for these children to learn and get two meals a day. They also have a daily chapel service and learn about Christ. It really is giving these kids, and their families, the “hope” that David’s Hope was created to give.

Camp Brethren eggs being transferred to market

As many of you know, last year David’s Hope furnished the maternity ward with beds, and babies in Eburru are now starting to be born outside their homes under medical supervision in a clean environment. This is a major step forward and reduces maternal and child mortality. In the last three months, there have been 17 deliveries. In May, three deliveries were a bit more complicated than medical workers at the clinic could handle and so the women were transported the 35 KM to a hospital in Naivasha for C-sections. If not for the medical personelle at the clinic, these women would have died. Unfortunately, the women had to be transported to the hospital by motorbike….at night….with no drugs…while in labor. As a result, one of the babies was stillborn. Camp Brethren was recently gifted with $7,000 to go toward the purchase of an ambulance. Initially, I did not understand the need for this gift, but now being here and hearing their stories I see what a blessing an ambulance could be. The total cost of an ambulance is $15,000, so we’re almost half-way there.

Our faithful partners, Pastor Steve and Mary Njenga

The ambulance is just one of the goals I discussed with Steve, Mary, Jonathan, and George. We had a marathon 3.5 hour meeting to discuss their strategy and vision for the ministries in Eburru. One of the short-term goals they are very excited about is furnishing a library with computers for the children. This will be a focus for David’s Hope in the coming months. It has the potential to impact not just the school children, but also the larger community as internet access is extremely rare. We laid out short-term, medium-term (2-5 yr), and long-term (5 yr +) goals for the school, orphanage, health clinic, and sustainability projects. There are so many potential ways to help impact the people of Eburru physically and spiritually. So we’re picking up that conversation again tomorrow. I have lots more to report, but I’ll save some of it for Sunday when I’ll be sharing about my trip at our David’s Hope meeting. It is open to anyone who wants to come hear about what God is doing and how we can help — Sunday, 2pm, 312 Wesmond Drive, Alexandria VA 22305.

Thank you all for your prayers! Please keep them coming — Pastor Steve and Mary are clearly not on their own power but on God’s!
Have a glorious day,
Scott

Scott Sweat’s Blog: Packed Schedules and Big Dreams!

Hello from Kenya! One of the things that has struck me the most during my time here so far is how the children at the Camp Brethren Ministries School (the David’s Hope funded school) are noticeably larger than children those that are not in school. This is because of the feeding program that operates through the school. The demand is so great that they have had to limit enrollment to grow at a manageable rate (there are 170 children now). The costs for the feeding program would be astronomical if not for the farming that CBM does on the land surrounding the school and 2 acres of fertile land that David’s Hope bought them. The growing of the food makes the costs manageable and is a fantastic model of the self-sustainability. I toured of the 2 acres of farmland that CBM bought last year. It is almost two hours from Eburru, and I found it to be the largest 2 acres I’ve ever seen. The potatoes are thriving and they have a rudimentary irrigation system in the unlikely case that there is a dry spell. George, who is Mary’s brother (i.e. Pastor Steve’s brother-in-law) wears two hats – clinic nurse (2-3 days a week) and farmer. He rides his motorbike out to the land at least 1 or 2 times per week to check on things. In addition to these jobs, George works 2 to 3 nights a week in Nairobi (three hours from Eburru) and somehow manages to see his wife and two small children, who live 30 min. from Eburru. George is just another extraordinary part of the Camp Brethren team.

Steve and Mary are tireless. She works full-time at the hospital in Kijabe and spends her weekends in Eburru, serving at the clinic and mobile clinic and preparing food for the church-based weekend feeding program. She also makes all the purchases and preparations for the school feeding program. And if that weren’t enough — she does all of the cooking and cleaning customary for Kenyan women. Steve’s schedule is equally as taxing. He serves day and night driving Simon (his 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser with over 420K Kilometers on it!) all over Kenya. He’s usually in Nairobi one day a week and in Eburru 4-5 days a week managing the numerous projects and ministries. He attempts to spend Mondays at home in Kijabe trying to rest, but things always seem to come up. Steve is dedicated to discipleship and leads several Bible studies during the week in addition to his Sunday preaching duties. You can imagine with all the projects going on that the work really never ends. Just wait until I share some of the thoughts of what they would like to do and you’ll really get exhausted. It’s all very encouraging and exciting and they make these big dreams sound even reasonable.

Tomorrow, I’m having an American-style business meeting with Steve, Mary, Jonathon (school administrator and Steve’s brother) and George. I hope it will be a very productive meeting and we will be able to firm up the next set of projects to fund. There really are so many cool things that could be done and have a huge impact. I am challenging myself to do a much better job of describing what’s going on here and how people can help. It’s so clear that God is working here, and I am convicted that we could do so much more for His kingdom. Dollar for dollar I have never heard of a ministry that can have so large an impact for so little. I have tried not to get too outwardly excited (since I’m trying to be very cautious about what commitments we make or are perceived of making) but there are big things happening! I hope you’ll join me in praying for those and what role we can each take in this amazing ministry.

Have a blessed day!

Scott

1 Cor. 15:58 “Therefore my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain!”

Scott Sweat’s Blog: Lives Are Being Changed Through Mobile Clinics and the School in Eburru

My first day in Eburru was a very blessed day! We started off with the mobile health clinic. At the clinic, which visits a few villages every few weeks, they charge a small fee to cover the gas, but the medication is funded by David’s Hope. It was very powerful be there and see how David’s Hope’s funders are making a real difference in people’s lives. I was able to meet a woman who was so very grateful to DHI for the drugs that have literally changed her life. She has extreme arthritis and could not walk upright. But with the steroids and ibuprofen she previously received at the mobile clinic, she is now able to walk and work! Praise the Lord!!!

After the morning clinic, Camp Brethren Ministries had their official ribbon-cutting for the new school dining hall. All the students, their parents, and the people of Eburru were invited, which meant we had over 300 people in attendance. The big surprise for the day was that they gave DHI, and me as the DHI representative, the honor of opening the new dining hall — complete with a big shiny (and quite embarrassing) plaque on the side of the building. It was a total surprise, and I was able to bless and pray over the building. The event lasted a few hours and nobody wanted to leave. As part of the event I shared about how DHI was inspired 2.5 years ago in front of Morgan House with little David and Pastor Steve. I also got to tell all of them how thankful we were to partner with a first class organization like CBM. I told them that the amazing work of Steve and Mary and their passion and vision has so much to do with the Lord blessing their ministry and all of the students and parents.

I have been continually impressed during my time here with how effectively Pastor Steve & Mary are at spending the funds DHI sends over. Those of you who know me, know I’m the king of bargaining, but Steve and Mary are getting a real bang for their buck here. This is due to a number of factors, but especially because of the gifts and talents the Lord has blessed them with. Steve is particularly remarkable at getting bargains and going to the product source/manufacturer to cut-out the middleman and associated prices. Steve has served as the project manager for all the construction projects and in doing so 100% of the funds DHI sends over for construction go to real construction. As a result, instead spending upwards of 40-50% on middlemen fees (not uncommon in Kenya) we spend 100% on construction (Steve and Mary do not charge a fee for their services — they do for the Lord and not for money). This enables us to make sure that the buildings are constructed with the highest quality materials that will really stand the test of time. While here, I’ve seen two other (and more expensive) school construction projects, and the difference in quality is remarkable. We are very blessed to be working with good stewards of the Lord’s money, who also are far-sighted and have a vision for how things should look not just today, but into the distant future.

What a day! It is so clear that God is working — in the clinic to heal individuals and in the school to change the lives of a whole generation of children. With the dining hall open, the next step will be to add more classrooms and get the orphanage off to a strong start. I have such confidence in how well the funds for these projects will be used. If you feel led, I know your financial support will make a huge difference here. (you can make tax deductible donations online at www.davidshope.org/give )

In addition to financial support, I hope you will join me in continuing to pray for Pastor Steve and Mary and their work in Eburru. We keep an updated list of their prayer requests on the website at www.davidshope.org/category/prayer/ God is using them in mighty ways and I’m privileged to be here serving with them in Kenya this week.

Have a glorious day!

Scott

Scott Sweat’s Blog: Sustainability on our Minds

Jambo from Kenya! I have only been in Kenya two days now, but we’ve already had such great conversations. I am so excited about how God is using David’s Hope, Pastor Steve, Mary, and their Camp Brethren Ministries to impact so many people in Eburru. A couple of the key themes are that the funds from DHI have accelerated the work of CBM far in excess of their imaginations! God is good and it’s so cool the DHI can have such a tangible and real impact for the Lord! In addition, it’s clear that the funds we’re sending are going very very far.

One important founding principle for David’s Hope is that anything we do is sustainable – financially and in terms of leadership. So it was cool to talk through many of the sustainability ideas they have and to hear just how much they are really thinking about sustainability beyond DHI. Jonathon, the school administrator, and George, the nurse and farmer, have both given a great deal of thought to sustainability and have prepared numbers to speak about with me. It looks like there may be opportunities to open a private school alongside our existing school and help subsidize the cost of educating the neediest students. The reason such a business would work so well is due to the high quality of the education they are providing and the physical school grounds. The school is really beautiful, and everyone that sees it is amazed at how high a quality they have built!

Here is a great quote from Steve on this: “One of the biggest things missing in Kenya is quality education….when they come to CBM school they get quality education and quality food that I and my family would eat….I cannot build a school for anyone unless I know that my own son could go to school here and be happy! I could live in that orphanage and be happy and I am very comfortable knowing that when we have children living there they will be very satisfied. Where the children are coming from is terrible and when they come to this orphanage they will praise God for how nice this is and how great they have it.”

This is great stuff and there is more to come!

Scott

Scott Sweat’s Blog: First Day in Kenya

Hello David’s Hope friends! My first day in Kenya was amazing. Pastor Steve and his wife, Mary, picked me up in Nairobi, and we talked all day. It is great to catch-up with them and our conversations are full of so many good things to report that it’s hard to focus on any one thing. I did not ask for this, but Mary has taken time off to be with me this entire week so i will see Steve and Mary in action together. They are a dynamic duo which becomes clear in talking with them for less than 5 minutes. God is using them, and it is obvious by the unending stream of calls they receive all day about various ministry work.

One challenging story Steve with me was about his childhood. Steve has lots of trouble asking for help or assistance. This stems back from his childhood when he had to watch his mother beg for food just to feed them. It really made an impression on him and as a result, he doesn’t ever want to have to ask for anything. He cited how the Lord has blessed them so abundantly with many gifts and donations over the years and the blessings David’s Hope has brought. They are so thankful for our support and talked about how they would not have the impact they are having without DHI’s amazing support. They are over 10 years ahead of where they thought they might be at this point in their ministry — what an awesome blessing! It will be amazing to see how the Lord continues to use all this for His glory and what the final ministry will look like.

Today we go to Eburru (at 6am) for a mobile clinic in the morning. In the afternoon, we are dedicating the new orphanage dorm. They are giving me the great honor of dedicating the building as a representative of DHI. All the parents from the school have been invited to attend, and it should be a very big wonderful celebration. It should be an eventful day with lots of photos and stories.

Please pray that our time in Eburru (and my sermon!) honor God.

Scott

Scott Sweat’s Blog: Goals for My Trip

Good Day David’s Hope friends! As you read this, I am somewhere over the Atlantic or maybe Europe. Hopefully, I am resting and getting prepared for a big week in Kenya. I’ll be shadowing Pastor Steve most of the time, but I also have a few big things to do. For instance, Steve has asked me to give the sermon at his church on Sunday. Any of you who know me, know that giving a sermon in front of a church is WAY outside my comfort zone. So there is a high probability that in between power naps on the plane, I am preparing for that. Or I might be going over my lists of things I want to learn during my time with Pastor Steve.

I live by goal lists. In fact, my wife makes fun of me for my daily, weekly, short-term, and long-term goals that I keep neatly organized on my clipboard. I really believe that if you don’t write down your goals, you are less likely to actually achieve them. And I definitely want David’s Hope to achieve our goals. Our most important goal is to continue to grow God’s kingdom in Kenya. Meeting physical needs provides an open door for us to do that, following the model that Jesus himself used to reach people with the Good News. There are lots of pieces that have to come together for that to be successful. I’ve spent hundreds of hours over the last few months working out what we need to do to achieve our goals, and I thought you might be interested in some highlights from my list of discussions to have with Steve:

Strategic Planning. Discuss our shared goals determined in January 2011 and project-out the vision for the ministry: 1 to 3 years, 3 to 5 years and 5 to 10 years. Make sure we understand expectations for the school and raising up future leaders of the ministries.

Long-term Self-Sustainability of Camp Brethren Ministries (CBM). Discuss our two goals for sustainability: 1) that businesses produce income to fund the ministries without outside support, and 2) to provide opportunities for development to grow leaders that can support Pastor Steve & Mary and CBM. Discuss what income-producing businesses CBM will attempt (i.e. hospitality/tourism), and determine how we will prove each concept before moving forward (especially with regard to our existing farming business). Make Talk about building up diversified streams of income for CBM in a way that does not undermine the local economy or the church.

Sponsorship Program. Discuss the prospect of sponsoring all 166 children in the school at $25/month to fund the children’s education, healthcare and daily meals as well as help subsidize the orphanage. Make sure the logistics, burdens, and benefits of the program are understood and lifted up in prayer. (By the way, if you’d like to sponsor a child let us know and we will get you set-up in July when we kick off the program!)

ICM Model. Discuss the International Care Ministry’s method of reaching the community with the 3 simple themes of spiritual growth, economic livelihood tools, and hygiene/ healthcare practices. Brainstorm ideas on how/if this model could work or be a tool for Pastor Steve in Eburru.

I hope these ideas help you understand a little bit more about what’s in store for David’s Hope and Camp Brethern Ministries. I’m looking forward to talking through each of these things with Steve during my time in Kenya. I’ll be sending more updates and stories along the way, so stay tuned!

Have a Glorious Day!

Scott Sweat

Scott Sweat’s Blog: Please Pray for My Trip!

Good Day David’s Hope friends! I am about to head off for my fourth trip to Kenya and am getting excited about what God has in store for me there. All my other trips have been short-term mission trips. This will be my first solo experience, and I know will be very different from anything else I’ve experienced. For those of you who know me well, it will not come as a surprise that there are lots of things I hope to accomplish on this trip. Most importantly, I want to spend some time encouraging Pastor Steve and Mary and building up our relationship further. Steve and I talk on the phone every other week, but nothing replaces spending time together on the ground. I’m looking forward to really experiencing their ministry on a day-to-day basis. I specifically planned my trip to be 7 full days so I can walk with Steve through a typical Sunday-Saturday schedule. This is going to give me great insights to better understand how David’s Hope can best come along side and support them in a way that will maximize our Kingdom Impact. I have been praying that any actions we take with David’s Hope do not push them in a direction or at a pace that they aren’t comfortable with, so this opportunity will be a great way for me to double-check that and make sure our David’s Hope team is following both their and God’s leads.

I have lots more to share about all the things I’m thinking about as I board the plane, but I’ll save that for later. For now, I hope you will join me in praying for this trip. Specifically, I am asking:

1. that God will focus my vision on what He wants to teach us as an organization and me individually
2. that I will be an encouragement to Steve and Mary and their ministry
3. that God will be glorified through my time in Kenya

Update Letter from Pastor Steve – May, 2011

Over the last month, things have been turning around and inflation has been biting hard to the lives of most Kenyans. The prices of fuel and food have gone high and this have not left out the Camp Brethren projects going on. However, ours is a faith endeavor and God has been blessing all the work going on.

Camp Brethren Christian School – Things are continuing to brighten up with God’s providence experienced by the day. In the month of March we were able to purchase text books that were enough to cater for 3 kids per book. Mega praises this month because generous donors through Davids Hope International have added to the donation and more textbooks have been purchased so each kid has their own book for all subjects. We would like also to thank God for 198 chairs that have been purchased for all the classes. The school kitchen has additional 2 small jikos that has been installed this month.

The school has also benefited from the furniture equipment for the Dining hall. The project of tables and benches (for the dining hall) and bunk beds (for the orphanage dorms) have been completed and delivered to the school’s Dining hall and dorms by the Naivasha technical college. We thank God that the children can now enjoy their meals at the comfort of these benches and tables.

Camp Brethren Feeding Program – The feeding program has continued to thrive with the kids getting a balanced diet in their meals each day. The milk and eggs from the Camp Brethren cows and chickens, respectfully, have added a lot of value to this program. We still have crops growing on the farm and are hopeful that we will get a harvest that will help us continue feeding. Our prayer is that God may continue sending the rains so the farms will not dry up. So far so good and the rainfall have been adequate.

The future of the activities in the school will depend on the availability of water that is scarce in this volcanic village. There is no possibility of drilling a borehole here. When you drill what you get is hot steam vents that when condensed produce water that is widely used here for all needs of water. We have been working on a project of drilling steam wells that will serve as a supplement to rain water at the school. As of now, 5 wells have been drilled and cased and the construction of condensation mechanisms is underway. Pray that this will go on well, noting that we have to pipe the water a distance of 4.1 kilometers. The big praise is that this water will flow 24 hours / 7 days a week. That means a lot of blessing for the school. The reservoir tank is also under construction where this water will be stored.

Camp Brethren Medical Centre – We want to thank God for the medical clinic. The lighting project has been completed and both the clinic and the camp site have electricity. We are now able to keep our vaccines in the facility – a thing that has improved the immunization process. A baby warmer which is used for resustating and warming newborn babies has been purchased for the maternity ward. It has two oxygen flometers; however it needs an oxygen tank which is a prayer need. The night consultations have been made easy especially now that the clinic is covered for 24 hours due to the presence of our full time prescription nurse. This installation of electricity comes with some other prayer needs that include upgrading the lab with more efficient and faster electrical gadgets like centrifuge and Microscope etc. Finally, we want to give praises for the successful satellite clinics that are now running in four different locations.

Although, this month has not gone without challenges, the word of God has been ringing bells of encouragement in our hearts. As one unknown author wrote, “Sometimes we are so busy adding up our troubles that we forget to count our blessing”. All we can say is that God has done it and is promising to do amazingly great things for his children. “I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all they work, and talk of thy doings.” (Psalm 77:11,12)

In His service,
Steve

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