Dick Alexander, senior minister at Lifespring Christian Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, will join CMF as an International Consultant in September, following his retirement from his long-time ministry at the multi-site church.

The announcement of Mr. Alexander’s new role was made this week by CMF Executive Director Doug Priest.

“Dick is highly regarded as a strategic thinker, encourager and mentor,” said Doug, “and we are thrilled that he will bring those skills to the CMF staff on a part-time basis.”

Mr. Alexander’s responsibilities will include a mix of pastoral curriculum development, strategic assistance and travel on CMF’s behalf.

“Dick’s first priority will be enhancing the pastoral training curriculum for the Hope Partnership in Nairobi, Kenya, and he will coordinate teaching visits for those traveling to Kenya from the U.S.,” said Doug. ”He will also make occasional visits to CMF fields around the world, be available to represent CMF at U.S. churches and conventions, and will offer his coaching expertise to CMF recruits, missionaries, staff and national leaders.”

Two families who regularly watch Parkview Christian Church’s services online recently signed on to sponsor children in Turkana, Kenya, through CMF’s child sponsorship program. Both families were introduced to CMF through a promotion for the program during Easter Sunday services at the Orland Park, Ill., church, which has added more than 400 new sponsors to the program.

Michael and Michelle Hibberd were high school sweethearts who got married after Michael’s seven-year stint in the U.S. Navy and attended Parkview in 2005-2006. They moved to Kuwait in 2006 for Michael to work as a private contractor advising the Kuwait Air Force on F-18 Hornet fighter jets. Church options in Kuwait are limited, so the couple watches Parkview online, and were tuned in when the sponsorship program was promoted.

“We have never sponsored a child before,” said Michael, “and to be honest, this is a huge step for us spiritually and financially. After watching Pastor Tim Harlow’s service and learning about CMF we immediately said to each other, ‘This is something we need to do.’ ”

Meanwhile, out in Denver, Colorado, Deanne Afman was also watching the online Parkview Easter service. Her brother and his wife and extended family all attend Parkview, and Deannne and husband Tom visited there once and became regular viewers of the online services.

“I saw the CMF ad (about child sponsorship), so I opened up the website and decided to sponsor a child,” said Deanne.

The Hibberds asked for a child who shares their four-year-old son Conner’s birthday, and was fortunate to be able to make the match.

“We just felt it would make it more personal to us,” said Michael. “We wanted it to hit home as much as possible. This little girl has the same birthdate as Conner, so every time I see our son smile or laugh, or when I realize that he will always have enough food, clothing and an education, I am reminded that there are other children out there who will never have any of those things unless the ‘fortunate’ step up.”

The Afmans were also moved by comparisons of the lives of Kenyan children with their own family’s life.

“We are so blessed, and so are our children and grandchildren. And $38 would not go very far here to feed, clothe and educate a child,” said Deanne.  “I have a picture of Redempta, our sponsored child, by our desk. She just turned five, and what a smile! How could you say no?”

A short-term trip team from Parkview Christian Church, Orland Park, Ill., visited CMF partner Missions of Hope International (MoHI) in Nairobi, Kenya, recently. The 95 members of the team, including Senior Pastor Tim Harlow, had many plans for how they would use their time in the slums, but one particular project was geared toward an often-overlooked group: children with special needs.

Several members of the Parkview team had volunteered to prepare for and help with sports for these children, so the MoHI staff members who work with special children came up with some other activities for extending their outreach.

“They eased into the week together, playing sports games with kids who are able to be in school with the rest of the children,” said Justine Hayes, a CMF missionary in Nairobi. “Later, they visited kids with more severe disabilities who are unable to leave their homes. From children who cannot see or hear, to those with severe cerebral palsy, these home visits can be some of the most challenging. Disabilities carry stigma, and many parents refuse to let the community know that they have a child who is ‘different.’ But things are changing. They are small steps, but steps none the less. This week, things were changing as the community learned that these kids can have fun.”

Going home to home, the Parkview team members taught some of the games to parents to help them feel comfortable before inviting them to come to the field on Thursday, where the first Special Olympics would take place.

“In the end, they came, they participated, and everyone ended the day spent from the energy, joy and love that covered the Pangani field that morning,” said Justine.

Each child received a certificate of participation at the end of the day.

“These certificates will be kept for a long time, but the experiences will not be forgotten,” said Justine. “As they walked or were carried up to receive their recognition, this was likely the first time they had been celebrated in a group. And, as things change, we hope that it is not the last.”

The Mara Rianda Charitable Trust, a Christian organization based in Great Britain, has donated $117,000 to Community Health Partners in Kenya for a new building that will house a maternity center at the CHP clinic in Mara Rianda. The clinic is located in the area known as the Maasai Mara, a wildlife reserve in southwest Kenya.

Richard Long, founder and director of the Trust, gave the good news to CMF Executive Director Doug Priest this week.

“I am absolutely delighted to tell you that we now have complete approval and agreement of all the funding for the new medical center,” he said. “Work can now commence.”

The organization has funded smaller projects for Community Health Partners in the past, but this is the most significant donation to date.

Richard Long founded the Trust in 2003 following a vacation in the Maasai Mara and runs it with two other trustees/directors. All funds raised are used to support the schools and local community of Mara Rianda. The directors and trustees work without any remuneration or salary.

“Our charity does not fundraise at all; we just pray it in,” said Mr. Long. “We told people of the need and within 14 days we had all the money. God is amazing!”

Agri-Stewards, a Lebanon, Ind., non-profit founded to teach “Farming God’s Way” principles to families and communities in third-world countries, sponsored a trip to assist several CMF partners in Kenya in February.

The team members, led by Agri-Stewards’ outreach leader Brian Smith, spent time educating new Maasai farmers at the Oltukal and Ntulele Community Christian Churches and attended the ECHO East Africa Conference on conservation agriculture in Arusha, Tanzania. The final stop on the trip was the farm at the Missions of Hope Joska school outside Nairobi, where they were on the spot for the arrival of the long-awaited container full of mechanized farming equipment, including a tractor!

At first, Brian and the team members were disappointed that they were unable to accomplish their ambitious goals with the tractor right away due to dry soil conditions, but their perspective quickly changed.

 “As I was reflecting on my frustration of not being able to accomplish my original goal of ripping the 24 acres, John, the man farming the five acres at Joska, approached me and began thanking me over and over for tilling the four acres,” said Brian. “He claimed our team accomplished in two days with the tractor what would have taken four men working full time a month to complete by hand. He was ecstatic that all he had to do was plant.”

“The Kenyans have a Swahili phrase I have added to my limited vocabulary that is ‘kidogo kidogo,’ which means ‘little by little,’ ” added Brian. “By American standards our pace may be a little slow, but little by little we are making a big impact in Kenya for the Lord.”

The Agri-Stewards’ colorful spring 2013 report is chock-full of more interesting information about the trip and insights into farming in Kenya, as well as photos of the group in action. Please go here to take a look.

Community Health Partners, a CMF partner ministry to the Masaai tribe, has begun the year on a high note with a grant of more than $400,000 in aid from the European Community, an economic and political organization made up of several western European countries.

John Sankok, CHP Program Director, reports that the funding will cover a period of four years and will be used “to help reduce mortality and morbidity for pregnant and lactating mothers and children less than 5 years of age in the Norok south district.”

Another grant of more than $135,000 is also expected from the Intervita Fund of Milan, Italy. This NGO (non-government organization) was founded in 1999 “to improve the living conditions of people living in poor areas.” The organization is non-denominational and works with local partners, such as CHP. Intervita’s funds will enable CHP to reach un-vaccinated children and pregnant mothers through mobile clinics and help remodel the current Ewaso Ng’iro health clinic to accommodate a small maternity and newborn unit.

John Sankok notes that he has also recently signed CHP’s annual contract with Catholic Relief Services and the Centers for Disease Control to receive funds of $337,500 for the clinics’ HIV/AIDS programs in 2013.

“All of these grants have demanded a lot of effort, commitment and time,” said John. “God has enabled us to work on these projects and have patience to complete the process.”

CMF is proud to have established this extensive medical ministry among the Masaai tribe in Kenya and even prouder that the ministry is now run by Maasai Christian health professionals. Community Health Partners operates eight medical clinics that are  for the treatment of tropical diseases and HIV/AIDS and to provide medical care for pregnant women and young children.

When Fiona Petrocelli and her family took a safari holiday to the Massai Mara in Kenya in 2011, she never dreamed it would take them to the Mathare slums and an ongoing relationship with CMF’s partner there, Missions of Hope.

As the Petrocellis, who live in Dubai, were planning their trip, friends inspired them to spend part of their vacation doing something charitable. They made arrangements to dedicate one day to volunteering at Missions of Hope.

“Not wanting to arrive empty-handed, we took with us 100 pairs of used crocs collected from friends,” said Fiona. “We also took plenty of lollipops!”

The family distributed the shoes at a MoHI school, but they were upset when they ran out and had to turn away some children. Upon their return to Dubai, Fiona sent photos of the trip to crocs™ Middle East.

“They were moved by the impact their shoes had created on just a few of the children of Mathare and they promised to help us when we went back,” said Fiona.

The Petrocellis returned to Nairobi in April 2012 with more than 800 pairs of crocs™, and distributed them at a new MoHI school.

“This time,” said Fiona, “there were enough to go around.”

An excellent amateur photographer, Fiona captured the experience in photos and recently held a reception and exhibition illustrating their project and the work being done in the slums by MoHI at a gallery in Dubai. Her goal was to recognize “the wonderful people of Missions of Hope, to publically thank crocs™ Middle East and our generous friends for their support and share our experiences of this amazing community and its people.”

“So many people were moved by the exhibition in so many ways and just didn’t realize what the Mathare slums are like,” said Fiona. “They were also quite shocked at the dimensions of the typical family home in the slums. It’s one thing reading the dimensions on paper, but to actually stand within those that we marked out on the floor makes you really think.”

Fiona reports that the exhibition has drawn very positive feedback from attendees and will be featured in a local magazine as a “pick of the week.”

A series of connections between CMF missionaries in Nairobi, Kenya, and the Ostrow School of Dentistry of the University of Southern California brought a team of 51 dental professionals to the Mathare slums for a week in December for the largest dental outreach in Kenya’s history.

CMF missionaries Keith Ham and Wallace and Mary Kamau got acquainted with Dr. Mike Hyodo, Director of World Ministries International in Nairobi, through their children’s school. Dr. Hyodo has connections with USC’s dental school and brought the area to the attention of the USC Dental Humanitarian Outreach Program.

This program is a nonprofit, student-run organization that organizes multiple trips per year to serve the dental needs of poor communities. Sean Vreeburg, a dental student and one of the founders and organizers of the group, says the goal is to “provide the same standard of care as what we provide at the University of Southern California in the U.S.”

The Nairobi project was the group’s largest so far, and required 10 months of management, planning and logistics. The project was hosted by Wallace and Mary Kamau, the founders and directors of CMF’s Nairobi partner, Missions of Hope International. The Kamaus arranged the clinic location, set up all the accommodations six months in advance, booked buses, security and eating arrangements and pre-screened the patients.  

The team faced many challenges in providing the clinic, including a stringent risk analysis of security measures required by the university, delays in the arrival of dental equipment in Nairobi and even a widespread power outage due to the team’s heavy power use.

The majority of the patients were local children experiencing their first dental visits. More than 95% of the adults who were treated had never received any kind of dental treatment. All the patients also received generous supplies of toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss that were donated by dental supply companies.

The clinic was a huge success and met a very high standard of care, reported organizer Sean Vreeburg. “USC protocol for mobile dental units was carried out here just as in the U.S. We are proud to offer the best quality (of care) available in the world.”

The Scott sisters of Nashua, New Hampshire, have been bringing lots of attention recently to CMF’s work with Missions of Hope in Nairobi, Kenya, with their “Sole to Soul” fundraising campaign. Now their video about the project has been named as the best inspirational video of 2012 by Inc., a business and finance online magazine.

Vienna, Hayleigh and Sarah Scott launched “Sole to Soul” to raise $30,000 to provide a pair of new shoes and socks for each of the 1,200 children in the Missions of Hope Joska schools in Nairobi. The girls and their younger brother A.J. and parents Andrew and Rachel attend Crossway Christian Church in Nashua, and have been supporters of Hope Partnership since 2009.

The family has planned a mission trip to visit Missions of Hope in the spring of 2013, so they are learning about the ministry at home and at church. After seeing pictures of children who are barefoot or wearing plastic soda bottles as shoes, the girls decided they wanted to raise money for new shoes for every child.

The girls began their fundraising efforts by going door-to-door in their town in late September, and then added additional fundraisers. Their project is featured on CMF’s website and has received significant donations from around the country. The girls have put in more than 200 hours of their time on the project, reports their father, Andrew Scott.

In listing the Scott girls’ video as his number one inspirational video of the year, Inc. columnist Geoffrey James wrote: “As somebody who has personally seen the poverty in East Africa, I know that these three girls are making a big difference.”

To see the article in Inc., go here. To see the video or make a donation to “Sole to Soul,” go here.

CMF missionary Shawn Redford’s new book, “Missiological Hermeneutics: Biblical Interpretation for the Global Church,” has just been published by Pickwick Publications of Eugene, Oregon.

Shawn and his wife Kristin are members of CMF’s team in Nairobi, Kenya. He is recognized as a specialist in biblical theology of mission and missiological hermeneutics and has taught in these fields at Fuller Theological Seminary. He currently teaches at Africa International University and Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology, as well as in remote areas of Kenya as part of his service with CMF.

In reviewing the book, Wilbert R. Shenk of the Fuller Graduate School of Intercultural Studies writes, “Since 1950, remarkable progress has been made in developing mission theology. Redford aids and abets this development by introducing missiological hermeneutics that will help Christians around the world engage the word of God with greater understanding and faithfulness.”

Read more about the book and purchase it here.