GOD’S FAVOR FOR WORLDCOMP
In the last 24 hours a number of things have happened that we feel are evidences of God’s favor and blessing for Worldcomp. First of all we received our Certificate of Registration as an NGO in Kenya. When the new constitution took effect several years ago the registrations of all NGO’s in Kenya were cancelled. All NGO’s had to re-register with the government. The NGO’s connected to the government were immediately approved, but none of the “faith based” organizations had been approved to date. We feared that the government was going to levy a heavy financial fee from any organization connected to a group from overseas. Well, yesterday Osborn received a call and was simply told “come and pick up your Certificate of Registration.” We went down and got it without any fees or any expensive bureaucratic process. Very unusual for Kenya! Last night as we came together bid farewell to Deborah and Laurra, we all raised our glasses in a toast to the favor of the Lord!
Yesterday another unusual thing happened with Osborn Obayo. Osborn has been trying to get a visa to travel to the United States for several years. He went through a very tedious process last year trying to get a visa approved. But yesterday, very unexpectedly he recieved a visa to come the U.S. in the month of April without lifting a finger. It seems he is to be a part of a diplomatic delegation to New York in conjunction with his work at Parliament. Following his duties in New York he will be able to come to Seattle for a few weeks at the end of April. I am so happy about this because Osborn is able to share the vision and mission of Worldcomp like no one else. Now that he has recieved his first visa he will be able to come to the U.S. whenever he needs to. Thanks be to God for his blessing and favor. Recently Osborn recieved a great honor, he was nominated for the “Best Employee of the Year” in the Kenyan Parliament. He and the other 7 nominees recieved an immediate raise, and if he is chosen and the best, he will receive a considerable raise and will be in line for a better position in Parliament.
Yesterday was the first full day for our 21 children in the Worldcomp orphanage and today was the day that we tested them all for AIDS. Most of them have lost their parents to AIDS. Actually we expected that some of them would be HIV Positive, so we really prayed for them. Today we learned that not a single one of them tested positive for AIDS. We would have loved and cared for them no matter what, but to have some of them with this disease would have meant that we would have to make some expensive provisions for their care. All of us thanked the Lord when we got the news.
Well, Deborah and Laurra boarded the plane for home about an hour ago. They have been such a blessing. We have done and seen so much and they are coming home full of vision and passion for Kenya. As for Valerie and I, we are tired. For the past 7 weeks we have been on the go. We are looking forward to a few days of rest before our final Worldcomp retreat on March 28th and 29th. We have so much to talk about with our Kenya team as our work continues to grow and our community outreach expands.
Please pray that the Lord will help us to rest and stay healthy.
Tomorrow I will speak for the first time in the little church that meets at the Kara Kids Center in Kibera. That will be something.
Blessing to all back home
Richard and Val