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Download Hearth to Hearth Ministries' new Brochure. Spotlight on Orphans newsletter Spotlight on Orphans' Youth Site
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The History of Hearth to Hearth Ministries
Hearth to Hearth magazines Click this link to see the magazines that started it all. In a Nutshell March 1998 – Hearth to Hearth Ministries conceived. Sept./Oct. 1998 – First issue of Hearth to Hearth magazine published. Nov./Dec. 2001 – Addition of the work with orphans through OBREC. July/Aug. 2002 – Beginning of health series, “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.” August 2002 – Closing of OBREC. Sept./Oct. 2002 – Full disclosure of OBREC’s closing in Hearth to Hearth magazine. Nov./Dec. 2002 – Beginnings of Hope for Children Center orphanage. Sept./Oct. 2003 – Esther’s first trip to Africa, including visits to Tanzania and Kenya November 2003 – First HTHM Board established with seven members. November 2004 – Esther’s second trip to Africa, including visits to Kenya and Uganda. She was accompanied by four other individuals. December 2004 – Hope for Children Center moves into its new orphanage. January 2005 – First issue of Spotlight on Orphans newsletter replacing “Spotlight on Orphans” column. January 2005 – Expansion of the work with African orphans to include the Glory Children’s Center orphanage in Nairobi and the work for widows’ families in Mbale and Kampala, Uganda. July-Sept. 2005 Maurice Odhiambo visits USA and nearly 100 new children are sponsored and taken into Hope for Children Center. Nov./Dec. 2005 – Last issue of Hearth to Hearth magazine is published. Dec. 2005/Jan. 2006 – Glory Children’s Center orphanage moves from Nairobi to Kisii. January 2006 – Change of volume number of Spotlight on Orphans to more accurately reflect the scope of Hearth to Hearth Ministries’ “Spotlight on Orphans.” March 2006 – the Kenyan Government brings 31 additional children to Hope Center. April 2006 – The 31 children are taken to Teresa to be cared for. May 2006 – 93 unsponsored new children are taken into Glory Children’s Center through an error in judgment and misunderstandings on the part of visitors and Glory Children's Center staff. July 2006 – 38 of the children taken into Glory Children's Center are finally and sadly returned to the streets with the promise that they will be considered first once Glory Children's Center’s new orphanage is built. October 2006 – The Good Samaritan Lwanda Children’s Home orphanage in Lwanda, Kenya, including the 31 children, officially becomes an orphanage under Hearth to Hearth Ministries. November 2006 – The Bridge of Hope Center orphanage in Uganda, in operation for two years, is finally recognized as an official orphanage of Hearth to Hearth Ministries. Jan./Mar. 2007 The first biannual Administrative
Convention held at Hope for Children Center orphanage, with Esther and Vicki,
plus Pastors and their wives from all HTHM projects, in attendance. The following report expands on some of the milestones listed above, and further information is available in the back issues of Hearth to Hearth magazine and Spotlight on Orphans newsletter.
Beginnings Hearth to Hearth Ministries was conceived in the mind of Esther McDaniel in the year 1998, as an outreach to women through the Hearth to Hearth magazine (beginning with the Sept./Oct. issue). Esther believed that God gave her the inspiration for the ministry itself, its name and its goal of encouraging women to find their completeness in Christ, as expressed on the magazine’s masthead through the use of Colossians 2:10 “And ye are complete in him....” In America, the word “hearth” has always been synonymous with home, in fact, the very “heart” of the home. This is the place where families gathered at the end of the day to visit, share a meal, and communicate about the happenings of the day and their plans for tomorrow. Through the name, “Hearth to Hearth,” Esther wished to convey the concepts of warmth and belonging, sharing and caring, giving and receiving. Through the magazine, she hoped that women could participate with each other in that way, “from one hearth to another hearth,” so to speak, and in the process help each other to give God the best place at their “hearths,” and in their hearts find their completeness in Him. Esther also believed that God directed her in her choice of an associate to work with her in this ministry: her relatively new friend, Grace Cox. There was never any question as to their roles: Esther would do the layout and design and see that the magazine got published, while Grace would be the “Managing Editor”—the one to come up with its content (a very time-consuming job), and see that the magazines were mailed out. Grace turned out to be a perfect choice and the system that was established worked out well until the end of the year 2000 when Grace felt she could no longer continue taking the necessary time away from her own home and family. Even during the time she took a complete sabbatical, Hearth to Hearth Ministries was not far from her heart and she later came back to help out, working behind the scenes until the magazine was very reluctantly discontinued with the Nov./Dec. 2005 issue.
Expanding to work with orphans Our work with orphans began with a column entitled, “Spotlight on Orphans,” in the Nov./Dec. issue of Hearth to Hearth magazine in the year 2001. A man named Lawrence Alloso Kojwang came to USA in an effort to get support for his orphanage, which he referred to as OBREC. He brought with him the photos and histories of the many orphans he was caring for and also educating in his school, known as King’s Kids Academy. Esther, whose heart has always been tender toward orphans and also toward the people of Africa, felt called to help. At the time, she was struggling with the decision of whether or not to continue publishing the Hearth to Hearth magazine, due to the ever-recurring need for a suitable Content Coordinator. When the idea came to her that she could use the magazine as a means of raising funds to help these orphans, it was like a shot in the arm to both her and the magazine. And so we broadened the space around our “hearths” to include an invitation to the orphans of Kenya. The concepts of caring and sharing, giving and receiving would be extended to them, providing a sense of warmth and belonging to those who so urgently needed it. This time, Esther invited Vicki Kritzell to join her in the work. While Esther had never met Vicki, and had no idea that she had such marvelous writing talent and “people skills,” she was aware that Vicki had also entertained Lawrence in her home and that she was also enthusiastic about the need to do something to help these orphans. Surely no one will disagree that time has confirmed God’s leading in bringing Vicki into the ministry.
Troublous times Along about the end of June of 2002, Esther and Vicki began to hear disturbing reports out of Kenya. The reports, claiming abuse of the children, conflicted so that it was difficult to know exactly what to believe. But, again, God showed His leading of the ministry by providing an answer. An email finally came through with the subject line: “Truth from an American,” putting them in touch with Melissa Piper, a college student who had spent two-and-a-half months at OBREC through a study-abroad program. By the time the Sept./Oct. issue was published, Hearth to Heath Ministries had worked with UNICEF to close down that orphanage and the heading on Esther’s editorial, “Duped,” just about said it all. Other articles in the issue entitled, “A Day of Reckoning,” and “Some Hard Questions,” laid bare for readers the pain, humiliation and confusion the ministry was experiencing.
When, in the Nov./Dec. issue, it was revealed that a pastor named Maurice Odhiambo had come forward to begin gathering up the children and taking them into his home, Esther and Vicki dared to hope that some would venture forth to continue their support of the children. And so Hope for Children Center grew out of the ashes of OBREC and became the haven for not only most of the children from OBREC, but also many others besides.
Conflict of interest There were some in the ministry who felt that the work with orphans had compromised the original purpose of the ministry—that of being a ministry to women. As the ministry to orphans began to grow, there was a fear that too much of the magazine would be taken up by the work for orphans. This resulted in separating the “Spotlight on Orphans” column out of the Hearth to Hearth magazine to form the Spotlight on Orphans newsletter (SOON), beginning in January of 2005. However, just one year of putting out both a magazine and a newsletter, without hope of a permanent Content Coordinator for the magazine, took its toll. The decision was sadly made to discontinue the Hearth to Hearth magazine altogether, with the Nov./Dec. 2005 issue, in the interest of facilitating the growth and expansion of the work with orphans. The conclusion was reached that there are many magazines out there for women, so their needs were not being neglected. Clearly, the orphans had the greater need.
Confusing volume number With the beginning of the January 2006 issue of Spotlight on Orphans it was decided to change the volume number from what would have been a “Volume 2,” due to following the “Volume 1” of the previous year, to a “Volume 5.” This was felt to more accurately reflect the duration of our work with orphans. It was rationalized that Spotlight on Orphans actually began much earlier—as a column in the Hearth to Hearth magazine. By changing the volume number to reflect this, it was felt that as the newsletters are passed out to newly interested people, they have a more accurate picture of how long our ministry to orphans has been in progress.
Health series
In the July/Aug. 2002 issue of Hearth to Hearth magazine, a health series entitled “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made,” by George McDaniel, was begun. This series was never concluded due to the discontinuance of the magazine. However, a promise was made to put the whole series in an E-book and make it available on the website. We are happy to finally be able to fulfill this promise.
From its inception, Hearth to Hearth Ministries has always been a voluntary labor of love. Through its work with orphans, the volunteer base has expanded to include people from all walks of life in many parts of the world. These people are united, not by religion, race or creed, but by their love and concern for the thousands of orphans of Africa, and their willingness to sacrifice to help them have a better life. They are rewarded by the knowledge that they are making the world a better place, by the smiles and words of gratitude from the orphans themselves, and ultimately by the smile of God as they cooperate with Him in this important work. You can sponsor an orphan from Africa and help also.
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