Heartbeat AGM 2024/2025

This past year has been a year filled with challenges and new hope & vision for Heartbeat Ministries!

We have also seen exponential growth in both the farm and in the school projects.

At the farm, they now enjoy the farm animals including milking cows and lots of chickens, as well as the fruit trees and vegetable gardens. I guess you could say we definitely have mixed farming now. The team at the farm are also taking great care to keep the land cleared and trimmed, pruned, and in line with all of this, planting new types of fruit trees, and grafting others as they continually grow in knowledge. We’ve had a great choice of vegetables such as the regular ones of cassava, soyabeans, etc. And they have added new types of beans, sugar, cane, mangu vegetables, sweet potatoes, carrots, and learning to try different sources for food.

Heartbeat has finally completed the buying of the last piece of the farm land to complete our farm property. We thank God so much for leading and guiding us at the correct time, for the many simple and complicated items needed by the lawyers, necessary for this sale. We give thanks to God and although it’s been a long and tedious process, we praise God that we are at the end of a long awaited clearance of the title deed. For Heartbeat Ministries the only thing remaining, is to pay the necessary taxes, and to have the title deed transferred into our name.

The school is also doing well at this point. Through a dear friend, God directed us to our new school administrator, Walter Myloyo and we were so thankful to realize that he is loved and honoured throughout the villages, and from the people who know him. Many of our friends were taught by this man and attested to his integrity. How good is our God?

Jennifer, our head cook, is doing a good job with the cooks and matrons and is now responsible for ordering all the foods for the school, as well as supervising the matrons to make sure that they are getting their work done.

How we thank God for the way, he put everything together for us at the school and for the wonderful Canadian team who helped prepare and clean up the office for Walter, and tidy the school, and to play and spend time helping the teachers with all the wonderful children that attend Father’s Heart school.

Another much-needed project was to set up a small office on the end of the farmhouse. Heartbeat was able to set up the office for the new farm administrator, William. We are praying that through the efforts of Christine, Tammy, and Heartbeat board, we will be able to help them keep timely and accurate records.

We are so blessed to be able to continue with our Bible studies every Friday morning with a full team for the first time. 

Both the staff from the farm and the school are meeting together to study the word of God. The response has been wonderful from both teams, and I consider myself incredibly blessed to be able to lead the study of Mark.

It has given me indescribable joy to see how transparent both the teachers and farm workers are becoming with me, and with one another. I am so blessed to see the way they share their struggles as well as their victories. I really believe having the Canadian team there for a month, building relationships with them, getting to know them, loving them, and listening to them and their concerns has brought about a beautiful unity that only God could build. 

And out of this group are several young men and women who already are, or they want to be pastors. Aloice in particular, a young, on fire pastor,  who loves the word of God, visiting the sick and praying for everyone he meets, also took on the responsibility of working with a small group of pastors in our cement, water tank, to study God’s word. They will graduate with the Re Forma course, now required by the Kenyan government, as credentials, to run a church in the future. We congratulate the Aloice for his own graduation from the course in Mombasa, last week, where they appointed him to take the Re-Forma course back to the villages and to let the pastors know they will also need these credentials to continue with their churches. Although a big responsibility, Aloice is thrilled for the opportunity to help others.

Our 2025 trip to Kenya included an amazing team of 15 Team members who worked and prayed so very hard. Those four weeks saw such a great deal accomplished in the Lord. What a wonder our God is, as He hand chose each member of the team, and then accomplished such great things through each one! Praise his wonderful name!

We are now looking to God to provide for a small piece of land in the Greenbelt area of Bura, in order to dig a well and solar system to pump water to the farm and thus enable us to plant and rotate crops year-round. We know whatever God gives us VISION for , he will supply.

Our God is always faithful, and He is so good lavishing his love on the people of Bura and all the surrounding villages. Truly, he kept his word, and has moved the tent, pegs back greatly, expanding his growth and love to many many villages and people. We are so happy to give him all the glory that He so richly deserves.



Submitted by Elaine Passey  / director of Heartbeat Ministries

Letter from the Director 2025

Hello Everyone,

Our year began with a heartfelt letter of gratitude from our university student, Ernestina, for the funds to help her to continue her university education. We are also supporting 9 high school students and over 100 little ones in PP1 and PP2. This year we have a ‘Tinies’ program for the 4-year-olds, which helps to prepare them by feeding many who are malnourished, to prepare them for PP1 and to give them a healthy start.

The little ones in PP1 and PP2 receive education, uniforms and all school equipment, including their school bags when they register. Each child is fed twice a day before they head home. They are doing so well, and their happy faces and laughter is a reward in itself.

We replenished the small equipment for the farm, such as rakes, shovels, pruning shears, etc. as well as a new rototiller, as the Team continue to teach double dug organic farming and gardens. The Mama groups, made up of hardworking women who plant and tend gardens for their family food supply, continues to grow and spread from Village to Village, now including teaching for raising chickens, co-op banking, fruit tree grafting, bee keeping, and much more. The Organic Farming program has already helped many, many families and some have become successful businesspeople in their communities.

Our own chicken raising at Heartbeat Farm is doing well and is now providing eggs for eating and for selling. Our milk cows produce the milk for our school children at Father’s Heart School, and the school is now also raising crops to enable the school children to have greens etc. with the parents/guardians helping, in order to give back to the school. We are grateful for an amazing teaching staff as well as wonderful cooks who cook and feed all the little ones, approx. 140 children and staff.

The Farm is raising crops both for food and for selling at the market. Heartbeat Farm is a hive of activity, with a staff busy teaching the Mama groups in the differing villages and keeping up the farmland with vegetable crops, and over 150 fruit trees, such as mango, orange, avocado etc. We were able to install some solar at the farm, but we hope to gradually outfit the entire farm in solar as sunlight is plentiful but our electrical is often undependable.

As we look toward this next year, we hear the Lord say He intends to stretch our tent pegs! While this is an exciting prospect, we look to the Lord for our strength and vision. He has blessed this work in a wonderful way, giving us favour in the villages and communities, with the Elders and the Education Dept. and the local villagers. We are so grateful, for all that the Lord has done! And for the many projects, that are changing the lives of the people.

Please take time to go to our Facebook page, Heartbeat Ministries, to see all the wonderful things God is doing, or check out our web page, https://heartbeatministries.ca

We thank you for helping to make a big difference in the lives of so many families. For giving them opportunities to feed their loved ones, and for teaching them new skills for life. We thank you so much and bless you for giving others a hand up to a new beginning.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Elaine Passey
Executive Director Heartbeat Ministries

2023 Letter from the Director, Elaine Passey

This year God has definitely increased His Light and His vision for Heartbeat, both spiritually and practically.

We began March with repairs and restoration to our solar for the school, helping us to understand how it works and how to keep the Light shining at the school running the batteries longer, and keeping the Light shining all night long for security!

Followed on the heels of this was the competition of the Music Festivals for our PP1 and PP2 classes Our school emerged as the best among 6 local pre-schools in the area. Our children and teachers enjoyed it immensely.

We are attempting to do our intake registrations at the school in November to give us proper time to organize the names and histories of each child etc. and I want to thank Kalleigh personally for the microsoft program she set up to enable us to do this. Our Kenyan Team are so thankful as well, as it helps them to keep their registrations in order, and for the Farm to keep their lists of veggies, fruit etc in order. We also repaired & serviced both tuk-tuks this month for use at both farm & school.

We increased our employees by 3 for the Tinies class.

At the end of March we took on support for Daniel for High School as the Lord led. April was a busy month as Peter prepared planting the more drought-resistant crops, such as green beans, sorghum etc and now growing grasses to feed the livestock.

We took on the support for two young children in the village of Zaire who were living in great poverty, John & Tatu. Mom is alcoholic and the children were delighted to be put in boarding school so they could be assured of food and safety for the week.

We are now also taking care of at least 45 Tinies, that Father has added to His Project, who were at risk from both man and the large animals. We are so grateful for Father’s provision for this new project.

Heartbeat received a shipment of bibles, so desperately needed and the Team rejoice at God’s provision for them. This also enables all of the Kenyan Team to have a bible for our weekly Bible study which is producing great fruit, thanks to Holy Spirit. Thank you Emily for your perseverance in getting these bibles and having them shipped!

Bura has had unusual rainfall which has turned the landscape green and productive, We give thanks for all that the Lord has done!

May begins with preparing our Tinies to learn to hold a pencil in readiness for PP1 next year. We also thank God for a sponsor for Claudia, another High School student, the daughter of our friend Rosella who sends her thanks and prayers to Heartbeat. Also Maria’s son has received sponsorship for High School.The Lord has not finished with the High School students it would seem.

Heartbeat also sent love donations in the loss of next of kin relatives for several of our employees such as teacher Ester in the loss of her young husband. Heartbeat is also providing help for medicines etc. for the mother of one of our students,

Alfred, and with the doctors to save her life. Thank you Lord. We paid for her to renew her insurance card so she could afford the necessary surgery.

I can sense many times that Father’s eyes are going to and fro across this land to see these ones who are desperate, and He reaches down and says “ help this one!’ He is so beautifully kind. So many times He will say, “help this taxi driver by doing this, or help this student and buy him eye glasses, or ask the Kenyan Team to go and pray for this man/ woman. While I don’t necessarily understand, I love all that He does in our midst.

June marks the month where we begin to ask the parents of our students to help out at harvest season at the farm, so that Peter does not have to hire extra workers. So Oliver calls a meeting to approach and share with the parents the need that she has for a week or two of workers.

We also had our teachers attend the Assessment/teachers training . This is also the time of year to pay for assessment to get our exams prepared. The teachers attended a 2 day training, One was a general meeting for all the end teachers in Mwatate sub county where all our teachers participated. The second meeting was a training of trainers where one of our teachers was accredited to be an adjudicator. there were registration fees for all participants and travelling expenses.

One of our students had pneumonia and was taken to hospital for medication and treatment. The school then bought the child warm clothes as well as for 3 other students. You can see how Father’s hand is spread widely and diversely!

In June we also helped Nyolo School with food as the students there could not concentrate on their classes for lack of food. Large bags of beans and maize and rice resolved the problem.

These months, the farm is helping as well with food for our school. July brings a new 500 fingerlings to our ponds, to again diversify the foods being grown.

Let me share a typical routine with our Tinies by July:

·         8-10 am the children play with toys until porridge time. Then outside for a break to play with tires and balls as well as swings.

·         At 11;00 am they go back to the classroom and learn how to say grace, and the care givers tell them bible stories and other funny stories as well.

·         12:00 they have lunch and take a nap

·         3;00 they wake up and go home.

This program is helping 45-50 children have a place to play, be loved, learn, and be fed. The community is so thankful for this program!

August brings lots of repairs to the bikes and tuk-tuks as the miles increase in bringing manure etc. And late August we invest in a new drip irrigation system for the farm. In September Peter is changing some of the crops to Cassava, green grams, beans etc. which will grow in drought conditions. Manure is being collected from the village for free, but much heavy work for the tuk-tuks.

Mid Sept we book for our students end of year exam to make sure they are registered. And late september Peter begins the much needed repairs to the Guest House plumbing system, which are extensive but necessary. they accomplished a great deal of work and completed it all. Our next project as soon as fund are available is to do much-needed work and repairs to the house itself.

There will be a team going in 2025 so we are praying we can accomplish these repairs before then. Oct. comes with the realization that the cost of living, the cost of food for the school has increased considerably. So we pray and realize the cost for a sponsor must rise to meet this cost. But Father is able.

In November, we noticed the water flow from the well had slowed considerably and upon checking realized we had to repair some of the pipes that were damaged by the heavy rains.

December was a huge Christmas project to supply Christmas groceries to every student and their families. We supplied 130 families as well as the farm and school workers. An additional 29 pkgs. Father’s love spread widely at Father’s Heart School and the whole community rejoiced at what God had done.

In Jan we also took on a High School student from Alia, one of the most poverty-stricken areas, Samuel Wisdom!. This was quickly followed by 4 more students, which let us see that Fatrher was not finished with the support of the high school students. So there is a total of 8 or 9 now. January also brought us the need for farm equipment and tools such as pruners, workboots etc. January also brings in the new classes for school and the uniforms and excitement of a new class registration.

We had fun sending Oliver & Peter pictures of our snowstorm province! Their first question was “How do you survive” Tammy did a great job explaining how we live in the cold, complete with pics & stories.

February is starting with some harvesting and the need for a large table, outside, so Peter can dry all the grasses harvested for cow feed, before he stores it in the large cement building.

And glory to God, one of our supporters sent funds for a brand new tractor/ rototiller Lots of excitement at the farm, especially for Peter who is trained to use it! He is excited at the prospect of all that can now be accomplished! He has the added blessing of putting solar in at the farmer the pumping of water around the farm to save much time, fuel, and energy,. Praise God that He is always there, never late with the payments. I am so grateful that He is God and I am Not!

The Friday Bible studies are so amazing, that I am continually surprised at their comprehension and hunger to learn about relationship with God and the differences re. religion. They hunger for intimacy and realness in their walk and in sharing with others in their communities. And Holy Spirit plays a big role, in speaking to them and encouraging them every day. How exciting for me, to hear their God stories, their struggles, their strengths and weaknesses as they discover their identity and destiny. They no longer want a church for entertainment, or ‘to watch’ as they desire to go out into the world, sharing Christ and His heart of love. I am so very privileged to have this opportunity and love every moment we have together, laughing, as well as reflecting in great seriousness about the immensity of our God. How blessed to see them grow in their faith, asking great questions and pondering the answers in His word!

As I thank God for the long long distance He has brought us and the many many lessons in Faith He has shown us, He lovingly shows me a glimpse of more vision, more spreading of His tent pegs, that once I would have shrunk from, but now, I see clearly that He is doing it all and we simply have the privilege to be part of His plan for this amazing people and their amazing communities. Thank you Father for this amazing year, thank you Jesus for the many new souls who have learned of your love, especially the children, and thank you Holy Spirit for your drawing power, and your tireless comfort in very situation we face. We are blessed to stand in Your light and proclaim your vision to all!

Thank You with all of our hearts!

 

Elaine Passey Director Heartbeat Ministries