Exciting News

Habakkuk 2:3

New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

The message I give you
  waits for the time I have appointed.
It speaks about what is going to happen.
    And all of it will come true.
It might take a while.
    But wait for it.
You can be sure it will come.
    It will happen when I want it to.

Good Friday 2014!! So thankful today for all the blessings I have in this life.  Without Jesus, we would be so lost but with Him in our lives we are so FOUND!  The past few months have been a journey into the Father’s heart and discovering new things about His nature that just astounds me!

On the mission front; we are excited to be planning the laying of the cornerstone for Shining Star Children’s Home in Kisii Kenya the last of August /1st of September this year.

The children of Shining Star Children’s Home in Taita are eagerly awaiting their new rooms and supplies for school.
We have the electric in for the home in Kisii and the church and school there are already benefiting from it.

Our future plan for Shining Star Primary School in Kisii is to acquire new curriculum for them that is technology based. We are in discovery process to see exactly what type of equipment will work and getting the necessary curriculum downloaded. The plan is for each teacher to have an Acer Tablet preloaded with lesson plans that they can refer to with ease while teaching. (The teachers that are employed in most private schools, where the majority of the orphans go, are not accredited and so their own skills are not up to average.) This way the children can get a quality education and the teachers can function at a higher level of excellence while teaching.

If you would like more information on how to get involved in this project, email us at Openheavenmissions@msn.com. We are looking for donations of equipment as well as the programs to load the curriculum onto.

On the home front, we are settling in at Redding Calif. for this season. We sold our homes and most of our possessions, still a work in progress, and have opted for this little town surrounded by beautiful mountains to live.  It is much more inexpensive that the Silicon Valley and although we are sometimes lonely here, we know we are also here to deepen our relationship with the Father.

We are speaking at various meetings in Fresno/Clovis area as well as traveling back to San Jose monthly to meetings there. We will be in the Southern states the month of June, speaking and sharing our vision for missions and hopefully picking up monthly sponsors for the home(s). Back to Kenya in August / September where I (Debbi) will be speaking in a national Women's conference on Prayer Mountain, Kenya as well as our work in the homes and street ministry. Rick will be holding a pastor’s conference and doing several Open Air Crusades with several churches in Kisii and Nairobi.

We will be laying the cornerstone for the Kisii home and helping the church people who are already gathering stones to break up to make our own bricks for the completion of phase one of the home there.

Our budget for the next phase of our homes is $10,000.00  We need to reach our goal before September to be able to do all we have planned when we go this time. 
Keep us in prayer for finances as well as protection, wisdom and favor with officials as we go forward.

We appreciate each one of you who call yourselves our partners and who sow faithfully to the ministry God has placed in our hearts. Many many years ago God spoke to us and told us, “If we would be faithful with another man’s vision, he would give us one of our own.” For 26 + years we did just that and sowed so many seeds into children, youth and adults. Now the vision God has given us is for this “appointed time” (Hab 2:3), is here. We waited for it and it has surely come!! Thank you for helping us fulfill our vision!!!

Donate using the button on this site or send to Open Heaven Missions, 2371 Shining Star Way, Redding California 96003
Checks to Open Heaven Missions

Happy New Year 2014

January 1, 2014

Happy New Year everyone!! We are excited as this year promises to be one of the most eventful ones in our 37 years of marriage and 35 years of ministry. As we start toward the future with two properties being developed in Kenya and a school we were honored to inherit with over 100 students, we can truthfully say our cup is running over.

 Shining Star Primary School

Read below about special education project!

Shining Star Primary School
Special project in the works to get e readers for the teachers of our school, loaded with lesson plans for the whole year for the children. Quality education is a must and we have just received word we have the school registered with the country now so the education the children are beig given will now be recognized


At this present time we are running electric to the church in Kisii where the future home for the children will be and then on down the hill to the school, so in the next couple of months we expect to have it completed and in working order. The people of the church and the village in the bush where we are locating Shining Star #2 are running the wires and clearing the ground by hand so the expense will be lower.

We have more opportunities in 2014 looking at us, in India as well as the Philippines where God has been speaking to us about for several months. But our main financial focus will be the two homes in Kenya and as we move forward we are anticipating taking teams over to help with the building and to minister.

I have been asked to be speaker at Kenyan Women's conference at Prayer Mt in northern Kenya in September and we are also going to be holding a outdoor crusade when we go then. 
We want to thank all who have helped us by donating and with your prayers. We could not do this without your help you are valuable to us.

 Land being cleared for Shining Star #2 and roofs of Shining Star Primary School located on land.

We are believing for 60,000 for the 1st phase of Shining Star Kisii and 50,000 for the completion of Shining Star in Taiti Hills in 2014. We need partners who want to join us and make a difference in these children's lives. 

Plans for a trip for medical relief for the school children and the orphans is in the works. Email us if you are a professional and are interested in going.

You may help by donating any amount helps. just hit the donate button and use paypal.

Back from Kenya 2013

October 2, 2013

We are back!!!! Thanking God for keeping us safe more this trip than ever as we were located very close to the terrorist attack area in Nairobi. Had opportunity to minister to a girl who just got the news her friend (from Bay area) had been shot twice during attack. Sure was different than the way US handles things. The people only knew what the press were told to say; still said there was freedom of speech, but...?
We had miracles happen each and every day. I either cracked or bruised a rib very bad when I first arrived in Nairobi and the next few days were spent with Rick helping me get up and down in and out of bed and hiding this from everyone we were around so we could continue ministering.
The 5th day as I was praying for a man who had cancer I was healed, all pain left in an instant!! I was never bothered again after that! Praise Jesus!!!
On to Taita to visit where the land is cleared and ready for our building to

go up; spent a couple of days there and met with contractor and got a firm estimate.
Our visit to Kisii brought even more joy when we were given 6 acres of land and a school. A place to build Shining Star #2 in Kisii hills.
The plans are drawn up and we are going forward there as well. Its is so exciting what God is doing and the places we are going!!!
One other notable healing was a little girl whom when we laid hands on her was burning up with fever, 10 minutes later was cool as a cucumber!
I really loved the way we just walked into the Father's will every day , just wake up and say yes, and there we went. So many stories to tell, the food that multiplied to feed over 200, the man who had been praying for someone to come to him that was from Bethel church to pray over his church and we met him in the bush!!
Spending more than 12 of the 18 days there in the bush, I was ready for a bed and bath but still the adventure was so fun with Jesus, it made up for the flooded house, the flat tires, the time we were almost robbed in Kisii town, the rain storm and the generator that broke while we were living in a tent...I could write a book!!...Maybe I will :)
This was definitely a God time and we were blessed!
Return trip in Feb/Mar we will be turning over the ground to start building home in Kisii hills!
Thank you for your prayers and support; we are believing God to send in partners to help us build these two homes and then after that more. I asked the Father two homes at once??? He said "both and more" so we are going for it.
Love to all Pastor Debbi

Off to Kenya again!!!

Update August 14 2013

Our most recent plans:

Leaving for Nairobi Sept 4^th to see progress of the land being cleared and meeting with prospective builders for the actual building of our first Shining Star Children’s Home. We anticipate coming home with detailed plans on the building and completion of our project.

Our children who are waiting for the home are also waiting to see us and welcome us back. We can’t wait to see them and take them some American treats; they love hacky sac balls and jump ropes, which are easy to take with us. So we and our puppet Blu will be traveling all the way to Taita Hills, six hours from Nairobi to see our extended family.

This trip will also encompass an additional flight to Kisumu to see a man who has an existing orphanage he is wanting to hand over to some well meaning people, who else would be better than us?? Our heart wants to be poured out in Kisii where the home is as there is major child prostitution there and we say it needs to END. If we get this home we will be actively going after that vision.

Feeding the street children in the Kibera slums and holding an outdoor crusade will complete our time there. We believe for miracles and souls to be brought into the kingdom as well as loving on the children and do prep work for the home.

On the home front, we have MOVED!!! We are selling most of our things, home included and we have recently moved to Redding California and rented a house for a season. Less expensive to live here and thought we would be positioning ourselves closer to our grandchildren in Oregon but they had other plans, and are now in Georgia! So we are resting in our new home and doing meetings here and there.
Our new address, which is a testimony in itself...

2371 Shining Star Way!!!!

Redding Calif 96003

Father is so good!!!

Thank you for your prayer and financial support and helping us fulfil the vision God has placed in our hearts. We pray each of you have a fresh encounter with the Father and are blessed beyond your wildest dreams. Pastor Debbi

Watch for Kenya updates while there!

Our plans are continuing to move forward for our children’s home in Kenya.
We are now in the process of clearing the land that will be the foundation for the children’s new home.
We will be visiting the area again in May to check the progress and to visit what we believe will be the 2nd and possibly the 3rd home as we have been offered the land in another area of Kenya and an established home that is needing a overseer.
God is opening more and more doors as we walk out this adventure in faith.
We are leaving our full time ministry job in 2 weeks and will be downsizing our lives to insure we can be available for God’s direction in our lives.
We desire your prayers as we move forward and thank you from our hearts for all the support you have given us.
Shining Star Children’s Home will be the first of many homes that will have different focus for the children of the world.
The first one in  Taita Hills will be ministering to the children who have been orphaned by AIDS or have AIDS themselves.
The second home in Kisii Kenya will have it’s vision in getting the children who have been trafficked as sex slaves on the street and rescuing them.
I have a project cost for the home in Taita Hills which I will attach for your information.
Should you desire to help, you may help by donating to our account in Paypal or by sending a check to
Open Heaven Missions
2371 Shining Star Way
Redding California 96003
More to come soon…pictures and more plans
Openheavenmissions.com

Much love,
Pastors Rick  & Debbi

Shining Star Children's Home Projected  Costs  (Taita Hills Kenya)
Furnishings
Item	Quantity needed	price per unit	total price	% complete	size/brand
Water tank	5	120	600		150 gal
bunk beds	25	200	5,000.00	10%	twin
bunk mattress	50	75	3,750.00		twin
cooking stove	4	149	596		biofit
cooking pot	10	59	590		set with lids
sheet sets	70	15	1050		twin set
blankets	60	20	1200		polyester fil
pillows	60	5	300		microfil
dishes	100	1.5	150		plastic
serving dishes	20	5	100
storage chests	50	65	3250		4 drawers
dining tables	10	208.34	2083.4		picnictables
chairs/plastic	100	5	500		alibaba.com
			19169.4
Construction
Project	Labor	Equiptment rental	Material	Total	projected time needed
Land Clearing	7,000.00	650		7,650.00	Oct-12
Foundation	6,500.00	1,200	12,000	19,700.00	Jan-13
and
Building
Landscaping	500	250	2,000.00	2750	Mar-13
Plumbing	2500	600	4,500.00	7600	Jan-13
Electric	2000	300	5,000.00	7300	Mar-13
				45,000.00
			Furnishings	19169.4
				64,169.40	Total projected cost

Back From Kenya

UPDATE SEPT 14, 2012 Back from Kenya We returned home after 26 hrs of travel and logging 36,000 air miles. Our trip was amazing and we are forever changed. Read below for just a few testimonies of our time. We arrived in Nairobi late evening on the 28th of August. Met by our two special pastor friends we headed out to our guesthouse, which would be home for the next two, and half weeks, except for the two side journeys we would make Everything intact in our room and our entire luggage with us, we feel blessed. Our trip to Taita Hills was an adventure never to be forgotten. We have had our children’s home in our heart for many years. “Shining Star Children’s Home” will have its first location right outside of Wundangi town in the Taita District of Mbale. As we viewed the land, not knowing what to expect, we found it like the Promised Land, flowing with fruit trees, sugar cane, bananas, avocados, and every imaginable food. And such beauty. Right in the side of a mountain that has a view for miles. We were happy and blessed. We will be working with Pastor Nobby Mswalli who pastors a church in Nairobi as well as a small church here in Mbale. Our blessing continues as we receive news that land is now going to be donated! PTL So the 35+ children who are scattered in various homes waiting for us to build will not have long to wait. Land is now ready for clearing and we will begin work immediately. Our projected cost for clearing, legal papers, building, and furnishing is 50,000. USD. We do not foresee any challenges and know this will be a prototype for many more “Shining Stars” in many other countries. We will be including in our plans training and trips for youth and adults to come and see, minister and love on the children. Not only the children of the home(s) but we are currently helping feed 75+ street children in Nairobi, Kenya and wish to build that to more locations. These children are not beggars, they just do not have enough food in their house to eat, so sometimes they get fed and sometimes they do without. They are some of the sweetest children you will ever meet and we hope many of you reading this will become a part and travel with us on one of our upcoming trips. Our vision is big and we are committed to bringing it to pass. Our journeys continued throughout the weeks we were in Kenya, with visiting and ministering in a Nairobi orphanage, (notice our “orphanage” will be called a “Home” and our “orphans” will be ”children”.) We held an open air crusade for four nights and saw many healings, miracles, and deliverances at Jubilee Praise Center the church that call’s us “mom and dad”. We had amazing testimonies of what God did during the meetings. We came home with renewed vision and anticipation for all God is going to do and starting our plans for building!! Hope you will be a part!!!

Updates

We have had an exciting summer!! WE are currently meeting once a month for all those who desire to come to a Face to Face meeting, where we go into His Presence and soak, receive words, and just love on our Father. We meet at the Neutra House in Los Altos Ca.
Already in place also is a mentoring time for women who desire to be taught in the Word, meeting twice monthly.This ministry is done at our home in Sunnyvale. If you are interested in either of these, please email us and we will forward you the location information.

ON THE MISSIONS FRONT; WE HAVE TAKEN THE DIRECTORSHIP OF JUBILEE PRAISE CENTRE IN NAIROBI KENYA AND THEIR WEEKLY FEEDING MINISTRY TO THE CHILDREN OF THE STREETS. Our church there is now in the process of expanding the church with the purchase of land that will house the church as well as a feeding center. We are excited about being in charge of this project. They now feed approx 125 children per week, two meals, as finances come in.

We also have received our first proposal on the children's home we are opening, which will be located in Mbale location of Taita-Taveta District in the Coast province of the republic of Kenya.This home will create a home for 100 children who have been orphaned by AIDs and other tragic happenings.

We are in process of purchasing land and have a local pastor who will be overseeing the operation. The numbers on this project will be published on an upcoming blog.

WE are also excited about the addition of a donation button on this blog where you can donate directly into the ministry account.
Pleas note that as we are operating under our non-profit Jubilee Family Center Inc. that all donations are tax deductible and very much appreciated.

Pastor Debbi & Pastor Rick
Much love and looking forward to our next open heaven mission...