Annual Letter 2025 – Hearts Of Hope International

Have you ever watched the baton pass in a 4 x 400 meters relay race? The way the runners have to be in sync, both runner’s hands momentarily firmly on the baton? The runner that is ending his leg of the race trusting the runner beginning his leg to have a firm grasp and then letting go? If you have this picture in your head, you have a good picture of what we have been focused on at Hearts of Hope International this past year.

It’s been a milestone year for us. We have begun the process of passing the leadership baton to our Kenyan partners as we transition from a US-run organization to an African-run organization. Working with Pastor Joseph, our Kenyan ministry partner, we have developed a plan to move Hearts of Hope International towards long-term self-sustainability. Joseph has taken on the role of Executive Director making the day-to-day organizational decisions and developing his team on the ground. Nancy remains as the Founder of Hearts of Hope in an accountability and oversight role. Kevin has been mentoring Joseph in business and entrepreneurial skills. This transition is a milestone for us because part of our original calling and vision for our ministry work in Kenya was to come alongside our Kenyan friends, share our resources, experience, knowledge and build something together with them that they would one day take ownership of.

The beginning of the baton pass happened last summer when Kevin and I (Nancy) had the opportunity to invest financially in the construction of a new school. Over the years of partnering with both government and private schools in Kenya, we discovered that not all of the institutions we were working with had the quality of education that we expected to be provided for our scholarship students. In order to better control and standardize the education that our students were receiving, we decided to partner with Pastor Joseph in expanding his already existing Word of Truth Christian Resource & Training Centre (CRTC) so that we could also train vocational students. This required additional certification from the Kenyan government, procurement of land to expand our footprint, and construction of a new school building.

In August (2024) we began construction on Word of Truth Technical & Vocational Center (TVC). We employed exclusively local labor and even hired former students to be a part of the construction team. We are proud to have created 75 fair wage jobs as well as community pride and buy-in with our construction project. The government has paved our previously dirt road and property values in the neighborhood surrounding the new school have increased as well.

In December (2024) we adopted Word of Truth (both TVC & CLRC) under our Hearts of Hope International ministry umbrella. Our ultimate goal in this merger of ministries is that Hearts of Hope International will become the outreach arm of Word of Truth TVC and grant scholarships from operational profits. This will accomplish the dual goal of continuing to educate pastors from all over Kenya at Word of Truth (CLRC) as well as continuing to fund scholarships for vocational students from both Kiambu and Nakuru counties (TVC). We envision our work of training pastors throughout Kenya as discipling the nations. We envision our work of providing vocational training as an evangelism opportunity as many of the students coming through our door are unchurched and will receive courses in Christian theology as well as attend weekly chapel services.

Although construction was not entirely completed, in January (2025) we were able to open the doors of Word of Truth TVC to new students. We are currently offering training in Food & Beverage, Plumbing, Electrical, Fashion & Design, Beauty, Hairdressing, and Basic English with plans to expand our offering of courses as student and market demand dictates. Throughout the year we have continued to slowly work on completing construction on the building. As of this writing we have remaining need of $22,000 to install a septic tank, finish the plumbing and electrical work, and outfit classrooms with tables and chairs. We hope you will prayerfully consider joining us in this effort.

Our long-term plan includes expanding Word of Truth TVC from a one-floor to a multi-floor building. We have constructed the school such that we can accommodate five floors. As demand from students increase, and the Lord provides resources, we will continue to build one floor at a time. We envision the highest floor to be dorms for our students and the lowest floors containing classrooms and teacher workrooms. Our 5-year plan is for the TVC to be self-sustaining at the end of this period and be able to fund both future building expansion and scholarships for pastors and vocational students.

As of the fall 2025 school term, Hearts of Hope has granted scholarships to a total of 229 vocational students, and 115 high school students. Word of Truth has trained 155 pastors and church leaders. I’d like to share with you the words of gratitude from one of our students who recently graduated from nursing school on a Hearts of Hope scholarship. Teresiah is a single mom who waited 13 years after high school graduation for an opportunity to continue her education. Recently Teresiah started her new job and shared a word of gratitude with us:

“I am writing to sincerely thank you once again for your generous support in my education. Your sacrifice has made such a difference in my life, and I am excited to share how I have been doing since completing my studies. After finishing school, I took part in volunteer work where I was able to serve the community and gain more hands-on experience. I also engaged in home-based care, supporting patients and families in their recovery journey. These opportunities allowed me to grow not only in skills but also in compassion and dedication to service. I am delighted to let you know that I started a new job at AIC Kijabe Hospital (this week). This position is a big step forward for me, and I feel blessed to be part of such a respected institution. Each day, I am reminded that your investment in me is bearing fruit, and I am determined to serve with excellence and integrity. Thank you once again for believing in me and walking with me through this journey. I pray that God blesses you abundantly for the impact you have made in my life and in the lives of those I serve. With heartfelt gratitude, Teresiah”

Returning to my relay race analogy, once the first runner has successfully run their leg of the race, they are in no way done. I think most relay runners take a moment (hands on knees gasping for air) to catch their breath and then they start cheering for their other teammates. As for me, Nancy, I’ve been catching my breath a little in the past few months. Kevin and I were able to travel to Nevada in July and I was blessed to witness the birth of our first grandchild. Our son is now engaged to be married next spring and I’m grateful to have a bit more time to be involved in some of the planning. I continue in my role teaching Bible to a wonderful group of women. As the Founder of Hearts of Hope, I am aware that my leg to run was the first one. Now, my job is to encourage my teammates in Kenya. I trust that they, in turn, will run the leg set before them with excellence and endurance (Hebrews 12:1). Let it be so, Amen.

For His glory,

Kevin & Nancy Sell
Co-Founders
Hearts of Hope International, Inc.