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About Us |
Feed My Sheep Ministry is the realization of a dream that Marvin and Karen Steinke had to build a partnership ministry with Jesus in Honduras.
In 2001, Marvin went on a mission trip to Honduras with No Greater Love Ministries of DuQuion, Illinois. Marvin went again in 2002 and was joined by his wife Karen for the 2003 trip. These trips were a wonderful experience for both of them and God touched their hearts so deeply that they made a commitment to be more aggressive in ministering to the sheep of Jesus, the children of God.
After a time of meditation, prayer and discussion, Marvin and Karen created Feed My sheep Ministries in response to their calling to follow the mandate of Christ to "Feed My Sheep". Feed My Sheep Ministries has been working for the Lord in Honduras since 2005. Several groups of missionaries from Christ United Methodist Church in Fairview Heights Illinois have been going to help on the mission trips and many people from the church and individuals in the surrounding communities have been serving by volunteering to help with the work
needed here at home and with financial donations to help with supplies and to sponsor the students every year.
Feed My Sheep and those who are blessed by their work rely on the generosity of those who feel called to help.
May God continue to bless the efforts of Feed my Sheep Ministry, those receiving the fruits of their labors, and those who support the ministry in various ways. |
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Marvin and Karen with precious little one |
Honduras Mission Field
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As we go about acquiring our own wants and needs, it's easy for us to get comfortable in our little section of God's world. It becomes even easier to forget that there are others, whom we don's see, living in conditions of poverty -- conditions far worse than any we've ever seen!
This poverty, and the homeless children, are the sites of Honduras you don't see in the travel brochures. Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with an unequal distribution of income and massive unemployment.
In 2000, the Honduras government estimated 10,000 children were on the street, only half of who have shelter on any given day. About 30% of the street children in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, the two largest population centers, were reported to be HIV positive in 1998. Over 75% of the street children found their way to the street because of severe family problems. These children may beg, steal, dig through trash, shine shoes or do other odd jobs in order to survive. (U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Honduras Country Report on Human Rights Practices, Feb. 23, 2001).
Due to this great poverty, Honduras children are undernourished and sick. |
- 16% of the children had adequate and inferior mental health
- 36% had adequate and inferior physical health
- 40+% had substantial dietary deficiency
- 51% had not seen a doctor in a year
- 33% ate two meals and 8% are one meal
- 6% of the street children ate three meals per day
- 2% were undersized
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Children at Honduras dump foraging
through garbage for food. |
There are many factors that you must take into account when you talk about
the health of children in Honduras.
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- Inconsistent diet
- Sleeping location
- Lack of proper personal hygiene
- Exposure to natural elements
- Inability to obtain or follow medical care
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Lack of social support networks to help out in times of illness, and lack of health care due to poverty are the biggest factors in the rapid deterioration of physical well being in street children.
Most Hondurans earn only $2 per day. Outside of the major cities and tourist spots, running water and electricity are scarce. The life expectancy is short and infant mortality is high.
One of the leading causes of death for Honduran children is blood infection due to tooth decay, an easily avoidable situation in most of the world.
To Contact Us:
Feed My Sheep Ministry
364 Jubaka Drive
Fairview Heights, Illinois 62208
Phone: +1.618.236.1279
Contact Us
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