Horace & Phyllis Leister
Administrators & House Parents: Tumaini Children’s Home, Eldoret, Kenya, E. Africa
Horace and Phyllis Leister have a God given love for children and a passion to provide Home and Family for those with out. As parents of eight children and grandparents of 13 (with one more on the way), they and their family have welcomed many into their home that refer to them as Dad and Mom. This included over 100 foster children, five of these remaining permanently through adoption.
Horace is a builder by trade and has worked as a Union carpenter, house builder, and heating and air installer. Acquiring these skills has enabled him to do just about any kind of building for the kingdom of God, which is his heart.
Phyllis has always been a home maker even when she worked in and out of their home as a preschool & kindergarten teacher, school bus driver, foster parent recruiter and counselor.
Horace and Phyllis have served the body of Christ for the last 25 to 30 years in many different forms. Horace serving in their local church as a deacon, an elder, and finally being ordained as a pastor in 2001. Phyllis also served as Superintendent of Sunday School and Children’s Ministry for 8 years. She was also part of the general and pastoral intercessors teams.
They held leadership roles and taught 12 week marriage group seminars for a international marriage ministry (MMI) for five years.
In the year 2000, they had a opportunity to be part of a Foursquare church planting in Wenatchee, WA. Later in 2003, they joined with a team of people starting a Healing Rooms ministry in Lewiston Idaho eventually becoming the Assistant Directors .
Their hearts have always been to see the kingdom of God advance. In 2005, they were released from their local church leadership team to help plant a new Foursquare church in Lewiston, ID, Hope Chapel Lewiston.
While continuing in this endeavor, Horace and Phyllis attended a conference with some other church leaders in Kelowna, BC, Canada and heard a presentation done on providing homes for children around the world. During this meeting, God spoke to Horace about going to Africa to do this kind of missionary work. Horace at first questioned this word. He had never desired to go to Africa that was their eldest son Josh’s dream. But when God confirmed this word to him in another meeting several months later, they began to make plans. They sold their home of 16 years and everything else they could to follow what they felt was a call of God on their lives.
In 2006 Horace and Phyllis visited Kenya with a another Lewiston church pastor and his wife. This couple conduct Schools for Pastor’s in Eldoret, Kenya. This visit confirmed where they would be and within a year Horace, Phyllis, and their three youngest children moved to Eldoret to begin the work that is now know as “ Tumaini Children’s Home”.
Horace and Phyllis originally began their ministry with a great organization called “Children With Hope”. Later, they branched off on their own to continue with the God given vision of establishing home and family for once orphaned children of Kenya.
They are now at a new location doing the same God envisioned work of establishing home and family for the children who have always lived with them at Tumaini and more. Horace and Phyllis are also providing for several families off site with the same dedication to showing God’s love for home and family. Believing this is God’s plan to expand His reach to many who need not live on site.
Vision: Our vision is to see children, and people in general, who have been orphaned or abandoned know that this is not their identity. Giving them a new truth. Their identity exists in God their Father and Creator. Their future and potential is as large as He is. We hope to bring about this new knowledge of identity, potential, and a promising future by creating a loving, Godly home and family environment for those who have been set aside and discarded. Giving them value and worth by our actions and sacrifices as Godly parents.
Mission Statement: Tumaini Children’s Home exists to provide a Family Home setting for small children who have been orphaned and abandoned for the expressed purpose of creating a sustainable identity and steady foundation that will bring about a secure, reproducible pattern for their own future lives and families.
Who we partner with:
Hope Chapel Lewiston, Pastor Jeph & Jaclyn Chavez. Hope Chapel Lewiston is the Leister’s home church. This is our family, where we are sent from. We are a International Foursquare Church and you can access more information about them from their website www.hopechapellewiston.com.
Freedom House Ministries, Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Kathy Watson is a personal friend and a fellow missionary to children world wide. You can find our more about her ministry and the work they are doing in Kenya and the world, for the Kingdom of God on their website www.freedomhmin.org.
Prayer Connection Healing Rooms, Woodrow & Carolyn Bryant Directors www.lchealingrooms.com
Our Kenyan Based Children’s Home Board:
Chairman: Horace Leister, Tumaini Children’s Home Administrator & House Father
Secretary: Phyllis Leister, Tumaini Children’s Home Administrator & House Mother
Treasurer: Nimrod Musau, Bishop and Administrator Faith Ministries E. Africa. Bishop Musau has worked for Faith Ministries E. Africa in their vision to educate and support pastors for many years. He has pastored and helped establish other Children’s Homes in Kenya.
Board member: Josh Leister, Registered Kenyan Clinical Officer. Josh and his wife Rachel with their three children live at Tenwek Missions Hospital. They have a vision to minister to different ethnic groups in Kenya and the whole of Africa with their compassionate hearts and love for the Gospel along with their medical training. They hope to bring a fuller knowledge of Jesus Christ for the Salvation of the Nations.
Board member: Dr. Kathy Watson, Founder & Executive Director Freedom House Ministries Inc. Dr. Kathy has ministered here in Eldoret, Kenya for the last five years. Working on several different projects to see women and children fed and taken care of in the love of God for the furtherance of His Kingdom. She is also an author of children’s books and minister of much diversity in the USA.
Board member: Jane Kamau, Registered Social Worker
