USA – The story behind the handprints – June 16, 2025

The story behind the handprints. 

    God’s PURPOSE is to not spend eternity alone. His MISSION was to send Jesus to remove the penalty that would prevent us from being reconciled to Him. His PURPOSE and MISSION have a CHURCH that has been given the ministry of reconciliation so each person can make their choice of whether they want to spend eternity with God or eternity alone without Him.

“I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.” (Isaiah 49:16)

    In June 2002, our granddaughter Kylee invited 3 young girls (Damaris, Ruth-e and Jasmine) that attended a Spanish speaking church family that met at the Bethel Assembly of God church we were attending in Sedro Woolley, WA on a mission trip to San Luis, Mx. While in Mexico, they painted a wall in the mission church that we had helped build in cardboard city at the outskirts of the main town. As part of their VBS theme, they were led to have the kids put their handprints on the wall. The children, as well as the adults. Over the next year and onward, we witnessed them return, bringing others, and most of them would immediately go to the wall and point them to their handprint with their name on it. The Holy Spirit revealed to us what God’s Word meant when it said, “we have been created in the image of God”. Becoming a family that didn’t want to be alone without God and each other.

    In February 2012, Kylee and her daughters were led to want to build a home for orphan girls in Africa. In June, Kylee took her two daughters to visit the children that would be living in Madilyn’s House and on their return to Washington they started the Harvest Kids to continue helping orphaned and vulnerable children after Madilyn’s House was completed. Now, they painted a tree on the wall of the garage where we had just moved and the handprints began to appear. Afterward, the tree wasn’t enough, so they added a cactus (Mexico) and a palm tree (Africa.) Prior to returning to Africa in November 2012, a friend had painted a tree on two different large pieces of canvas. Kylee had all the Harvest Kids put their handprints of one of them. She took them both to Madilyn’s House in Africa for the opening celebration and hung it in the girl’s new home. Then, she had all the kids in the school put their handprints on the other one and brought it back. Although we had the canvas, we never had a permanent place to hang it.

    August 15,2022, Linda and I were led by the Holy Spirit to move to where we are now living in Mount Vernon, WA at the Garden of Eden family ministry. One of the most difficult days, after over 50 years in Sedro Woolley, was leaving the wall which had over 200 handprints on it. None of us could have expected that two years later on August 28, 2024, the Lord would promote Kylee to continue her mission with Him in heaven. A few months ago, Ronaldo, who is now coordinator of the Harvest Kids ministry, and I had the privilege of attending the coordinator’s conference with our co-laborers from different countries in central Africa and a Celebration of Life for Kylee at Madilyn’s House. During the Celebration of Life, I had the opportunity to share about the many ways in which God had used Kylee to touch people’s life through her family, home, business in the USA and all the ministry in Canada, Mexico and different countries in central Africa and I was over-whelmed with peace as if the Holy Spirit was confirming that her mission had gotten so big that she couldn’t continue it if she was limited to be here with us.

   And since her promotion, you are welcome to come and visit us here at the Garden of Eden fellowship center and take notice that the canvas with the children’s handprints from Africa is now hanging on the wall for everyone to see. And although, we have not had space to paint a tree and start getting handprints for the last two years, we now have that available in the same place we will be doing the new vehicle repair ministry to help those in need.