Hope4sudan Team

  • The McClerkin Family

    H4S Resident Missionaries

    In November 2007, on his first mission trip to Southern Sudan, Greg felt a strong desire to quit his secular job and return to Sudan as a full-time missionary. For two and a half years he lived in a tent, travelled by foot, and was even unjustly and severely beaten. During this time, Greg coordinated the construction of three Hope4Sudan compounds to serve the Southern Sudanese people. In 2010, Greg left the field for a short time of missions training at SAFARI (Semester Abroad For A Radial Impact) in South Africa. While there, he officially joined IPHC World Missions Ministries (WMM). They asked him to go to Maputo, Mozambique, to coordinate the Clinic and Training/Conference Centre building project. While in South Africa, Greg met his future wife, Latoya. On completion of the Mozambique project, Greg desired to return to Southern Sudan and fulfill his call to work with the Sudanese people. Greg and Latoya married in November 2011, and in the spring of 2012, went to southern Sudan where Greg resumed his role as Ministry Director for Hope4Sudan. Over the years, Greg has managed the completion of several major building projects and hosted several teams. Greg and Latoya have two boys and are active in ministries in both South Sudan and Kenya. They count it a blessing to be the vessels God uses to impart hope through Jesus Christ. Chick here to check out some of their newsletters.

  • Lauren Pickens

    H4S Director

    Lauren went to Sudan with a mission team for the first time in November of 2007. Although she had previously been involved in numerous missions teams and seen a lot of places in need, her heart was completely unprepared for the desperate situation of the people she encountered on that trip. Lauren told God she didn’t have a clue how or know what to do, but she knew she felt God touch her heart and committed with His help and direction to do whatever was in her power to do. From that commitment, Hope4Sudan was born. Lauren says Hope4Sudan is a perfect example of what God can accomplish if someone is willing and makes himself or herself available to be used.


    Lauren serves as Director of Hope4Sudan. She shares her heart as she strives to raise awareness and support for the various ministries. She also leads the medical missions trips into South Sudan. Lauren splits her time between Germantown, Tennessee, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

  • Irvina Parker

    H4S Assistant

    Irvina went on her first trip to South Sudan in 2010 after she and her sister conducted a Girls' Ministries training for the IPHC in Nairobi, Kenya. She has been on five trips to date and looks forward to more. In early 2017, she took on the job as assistant to Lauren. Her tasks include communications, website oversight, and missions trip planning among other things


    She and her husband David live in Oklahoma City and attend Compassion OKC. They have been to South Sudan together twice now and have both developed a heart for the people and work of South Sudan.

  • Lavonne Alberti

    Visa Agent

    LaVonne has a passion to see broken hearts healed and to see those in bondage set free. For the past thirty years, she has been travelling throughout the southeastern United States, leading women’s retreats in drug treatment centers, rehabs, halfway houses, prisons, churches, community centers, and women’s groups. Her passion to help others in need inspired her to become a part of the Hope4Sudan team by serving as a visa agent. LaVonne is a blessing; she plays a valuable role acting as an intermediary between team members and the South Sudanese consul, securing visas and handling travel documents.


    LaVonne is a retired loan officer from Tampa, Florida and now resides in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Mario.