Saturday, December 31, 2011
Day 4.5 Happy New Year- A near kiss from a bat.
I thought today was fairly low key until about five minutes ago. I woke up to hear a fluttering sound in my room. Using the light from my phone I realized there was a bat in my bedroom. I called to Mbondo while under my mosquito net but he didn't hear me. I continued to watch the bat until somehow it got inside my net in order to announce the New Year with a kiss. I'm not ashamed to say I yelled like a little child and jumped out of the net as fast as I could. Mbondo finally came in thinking a robber had broken into the house only to learn it was a bat. He just laughed at me. He and Francis (the house caretaker) trapped the bat, posed for a picture and released it to the wild. It all happened at about midnight and will probably be the most memorable way I have welcomed the New Year for some years to come. 
Day 4
This post is short because I'm pretty tired.
Today we had another relaxed morning and spent most of the day at a local church for a youth seminar. I preached the same messages as at the previous youth seminar and Chaewook gave his testimony once again. After the seminar we went Tulia and met with some men from Mutulu over cokes. We've been drinking a lot of coke since we've come. At one point Chaewook told me that he thought coke was more important than water in Kenya. I had to share that it wasn't normal to drink as much coke as we've been drinking.
I was struck by the immense need. There are so many young people who have graduated from high school, but have no money to go to university. There are no loans to be had and so they stay at home or go to Nairobi to look for work. It is incredible and at the same time frustrating to know that $2000 can send someone to college or a training school and in turn change the condition of their entire family.
Tomorrow Chaewook and I will visit James' church and then we'll visit another church if there is time.
Praises: The youth seminar was a success and the youth enjoyed the time and were encouraged.
Prayer requests: Chaweook will share his testimony and I will preach at James' church tomorrow.
That God would provide a way for Gabriel to go to Bible school
Today we had another relaxed morning and spent most of the day at a local church for a youth seminar. I preached the same messages as at the previous youth seminar and Chaewook gave his testimony once again. After the seminar we went Tulia and met with some men from Mutulu over cokes. We've been drinking a lot of coke since we've come. At one point Chaewook told me that he thought coke was more important than water in Kenya. I had to share that it wasn't normal to drink as much coke as we've been drinking.
I was struck by the immense need. There are so many young people who have graduated from high school, but have no money to go to university. There are no loans to be had and so they stay at home or go to Nairobi to look for work. It is incredible and at the same time frustrating to know that $2000 can send someone to college or a training school and in turn change the condition of their entire family.
Tomorrow Chaewook and I will visit James' church and then we'll visit another church if there is time.
Praises: The youth seminar was a success and the youth enjoyed the time and were encouraged.
Prayer requests: Chaweook will share his testimony and I will preach at James' church tomorrow.
That God would provide a way for Gabriel to go to Bible school
Friday, December 30, 2011
Day 3 Prayer Meeting and Chicken on a Bike
This morning I woke up to the sound of what I initially thought was someone playing the clarinet very poorly. After waking out of my stupor I realized it was a braying donkey. I rolled out of bed and headed outside to use the latrine. It was sunny and cool and I said to myself “I'm so glad I'm in Africa”. It's a blessing to be here and we are greatly enjoying our time.
We had a relaxing morning and then headed to James' church for a special meeting. We arrived two hours late, but only a few had gathered and more were still coming. So we took a short trip look at the property that the church had purchased for a building. The church members don't have much, but they are working together to accomplish what they can. They have finished the latrine and have made some bricks. There next step is to prepare the foundation for the church.
After we surveyed the ground we went back to the church and found that people had gathered and were singing. We decided to eat lunch first and then proceed with the meeting. Before we went in I told Mbondo that I had felt the Lord said there was someone with pain in their right shoulder. In the meeting I spoke form John 14: I spoke about how Jesus loves to glorify the father more than anything. I shared that healing is one way that Jesus glorifies God. I asked if there was anyone with pain in their right shoulder and three women raised there hand. We then prayed together for Jesus to heal. After prayer, two women said they were believing God for healing, but one shared that the pain was gone. We prayed one more time for all who were sick at the meeting and asked for healing and will ask if there are any testimonies of healing when we visit the church again on Sunday. I then shared about how Jesus glorifies God by answering our prayers for the impossible. For many in the church the new building seems impossible, but I encouraged them to do what they can while praying for God to help them finish the building.
From there we traveled to a very big ravine. It is quite a sight to see and Mbondo tells us that there are gazelle that live at the bottom of the ravine. On they back we stopped at James' mother in-law. She was happy to see us and gave us a chicken. There wasn't anywhere to put it, except to hang it from the motorcycle handlebars and so it traveled with us the rest of the day. We will eat it before we leave.
Next we traveled to Mutulu and were able to see some friends from my previous visits. One old lady with poor eye sight was confused and thought that Chaewook was Bo. A young child was absolutely terrified by Chaewook and screamed and cried when he came near. He tried to take a picture with her, but he couldn't come within five feet of her without her crying like he was the boogieman.
One of the young men we met with is named Gabriel. He finished high school, but has been waiting for two years for the opportunity to Bible College. His family has no money to send him, so is praying for God to make a way. We also met with another family and were able to pray for a woman who has poor eyesight and can only see shapes.
We've made it back to the house and we are both pretty tired. Tomorrow we have another seminar for youth. After the rally we'll meet some community leaders, and then we will meet with some university students and other young adults in the evening.
Praises: We continue to be healthy and safe on the road.
For the pain relief in her shoulder that a women received through prayer
Prayer Requests:
For the youth seminar that the youth would be encouraged and that some would respond to the call to missions.
That we would have more opportunities to pray for healing and that God would heal.
That the young adults we meet with would be greatly encouraged and empowered.
Next we traveled to Mutulu and were able to see some friends from my previous visits. One old lady with poor eye sight was confused and thought that Chaewook was Bo. A young child was absolutely terrified by Chaewook and screamed and cried when he came near. He tried to take a picture with her, but he couldn't come within five feet of her without her crying like he was the boogieman.
We've made it back to the house and we are both pretty tired. Tomorrow we have another seminar for youth. After the rally we'll meet some community leaders, and then we will meet with some university students and other young adults in the evening.
Praises: We continue to be healthy and safe on the road.
For the pain relief in her shoulder that a women received through prayer
Prayer Requests:
For the youth seminar that the youth would be encouraged and that some would respond to the call to missions.
That we would have more opportunities to pray for healing and that God would heal.
That the young adults we meet with would be greatly encouraged and empowered.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Pictures from Day Two
Day Two-New Friends and No Hurry in Africa
Africa is usually full of surprises,and it is typical for things not to go as planned. We arrived at the house where we were staying only to find that the brother to the owner was there with his children. While the owner of the house (he lives in the States) was aware that we were coming, the brother was not. In America it would create a very awkward situation, but in Kenya it was an opporutnity to make new friends. We enjoyed our time with Job, Meja, and Catherine, though it was unexpected. They along with their father were gracious hosts for their unexpected visitors. They left for Nairobi today, but we are likely to see them again before we leave.
There is a saying that there is no hurry in Africa and today was no exception. This morning we woke up and were ready to leave for a church by 9am in order to start a day long seminar for youth from three churches at 10am. Instead 9am turned into 10am and time kept passing until finally at 12:20 we left for the church. It turned out that it was a punctured motorbike tire that delayed us. We arrived at the church and just over 100 youth were patiently waiting. We were able to provide soda and bread and after they had their food we began our meeting.
Mbondo warmed them up and got them laughing. We needed that because they had been waiting 2.5 hours for us. Then Chaewook got up and gave his testimony, for the first time, in English, in front of 100 youth. It took a lot of courage, but he did a great job. I spoke about David and the kind of person God uses and then Mbondo spoke about the dangers of drug use. We don't know what he said, but he made the youth laugh qutie a bit.
After Mbondo finished we took a short break and then I spoke from Acts 1:8 and talked about the power of the Holy Spirit when we witness to the Gospel. I specifically talked about the healing power of Jesus. Last night,right before we went to bed I told Mbondo that I might be making things up, but I think there is someone who is blind in their right eye who will be at the seminar. During the meeting I asked if there was someone who had problems with vision in their right eye. Two girls raised their hands. I was not sure of the extent of the problems, but I was a little nervous. After all I have no power to heal someone and if the healing doesn't happen I was going to look awfully foolish. I was proclaiming that Jesus healed, but I had to step out on faith and tell the youth that now we were going to pray for healing for these girls. I've got to admit I was afraid, I was going to look pretty foolish if nothing happened, but I decided if I was going to look like a fool I would at least do it boldly. So I led the youth in praying for healing and then asked if there was any change. One girl raised her hand and I summoned her to the front. She shared that she went to sleep with pain in her eye and when she woke up her eye was painful, swollen and could not see properly. After prayer, the pain was gone and her vision was restored. Mbondo was quite surprised because of our conversation the night before. To be honest at first, I was a disappointed because I was hoping for a major healing, like a blind eye being opened. I wanted to say now is there anyone with a serious eye problem? Then I remembered that swollen eyes don't heal themselves, and that even "small" miracles still mean that God is active in answer to prayer and that is exciting! I need to continue to trust that if God reveals something it is for a purpose and not to be afraid to step out on faith. It'd be easier if I wasn't questioning if I wasn't making it up in my own mind :)
After the seminar we drove to land that James and his fellow pastors have purchased for a Bible College, High School and farm. The land is twenty acres and was purchased in faith that a dream will become a reality. Ten years ago James, Mbondo, and I climbed a mountain and prayed that God would build a Christian High School and a training school for pastors in this area. The land they have now is twenty acres and big enough to add a farm to provide food. James and the pastors don't have money to build, but they have faith and have been praying.
The night before we left for Kenya I spoke to a man from my old church in Boston. I had told him last summer about the dream for the Bible School and High School, he asked a few questions and seemed interested. Monday night he told me that he is now the mission director at the church wants to bring the senior pastor and a small team to Kenya. He wants to get his church involved in what God is doing here. Right now the land is overgrown and there are no buildings, but someday soon we will see a training school for pastors and a Christian high school.
Tomorrow we will visit James' church for a prayer meeting and then travel to the land where they are in the proces of building their own building. After that we will visit some friends in their homes, before we meet some more later in Tulia in the evening.
Praises: Chaewook did a great job sharing his testimony. The youth seminar was a success. God healed the painful swollen eye of a girl, which is a big deal when you can't afford to go to the doctor.
Prayer Requests:
Continued health and safety as we travel on motorbikes.
For God to bless and encourage James' church members tomorrow and that the sick would be healed.
That we would be a blessing and an encouragement to those we visit later in day.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Kenya Day One -Pictures Tomorrow
We made it safely and we made it together. We weren't sure if Chaewook would get on the same flight to Bangkok, but 5 minutes before boarding started they gave him a seat. The flight went well and we arrived feeling good and grateful that we made it to Bangkok together. We were also able to get on the same flight to Nairobi and both slept well.
Arriving at the airport in Nairobi we stopped to fill out our visa applications. When we finished we looked up and saw a long line in front of us. I commented to Chaewook that next time we should fill out the forms before we landed to save time. He agreed and we got into line expecting to wait for some time, but just then a man came and directed us to another station. We walked down the hall to the next immigration desk, where there was no wait. We walked out and our bags came around within a few minutes, we grabbed them and headed for the door. As we were walking out to meet our driver we stopped by a customs agent. “Open your bags, she said. Chaewook lifted his bag onto the counter. Do you have cigarettes?” She asked me pointing to a Korean Air shopping bag. I told her no and suddenly she lost interest in us and waved us through without searching our bags. We were greeted by our driver Paul and as soon as Mbondo (our mission contact) arrived we were on our way.
The roads in Nairobi had only light traffic because most people are in the countryside visiting family for Christmas. We drove along a new freeway being constructed by the Chinese. It was a smooth road, though at times a little interesting considering there were no lane markers or road signs. I'm not sure if it was 3 lanes or 4 lanes because everyone just drove where they wanted. About an hour outside of Nairobi we ate an early lunch, bought some groceries at the supermarket and continued on our way.
The rest of the trip we were stopped at too many police checkpoints to count, but when they saw a foreigner in the front seat they waved us on without hassling us. We arrived in Tulia in the mid afternoon safe and sound.
As we traveled I found out that God was moving in a very wonderful way. One of our hosts is James Kitengu. James is a pastor and a nurse and has always been a tremendous friend and help to me when I've been in Kenya. He and another pastor named Erastus have planted 8 churches in the last ten years. James is also a nurse and has done clinic work at different church locations. He has a motorcycle, but the engine has not worked for more than two years, limiting his ability to visit churches and run his mobile clinic. A few weeks ago someone at Word of Life told me that they wanted to donate money to missions and I mentioned James need for an engine, but at that point we still needed money for general trip fund. On Sunday our offering was about 650,000 won. Someone asked me if we had gotten enough money for the trip, I said I thought so, but I didn't think we had gotten enough for a motorcycle engine and I wish we had enough to cover the engine. Monday, I got a text message from someone wanting to donate enough to meet the cost. Later in the day I decided to call James to let him know, what I didn't know was at that moment James and Mbondo were having a conversation about his need for a motorcycle engine. He had just finished saying that he wished somehow he could get his motorcycle fixed when the phone rang and I told him that we (Word of Life) were going to buy him a new engine. Pretty amazing timing and it's pretty exciting to be a part of God's provision for a pastor in Kenya.
Tomorrow, we have a youth conference at a local church and are expecting about 100 young people to come. Chaewook will be giving his testimony in English and I'll be preaching about the person God uses from the story of David and Goliath. I'll give another talk about missions from Acts 1:8. We will be very grateful for your prayers.
Praises: We made it safely and we made it together!
We were both able to sleep on the plane and are healthy.
Prayer Requests:
1.For God to move powerfully in the hearts of the youth as we share.
2.For God to call some of the youth to dedicate their lives to missions.
3.For continued health and safety as we travel on motorcycles throughout the week.
Arriving at the airport in Nairobi we stopped to fill out our visa applications. When we finished we looked up and saw a long line in front of us. I commented to Chaewook that next time we should fill out the forms before we landed to save time. He agreed and we got into line expecting to wait for some time, but just then a man came and directed us to another station. We walked down the hall to the next immigration desk, where there was no wait. We walked out and our bags came around within a few minutes, we grabbed them and headed for the door. As we were walking out to meet our driver we stopped by a customs agent. “Open your bags, she said. Chaewook lifted his bag onto the counter. Do you have cigarettes?” She asked me pointing to a Korean Air shopping bag. I told her no and suddenly she lost interest in us and waved us through without searching our bags. We were greeted by our driver Paul and as soon as Mbondo (our mission contact) arrived we were on our way.
The roads in Nairobi had only light traffic because most people are in the countryside visiting family for Christmas. We drove along a new freeway being constructed by the Chinese. It was a smooth road, though at times a little interesting considering there were no lane markers or road signs. I'm not sure if it was 3 lanes or 4 lanes because everyone just drove where they wanted. About an hour outside of Nairobi we ate an early lunch, bought some groceries at the supermarket and continued on our way.
The rest of the trip we were stopped at too many police checkpoints to count, but when they saw a foreigner in the front seat they waved us on without hassling us. We arrived in Tulia in the mid afternoon safe and sound.
As we traveled I found out that God was moving in a very wonderful way. One of our hosts is James Kitengu. James is a pastor and a nurse and has always been a tremendous friend and help to me when I've been in Kenya. He and another pastor named Erastus have planted 8 churches in the last ten years. James is also a nurse and has done clinic work at different church locations. He has a motorcycle, but the engine has not worked for more than two years, limiting his ability to visit churches and run his mobile clinic. A few weeks ago someone at Word of Life told me that they wanted to donate money to missions and I mentioned James need for an engine, but at that point we still needed money for general trip fund. On Sunday our offering was about 650,000 won. Someone asked me if we had gotten enough money for the trip, I said I thought so, but I didn't think we had gotten enough for a motorcycle engine and I wish we had enough to cover the engine. Monday, I got a text message from someone wanting to donate enough to meet the cost. Later in the day I decided to call James to let him know, what I didn't know was at that moment James and Mbondo were having a conversation about his need for a motorcycle engine. He had just finished saying that he wished somehow he could get his motorcycle fixed when the phone rang and I told him that we (Word of Life) were going to buy him a new engine. Pretty amazing timing and it's pretty exciting to be a part of God's provision for a pastor in Kenya.
Tomorrow, we have a youth conference at a local church and are expecting about 100 young people to come. Chaewook will be giving his testimony in English and I'll be preaching about the person God uses from the story of David and Goliath. I'll give another talk about missions from Acts 1:8. We will be very grateful for your prayers.
Praises: We made it safely and we made it together!
We were both able to sleep on the plane and are healthy.
Prayer Requests:
1.For God to move powerfully in the hearts of the youth as we share.
2.For God to call some of the youth to dedicate their lives to missions.
3.For continued health and safety as we travel on motorcycles throughout the week.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Preparing for Kenya
It's 1:45am in the morning and I should be probably be sleeping. In about 15 hours Chaewook and I will be flying to Kenya. November and December have been such a blur that I haven't had much time to think about this trip, but I am excited about what will happen. Each day I'll be posting pictures, updates, and prayer requests so you'll be able to follow the trip quite closely by checking back.
Praises:
Two people from WOLIF are donating money so that one of the pastors who will be hosting us will be able to get a new motorcycle engine. His motorcycle has been in need of a new engine for more than two years!
Two people each donated enough money to pay for lunch at the youth seminars.
Prayer Needs:
Traveling mercies and health. Please pray that Chaewook and I will both be on the same flight (he's flying standby) and that we get picked up at the airport without a problem.
Please pray for our health and for Caleb, he woke up with a nasty cough and is having trouble sleeping. My prayer is that we won't need to to take him to the doctor in the morning.
Praises:
Two people from WOLIF are donating money so that one of the pastors who will be hosting us will be able to get a new motorcycle engine. His motorcycle has been in need of a new engine for more than two years!
Two people each donated enough money to pay for lunch at the youth seminars.
Prayer Needs:
Traveling mercies and health. Please pray that Chaewook and I will both be on the same flight (he's flying standby) and that we get picked up at the airport without a problem.
Please pray for our health and for Caleb, he woke up with a nasty cough and is having trouble sleeping. My prayer is that we won't need to to take him to the doctor in the morning.
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