Holy Land Trip Update

Wow, 5 days of kids camp with Mr O.K. the clown and his team from Bethlehem and 130 kids. Amazing launch of the Center in this community.  So many parents of all religions sent their children and expressed their thanks.  The message given to the children was appreciated by all.  We are so tired but full of thanks for a good week, and thankful for all the prayers.  The little pillows have a paper with the dreams of the kids, what they want to be when they grow up.  Their names are written on the pillow in Arabic.  We prayed over the children and prayed pillow by pillow for each child. God is good and His mercies endure forever.  God is working and this is just a glimpse of what He is doing. Continue to pray for these children. 

Holy Land update: In the Shade of an Olive Tree

First day of Children's camp and the temperature is rising.  The local kids were so excited we had to leave home early to go to the center, many kids had come early and were outside the gate wanting camp to start.  The kids were so excited.  Plans had been made for a maximum of 120 kids but by the end of the day there were 130.  We had a few children who were small and cried when mommy or daddy left.  We later discovered there were scared of the clown and puppets.  The clown and puppets delivered the spiritual message through song and skits to begin the day.  It was such a blessing to work with this ministry from a church in Bethlehem who came with the program.  We were their helpers.  Two of our team helped with the organized games while the other two helped with crafts.  Pass the water balloon is a fun game on a 100 degree day.  The rest of the week is supposed to get hotter.  Please pray that the songs and message each day take root in the hearts of these children, and that the children would sing the songs and share the message with Mommy and Daddy each day.  Keep up the praying.  

Worship & Celebrate

We had a wonderful morning of worship today.  We joined Lifespring Church, as well as many other visitors from other churches, to celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of Lifespring Church.   It was a great morning of celebration and of anticipation for what God will do with this small young church as they continue to proclaim the name of Jesus.

Clint did a wonderful job this morning as he delivered God's Word.  He challenged us to "keep moving forward" no matter what difficulties may come because God  has called us to finish our races well.   It was a great challenge for all of us.

We had the honor of worshipping with Mwaura's mother and father this morning.  His father is a retired pastor, but is preparing to start a new church located in his home.  He is a wonderful man of God and it was a joy to meet them both.

Speaking of finishing well,  our team has one more day of ministry in front of us tomorrow.  We are excited about the opportunity to share God's message of hope and salvation through Jesus Christ.  We will be visiting two more schools tomorrow.   We are working to rearrange our schedule just a bit to provide us with some much needed rest tomorrow afternoon, but are ready for whatever God has in store.

The Holy Land: A Deep Experience

The Holy Land.  Those words alone invoke emotions and thoughts and maybe even images of where Jesus walked.  Yesterday was our day of orientation.  We drove around the area where the children's camp will be held and drove further to see the historical nature of the area.  As we drove through Samaria stopping at Jacobs well and visiting the actual well where Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman the group felt great emotion.  I was asked to lower the bucket the depth of more than 350 feet to fill it.  As I turned the crank which raised the bucket, which was heavy by the way, I tried  to imagine the women raising water from this well.  We were invited to drink a sip of the cool water and it made the experience even more real.  Another tourist group were there as well and one of the group began to read the Bible passage from a French Bible.  What an amazing experience to have in an area where almost all the Christians have left.  We next visited the cave where the lepers were healed by Jesus.  The scripture became more real as we stood at the cave turned into a chapel in the 4th century and looked down at the ancient road.  When the lepers saw Jesus they called down to him.  Well, they were in a cave on the side of the hill above.  The construction of the churches and the ornamentation made the experience a bit surreal but no less powerful.  Starting tomorrow we will be working with children of families who live in the place where Jesus walked but do not yet know Him as their savior.  Please pray for us that we would show Christ love to them and the Holy Spirit would speak the those we interact with.  Typical witnessing is not allowed but God will speak.  We plant seed and trust God for the harvest. 

Love God, Love People

What an absolutely terrific but exhausting day.   Today was "Day Camp" day and it was a full day.  We hosted well over 100 children today.  Inspite of limited space, some bad weather, and limited communication ability our team did a fantastic job in leading games, crafts, and sharing the message of Jesus.

We rented a bus and brought over 30 people in from Makuyu, including lots of kids from the Children's Home.  It was a blessing to be able to pour truth and love into the lives of these kids.  And of course we will never forge the laughter as we lots of silly games., many that were new to these kids.

As we enter the final days of our mission, I am reminded of Matthew 22 where Jesus answers the question  about what the greatest commandment is; he says Love God & Love People. That's my simplified version, but the truth is the same.

Our team has spent the last several days and the days to come Loving God and Loving People.  It is one of the most spiritually refreshing expeiences a person can have in their life.  The challenge before us, before all followers of Jesus, is to make Loving God and Loving People a daily part of who we are, rather than a short-term moment.  "Missions" is not just a trip or event, "missions" is a way of life that Christ has called us to live every moment of every day.  Often, this is something that is easier said than done, but the command from Christ remains.   One of the questions we asked many times to the people we met during the course of this trip was "Now that you know The Truth, what will you do?".  I cannot stand idley by while my neighbor - be that across the street or across the global - remains in darkness and sin, can you?

Continue to pray for our team, we are not finished yet.  We will celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of Lifespring Chruch tomorrow. It promises to be an exciting day.  Pray for Clint  as he preaches tomorrow and for the people that will be challenged by God's Word.

Divine Appointment

Have you ever had a divine appointment?  I believe we had one of those appointments today.  We visited two schools today, but it was the second shool that really stood out.  We were invited earlier in the week to visit a high school that is located in a very rural area about an hours drive into the mountains.  This school was not on our original schedule and there was no way we could find the time to squeeze it in.  As the Lord would have it our schedule for Friday afternoon completely cleared due to some cancellations and reschedulings, so we committed ourselves to driving to this high school.  We drove the hour drive up the unpaved mountain roads to this school that serves a community on the south end of the county.  We were introduced to the principa, assistant principal, and teachers and then headed toward the assembly room where the students waited.

As we walked across the courtyard,  Pastor Mwaura mentioned that our time would be spent sharing God's plan for sexual abstinence until marriage.  The principal stopped us and said "Oh, you have been sent by the Lord."  She went on to explain that the issue of sexual promiscuity among teens in their area was a major issue that had lead to diseases and pregnancies.  They currently have four girls out that are pregnant and one 9th grade girl that just found out that she is pregnant.  She was excited because it is an issue they face constantly and has been an especially major issue in recent months.

After our presentation we had several students that stayed to speak with Pastor Mwaura and Nelson.  The principal has also requested that either Mwaura or Nelson start a regular discipleship/mentorship program at the school starting with more training and information on sexual abstinence and God's plan for salvation.

I am not sure what all God will do with this school, but the reception we received from both the administration and the students, I know that are presence there today was a divine appointment that I am grateful we did not miss.

Tomorrow is our big Day Camp from 10 AM - 5 PM.  Please pray for our team as we lead.  We are expecting lots of kids and are even having some bused in from Makuyu.  Pray that the kids are relatively calm and orderly as our small team manages the large numbers.  Pray that God's message is clear.  Also pray that is does not rain.  We are trusting the Lord in all things.

God moves in mysterious ways...

Today was another busy and rewarding day.  We have transitioned to a new village, Kenol Town, and began visiting local schools here today.   We visited a primary school with lots of cute little kids, a very large primary school where we met just the 8th graders, and a new high school that was recently started.

Tonight we began our Bible Club at Lifespring Church in Kenol Town.  We had 15 kids tonight, which was wonderful for this young church start.    We look forward to what God will continue to do through us here.

I was introduced  to a 21 yeard old young man tonight named Kagunda.    Kagunda is the son of a Baptist pastor near Nairobi.  I think he was under the influence of alcohol this evening but managed to carry on a reasonable conversation.  Kagunda has had a falling out with his father and moved to Kenol Town looking for independence and freedom.  Little did he know that he moved in nextdoor to Lifespring Church.  As we spoke tonight, we discovered that Kagunda's father was a student in Mwaura's theology class at seminary and Mwaura and his father are still good friends.  Mwaura immediately called Kagunda's father to let him know his son was okay and living nextdoor to the church Mwaura has recently started.   Kangunda and I spent several minutes talking.  I reminded him of God's love for him and God's desire to restore his relationship with Himself and his father. I also encouraged him to let Mwaura help him and to start attending Lifespring Church.  I am not sure how thrilled Kagunda is with what God seemed to be doing around him and for him, but he definitely recognized that all the events of tonight were the hand of God on his life.  As we were leaving he promised to talk with me more about "what God might want from him".  As I prepared to leave Kagunda said, "I am very confused by what has happened, but feel that maybe I should just stand right here and wait for Jesus to do whatever comes next."

Pray for Kagunda as he weighs what God is trying to do to restore his relationships.  Also pray that Kagunda is a little more sober when we talk tomorrow.  Pray for me as I minister to him.  Pray that the Lord will guide my words, give me understanding and wisdom.

Please begin to pray for our Day Camp on Saturday.  We still have preparations to make for some of the final details concerning meeting space.  Our Day Camp will be from 10 AM - 5 PM.  This will make for a long day but will also provide for a great time of ministry to many children.   Pray that many will come and that the message of Jesus love and salvation will be clear.