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5 months have come and gone so fast! It is hard to believe that I am down to my last month in Kenya! I have already had to say some hard goodbyes to high school students and have had to come to terms with the idea that my time here is limited. I have been very busy serving the children of Rongai with my team. This place feels like home and I have developed such a love for so many of the people here. Here are some of the things I have seen the Lord doing over the past few months: 

Every Saturday we have kids club which is considered our biggest day of ministry. It is a huge part of our focus as we plan for it throughout the week. Ever since I have arrived, I have only seen the number of children attending every Saturday increase. Typically we have about 250 children  but the past few Saturdays we had over 350 children! It is awesome to see the work that God is doing expanding the program and allowing more children and families to be reached through it. I also often think of the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 because we often run short on food when feeding the children lunch but every week God multiplies the food and provides enough food so not a single child goes without food. God is using the Potter's Field ministry here to bless so many children! I have the opportunity to love lots of children each week and always feel blessed after serving them. 

There are a handful of children that are especially special to me. One of those Girls finished class 8 and is now in high school. I have had lots of chats with her before she went to high school as she was pretty new to the faith. We developed a friendship and I had the opportunity to guide her a little in her walk with the Lord. It was so hard to see her leave for high school but when she returned for break all my worries went away when I talked with her and saw the young lady God was molding her into. I had sometime to chat with her before she returned and found out she is helping to lead a Bible study every week, encouraging girls, and even witnessed 5 classmates receive Jesus as their personal Savior. She encounter some difficulties and when she talked to me about it, she told me that she thought of Paul who endured so much and yet stood firm in the Lord. It was incredible to see her flourish after just a short while at high school. God is going to use her in some incredible ways. As she continues to draw closer and closer to him. Knowing her relationship with Jesus was becoming more intimate made it easier to say goodbye, but it is still hard knowing I will not see her again until we meet in Heaven. 

Every week we sit down as a team with all of us interns, Geoff, Linda, and Harrun to prepare for the next weeks lesson. As we look at stories that a very familiar to me, it amazes me how much I have missed from these stories. Each and every story is loaded with truths about God and how much he loves us, yet it is so easy to miss all that good truth when reading the Bible. It has changed the way I read the Bible because the stories I think I know I am realizing I know very little about and the chapters that seem to have nothing in them are loaded with things I have never taken the time to see. Every word in the Bible is God breathed and is important to knowing God so even the books that are hard to read are so important to read and study and understand. 

Every Sunday we go to Ngong, which is about an hours drive  to a children's home. We spend a few hours with the children playing with them, reading to them, and teaching them a Bible lesson. I am always exhausted on Sundays and feel like I have no energy to serve the children but the joy on the kids faces when we arrive causes my energy level to rise. They are always so happy to see us and are excited to see what books we have brought that day. When I think about it, I am sure Jesus was often times exhausted but he knew why the Father had sent him and knew what his mission was here on earth. God has sent me to Kenya to serve the children and to teach them about God's love and grace and so much more. Even when I am exhausted I should press on because God has called me here to complete a task and until I get on the plane to go home, my task is not complete. I love having the bracelet that reminds me of Acts 20:24 on everyday to remind me to press on. Acts 20:24 says, "Nothing moves me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I have received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God." 

I have so many different children here that I love and could talk about for hours. They are all so close to my heart and I feel honored to be able to serve them. Sometimes I feel like I do not have much to offer them but Matthew 25:31-40 reminds me that it is not the children I am serving but the one I am actually serving is God. "And the King will answer them, 'truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me'." Please pray for all the children in Rongai and the ministry that is here as we serve children in many different ways. Pray that the Gospel would be heard, understood, and received. Pray for the leaders, Geoff and Linda Simpson, as they lead and serve here as well. I also ask for prayers for me and my fellow interns as we spend our last month here. Pray that God will prepare our hearts for the time we are to leave and that we would be able to remained focused on the ministry and not become distracted by what lies ahead. Pray for the whole world as so many people are still desperately in need of a Savior here in Kenya but also in every country around the world. 




All for the Glory of God


 
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Last evening a short term mission team from a Calvary Chapel in New Jersey arrived and today was our first day serving with them. We had planned an outreach event and I was very excited as I anticipated the day. Late morning I went to a school to help with a few more things for  these children who just went back to school and needed uniforms and shoes. Then all of us divided into teams and went out about in Rongai doing some evangelism and inviting people to a service we had prepared. As my group went about, we walked the roads and My heart was heavy. We stopped and chatted to a few women having the opportunity to share with them about grace and also inviting them to hear more at the church and receive a free dinner as well. We came across drunk men who burdened my heart and more and more women who had no husband and one who we found out could not pay the school fees to put her children back in school this year. 

It was a beautiful day that started out giving me hope and encouraged me as I saw the joy on the children's faces who have finally started school again, but my heart very quickly became broken for the people of Rongai. 

Tonight the church was packed full of children and adults who came to hear about grace, the free gift from God. It brought so much joy to my heart to see the church full of Kenyans whom came to worship. My heart just became more and more burdened though as I realized the hopelessness so many people in Rongai live in. They don't know the truth about God. They don't know that salvation is free and that no good works would ever lead to salvation. 

So many children go hungry, so many children don't have a father, so many children can't afford an education, and so many people don't know  Christ. The question came to my mind "what can I do about it?" It feels so hopeless and never ending. The resources end but the needs do not. I wonder why it took me three months to come to a point of utter brokenness. I can love on these children and give them the love of Christ and hopefully watch the void that is present in their lives whether from no father, school, or maybe from abuse. Jesus is all I can give the people of Rongai and all they need but I desire to give them so much more. 

Pray for the people of Rongai and ask God to turn this place around so that it is a place that honors and glorifies him. Pray for the children who are in school but also for those that cannot go because of school fees. Pray for the fathers who have abandoned their family's and for wives who raise children as a single mom. Pray for the churches that they may preach the truth from God's word. Pray for the city and ask God to use this place in a mighty way. 

All for the Glory of God 


 
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We started our day continuing our study in Romans. We listened to Pastor Joe Focht speak on the end of chapter 8 and he had a lot of good things to say. One thing that really stood out was the verse that says all things work together for good. I have heard that verse over and over again in my life. As Pastor Joe put it, "it's a hard pill to swallow". That verse is great until we go through a hard time and someone tries to comfort you with it. How are we suppose to see the good when life is hard? What Pastor Joe said is that we want God to give us the 5 year or 20 year plan when hard times come so we can see the good. There are many things we probably won't see the good in till we get to heaven and can see the full picture. All we can see is the small puzzle pieces individually. What God sees is the finished puzzle, the end result. 


God showed me today when I was teaching my kindergarten class that students are like an unfinished puzzle. I get to work with my kindergarten class for the next 3 months and hopefully I will see increased skills academically. I will leave them having taught them just a little more then what they knew when they first entered kindergarten. I won't see them finish kindergarten or go on to high school but I do my best to put one piece of their puzzle together for them and then the next teacher can put the next piece on. I probably won't see any of them when they are finished high school or university but I will hopefully get to see them in heaven when the whole puzzle is complete. It's not about finishing the puzzle but about taking the time to put the next piece together. When the puzzle is finished then everything will make sense and we will see how each piece fit perfectly into the whole puzzle. What a beautiful design God has for each of our lives and all we have to do is live day by day walking in the path that he has lighted for us.

All for the Glory of God 


 
Times been flying by and our days have been busy and exhausting. I've been connecting more with the children here and learning more about their culture. I've been enjoying making ugali, chapati, and other Kenyan foods as we are taught by some of our friends here. I look forward to learning how to make different stews as well in the near future. I have also been trying to learn more of the Kiswahili language but that will definitely take a lot of time. As some of you probably know, the visa standards have changed during our first two months here and we could no longer simply get a second 3 month visa. Instead we had to apply to get a year visa which left it up to the government whether we would be able to finish our three months here. The Lord answered our prayers with a yes and we found out this past week that we were all approved! I am so thankful that I am able to finish out my 6 months here in Kenya since I have grown to love this land and the people here. I have been enjoying going to the Masai market and another market on our days off where we get to interact with the locals and bargaining with them as we tell them "mimi ni mkenya" wanting the local prizes not the wazungu prizes. All our days are filled with laughter both at home and during ministry. 

The children are really getting close to my heart as I get to know them better. I love the jokes they make and the times they trick me. I love playing tag with them and hide and go seek. I love every moment I have with them. A couple of the middle aged boys I have gotten really close to are Eluid and eliazar. Both them are so knowledgeable and know a lot of stories from the Bible. I love getting to teach them every Saturday and then being able to talk to them more about the lesson afterwards. Often times at least one question comes from them about the lesson or something else from the Bible. 

I also have had the opportunity to get to know one of the teen girls really well recently. After a small group Bible study with a couple of the teen girls where I shared my testimony, she came to chat with me and ask me questions. I have always thought this young lady was beautiful but I am blessed to see more of the inward beauty through our friendship. I am going to miss her when she goes off to high school but with the time I have I want to get to know her more and more. God has already started a great work in her and, as it says in the Bible, I believe he will continue that work until the day of completion. 

I believe the same to be true with me. God took my life and flipped it upside down on me. The moment was then that I was physically too weak to stand up from the floor until I turned my eyes to Christ in full surrender. I had given my life to Christ before, but I was holding back. It took some pain and difficulty for me to give my everything to him but I did. Now I am in Kenya serving him and telling others of his great love. God has really been challenging me in my walk recently. It has been a huge temptation for me to get lazy and not spend time with God each morning like I should. When my relationship with Jesus is shallow, I find my life to be shallow. I was really challenged by the study of Romans 7 that we did this past week. The flesh is no different today then it was one I first got saved. It desires things of the world and wants to lead me to death. If I do not kill my flesh everyday then it will be alive and lead me to sin but if I invite the Holy Spirit in every day, he will be my helper to defeat the flesh as it begins to rise up in me. The only way this is possible it to spend quality time with God every morning. But what really convicted me was the question why just in the morning? We are meditate on his Word without ceasing. I remembered what my mother always said, "an idol mind is the devils workshop". How true I see this to be. When I am focused on the Lord and his Word, satan does not have as much room to attack. My desire now has become to open my Bible and to sit down in prayer and to just be alone with Jesus a couple times a day to be sure that mind is focused on him. 

I see evidence of the Lord at work in the hearts of the people in Rongai and I see work in my own heart that is taking place. The Lord desires a relationship with each of us, so what is keeping me from developing a strong intimate relationship with him? 

All for the Glory of God 

 
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26. His Love Never Fails  

Monday, December 9, 2013 




This past week was filled with adventures and challenges, good times with my family I have here and good times with God. We were serving at Calvary Chapel Lakeside this past in Kisumu with a missionary family that lives there. from the moment we pulled in the driveway to the moment we pulled out this family loved us and served us beyond what I imagined they would. It was such a blessing to meet these people and to get to know them for the few days we were in Kisumu. While in Kisumu we helped run a kids camp which was Tuesday and Wednesday. They typically have about 100 children come but this year nearly 200 showed up! It definitely brought some challenges since we were not prepared for that many but God multiplied our craft stuff and helped all of us to go with it as all these children came to our different stations. On Tuesday we used what we call the Gospel arrows to present the Gospel to the children along with a few other points from the Bible. As we were praying before the program started, I asked God to just save one soul that day, that's all I wanted and really I didn't have faith that many more could be saved at one time. After it was over on Tuesday we were all sitting around talking and it came out that over 30 children gave their lives to Christ that day! Oh me of little faith! God reminded me that day that he can do immeasurably more then I can even think or imagine and to pray in faith. Wow! What a miracle to see so many children chose to follow Christ! Wednesday was just as much fun and I really enjoyed working with the amazing teachers from Kisumu and serving there. 

While I was reading one night after kids camp, God really spoke to me through a book I am reading about his love. As I sat there pondering the story, my life, and God's love I was brought to tears. Satan so often likes to use the past to bring people down, to pull them away from God. God doesn't care about who we were but rather he cares about who we are. If God didn't love us with a never ending, never changing love do you really think he would have gave his only son to die the death that you and I deserve? God's love. I want to share God's love with the people I come in contact with but I need to let God love me for who I am in order to share his love with those around me. After a good talk with God, I could feel a difference and Satan no longer had that hold on me and was able to feed me the lie that my past was too dirty for him to love me the way he says he does. 

Our ride to Kisumu was nothing like the ride back. It's about a 6 hour drive plus a few stops here and there. On the way home we had an unexpected stop about 1.5 hours in to our journey when the van broke down. This was the beginning of an adventure that truly turned out to be fun and we were able to see God's faithfulness and how he works everything out. As we traveled we got to see the beautiful hills and farms and mountains of Kenya. We even got to see some zebra up close and personal. A 6 hour drive turned into a 2 day journey but the Han of God was in the whole thing as he provided a place for us to spend the night and a mechanic to fix the van. 

We arrived back to Nairobi Friday evening and then had kids club on Saturday. I was so excited to see all the children that we get to minister to here in Rongai again! It was crazy how much I missed them after being gone for only a week. They were all so excited to see us again and it was a great time talking with them again and getting to serve them. Sunday we all went to PEFA and had the privilege of getting to listen to Geoff and Steven teach the sermon. After church we got to go see our children at the children's home again and, of course, we all had a good time getting to play and chat with those children there. I am blessed to be here and get to be a part of so many children's lives. I am learning so much and all I can say is God is good!  

"His love never fails it never gives up it never runs out on me"

To God be all Glory 


 
Today was the beginning of my first time being away from home over the holidays. Today is a day set aside specifically for giving thanks so I thought about it and came to realize how much I have to be thankful for. I thought about the friend I have who told me about IGNITE and how he helped me through a difficult semester at school. I think about my family who pray for me and support me as I have been living in a different country. I am thankful for IGNITE and for the opportunity God has given me to be apart of class 5 and to serve him in this way. I reflect back and realize how much God has shown me and taught me over the past 5 months. God has been revealing things about me and the condition of my heart that I never allowed him to break me of before and I am so thankful that he is doing this work in me. One of the questions that was asked around the table today was what our favorite highlight from this past year was. I thought about it and did not think I would be able to chose just one but then God brought back to my memory August 22nd. On this day I fasted and prayed because I had junk from my past that I had not fully surrendered to Christ and it was keeping me enslaved to it. On this day I found freedom in Christ that I had been missing out on for too long. I am so thankful for that day and for the freedom that I have in Christ. I am thankful that Jesus paid the price for me so I can have freedom and enjoy living in it.

I am thankful for my family more then ever this year because I have experienced living without them. Even though it can be hard sometimes not seeing my family so long God has shown his faithfulness through it. As I'm here in Kenya, the interns and the host family have become like family to me. I can never replace my family but God has given me people in my life that care for me and that I care for. He has given people to me that remind me of different members of my family and that give me a glimpse of  home occasionally. I am thankful for my Kenyan brothers  and sisters who have truly welcomed me into their country and their town. I am thankful for all the children that I have gotten the privilege to get to know and spend time with. I am thankful for the laughter that my friends and family bring and for the opportunity to live in another culture and learn another language. I am thankful for the growth that I am experiencing here as I can already see how this time in Kenya is preparing me for life and not just missionary work. I am thankful for all God's promises and his never changing love me. What are you thankful for? It's a question that can be taken lightly or you can truly examine your heart and reflect over the past year and what God has done for you. Happy thanksgiving! 

All for the Glory of God 

 
Every time we come to the end of another week my mind is blown. How can time possibly be moving this quickly? This past week was a busy one with lots of stuff needing to be done for the Manna Bible Institute graduation that happened on Saturday. Also, this week was the last week of school till January so we had to say goodbye to some of the kids for a little while. This week God showed me two things that specifically stood out to me. First he showed me that I do have an ability to teach and also how important preparing myself for battle is. 

Ever since the first day we stepped foot in the classroom I have been telling myself I am not a teacher and that I cannot do this. Every time we went to do any type of teaching I always tried to get in a classroom with someone else who would teach so I could just assist where needed. I recognized that I am more of an assistant then a head teacher but I also realized how God can use me if I allow him too. It was my turn to lead the Bible study at Calvary Chapel Rongai this past Thursday and I was extremely nervous. I knew many of the students were my age or older and do not know the Lord as their Savior. I also knew that what I could say would never impact their lives but what Jesus had to say to them could. I spent a lot of time in prayer before this study and honestly I have no idea what I said but I just allowed the Spirit to speak through me and I could feel his presence their. I recognized I cannot teach but Jesus can teach. I will never be able to teach if I try to do it on my own but with the help of Christ I can walk into the classrooms and share the love of Jesus with the students and explain their desperate need for him in their lives. 

As we were preparing for kids club I was personally challenged. The scripture for this week was Ephesians 6:10-20 which is about the armor of God. As we discussed what we would share with the children from that passage, I recognized that God was speaking to me. It has become so easy to just partially prepare for the battle we face each day Spiritually. Paul says though that the whole armor of a God is needed. As I thought about the use of each piece of armor it made perfect sense that every piece is needed each day. This really challenged me and brought deeper meaning and love for that piece of Scripture. 

As the Lord is at work in my life, I believe he is also at work in the lives of those we interact with on a regular basis. I am getting to know the children more and they are getting to know me better. The friendships I am building here are amazing as I interact with all ages. I am learning more about the culture and more of the language. I view this place as my home and the people here are apart of my family now. I asked for continued prayers as I serve here and specifically ask for prayer for those that do not know Christ that they may come to know him as their Lord and Savior. Thank you. 

All for the Glory of God 

 
Another kids club day has come and ended. We always spend time together in the morning before going worshiping in song and prayer. It was such a blessing this morning as Geoff lead us in song and I was able to surrender the day to the Lord and allow him to give me the strength and the energy I needed. He reminded me, as he reminded me this past week that I cannot live life on my own strength but need the strength from God each moment of every day. After leading kids songs and doing a skit for the children it was chai time. I was overflowing with energy and started playing tag with some of the children. It was hot and I was sweaty but I had so much energy and was able to enjoy myself as I ran around with the children. When it was time for class I realized how exhausted I was but God was still their to fuel me when my tank was getting low. As I went into the 7-10 class with Kay, we were prepared to teach but I was not prepared for the energy I was about to receive from the Lord. 

I am shy when it comes to talking or teaching in a group setting. Me and Kay had it figured out where I would do as little talking as possible without completely escaping the role of teaching. Well during class I got up and just started speaking to the children and did not even realize what I was doing. The Lord had placed an energy in me that when he gave me a small push, I ran. 

After kids club I got to go to a students house and enjoy some good Kenyan food and some fellowship with her and her family. It was awesome to be there and to get to connect with them as this girl has come to be a very good friend. I expected to be tired but God is faithful and was continuing to give me energy to complete the day. 

I came home and was able to sit down and focus and do some reading which never happens after kids club because I am usually so exhausted. Even now as I write this, it is very evident to me that God is blessing me with energy to write. This past week I was sick for a couple days and God really spoke to me about prayer, commitment, and relying on him for my energy and strength. I prayed today and asked for energy for today and as always he was faithful to answer. Thankfully he answered yes to my request! But I also entered the day committed to serve Jesus every where he lead me to and to give it my all serving him. It is awesome to look back on today and see how 3 basic things that he placed on my heart this past week have been playing out today in itself. Prayer. It is ever so important and something I need to make more time for in my walk. We are told to pray without ceasing and I must make that my goal hour by hour of each day. 

All for the Glory of God