Student Conference: What's a Girl To Do? Part 1

[Wow.  It's October already and I haven't finished posting about our trip in July!  What can I say?  It's been a wild couple of months with husband overseas for a while followed by the start of our school year and capped off with a cancer diagnosis for my Dad.  The pace of life can certainly sweep us away sometimes, but I am determined to see this blog through to completion.  Thank you all for your patience - JJ]



(back row) Drew and Emily, (front row) Tessa and Nathan with some of the students

On Saturday of our trip, I had the privilege of working with some of the young people on our mission team.  We were guest speakers at a Student Conference put together by our friend Edwin of Child Evangelism Fellowship.  I was definitely the "mama" of the team, which was fine by me because I thoroughly enjoyed watching these young people minister to the secondary students (High Schoolers) of the area.  A local school hosted the event and there were many secondary schools that attended.  We gathered together inside a large room for a time of teaching, then after lunch we divided into boy/girl groups to have a time of Q&A.

You know, I'm convinced that at their core, people (and teenagers) are the same everywhere in the world - it is their circumstances that affect their expression of who they are.  In America, we have endless choices for entertaining ourselves and in Africa they have to take things into their own hands...literally.  At the start of the conference, each school is given the chance to perform for each other...and I don't mean a hand-selected group of "cheerleaders" or even a group designated as a "choir."  No, they ALL stand up together and sing songs for each other.  Our team included a piano- er, Casio player, who would jump into their songs and provide accompaniment, otherwise the schools sang acapella.  It's fun to watch this African display of school spirit, and I've been privileged to see this sort of thing many times on my travels, but I just can't imagine American High Schools doing the same thing, can you?

The topic for the day was "Arise and Shine" in your relationship with God, in your personal devotions, in your academic performance and in your moral character - which brings up another difference between African and American schools...they welcome God into their studies!  The Bible is highly respected in African schools, even some Muslim schools, as a source of wisdom for how to live.  I wonder what would happen in America if God were allowed back into our schools?

The morning teaching went well but the highlight for our whole team was the Q&A time that afternoon.  This was a time where the kids were allowed to anonymously ask us anything by writing their questions down.  The girl's team represented a diverse sampling of life experiences: there was me, the old mama who had lived long enough to gain some perspective, Tessa, the young woman who recently turned her life back over to Christ, and Emily, the baby of the group who has chosen purity and actively makes choices based on that decision. 

The thing that we most enjoyed about the Q&A is that you felt like you were truly dialoging about issues the young people were grappling with.  Much of it has to do with the struggle between what they believe is right and the urges of what feels good.  Yep - teenagers are the same all over the world!  We fielded questions about purity, drinking, dating, Christianity, abortion, life at home, etc.  Three moments stand out in my memory that I hope never to forget.

Tessa received a question from a young lady struggling with a boyfriend whom she loved.  She answered with honesty and vulnerability as she described her own struggle with a man whom she loved.  Tessa told how she had become convicted that she was not behaving well in the relationship and that this young man had taken priority over God in her life so she made the very difficult decision to end the relationship.  She described the situation in detail and we could all feel her heartbreak, yet from that painful place, Tessa rejoiced that God had been faithful to draw near as she made the decision to obey his leading.  She encouraged the girls to put God first no matter how much they love their boyfriends.  She said that if a relationship leads them to behave in a way contrary to God's standard, then that relationship is not good for them.  I believe we were all moved by Tessa's testimony.

We had many questions about salvation so Emily took the opportunity to share the gospel one more time.  As a reminder, Emily was only 15 years old (she's turned 16 since then) so this was truly a peer sharing the Lord with the girls.  She did a wonderful job of speaking the truth with clarity and love and when it came time to pray, there were many girls who received Christ because of Emily's willingness to share.  Seeing her amongst the Kenyan teens while she led them in the prayer of salvation was beautiful.  Oh, how I wish her mama had been there for that precious moment!

Finally, the moment that affected me most personally was a question from a young woman that read:

"I just found out I am pregnant.  My parents have kicked me out of the house.  How can I find a way to stay in school and is abortion wrong?"

Tessa and Emily passed this question to me like a hot potato and I must admit that I was somewhat at a loss as to how to answer it.  I confessed that I didn't know what resources were available in Kenya for an un-wed pregnant teenager but I tried to encourage this young woman to find a trusted adult who would help her figure things out. 

One thing I was able to answer was the abortion part of the question.  I told them what the Bible had to say about life and how God knits us together in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13) and that God had a plan for each of us (Jeremiah 29:11).  I explained how science has recently determined that the neuro system is in place by 8 weeks and fully developed by 12 weeks and that in fact, the first feeling a baby in-utero feels is pain (see  http://www.abortionfacts.com/online_books/love_them_both/why_cant_we_love_them_both_14.asp#By%208%20weeks?%20Show%20me )  Then I described what an abortion does to a baby.  The group of girls literally gasped as I described the vacuum extraction ripping the baby into pieces.  I stuck to the facts biblically, scientifically and medically and let the girls decide for themselves if abortion was wrong or not. 

As we finished our Q&A session, I think I saw a young lady who was wearing her uniform blouse a little loose and perhaps I saw a baby-bump.  It broke my heart to imagine what her life must be like when school really is a place of hope for the young people.  Even with a diploma, future prospects are grim.  How much worse must it be for those who never finish or get to attend school at all.  I pray this young lady found the help she needs to stay in school and continue forward in life.

I'll get back to this young lady in part two of this story.  Stay tuned for more.

- Julie

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn." - Isaiah 60:1-3

Our view of the crowd during closing remarks at the conference.  Arise and Shine young people of Kenya!

Lisa's Story

[Today's guest blogger is my friend Lisa.  Let me tell you a little bit about Lisa; she is a single mom of 3 young boys.  She is not only a student, but she also works full time.  Lisa is also a fairly young believer who started attending our home group about a year ago.  Her heart is tender towards the Lord and I enjoy her honesty as she has shared her struggles with us over this year.  I've also learned a lot from Lisa watching her serve the homeless of our area.  The love and care she gave to the Kenyan people was beautiful to see.  Oh, if only I could have a little more "Lisa" inside me!

Another thing Lisa has struggled with is extreme fear, yet to see her in Africa you would call her FEARLESS!  Yes, God redeems all things and uses everything for good for those who love him and let him. 

The point I'm trying to make is that it doesn't matter what your life circumstances are or how "mature" you are in Christ (because really, are any of us truly mature in Christ?) - if God calls you to do something seemingly huge, like going to Africa, then he has a plan for you there and you should say "yes".  Do not let your perceived weaknesses hold you back from doing what God wants you to do.  He delights in being strong when we are weak! - Julie]

Lisa sharing her testimony of how God delivered her from debilitating fear.  You would never know she struggled with fear by watching her in Africa!  God is so good!

From Lisa:

I've been racking my brain, trying to think of an experience that I want to share, and for some reason I keep thinking about what is probably one of the simplest experiences of the whole trip.  In fact, if I didn't (for whatever reason) have such a strong feeling about this guy I probably would have over-looked the whole thing.

One day while we were at the crusade, this tall, slim guy, that had obviously been drinking, came up to Emily and me just as I had offered her some gum.  He proceeds to lay out his hand, palm-up, towards Emily, as if demanding that she should give him the stick of gum I had given her.  Emily and I look at each other in disbelief, and then she slowly gives up her gum.  The man then turns and struts back towards his friends, and they all start to laugh and mock us.

About thirty minutes later I sat down to listen to Nathan preach.  Shortly after I sat down the same guy walks up and sits next to me but I didn't feel threatened in any way!  As a matter a fact, I found the whole situation pretty comical.  I was kind of entertained by him-wondering what he was going to do next!  I watched him out of the corner of my eye the whole time.  I even got my camera out and snapped a picture of him.


He sat there and listened to Nathan the whole time, and when Nathan asked if anyone would come up to recieve the Lord in prayer the man began to get very restless!  I continued to watch him as he rocked back and forth, until finally he got up and walked up to the stage.  I was filled with joy as I watched him walk up and pray for salvation!

It was an amazing thing to see God at work in this man!  All I could do was watch!  It was like God was telling me, "Lisa, I want you to see how big I really am!  I want you to just sit back and enjoy what I'm about to do in this man's heart!"

Some might think, "Yeah, lets see if he remembers that when he sobers up!"  I personally think that man will never forget what God did to him that day - whatever it was!  I know I won't!  In fact, out of all the stories that I could have shared about our trip this one has been speaking volumes to my heart lately.

I've attached the two pictures that I got of him.  It's hard to see him up at the stage, because he is standing behind someone, but he is the guy facing towards the left in the center of the picture, behind the guy in grey.

Love ya!

Lisa

My Last Day On the Trails

On Thursday night I was given a choice of what I wanted to do with myself on Friday, walk trails or visit schools.  Truly I felt about 50/50 on the matter.  For me, visiting schools always came easier than walking trails but no matter my insecurities, walking trails was always a blessing in one way or another.  I deferred to our team leader, Tom, and told him he could make the decision for me. 

So when I got ready Friday morning, I honestly didn't know until breakfast what direction I would be going.  I soon found out that I would be hitting the trails one last time.  The old "missionary-stage-fright" came over me once again but I told God I would do whatever he wanted me to do, so I took a deep breath and jumped in.

Truly, by this point on the trip I was wondering what I had left to give of myself.  I felt tired and "spent" for lack of a better term.  Perhaps this is exactly what God was waiting for; less of me so I could be filled with more of Him.  I'm happy to report that I had an amazing time on the trails that day!

For the most part, my day was spent visiting people who were already Christians.  I noticed that Peter was opening our visiting time in prayer more than usual so I asked him how he could tell who was a believer and who wasn't.  He told me the first thing he did when he entered a home was to look at their walls for cues.  He was right.  By quickly looking at what people have hung on their walls you could determine who was a believer and who wasn't.  There were believers in every home we visited that day (with the exception of the last home) who simply needed encouragement.  For me, that can sometimes be harder than sharing the gospel because at least by this point on the trip, I'd had a lot of practice with it.
Each and every time I started a visit I thought to myself, "What on earth do you want me to share with this person, God?  What kind of encouragement can I give them?"  I'd look at that person and despite not having a CLUE as to what would come out, I'd open my mouth to speak.  I just have to say that God gave me specific words of encouragement for each and every person I met that day!  It was weird and wonderful all at the same time.  Every visit was different and every encouragement seemed catered to that person's situation even before I knew fully what their situations were!

One such visit was with a young man named James.  We made introductions, said a prayer and then I started talking about how hard it is to pray for something and not get the answer you want.  Somehow I started telling James the story of Chrissie Patterson and how hard we all prayed and how full of faith we were that God was going to heal Chrissie but that God ended up taking her home to be with Him instead.  Tears started flowing as I shared my heart about Chrissie and about my own struggle in trusting God's goodness and sovereignty even when it doesn't make sense to me.

[see http://allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com/ to read all about Chrissie and her amazing family]

James started crying with me, then said that he knew that God had brought me to his house because as of late, he had been struggling in his faith.  He said that his prayer was that God would one day remember him.  Then I shared about the prodigal son and pointed out that in this story it wasn't the Father who changed, it was the son who left.  The father was still the father.  When the son turned and headed towards home, it was the father who ran towards him - he was the one who bridged the distance, not the son.  I assured James that the Father did, in fact, remember him and had only been waiting for him to turn towards home again.

Then our visit really got going.  After we prayed together, I asked James if he had any questions or any other areas I could pray for him about.  [I should mention here that James had excellent English and no translation was needed.] 

"Why yes," James said, "In fact, my friends and I have been wondering about quite a few things lately."  Then he pulled out a written list!  He asked why believers still struggled with sin and temptation.  He asked why more churches didn't teach directly from the Bible.  We talked about God's love and character and what sin and repentance were all about.  We talked about works vs. faith, etc.  I'm sure I'm forgetting something here, but the point I want to make is that God lead me to scripture and gave me answers to each question James had.  That's pretty amazing for this 44 year old brain and nothing short of a miracle from God!  In one visit, I watched this young man go from being a tearful prodigal afraid he'd been forgotten by God to a hungry disciple desiring to know more and more of what God's Word says. 

It was a really long visit that felt a little bit like a test for me - did I really know answers to James' questions (according to scripture) and did I really believe all that we talked about?  By God's grace the answer was "yes".  Peter and I were both energized by our visit with James and left there feeling like we were the ones who had been encouraged.

We were running late getting back to the church and quite frankly, we weren't sure how to get back.  We were sort of walking through a maze that would periodically open up into someones farm where we would stop for another visit then ask directions.  I only shared the gospel one time that day and it was in the last house we visited.  Never before had sharing the gospel come so easily or with such eloquence.  I don't say that in a prideful way - no, not at all because I completely recognize that it wasn't me doing the talking.  The whole day had been too uncanny, too perfect, to have anything to do with my own abilities.  Clearly, God was on the move.  He also gave me a gift during that last visit; a picture of what repentance looks like.

The young father I was visiting with had a toddler sleeping in his lap with their head pressed against his chest.  He did not hesitate to receive Christ and after we had prayed, I opened my eyes and saw that he was crying.  Then God really opened my eyes to the scene before me.  I opened my mouth and started telling him what I saw. 

I told him that God's heart for us was a heart of love and that he held us close in his arms much like he (the young dad) was holding his own child.  That was the relationship that God desires to have with us.  Sometimes we act like fussy children who pull away and throw fits - that is our sin nature.  Just as this young dad couldn't embrace his child while they pulled away, neither could God hold us close when we fitfully go about trying to do things our own way.  Our sin (the fussiness in this analogy) separates us from that close relationship with the Father. 

I asked him to remember a time when his own child had reached up to him with outstretched arms asking to be held.  This was a picture of repentance.  When we stop fitfully insisting on living life our own way and turn to the Father, he is quick to pick us up and hold us close to him once again - that is forgiveness.  In fact, it is his pleasure to do so because he desires to hold us close once again.  God's heart is a Father's heart of love towards his children who he adores.

Hmm.  This whole thing was coming out of my mouth, but as the words came it was as if God were saying to my heart, "Julie, do you understand me now?  Do you know how much I love you?  Do you realize that repentance isn't punishment, but is a gift from a Father who loves you?  Don't be afraid of it.  I love to hold you close."

I can honestly say that I felt pure delight that day.  With each visit I felt more and more as if God were walking with me, holding my hand, giving me words to speak.  Is it possible that even though I was the one speaking encouragement to others I was also the one who received the most encouragement?  

Dear God, please do not let me forget this beautiful day!  No matter how old and senile I may one day be, please do not take this memory from my mind.  Help me to enjoy the gift of repentance you have given me and let me feel your heartbeat day after day.  I love you Lord and I thank you for my last day on the trails of Akala.  - Amen

What a day!  Peter, stop, I have to got to take a picture!

Stories from Brenda

[I asked some of the team members if they would contribute stories to the blog in order to give readers a bigger picture of the trip beyond my own perspective.  Today's guest blogger is our team leader's wife, Brenda.  Brenda and I made our first trip to Africa in 2007 and it was on that trip that I fell in love with her as my friend.  This year's Akala trip was her 4th.  I hope you all enjoy what she has to share! - Julie]

Brenda and Tom at Lake Nakuru.  The pink over
to the left is a large flock of flamingos

What a beautiful morning it had been. My translator Pastor Jackson and myself had been walking through the village of Akala, Kenya. Most of our walk that morning had been through gardens with an incredible view of the valley just beyond. It had been a fruitful morning and we had the opportunity to share with many people in the village.

We had just finished visiting with 6 women, 4 of whom were already born again believers. The two young woman that were not, listened to us share the love of Jesus Christ and his plan of salvation. Both of the women listened to us present the gospel and both surrendered their lives to Christ that day. Pastor Jackson asked one of the young women if she might introduce us to her neighbors. The first woman that we came in contact with was already a believer and she suggested that we go to another home in the area. Our guide took us to the recommended house and we were invited to come in by the lady of the home.

As we came into her mud hut she went into the room next to the main living area and woke up her husband. They both came into the living room and their son came in as well. The husband looked somewhat irritated that we were there but allowed us to share the gospel. When sharing the gospel we present it as the Bible containing both good news and bad news. The good news is about God but the bad news is about the rest of us. I started with the bad news. As long as I was sharing the bad news the man allowed me to continue, but as soon as I started talking about Christ and how he demonstrated his love for us, the man became increasingly irritated and started to raise his voice at Pastor Jackson and myself.  He told us we were wasting our time.

As the man continued to scream at us, I heard in my head, "Sing". I thought, "What?" and once again I heard, "Sing".  At this time all I could think of was the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy and so I began to sing!  The man looked completely startled and started to calm down somewhat.  He then walked out of the room and we were then able to continue sharing the gospel.  The woman was already a believer but the son surrendered his life that day.  When we left all Pastor Jackson said was, "Amazing Grace, Amazing Grace."

[How weird and wonderful is that story?! - Julie] 

My last day on the trails and also the last group of men that I came in contact with was a group of 4 men.  They were sitting outside of a business on a bench visiting with one another.  They had been listening somewhat as I presented the gospel to some other men near by.  The 4 men listened cordially enough but when I asked them if there was anything that would keep them from receiving Christ's free gift they each hesitated and then told me no, they did not want to accept Christ. 

Normally I would just thank someone for their time and go on my way, but not this time.  I was so sad to see how each of these men decided they didn't want to accept Christ because their friends were sitting there with them, so I decided to tell each of them what they had chosen this day.  I told them that what they had chosen was death, to be eternally separated for God and that some day each of them would have to stand before God and tell him why they had chosen not to follow him and that their friends would not be there with them.  I also told them that the next time God knocked on the door of their hearts, I prayed that they would allow him to come in.  At this point Pastor Jackson looked at the 4 men and said, "OK, they are ready to accept."  My prayer is that these men truly accepted Christ that day.

We all will have to give an accounting someday and I pray that each person who reads this blog stops and asks themselves if they have truly surrendered their hearts to Jesus Christ.  Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  Just as faith without action is dead, so Eph 2:8-9 tells us,  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.  Not by works, so that no one can boast." Please don't depend on your good works, your religion, baptism, or how much money you give. It is only through Jesus Christ in which we can be saved.

[Thank you for sharing with us, Brenda and for speaking from your heart.  Readers, don't take our word for it, take HIS Word for it, the Bible.  We're told in the Word that when we seek God with all our hearts, we will find him - Jeremiah 29:13.  This scripture was proven true in my own life so I believe it with all my heart for you.  Be blessed today! - Julie]

Jacobsen Night at the Crusade - Part Two

[Now, you know that the title of this post is meant tongue and cheek, right?  The crusade certainly was NOT our show, it just happened to contain a double dose of the Jacobsen family on this particular night.]

One of the greatest things about the trips we've taken as missionaries in Africa is that you are challenged to do things that are out of your comfort zone.  For some it is the anxiousness prior to hitting the trails, for others it is preaching and still sometimes, it's just getting on the bus to leave the hotel.  Thus was the case for our youngest team member, Emily, when she faced a day of sickness. 

Let me first say that Emily did a fantastic job this whole trip.  I never heard her complain and her attitude was always cheerful even when she felt sick.  Had her roommate not ratted her out to the old folks, we never would have known she felt bad at all because she just didn't complain.  She certainly had the option of staying at the hotel that day to rest, but she instead opted to get in the van and take her sickness on the road.  Brave girl!  Fortunately, she was able to rest at the church instead of walking the trails and she felt much better by the evening although not 100%.  Oh, did I mention that she was sharing her testimony that day?

Still smiling even though she felt bad!

There is very little shade at the livestock yard and the equator sunshine can be quite intense so Emily opted to sit with our backpacks that evening at the crusade instead of dancing with the kids.  Since I'm old and don't dance with kids anyway, I sat nearby.  What I saw in Emily that night has become one of my most precious memories of the trip. 

Two little girls, one of which held a baby on her hip the entire time, were fascinated with Emily's blond hair.  Emily sat patiently as they studied her long, thick braid then started making teeny-tiny braids in the tuft of hair below her rubber-band.  They worked for a very long time with that little bit of hair until a team member convinced Emily to take down her big braid.  As she did, the little girls gasped and quivered over those long blond strands!  I mean literally, their little hands shook with excitement in the air before they could compose themselves to start working - and work they did.  They took to braiding for as long as they could - that being the moment Emily had to walk up on stage.  It was absolutely precious to see these little girls with their live Barbie-doll-head and even though "Barbie" wasn't feeling well enough to dance and play, her willingness to sit patiently with a smile on her face blessed these children more than she will ever know.  The joy on their faces rivaled the most indulgent of Christmas celebrations and it didn't cost Emily a thing!  Let that be a lesson to us all. 

The crusade went well that evening.  Emily had me in tears with her story of self-doubt and faith restored.  She also honored her family, particularly her older brother, in such an awesome way that it warmed the hearts of all who listened that night.  Stephanie was next to share her story of single-motherhood and how God redeemed her life.  I was the last testimony of the evening.

Honestly, all I remember is that I apparently talked too long...not surprising!  I've also been told that I was pretty fired-up...also to be expected when I'm handed a microphone.  I can't remember my words exactly, but there is a song by Casting Crown's that sums up the whole experience for me when it says:

If I could rise up high and catch the glimpse of every eye,

I would make them believe what I feel inside!

That is exactly what it feels like to me to speak at an African crusade.  You're there, raised up high on a platform, handed a microphone and then given the freedom to implore people to believe what you know to be true: Jesus Christ changes lives!  I know that it isn't my job, nor is it within my power to make people believe and follow Jesus - my job is to just share what he's done for me and let God take care of the rest - but OH HOW BADLY I WISH I HAD THE WORDS TO DESCRIBE WHAT IS IN MY HEART WHEN IT COMES TO GOD'S IMPORTANCE IN MY LIFE!  Surely, if I could adequately explain my life experience to people, let them feel what it was like to walk in my shoes then to experience what God did for me in my most devastated place in life, surely they would want to know my Jesus for themselves. 

Ha!  If I'm getting long-winded talking about the crusade experience, you can just imagine how long-winded I was that night.

Next up on stage was my awesome husband, Pastor Dave.  For those who have never met us I should explain that in many ways my husband and I are alike and in one specific area we are polar opposite.  I am definitely the emotional one in this relationship and he is the logical "rock" that I cling to.  No, seriously, we even had our compatibility grafted as part of our pre-married counseling and our graft lines went up and down side by side except for this one area.  Suddenly the graft split apart with my crest of emotion pointing one direction and his crest of logic pointing as far in the other direction as the paper would allow! 

While I am thrilled with the whole "hand me a microphone" experience, Dave is much more reserved.  As he explains it, it's not the public speaking that bothers him, but the preparation for what he is going to say that makes him uncomfortable.  He'll have to explain his experience to you himself, but from where I was sitting Dave did an incredible job preaching that night.  He spoke with such composure - even his body language was strong and didn't hint at all to the insecurity inside.  What I was most impressed with was his altar call.

At first, nobody came forward which would have completely unnerved me, but Dave stood there perfectly composed, waiting quietly while he studied the crowd.  I'm sure I would have started waving my arms and raising my voice - anything to illicit a response - but Dave waited calmly and reiterated himself peacefully.  Still, no one came forward, but as I glanced to my right, there was a young woman weeping to herself.  One of the African pastors came forward to speak while Dave continued studying the crowd.  I saw my friend Brenda cross the yard and sit with the young woman who was weeping.  The next thing I knew, that young woman came forward to receive Christ while Brenda held her close in her arms.  They stood there in front of the stage, alone, for the longest time while the woman cried and prayed and worshipped the Lord.  Then another person came forward, then another, and another.  The first woman fell to her knees and continued her worship while still another person came forward to accept Christ.  It was a beautiful scene to behold.

Thanks to the Jacobsen family (okay, probably because of the emotional long-winded member of this family) our drive back to the hotel took place in the dark.  Couple darkness with those crazy strips of road and you have yourself one wild ride!  It was an exciting end to another wonderful day in Kenya.

Until next time -

Julie

Jacobsen Night at the Crusade - Part One

[Sorry for the long delay between posts.  I've been traveling with the kids.]

Hanging out after the trails.  I SO BADLY wanted to try that ladder!

Every afternoon around 4 we served as guest speakers at a crusade meeting.  The crusades consisted of music from our African worship team followed by Mzungu testimonies and a Gospel presentation which include an invitation  to receive Christ.  Tonight it would be my turn to share testimony and Dave's job to preach the message.  More about that later, first let me tell you about my day on the trails.

It really was another great day!  Yes, the old anxiousness returned prior to stepping out (could it be called missionary stage fright?) but the nerves were quickly abated as I began my first visit with the local hooch-man.  That's what I'm calling him, "Hooch Man" because his job was to make and sell moonshine called chang'aa.  Chang'aa is nasty stuff!  We were told that it only took one drink to get you drunk and the drunks we saw seemed like they were in another world - which made us wonder if there was also a hallucinogenic quality to the stuff.  Given that they use methanol to ferment the stuff, I wouldn't be surprised.  [see http://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/kenyas-kill-me-quick-moonshine/ for more info]  Tourists are warned that even one drink could kill you - literally.  In fact, during our trip, 17 people in the slum of Kibera (outside of Nairobi) died in one night from drinking the same nasty brew!

Anyhow, the crusade stage was set in the livestock trading yard which was just across the road from the new church.  At the opposite end of the yard was the hooch house.  We were welcomed in by a tall, broad-shouldered man who offered us a seat in the shade.  As we entered I saw an older woman spreading out a corn mixture over a tarp to dry it in the sun.  Next to that, the hooch man was stirring a big cauldron of something.  I innocently asked my translator what she was drying and he told me the ingredients to make alcohol.  We had to walk through the smoke of the cauldron to take our seats and WHOOEE!  Potent smells were in the air!  I was grateful we didn't sit in the direct path of the hooch pot because I'm sure I would've become tipsy on the fumes alone.

I assumed we would have resistance to the gospel from the hooch man because in Africa, Christians do NOT drink, therefore those who make their living event remotely related to the hooch industry (i.e. the farmer selling corn) believe they aren't allowed to be Christian.  Unfortunately, they've gotten this idea from well-meaning believers who have told them so.  I was prepared to give a response to that assumption, but to my surprise the hooch man received the Lord gladly along with 3 others who had sat down to visit with us!  You just never know.

I saw the hooch man at every crusade meeting and I heard from another team member that he had received Christ at one of the crusade meetings earlier in the week.  Whatever the case might have been, I saw him worshipping God several times throughout the week and no - I never saw him drunk (just his clientele).  Yes, I'd like for the hooch to stop, but it isn't my place to give this man a bunch of rules to live by.  It is God that brings gentle conviction to change, not condemnation which only leads to a rule-based faith.

Another interesting visit I had was with a man named Lawrence who was the landlord for a local property.  We visited under a tree where he was receiving payment from his renters and balancing his books.  He shared with us his frustration with some churches who by his account only wanted your money and cared nothing for you as a person.  He asked good questions about the new church and what they believed.  He also told us about a radio advertisement for a man coming to town claiming to be God and asked what we thought about it.  You can guess what I had to say about that!  Lawrence listened intently as I shared that true salvation came only through Jesus Christ then prayed to entrust his life to the Lord. 

Pastor's House Behind Church

There were others that day - the young mother washing her floors, the household of women who wanted to clarify some of the rumors they'd been hearing, the old man named Joshua we met along the road who wanted prayer for his broken hip and the young man I spontaneously felt compelled to share my testimony with.  Yes it was a great day for visiting with the people of Akala. 

After walking the trails, the Mzungus met in the pastor's house for lunch then had a couple of hours to rest and prepare for the afternoon crusade meeting.  Since David was preaching and I was giving testimony (along with Stephanie and Emily) we retreated to the church building to grab some quiet time.  Throughout this trip there were children wandering in and amongst the Mzungus all day long and that afternoon was no exception.  The kids were being very well behaved that afternoon and at one point, Peter sat several of them down for "lessons".  I wish you could hear their sweet little accents as they tried to repeat the English phrases Peter was teaching them:

This pic is dark, but it is Peter teaching
the children - Wish you could see
his face more clearly

"Jesus is my friend."
"I love Jesus."
"The Mzungus are my friend."

Then in a child-like voice (imagine it very high pitched) Peter starts teaching them Joy to the World, phrase by phrase.  Some of us started singing with them from our various places around the room, quietly at first, but then louder and more confidently as the children started mastering the song.  We laughed a little as we all tried to remember the 2nd and 3rd verses but all in all, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!  Then young Nathan from our team - who happens to be a fantastic singer by the way - asked Peter to teach him a song in Swahili.  Poor Nathan had to put up with my questions for the rest of the trip on how to pronounce things, but in the end I too learned the little ditty called Mambo Sawa Sawa.

I'm glad they wrote down the lyrics!

Mambo sawa sawa, 
Mambo sawa sawa,
Yesu akiwa inkini
Mambo sawa sawa,
Mambo sawa sawa,
Mambo sawa sawa

Things are very better
Things are very better
When Jesus is on the throne
Things are very better
Things are very better
Things are very better

To be continued...

Pastor Dave gathering his thoughts for the crusade. 
Yep, these trips really stretch your comfort zone!

My Trip to Death Row

For our second day of ministry, the majority of the team worked in the village during their weekly market, but my teammate Keith and I were sent to the prisons.  On past trips our team would do prison ministry just one time during the week, but Morris asked us to visit prisons everyday this time around.  Our team this year was already pretty small but to accommodate this request, we split our school teams into school/prison teams.  This meant only 2 of us went one place or the other.  This would be my first time to work inside an African prison.

I was the only female in our entourage that day and it was a little intimidating.  Our group included myself and Keith, Pastor Morris, Pastor Samson from Kisule, our translator Isaiah and another Mzungu we had met named Brad Harris.  Brad was currently living with his family in Kisumu and attending Samson's church.  His mission is to disciple and encourage existing churches of the area but I'll tell you more about Brad in another post.

My mind that day was occupied with thoughts of what I would say and my eyes were distracted by all the sites we saw out the window on our drive.  Poor Keith had an un-characteristically quiet Julie to contend with that day!  I was trying to be sensitive to cultural differences as well and lay down my loud-American tendacies - especially as a woman with a van full of men headed to a prison full of men.

There was a lot of driving and waiting that day.  First we had to make the one hour trip back into Kisumu.  Then we waited at a local grocery store - a Kenyan Walmart if you will - to wait for the Prison Ministry liason, Pastor Moses.  Morris was with us that day and he invited us to browse the store as we waited.  For those of you who have met Morris, he is a reserved man of few words.  Crusing hair products and magazines with the man was a little surreal!  Oh, and the things I saw on the magazines were bothersome.  One was a fashion magazine called African Woman and some of the blurbs on front were "Abortion: is it Wrong?" and "The Controversy of Multiple Births".  I wished for my own money at that point so I could pick up the magazine and see what they had to say. 

You see, abortion is currently illegal in Kenya but it is currently being considered for cases where the life of the mother is threatened (and yes, American money is pushing that agenda).  I don't want to get all political on my Africa blog, but for those who follow the abortion controversy, you know what a slippery slope this new legislation is for the people of Kenya.  Enough said about that.

Eventually, Moses arrived and we were off to purchase gifts for the prison.  This led us off the beaten path onto narrow city streets filled with commerce of every kind.  It was fascinating that we could fit our van down those streets at all since they were extremely narrow and congested with all manner of vehicle.  To make matters worse, there were periodic ditches dug right into the center of the road - BIG ditches - like the kind that if you ran into one your whole front end would be swallowed into a hole.

After what seemed like a long time hunting down gifts, we finally arrived at the prison.  Sorry, no pictures at this point but maybe in the future Keith will share some of his with me.  We were ushered into the chaplain's office for formal introductions while the inmates were gathering in the courtyard outside.  The chaplain explained that all the men we would be visiting with that morning were condemned either to life in prison or to death.  Those on death row never knew when their time was up until their name was called and they were taken to the gallows.  Condemned men are hung in Kenya.

My job that day was to share my personal testimony and Keith shared the Gospel.  I was told that the leading problem within the prison system was sexual immorality.  That, coupled with the knowledge of my own story, made me scrutinize how far I should go with my testimony.

We were ushered in by armed guards into a wide courtyard.  Surrounding the courtyard were block houses that looked something like small airport hangers with iron doors on the front.  No windows.  We were told that at night, hundreds of men were locked inside their "block" and left in the dark without any resources, or guards, until morning.  Apparently they were given buckets to urinate in, but that was about all.

The prisoners wore stereotypical black and white striped clothing.  Again, a little initimidating to be the only woman in that crowd, but they were kept at a distance and we weren't allowed to mingle.  After more introductions were made, it was my turn to share.  After sitting quietly in the van for so long, it was good to open my mouth and use my voice.  We didn't have a microphone so I had to project my voice loudly for all to hear.  This was also the first time in a long while that I had shared my testimony.  It just felt good to let it out again.  I can only pray that God was in control of my words since I'm not totally sure what I said.  I tried to explain that I too was a prisoner of shame and guilt and had even gone so far as to condemn myself to death (i.e. suicidal tendancies) before crying out to God.  I also emphasized portions of Psalm 18 as it related to my story:

"The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears." [vs.4-6]

"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.  They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." [vs.16-19]

I encouraged the men that no matter their circumstances, God could bring their hearts and their souls into "spacious places" if they would only trust in him.  Keith shared the gospel and many men received Jesus that day.  I guess I should explain that there were already many believers within that prison.  They even sang worship songs for us when we arrived.  Hope lived amongst the condemned which was a very cool thing to see.
  

Here's a typical Kenyan security fence...shards of glass mortered onto a fence.  What creative security we choose for ourselves.  Are there prison walls you need to break down with the help of Christ?

 
Our next stop was to what they called the "medium" prison, which was filled with men sentenced for periods of time that would one day be released.  We were told that many of these men came from the surrounding rural areas.  It was a smaller population than the condemned audience, but it was heartbreaking to see how young they all looked.  These were young men who were making bad choices early in life.  I wanted to encourage them to choose differently once they were released.  For this visit I used the Prodigal Son story to frame my testimony.  Again, not totally sure what came out of my mouth, but the point I wanted to emphasize was the restoration displayed in that story.  The son reasons that it would be better to be his father's slave than to continue the life he was living so he decided to beg for a job.  Scripture tells us:
 
"He got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." [Luke 15:20]
 
I just love that.  The father ran towards him and received him as he was!  This is what God did for me and told them it was what God would do for them.  Again, Keith shared the gospel and men came forward to receive.  There were less restrictions with this group of men so we were able to shake hands and encourage our new brothers before leaving that day.
 
Gratefully, Keith and I were deposited back at the hotel that evening instead of journeying back out to Akala to pick up the rest of the team.  I caught a nap and did some journaling and all was right with the world.  The team came back with great stories from the trails and again we enjoyed worshipping together that night.  Hopefully Dave will have time in his busy work schedule to sit down and tell you about his day.  For me, I can only hope that the story of my messed up life before Jesus helped to bring change to at least one person that day.  I will never see those men again this side of heaven, but I'm hopeful some of them will be there to greet me when I go home to the Lord one day.
 
What a great reunion that will be!
 
- Julie

Old Friends and New Trails - The Work Begins

Akala at last!

The village of Akala is Northwest of Kisumu and just past the village of Holo where I had served in 2007 during my first trip to Kenya.  It is a vibrant town with one of the largest weekly markets of that region.  Unfortunately, it took an hour to get there from our hotel and these roads were definately NOT improved!  For those of you who thought anything about these trips resembled a vacation, please know that the beginning and end of each day was spent on one of the worst roller-coaster rides you could imagine...the Kisumu road.  Sections of it were so distorted with crater-sized pot holes that drivers gave up on lanes and just positioned their cars wherever they found a smooth spot - which of course meant that all the cars were gunning for the same areas of road.  The ultimate game of chicken!

Sharp-left = goats, dodge-right = children, hit the hole, gun the engine, beep the horn, dodge the bicycle then sharp-left, hard right BOOM, hit the hole!  Roll down the window. I feel nauseous.  Breathe in the diesel fumes and gag.  Wow, look at that beautiful scenery!

Yes, we had a wild ride each and every day, but what treasures lay at the end of our journey.  One pleasantly weird thing that happened was that as we passed the village of Holo we could see the church I had helped to start off in the distance.  It made me feel like I was "home" in a weird way - like the feeling when you've been away from your parents for a long time and then you pull into their driveway.  Weird to have such a familiar feeling for such a foreign place.

We arrived to the new church late, which meant we missed worship time (boo-hoo! Love me some African worship) but we were greeted by a roomful of familiar faces.  It was so wonderful to smile and hug and visit with our African friends.  Most of the translators this year were men, but we were blessed by the gracious presence of Zappora (whose name I'm sure I misspell).  Zappora is the wise and gentle wife of Boaz, the head master of the Bible College.  The last time I saw Zappora was as Brenda and I were being whisked away from a women's conference in Uganda 2 years ago.  She had inspired us all with a teaching about the lineage of Christ pointing out the colorful women contained therein.

There was also Sosapeter, the pastor from Holo and Eliakim, a much loved young man who we were glad to hear was married and pastoring his own church.  David greeted his translators from years past and introduced me to some of his friends that I did not yet know.  While all this greeting was going on, I looked over the shoulders of the group I was standing with and saw a young man cautiously checking me out from the corner of his eye.  It was my young friend, Martin, who walked the trails with me my first visit to Kenya!  I went straight to him and asked if he recognized me and he said with his finest English, "Yes.  Julie Jacobsen."  How fun to see him after all these years.  It was also an answered prayer since he lives right in the hot-spot of turmoil during the election violence of 2007 and I wasn't sure until that day if he were dead or alive.

We were then partnered with our translators.  David was off to the prisons that day with a group of pastors, but I was partnered with my new friend, Peter, an elder of the Holo church.  After everyone was paired up, Martin volunteered his services to us for the day so I was blessed with two translators instead of one!  It would prove to be a lovely day.

Young Martin from Kisule and Peter from Holo Community Bible Church

Before I left, one of my friends who contributed financially to the trip challenged me to make a difference in the lives of 10 people.  Lisa, I dedicate this day to you!

Walking alone with a translator into an impoverished African village to share the gospel and invite people to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior is an intimidating prospect.  You all know I'm an extrovert, but without fail I always start my trail days anxiously.  I worry that I won't explain things well, or that I'll sound like a crazy person, or that I'll meet a crazy person, or that I'll somehow let God down by messing up the whole thing.  As we started our work that day my mind was racing with pep-talk.  I took a deep breath and thought that I'd just ease into thing a bit.

HA!  God showed us his sense of humor that day.  For Dave it was finding out the night before that he would be preaching in the prisons his first day in-country (not his favorite task) and for me - well, let me explain.

The first group we approached was a gathering of about 10 men sitting under the shade of a bus stop.  Nothing like jumping in with both feet!  They were very attentive and things were going well when all of a sudden, a drunk man named John started asking questions.  I realized he wasn't in his right mind, but he asked some good questions.  He stated that he wanted Jesus but he also wanted his drink.  Not sure what came over me, but I became very direct with this man and told him that the enemy was using alcohol to destroy his life and that ultimately it was his own choice whether or not he chose Jesus or the drink.  All this while the rest of the 10 men watched me intently.  I figured I was just the visiting Mzungu so why not just go for it, right?  Yep, I was in all the way now!

Our next visit was less intimidating as we enjoyed visiting with some women.  Then we walked into farm fields and were invited into private homes.  One older gentleman was eating outside under a tree, but when he saw us coming he left his food and invited us into his home.  We had a good visit with he and his wife and they both received Christ.  Then he told us the coolest thing.  He said that normally he would not leave his food and his work behind to greet visitors, but he said he could sense our good character and saw that a Great Spirit was walking with us so he felt compelled to welcome us.  How awesome is that?!  I had prayed many times that the Holy Spirit would walk ahead of us on the trails and here was a man saying he sensed that very thing!

They were so nice and they asked me to stay for tea.  I respectfully declined and here's where God's humor kicked up again...They offered me a thank-you blessing of avacados and not your run of the mill Haas variety that we find around here.  No, I'd calculate that each of these gigantic avacados weighed at least 1 pound each and they gave me 11 of them!!  Now, one of my worries was that I wasn't physically strong enough to walk the trails this year, yet here I was adding 11 additional pounds to my bakpack that I would have to carry for the rest of the day!  Very funny God!  Yet I was so honored by their gesture of thanks and almost felt like I had been "annointed" by the Avacados.  It was a pleasure to carry them with me the rest of that day.

With one of the avacados I tried to save.  It was shriveling by the time I took this photo, but it still wielded some weight to it!  I had given away all but this one.

We visited with others that day, of course, some believers and others just choosing to believe.  HEY LISA, I had 10 names on my list at the end of the day of people who made a decision to follow Jesus!  Your donation helped to make a definitive difference in the lives of these people but all I did was deliver the message - it will be God who brings the change!  Thank you again for your help.

The final bit of humor God threw my way was in regards to the children's ministry that afternoon.  Running a fun kid's group is not my forte' but I had spent some time the day before getting ready.  Problem was, I realized about an hour and a half before start time that I had left all the children's church materials behind in the van that morning and they were now enjoying a visit to the prisons!  Yep - my whole team had to wing it without any resources at our disposal at all!  That wasn't so funny, but we made it through.

It was a good first day on the trails of Akala.  The people were welcoming and the work satisfying.  We all survived and kept cheerful attitudes intact.  Our prayers were answered and lives were changed.  All the while I felt God's smile upon us throughout our day as if he took real pleasure in being with us.  I'm also pretty sure I heard him laughing!

I hope you enjoy your own laugh with the Lord today!

- Julie

On the Road

Let's hear it for the boys! (L-R) Dave, Keith & Drew, Tommy, Nathan, Tom, Pastor Morris Ogenga

Hey Ladies! (back row L-R) Stephanie, Lisa, Emily, Brenda, Julie, Erin, Leslie, Tessa McG (ground) Tessa part deux and Sherry

Today was road trip day as we departed Nairobi for Kisumu in the capable hands of our drivers Jimmy and Moses.  We were up early for breakfast, worship and devotional then it was hit the road time.

One of my concerns for this team is that we did not have a worship leader per-se, but again, God exceeded my expectations.  Dave woke up that morning with an old worship song in his head that he not only wanted to lead the group in singing, but he wanted me to come up with a little circle dance for as well!  It was great fun and everybody raised their voices, moved their bodies and had a great time worshipping the Lord.  Then someone else chimed in with a song choice and we sang that one too.  There was so much happiness in that room!  Worship would continue in that vein for the rest of the week with different team members taking turns being the leader by picking worship songs to sing acapella.  Really, it was the best worship ever of all the trips I have been on. 

Nairobi was a mess as always.  I know it had been a few years since I had been back, but it seemed like the area outside the Guest House looked more impoverished and trashy than ever.  There also seemed to be a large population of men peeing on the side of the road!  We probably saw 3 that morning alone, but the trend would continue throughout the week to the point where we began imagining a peeing-man-of-the-month calendar and started labeling those we saw as "Mr. October, Mr. November, etc."  Yep, spend too much time in a van looking at slum-like conditions and your mind can slip right into the gutter!

The long van ride to Kisumu is physically hard because the roads are so rough - although I will say this year they seemed improved - but that long ride affords you the chance to get your mind wrapped around the culture and the people you are about to work with.  Staring out the window, seeing the people and how they live, waving our Mzungu hands at wide-eyed children and making them smile, these are the things that get your head in the game.  I like the long drive and I think Kenya is a beautiful country. 

Not long after getting out of Nairobi you come upon an overlook of the Great Rift Valley.  It was foggy for us so the visibility was low, but I can say from years past that it is stunningly beautiful.  The overlook sits high on a ridge and as you look down there are several large ridges that lead to the valley.  The ridges are natural (I think) but they are spacious enough that people live and farm on them.  Then as your eye scans the horizon it is nothing but flat savanna and farm land as far as you can see.  In the distance you can see a lake with blotches of pink covering it which are actually flocks of fishing flamingos (say that 10 times fast) and when the sun hits the water, the pink is a brilliant highlight to the sparkling blue.

The road then leads you into farmland and eventually into the higher elevations where the tea plantations are.  There is a town called Kericho which is surrounded by tea plantations.  In fact, I'm sure the plantations came before the town since one of the leading brands of Kenyan tea is named Kericho after it's plantation.  The road through this area is higher up and the vista is of rolling mountainside filled with row after row of dense tea hedges.  Surrounding the tea fields are forests of eucalyptus.  Scattered amongst the hedges are men and women harvesting the new growth off the top which is the part used for tea.  This scene continues for several miles. 

Some of the land is cleared for schools and row houses where the workers live.  I asked Aidah if this was a good life to have, working on the plantations, and she said it was a very hard job, but that it was a pretty good life since you were provided a home during harvest season.  For me, it was the closest thing I could imagine to what the deep South might have been at one time.  Yes, the white-washed row houses looked nicer than other homes we had passed, but I wondered in reality how many people lived inside each one and how well they were treated by the plantation foreman.

The road to Kisumu was much improved since my last time traveling it.  There were less pot-holes and sections of dirt-only road.  Still, there is the hazardous practice of passing slow drivers along the way.  Our driver would ride up on their bumper and keep swaying outward checking for a clearing, then when he was ready he would give a friendly "beep-beep" with the horn as warning then gun our little van around the obstacle.  At home, I just don't pass cars unless I have miles of visibility, but in Kenya it's more like a game of chicken.  If you can get in the way first, you can succeed in making the other guy swerve out of your way!  My friends and loved ones must have been praying hard that day because I wasn't nervous about it at all.

The trip to Kisumu took 8 hours, including a lunch break in the town of Nakuru.  We arrived at our hotel exhausted, but glad to be out of the van.  The hotel was decent enough, but the food wasn't great and there were many team members who lacked air conditioning.  I kept reminding myself that the average Kenyan would feel like a King staying in our hotel which helped me keep things in perspective.  My biggest complaint was with the lack of water pressure.  I absolutely hate cold showers and to couple that with not enough pressure to wet my hair...let's just say it was my cross to bear.

Yet still, despite the challenges of the road and the hotel, our team kept in good spirits ready to begin our work.  I had prayed that day for continued cheerfulness no matter what and God answered that prayer.  Throughout this trip I saw Phillipians 4:13 live and in action:

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Even cold showers!

- Julie

Mission Accomplished!

We have returned from Kenya!  Our trip went amazingly well and there are stories to tell.  I will attempt to give you a day-by-day account but the posts will be slow in coming.  David is on his way to England and we will be sharing writing duties - with the time difference and the amount of work he is facing there, posting may come slowly.  Be patient and I know you will be blessed.

We were extremely blessed on this mission.  The team worked well together and everyone seemed to embrace a servant's attitude throughout the trip.  It all started with airports, of course, but even in our waiting time, I saw God at work.

For instance, we flew out of Houston, which is a 3 hour drive for us.  We arrived in time to eat a little lunch then sat around waiting for our first flight.  We all wore our Bondo team t-shirts and this young African man was sitting nearby.  Dave started chatting with him then he called me over.  I was introduced to Sean of Nigeria as the "author of the blog".  You see, he saw our shirts and wondered what Bondo was so he googled it on his i-phone and this website appeared.  He asked David about it and he told Sean that he was, in fact, married to the "author" of that very site!  This led to talk about our mission, etc. and before we finished visiting, this young man spoke blessing in God's name over our team and over the work we were heading out to do. 

After 9 hours or so on that first flight we found ourselves waiting in the Amsterdam airport.  Since we were headed to Nairobi there were many Africans waiting for the same flight.  One larger group had just finished a convention in Las Vegas (yes, the epitome of the impression you don't want to leave as an American) and they were passionately discussing the oil leak in the Gulf.  Because of our t-shirts, they struck up conversation with some of our team members about where we were headed.

[A quick shout-out to John Powell of Print This, San Marcos TX for the shirts that got our conversations rolling!]

I hadn't slept well on the flight so I felt zombie-like and kept quietly to myself, but what I observed in that room was a team of people already embracing the African people.  It was really beautiful to see how engaged many of our team members were in various conversations.  At one point, a man from the Vegas group grabbed David by the hand and drug him to the other side of the room to introduce him to the "Minister of Immigration" for Kenya who apparently had some connection to the Bondo region.  Dave said he was introduced then left alone with the man to visit.  Before it was all said and done they had discussed the mission and David was handed a Christian book that some man there had written about Joshua.

After another 8 hours we landed safely in Nairobi.  It was great to see Aidah and Morris again and to hug their necks on their home turf.  We were also happy to see two of our favorite drivers, Jimmy and Moses, who were scheduled to be with us all week.  It was a happy reunion there in the dark of the airport parking lot!

We were taken into Nairobi to the Methodist Guest House for the night.  It was there we ran into a *Mzungu couple that had been on our flight.  Dave and I, plus Tom and Brenda, sat down with them at dinner to discuss why we were all in Kenya.  They were school teachers from NYC who were headed into the slum of Kibera for the week. [check out http://www.kslum.org/aboutkibera.htm for more info].  Not only did we talk about mission work, but we also discussed homeschooling and we were hopefully able to answer some of their questions.

I suppose what I'm trying to emphasize is that the mission work wasn't limited to Akala, Kenya - it began in Houston and continued throughout our travels.  Scripture tells us that we are ambassadors for Christ and like earthly ambassadors, you just don't travel unnoticed.  If you're in the public, you are "on" doing your ambassador thing.  It was so lovely to observe the friendliness of our team in action throughout our travels.  I went to bed that night anticipating that this trip would be one of the best.  God would soon exceed my expectations!

Until next time -

Julie

*Mzungu = White person.  You'll be hearing this word alot from here on out.

Happy Birthday Saida!

She might not appreciate my posting this picture, since nowadays you're likely to see her with her hair done and makeup on, but I liked this photo so...HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET SAIDA!  Hard to believe how fast 14 years can pass!  You bring beauty to our family and help to keep all those squirrely boys in their place.  I'm so glad God brought you to us!

Sadly, we will be leaving for Africa on Saida's special day, but we leave her in capable hands and know she will have a wonderful time.  While she is celebrating with friends, we will be boarding an airplane for Kenya!  

Yes, our time of preparation is almost done and the trip has finally arrived.  This blog will remain silent for a couple of weeks since we will not have access to the Internet while we are in-country.  When we return, I hope to relay our experiences to you in detail.   Until then, thank you to all who have followed this journey since "Eating for Africa" and have supported us with your prayers, finances and words of encouragement. 

We would appreciate your continued prayers throughout our journey since it is clear to us that the enemy has been "prowling around [our team] looking for someone to devour".  He might be hungry for a kill, but the Lion of Judah is going to kick his scrawny butt!  Oh - is that not polite of me to say?

May God bless you, keep you, make His face to shine upon you and give you PEACE.

- Julie

I Know You're There Lord

Tonight the CCC Prayer Ministry Team met with our Bondo mission team to hear our needs and pray over us for the trip.  What a sweet time of togetherness, with each other and with the Lord.  At one point I really want to fall on my knees, but of course second-guessed myself for a while.  When I opened my eyes preparing to make a move, I saw that almost all of our team has prostrated themselves already - so I joined them!  By the end of it all, we had all humbled ourselves before God and it was just...perfect.

Without disclosing details of other people's stories, I was amazed to hear how many of our team have been under spiritual attacks these past few weeks.  Many team members shared how current situations in their lives had been mentally all-consuming, distracting and heartbreaking.  There were many commonalities in our prayer needs.  My heart ached for some of the situations and it really brought losing the UK trip into better focus for me.  In short, I'm okay with it now.

I believe Satan has been trying to divert our team from the battle ahead and I see all of these attacks as an ambush from enemy forces.  Those grenades have really been flying in everyones lives, so I reiterate:

"No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD. - Isaiah 54:17

We'll spend the rest of this week in final preparations which for me equates to housework and loving on my kids.  There is laundry to finish, luggage to pack and bug spray to purchase.  Yes, the business of these final days will continue but by the grace of God I choose to give my worries to Him and go about my business enjoying the "peace that surpasses all understanding".

I leave you with a favorite song to enjoy.  Just pretend it is me singing it because I agree with every word sung.