Less then 48 hours!

Departure is looming large for Team Kenya! Please continue to keep us in prayer, and be in prayer for our mission! Please pray for our team leaders (they will need patience with us!), for safety, and that we are in God's will. We thank everyone who has become a part of our ground team, supporting us here at home, and for all of the prayer warriors who continue to intercede on our behalf!

If you want to see where we will be, here is a google earth map:

http://travelingluck.com/Africa/Kenya/Rift+Valley/_198073_Ewaso+Ngiro.html#local_map

We hope to post a few messages from Kenya, as conditions and access to internet permit! Again, thanks to everyone!

Just a few more days until departure!

This has been an exciting few weeks for team Kenya! Sadly, one of our team mates, Reggie, will not be making the trip with us. We know that God has a plan for Reggie, and we all appreciated having the chance to get to know him - he is a wonderful man with a heart for the Lord. But joining us will be Dennis Curran! We are all excited about serving with Den, and know that his love of the Lord, devotion to being the "hands and feet", and his spunky spirit will be a great addition to our team.

We have been SO blessed with all of the donations and all of the prayers for our mission trip. THANK YOU EVERYONE!! It is just amazing how God places people in our path, and how He has touched the heart of so many with the willingness to give and to do. Our suitcases are so stuffed with medical supplies we barely have room for our clothes!

Please continue to pray that we are in His will. "Lord God, your Son came among us to serve and not to be served, and to give his life for the world. Lead us by his love to serve all those to whom the world offers no comfort and little help. Through us give hop to the hopeless, love to the unloved, peace to the troubled, and rest to the weary; through your son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." from the Lutheran Book of Worship

Team Fundraiser - August 29th

Everyone is invited to stop by the home of Karl and Tracy Jentzsch at 16 W. Cherry St in Rising Sun - help us raise funds to get our team to Africa! Join the fun - Support the Cause - Bring lots of friends!! From Noon to Two pm, we will have the following companies on hand: Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Usborne Books, Premiere Jewelry and Longaberger Baskets. All proceeds benefit the mission trip! We will also have information about the trip on hand, and we are asking everyone to partner with us in prayer. Need directions? call us at 410-303-2236. Yes, we do need funds to get there, and to get supplies and equipment there. But we serve an Awesome God, and he always provides! God will make a way.

We have had many of our prayer partners ask if they could send financial support online. The answer is yes! Here is a link: http://tiny.cc/z181c - this takes you to Mountain Christian's online giving site (a secure site). When you click in, select #4 - Short Term Missions, and please specify Kenya 2010.

Thank you SO much for your prayers, and for your giving hearts.



We have a team meeting this Sunday night. We are getting so close!

Message from Mary - Referendum Vote Tomorrow

Today we recieved a message from our Maasai friend, Mary Namposa, who lives near Ewasa, in one of the small villages a few miles from the compound where the clinic is located. She is thrilled to learn that a team from Mountain will be returning to their area! She has asked that we please keep her country in prayer through the referedum.

The referendum on the new constitution is the first national vote in Kenya since December 2007, during which time there was great violence that broke out in the country, leaving more then 1,300 people dead. The next presidential elections in the country will take place in 2012. Kenyans are voting on whether to accept or reject a new constitution that would reduce the powers of the presidency. But the draft also has raised emotions over land rights, abortion issues and the issue of Muslim family courts. Voting will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, August 4th, 2010. Please pray for peace in the country during this time.

Deputation

Our team has less then two months before we depart for our journey. One of the obstacles we face is raising the needed funds to make this happen. I stumbled upon a word that is exactly what what we are trying to do: Deputation refers to the process of raising sufficient prayer, encouragement, and financial support to enable a field worker to serve overseas. Just as consistent prayer and encouragement are crucial to your ministry overseas, consistent financial support is also necessary. You are encouraged to ask people to make a regular commitment in all aspects of support (prayer, encouragement, finances).

On my first short term mission trip to Kenya (just two years ago!), I was overwhelmed by the cost of going, and terrified to ask people to help me. Asking people to pray for me was easy, and came naturally. Asking people to support me financially was a different story, and it pushed me way out of my comfort zone. I thought, I will save up all that money and do it myself! I didn't realize how selfish I was being until someone explained it to me like this:

Don't deny someone the blessing. Don't deny someone a chance to be a part of this mission trip. Not everyone is willing, or able, to leave everything behind and travel to the other side of the world to serve. We all serve in different ways. But don't deny someone the opportunity to plant seeds into this ministry. There are two other things I needed to consider. Raising the money also raises awareness. Each time I ask someone if they would like to help support this mission trip financially, it gives me an opportunity to tell them all about this ministry. I get to tell them about the beautiful people of Kenya, about the children I met when I was there, about the dedicated people doing such wonderful work EVERY DAY on the ground there, to improve the lives of the impoverished. The second thing is that something that comes easy to us often times doesn't mean nearly as much. If we have to work hard for something, we take ownership of it. Each person on our team is working hard to raise awareness, to build a network of prayer partners dedicated to praying for the people of Kenya and for our mission team, and to raise the financial support needed to make all of this happen.

I urge you to consider making a financial donation. It is, or course, tax deductible. Think of areas in your life where you could abstain from something, and give to the Kingdom. Are you a coffee drinker? The average price of a cup of coffee is $1.38. If you gave up just one cup of coffee for a day for just two weeks, that's almost $20!

We have prayed for God to lay the financial needs of this ministry on the hearts of our fellow Christians. Financial donations for our team can be sent to: Mountain Christian Church, ATTN: Missions - KENYA092010, 1824 Mountain Road, Joppa, MD 21085-199.

Thank you, and may you be blessed in your giving.

Some great scripture verses from Coop:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."

Proverbs 16:3

Our Hope

"But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you."
Psalm 37:9

Have a blessed Sunday, everyone. Please remember to keep Kenya in prayer! Please also ask your church family to add this request to their prayer list. Thank you so very much to all of our prayer partners!

Tickets!

Well, the team has tickets! It was exciting to get that email and know we are REALLY going!!

Here is a bit of news passed along from Coop:

"Hello to all, and God's blessings! Luggage limits: carry-ons, 15 lbs max, and 45 united inches HxLwW. We will each be allowed (2) checked bags - max 50lbs each. "

Team- remember to mark your calendars for Aug 21 - Pre-field missions retreat - mandatory - and we will be joined by the teams going to the DR, and Romania. Please review your binder provided by Pastor Tom Moen. Thanks to Den & Renda for our (fun) personality tests! For the next meeting - be in prayer as to what God is calling you to do on this mission trip - be ready to share! Continue praying for your prayer partners. *Thanks for the devotional, Coop!

Jennifer Wolferman was kind enough to share this old family photo with us. Pictured are Dr. Wells, packing his family up for adventure in Kenya. Glynn and Patsy Wells, along with their children, spent over 11 years as missionaries to Kenya. As you might imagine, this is a tremendous advantage for our mission team, to not only have Dr. Wells co-leading the team, but to have Jennifer returning to Kenya with us. If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Wells, he is a man with a heart for Christ and a passion for healing. And what a blessing to have him with us, sharing his knowledge of Kenya.

Our first team meeting was fabulous! It was great to meet everyone, and it looks like God has placed all the right people together. Thank you to Dawny & Dr. Wells, our faithful team leaders. We had some special people show up to share, like Renda Curran (who has been to Kenya many times), Patsy Wells, who served in Kenya for over 11 years as a missionary with her husband, Glynn Wells, and Mignon, who also traveled to Kenya last year and shared her inspiring story with us. So our preparations are well under way as we start to learn about the Maasai culture, and start to pray about what we can do while we are there. We are also putting together our "Home Team" - those family and friends here in the states that will be our support. Please consider joining us. We need prayer warriors - praying for Kenya and our for our team. We need donations of medical and educational supplies. Consider this! Maybe your company, church or family would like to help with this? And we do need financial support to help make this mission possible. Please give as you feel led.

"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself" Galatians 5:13-14

Pre Departure Team Meetings

Our meetings will be held Sunday nights, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at Mountain. They are on the following dates: July 11, July 25, August 8, August 29 and September 12. There is an all day retreat on August 21, and also the Jump In Celebration at Dawny's house on September 5th. They are vitally important so all team members are expected to come.

Reminder: Each team member needs to bring (2) color copies of their passport to the first team meeting. Shots you will need: Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Hep A/B, Tetanus, and Malaria.

Our trip advisor is Donna Howard! Thank you Donna!

May 11, 2010

The journey is beginning! God is so good! Dawny & Dr. Wells, our fearless team leaders, have gotten firm dates for our trip: Sept 23, 2010 through Oct 12, 2010. Our team is starting to come together. Please pray for our team leaders as they wait on God for direction with this mission.

"In all your ways, know, recognize and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths."
Proverbs 3:6