We Are In Kenya!!

Team Kenya has arrived safely in Kenya, Praise God!! We had a lovely "send off party" that met us in the parking lot of Mountain at 5 am on Thursday. Thanks to our drivers, Bill and Tom, for getting the team, and all of our luggage, to Dulles. Ethopian Airlines gets big kudos for a wonderful and safe flight. We are tired, but happily here at Grace House. After a quick bite, we managed to make it to Amanyi Aju, a beautiful oasis in the midst of the chaos of downtown Nairobi, to meet with Maggie (the manager) who gave us a tour of the facility, let us meet the ladies, and then led us to the shop so we could see their wares. Amanyi is a refuge for women, some Kenyan, some from surrounding countries, to come and learn a skill and become self sufficient. We then had time for tea at Grace House, and now the team is prepping our tools and equpiment for our first clinic, tomorrow, in Mathare Valley. We will be happy to see missionaries Mary and Wallace Kamau, and of course, the children at the school at Hope Missions International. We will try to post pictures as time, and technology, allow us.

Thanks to all for your continued prayers during this journey!

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!

Team Retreat - August 21

Our team retreat will be held at Mountian Christian in the New Life Center on Saturday, Aug 21 from 8 am to 5 pm. Please bring a notebook, a pen and a teachable spirit. Dress comforatbly. Please pray that the Lord's will is done on the 21st, and pray for the presenters as they prepare to share and teach.

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.