So, last week was youth week at my church, Ruaraka Baptist.  They had me preach in both the English and Swahili services.  I am not a preacher, but by God's grace, I believe he used the message.  I actually adapted one of Roger's messages from camp this summer and preached over a list of names!  That's right, a list of names.  I am really more of a teacher than a preacher, but I believe God can use broken vessels.

Kyle and I went on a mission trip to the Kenyan coast.  (I know, suffering for the Lord again  We went with two youth groups we work with, Ridgeways Baptist and Kahawa Sukare (coffee sugar in Swahili) Baptist.  While we were there, we painted the police station.  The whole town was talking about it.

Another team went door to door witnessing and also witnessed at the police station.  We saw around 50 people come to Christ!!  It was an amazing trip.  I am struck once again by how similar youth in the U.S. and Kenya are.

On a serious note, please pray for the youth of Malindi.  The town is a famous tourist destination for Europeans, especially Italians.  Unfortunately, many of the youth there get involved in prostitution.  Please pray that God will open their eyes to their need for Him.

 

It is already time for another school break! The school schedule here runs Jan-Mar with April off, May-July with August off, and Sept-Nov with December off. During the August break, Kyle, Julie, and I will not be doing school ministry. This will allow us to focus in even more on our church ministries. Also, Kyle and I will be going on a mission trip to Malindi, on the coast, for a week. (I know, suffering for the Lord! ) We are also excited about the chance to spend some time with friends here.

Please pray for us as we enter this month. Pray that we will take time to rest, but also use our time wisely. Pray that we will take this chance to evaluate where our ministries are and see where we need to go.

 

We just had a mission team here from the States. The team was comprised of Matt and Kelly Elmore from Global, who are praying about coming here as Mentors next year, and some of the youth from Eagles’ Landing First Baptist Church near Atlanta. This team had some of the most mature youth I have ever seen. We did school ministry in the same two locations each day for an entire week. I was floored as I saw these kids break down some walls around our Kenyan kids so quickly. The Eagles’ Landing youth took our kids through a crash discipleship course. The things these kids were hearing were basically brand new to them. Things like how to have a quiet time, how to witness, etc. I was so impressed with the team. What I witnessed this week was what student ministry should be: youth ministering to other youth.

On a personal note, the team greatly encouraged me. It was refreshing to see their passion and it awakened passion anew in me. Also, it was a lot of fun to hang out with American youth. It was nice to be able to crack jokes and not have to explain every other one! Please pray that our youth here will continue on with what they have learned. Also, pray for the mission team, that God continues to use this experience to mold them to the likeness of Christ.

 

My parents came to visit me here on the field. It was so awesome to see them. We had a great time visiting and I know it made it easier for them to see where I live and what I am doing. They spent a few days here in Nairobi with me. They got to meet the Riddles, which was good. Kyle’s parents were here and their time overlapped, so we all went to eat at the Carnivore for Kyle and Julie’s 8^th anniversary. Mom and Dad also got to meet my friends from TFC and see the school ministry here.

We closed out our time together by going to the Kenyan coast for a few days, followed by a few days on safari at Maasai Mara. The coast is amazing! It looks like the Caribbean, with clear water and white sand beaches. Then, at the Mara, we got to see so many awesome animals. God’s creativity is so vast.

Last Tuesday, when Moses and I went to meet with the principals in Kayole, we were stopped on the road, waiting for our turn to go, and a huge lorry (large truck) struck us!  We weren't hurt, praise God, but it did do some damage to Moses' Honda. 

Then, yesterday, Kyle, Julie, the kids and I were coming back from church, and another huge lorry rear ended us!  Both times, it was due to brake failure.  Both times, by God's grace, we were safe.  Thankfully, both drivers accepted responsibility and we aren't having too big a hassle to get the cars fixed.  Please pray for us though, that they will get fixed soon and we won't have to be without transportation for long!

On Wednesday, Moses and I got to do our first meeting of the term at Bahati Student Centre.  This is a secondary school where Teens for Christ has been ministering since the beginning.  There are over 400 students there.

I spoke to the students, who were sitting out in a grassy area, about what to do when they don't "want to" do what they "ought to" be doing.  Afterward, Moses gave an invitation.  At first, the students didn't do anything.  This was the point I was glad Moses was giving the invitation, because he didn't just stop, as I might have.  After a bit, 10 students came forward to get saved, and I got to pray with them.  Moses also got to pray with over 60 who came down for rededication (or whatever you want to call it).  God really moved and we are grateful!

Schools are now back in session, after having been out for school break in the month of April.  Here, schools are in Jan-Mar, off April, in May-July, off August, and in Sept-Nov, off Dec.  I think it's a really good system, as it spreads out the students' breaks.  It also allows for some unique ministry opportunities. 

April was really fun, but I'm glad to be getting back into a routine.  We have started going to many Teens for Christ school chapters during the week.  Kyle is remaining in the Jogoo Rd. area with much of the staff, while I'm focusing on Kayole (a slum east of the city) with Pastor Moses.  Moses and I have met with the principals of these schools and we are very excited about the ministry opportunities.  Please pray that God opens the hearts of these students and that they catch a vision of God's mission for them.

I am at home recovering.  I was in the hospital a grand total of two days.  I have quite a bit of pain, but it is getting better.  The doctor says I'll be totally fine within a few days.  I am walking around and will just be taking it easy for a few days. 

(Note:  This post was written a few weeks ago.  I am fully recovered now.  Thank you to everyone who prayed me through

I have been in the hospital for the past few days.  It was really not that bad of an experience.  I had a kidney stone that would not pass and had to be removed.  Needless to say, my mom was worried about me being in the hospital in Kenya.

She needn't have worried.  Aga Khan University Hospital is one of the nicest in Africa.  My room was like a nice hotel, with wooden floors, satellite TV, and a safe.  The food was amazing and the nurses took good care of me and gave me nice drugs.

I have a lot of pain after the surgery, but I am hopeful that I will recover soon.  Thank you all for your prayers.

 Our time at the conference was amazing. The conference was put on by Youth for Christ. We got to meet people who are passionate for reaching youth, in the name of Jesus, from all over the continent! This was a great opportunity and it allowed us to make many friends. We also met a lot of people from here in Nairobi and the rest of Kenya. We got asked to come do training by several people.

The most important thing for me, though, was what happened during the conference. The theme of the conference was “Heart Transformation for Kingdom Living”. A group from Colorado came and took us through this curriculum. It’s nothing earth-shattering, just an in-depth look at what the Scriptures say about the heart (which I guess can be pretty earth shattering). God really did a work in my heart during the week, as well as in Kyle’s.

Please pray that the friendships we made will lead to ministry opportunities for Global across Africa, if God wills. Also, pray that God continues to transform both mine and Kyle’s hearts. Without true transformation, we will not be as effective for the Kingdom.

 This week, Kyle and I will get the opportunity to go to a youth conference with youth workers from all over Africa! We just heard about this from our youth pastor friend, Hamisi. We don’t know a whole lot of details, just that we will be staying here in town at the Methodist Guest House and that there will be over 200 youth workers from all over Africa. We are looking forward to this time to get to network with other youth workers and see what they are doing. Most importantly, we’ll get to see what God is doing among youth in Africa!

 

On Saturday, Kyle, Julie, the kids, and I went with Teens for Christ to a place called Ngong Hills. These are beautiful hills (small mountains, really) about 15 miles south of Nairobi. We took a group of about 40 and we hiked to the top. The view from the top was amazing! There were different views on every side. These hills just rise up from the plains. Almost everything around is flat!

The best part of the day, though, was getting to know the youth from the schools in which we minister. They were much more open to talk than they normally are at school. They were asking me many questions about American society and youth in America. They are very curious. Another cool thing was, at the end of the day, as we were getting ready to leave, we saw baboons come out of the trees and play! It was an awesome day!

 

The youth conference at Kari Muguga went very well. On Thursday, Kyle and I both spoke to the youth. There were over 30 youth in attendance from all over that rural area. The theme of the conference was “Becoming a Person of Influence”.

I spoke first on vision. I talked about how vision is necessary to have a lasting influence on anyone. Then, Kyle got up and spoke on the “how-to’s” of becoming influential. When we were done, the youth applauded. (They hadn’t done that all week.) It is my belief that these messages really impacted them. Please pray that these messages take root in their heart and grow, and that they will look around them to see who God wants them to influence.

 This week Kyle and I are working at a youth conference at a place called Kari Muguga. It is in a beautiful forested area about 15 miles outside Nairobi. We are doing this conference with a youth pastor friend of ours. The youth at this church do not have a youth pastor, so he goes out during April holiday to do this conference for them. Kyle and I will be speaking there.

Today was our family day and we had a wonderful time of rest. We decided to drive out to Karen, which is a suburb of Nairobi. There are supposed to be some wonderful touristy things to do out there. Well, it took us about an hour to get out there.

Once we were there, we realized that there wasn’t much that we could find to do. However, it was nice to drive out in the country. It’s very beautiful out there.

Then, we decided to drive back into town and go to the Sarit Centre. It’s a mall that has lots of things to do. We enjoyed the afternoon shopping and then went to a restaurant called the Golden Spur for dinner. It was at the Nairobi Holiday Inn, so it was really a beautiful setting. There were places for the kids to play and the food was delicious. It was a nice day of rest.

We met last week with a friend named Jerry from another mission organization. He has been in Kenya for several years. Jerry was able to give us some valuable insight into ministry here. He was very excited about what we are doing here. He has been concerned about the youth of Kenya for some time.

Most exciting, though, was the fact that he had several guys in mind for us to meet. He thinks these pastors would be valuable contacts for us. Please pray that God will strategically place us in the paths of the right people while we are here.

Last Sunday, I got the chance to teach the Systematic Theology class that Teens for Christ conducts at Jogoo Rd. Boys’ School. This class is an awesome opportunity for the youth who come. I can think of very few youth in the U.S. who study theology, let alone systematically. I’m very excited that TFC provides this opportunity.

Kyle is currently in the regular teaching rotation and I will be stepping in there as well. I really loved teaching. I taught on the topic of sin. I was very glad that I purchased a Systematic Theology book before I left the States. I’ve already put it to good use.

I was very impressed with how diligent the students were at taking notes. They were very attentive and absorbed the information well. After the class, we opened the floor for questions. I got some very sharp (and very difficult) questions. It was a great afternoon!

For our family day, we went on a walking safari at Nairobi National Park. Nairobi National Park is right on the southern edge of the city. Nairobi is the only capitol in the world that has a national park bordering it. It harbors many awesome African animals.

The walking safari portion is like a zoo. There is one big difference, though. At the safari, there are guides who work there, who walk around with you. They will even let you get close to the animals. One of the guides got the lioness close to the fence and we got to interact with her up close.

We even got to get into the habitat with the cheetahs! That was absolutely awesome. The kids had a great time. It was an experience I won’t forget.

I will post pictures soon!

(The sequel to Blake and Mark’s Excellent Adventure)

As some of you will recall, I had a bout with kidney stones in December. Well, my old friend the kidney stone came back for a repeat performance Sunday night around 10:30 local time. I realized right away what was going on and had Kyle rush me to the hospital.

We went to Aga Kahn Hospital, which is the hospital the IMB missionaries recommended to us. We had been wondering what the service at the hospital would be like, and, on my 5th day in the country, we got to find out.

The staff at the Casualty and Emergency Room was very professional and courteous. They got me in very quickly and got me started on the very same treatment I received in Georgia. I even had a CT scan to show the position of the stones. This treatment was very expensive in Georgia (over $4000), but I got away for around $272!! The same treatment with more courteous staff!

I am feeling better now and the pain is gone. However, I have not passed the stone yet. Please pray for me to pass it quickly. I went to the urologist on Tuesday, and he told me to come back for a CT scan on April 10. If I haven’t passed the stone by then, I will need to have it removed laproscopically (read: surgery. So, please pray that I will pass the stone very soon!!

On Friday, I had to suffer a little for the Lord. It was Family Day (our Sabbath), so the Riddles and I headed to Village Market. This is a really upscale shopping mall on the west side of Nairobi. They have a water park that is very cheap for admission (less than $4.00)! We spent the afternoon playing in the pool and on the water slides. The kids even went on the slides with us and loved it. (Eli is 5 and Anna is 2.)

After the water park, we stopped by a place called the Java Hut for dinner. This is an awesome restaurant that is like Starbucks, but with awesome burgers and fries, a really nice covered courtyard, a playground, and free wireless internet! We loved dinner and, loved it so much there that we decided to go back Saturday morning to use the internet. The west side of town feels very much like home and I feel blessed to be able to go there occasionally to unwind.

Please pray that the Riddles and I will continue to feel more comfortable with one another and that God will make us into a family during our time in Nairobi.

Well, I finally made it to Nairobi. Traveling was great and I am glad to be here. Kyle and Julie have been very welcoming and the kids have taken to me like gangbusters.I feel like I’m living with family.

On Thursday, my second day here, I got to speak at the weekly chapter of Teens for Christ at Jogoo Rd. Boys’ School. I spoke on spiritual warfare and at the end, I was privileged to lead a young man to Christ. 

I also spoke at a rally for an organization called Christian Union on Saturday.This was a rally held at Racecourse Secondary School and it was a meeting of the CU chapters from several schools.There was a time of worship at the beginning, followed by presentations from several of the schools.Then I got up to speak and was followed by other speakers.At the end, two young people gave their lives to Christ!

I feel that these salvations are just a confirmation that I am indeed in the right place.It was nice to get my feet wet a little in ministry in Kenya. Please pray for me, that I will know where God is leading me here and that I will obediently follow.

What to say about my day? This will be organized as a collection of random thoughts, observations and events.

- I departed Chicago last night and had a decent flight.  I slept some, but not enough. 

-This morning I awoke less than an hour before arriving at Heathrow.  My first glimpse of London was of the sunrise reflecting off the Thames.

-Our approach took us right over central London, so I got a great view of the London Eye and Parliament.

-On the tube ride into London, I was listening to worship music and it hit me that most of the people riding around me did not know Jesus, even though they had such an amazing spiritual heritage.  I teared up.

-My first sight upon exiting the tube at Westminster Station was Big Ben.  How much more iconic can you get?  Great start to the day.

-My first stop was Westminster Abbey.  I think I figured out one aspect of Southern Baptists' heritage.  Every inch of space in that church (and it's by no means small) was dedicated to someone or another.

-I got to see memorials to some great fathers of the faith.  I saw a plaque for the Wesley brothers and the grave of William Wilberforce.  It was very inspiring. 

-I also lit a candle and said a prayer in the chapel.  I prayed for the youth of the world, that they would come to see God's glory and, if it pleases God, that He would include Global Youth Ministry in that work.  I also prayed for Great Britain to experience a revival and come back to their God.

-My next stop was the Churchill Museum, which was housed in the Cabinet War Bunkers, used during the London Air Raids.  This stop really reinforced to me how much the whole world owed Great Britain for so bravely resisting the evil the Nazis represented, at great cost.

-Last, I went to the British Museum and saw many amazing artifacts.  By the time I was done, even though I had more time, I was ready to return to the airport.  I am flat exhausted!  Please pray for me as I have a ways to go before I arrive in Nairobi.  Pray that I can get some rest on the plane tonight.

Finally, check out the pictures I'm posting on the picture site.  There are many great photos I got during my adventure in London today.  Be blessed!

Here I sit in Chicago O'Hare, Gate M21.  I can hardly believe that the calling I received almost two years ago is coming to fruition.  In two hours, I will be taking off, heading to Nairobi.  Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this journey.  I would not be here if it weren't for the support that God has given me through you.  I look forward to sharing all of His goodness that I experience this year with you. 

Random blessing: I got an exit row seat on both legs of my flight.  Yaay legroom!

Wow, I feel like my heart is overflowing!  God has poured out His blessing on me lately and I have seen His hand working all around me.

This past weekend, I got to participate in a Momentum conference with Global.  It was a good time where a youth group got to examine themselves and their group before God.  God is bringing a fresh wind into this group, with several salvations and I have a feeling He isn't done bringing changes to this group!

Yesterday, I spoke to my former youth pastor.  We're very close in age and are close friends.  We're well into a conversation when he tells me, "When you get back from Kenya, we'll have a couple of five month olds."  I was dumbfounded.  I am so happy for them.  Twins!

Please pray for me as I spend the next week and a half getting ready to leave for Kenya!