New Experiences Every Day

Back in Java House for my regular Thursday visit.  This coming week will mark one month of being here.  God has really blessed me with some amazing experiences so far.  It's times like when I'm riding through the Kenyan countryside that I really think of how blessed I am to see and experience the things I'm seeing and to meet the people I've met.  It's sobering to realize that these experiences will only be fully known and understood by me, but this has made me value and look forward to the remaining time I have here in Kenya.  In reality, we all have our own experiences, and whether they are in Africa or in an American suburb, they are uniquely ours and full of value.  Take some time to appreciate the things you are experiencing today.

I have begun to help lead worship with some of the other young adults in our church.  We meet every Saturday afternoon for practice as well as Sunday morning before the services.  Last week I played some guitar with the worship team, and I was able to share a song from back home during the offering.  Many of the songs we sing are in Swahili, and while I cannot understand a lot of our worship, it is humbling to remember that worship is not about us or how it makes us feel; worship is about us glorifying God, and my lack of understanding of the words in a song I'm helping to play does not keep God from being glorified.  This doesn't keep me from serving God and glorifying Him either!  

On Sunday afternoon I was able to meet up with the Kroenings.  They are a missionary family who have been in Africa for over 20 years, and their daughter goes to school with me at Houghton.  I had a nice time meeting them, and it was cool to see where my friend grew up.

On Tuesday I ended up traveling upcountry to bring some supplies to a house Stanley is building.  We loaded up the lorry (like a small moving truck) with packs of tiles, and some other stuff and hopped in front to head to the house.  We then shoveled a bunch of cow duck (manure...I think that's what they called it) into the back of the lorry and brought it to Stanley's village.  I got to spend some time with the kids there; I very well may have been the first white person most of them had ever seen. While at first it's easy to feel like a celebrity, you soon begin to feel like a rare animal breed.  Nevertheless, it was really cool to spend time with these kids.  They were always smiling and laughing, and we had a lot of fun by simply throwing a rock and stick around.

Yesterday I met my friend Joshua in town to go up to a school just outside Nairobi.  Joshua grew up in Mombasa and is a theology student in Nairobi.  He also works for Word of Life ministry, which is why he and a few other guys were going to Rungiri High School.  We met up and arrived at the school to find out that the other guys got stuck in traffic, so I ended up speaking to a bunch of the students (I was able to use the same thing I used for the Masii Girls School the week before).  Joshua and I went to lunch and then he showed me a nearby orphanage.  We then hopped on the back of a motorbike and had the driver take us a few miles to the Word of Life compound.  After visiting I got back on a matatu by myself and managed to get to the center of Nairobi where I got off and found another matatu to take me back to South B where I live.  It was a busy day but full of great experiences!

Life still has its challenges, but I am learning a lot about myself and God every day.  He is working through me and in me and I have a lot to be thankful for.

-Pray for God to continue building meaningful relationships here

-Pray for strength and courage to take the steps of faith God wants me to take as he works in my life     and as he uses me to minister to others

-"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden       with Christ in God." Pray that these words from Colossians 3:2-3 would become a reality for me,       the church in Kenya and the students with whom I shared these verses.

Asking or Proclaiming?

So I'm sitting in Java House (a more western restaurant/cafe that's in many places here in Nairobi...they've got free internet!) and I'm not entirely sure what to write or say.  Life has continued on here in Kenya, and I've continued to see God's blessings as well as experience different challenges.

Sunday's are always uplifting days as I get to worship and hear God's word with others in church.  I will be beginning to help with music (although I'm not sure what this will look like entirely), and I have had some good fellowship and discussions in the young adult bible studies that meet Sunday morning and then on Tuesday night.  This past Sunday I was able to meet and spend time with other young adults at the church for most of the afternoon.  The people here don't necessarily "do" as much, but they are great a simply "being" and simply talking and spending time with one another.  I was able to have some good conversations with people, especially my friend Joshua who is a theology student.

I also attended a "harambee" for a man who is getting married in November.  Harambee means "pull together" in Swahili, and this is a fundraising event to raise money for the upcoming wedding where someone stands up front and simply continues to ask for money and find different ways of collecting money from everyone who has attended (while we all take tea and eat freshly made mandazi--a pastry like thing that to me taste a lot like french toast sticks).

I have been trying to meet up with people throughout the week, but a majority of my time has still been spent at the house.  I have been able to spend a lot of time in prayer for people here as well as people back home (praying is a good way to continue pouring out to others, especially when you don't feel like you have much else to do).  One thing I have been challenged with is how to have a faith that doesn't simply "know" or "understand" God's promises and truths, but that trusts in these things so much that I'm able step out in action without having to "check to see that God has met or is meeting His promises." Do we ask "has God been faithful to His promises?" or do we proclaim "God has been faithful to His promises" and continue to live in response to this?  I often find myself asking, not proclaiming.

Things you can be praying for:
-A continued willingness to be used by God according to His plans and timing
-Confidence (faith) in the work God has called me to do here as well as a trust in the work He is doing in my own life


"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1

A Few Weeks In

So I've been here for almost two weeks now, and a lot has happened.  My internet time is limited so it is a little overwhelming to try to know what to write.  To start, I moved in with Stanley Mutangili and his family (Sylvia, Judihannah, Manasseh, Joshua, N'dunge...wife, 5 yr. old daughter, 3 yr. old son, 3 mo. old son, house help respectively) Friday the 19th.  I have had many experiences from traveling to Stanley's home village upcountry to riding a matatu through crowded streets to traveling to different schools to walking to Westgate Mall to attending and even praying during a wedding.  Check out some of the pictures I've posted on Facebook.  Everyone is very friendly here, but it can be a bit of a challenge to understand one another's English.  I usually don't see any other white people during the day, and I'm continuing to adjust to a new culture.

One thing you all should know is that the Church is alive and well many places here in Kenya.  It has been humbling to see the faith and joy of the Christians here.  People here are so quick to acknowledge God and his blessings and provision.  In many ways I feel that I am simply a learner here, and it has been humbling to lay down any of MY ministry plans or aspirations and to simply trust God to use me.  It is pretty easy to see over here that "when I am week God is strong."  God is faithful and I know He has a lot of great things planned.

Some things I would really appreciate your prayers for:
-That I would get out of God's way, in His work in my life and in His work through me
-Patience with myself and with others as I continue learning and adjusting
-Peace and a strengthened faith that leans on God's TRUTH, not my temporary feelings/emotions
-For a few deep and meaningful friendships with other young adults over here

Bwana Asifiwe (Priase the Lord)
*If you were Kenyan you'd respond, "Amen!"

Karibu Kenya!

I journeyed over Mediterranean Islands...

I've made it to Kenya.  The journey was long but enjoyable; I had a lot of time to think and pray on the 7 and 8 hour flights, and was even able to meet some people along the way.


It is a strange feeling going to bed 8,000 miles from the people you know and not knowing anyone where you are.  I was especially grateful in that moment to serve "El Shalom," the God of Peace.

...across the Sahara Dessert... 

Jet-lag is an interesting feeling (kind of like the morning after that sleepover where you only sleep 30 minutes), but today has been good.  I am learning a lot.  Nairobi is very much like a normal city (although it takes some getting used to driving on the left side of the road!).  I am excited to get to know the Kenyan people, and in a few days I will be moving into the home of one of the pastors of AIC Plainsview.

...and finally saw the lights of Nairobi.

Some things to continue praying about:

-Continuing transition (with a new time zone, different culture and moving in with my host family)

-For humility as a learner and not to worry about making mistakes


Thank you all for your prayers for traveling safety as well as for peace and comfort.

And Here we Go!

Twenty four hours from now I will be boarding my flight to begin my journey to Nairobi.  It's hard to know what to say.  Sure, I don't know the details about my living situation or the work I will be doing, and I'm sure I don't know much about the culture or what to simply expect from everyday life, but I have felt a peace and confidence in the midst of all the unknown and uncertainty.

Some people may say, "there's no way I would be able to do that.  I have to know what's happening.  I'm glad you can," and my response would be, "Who ever said I could either?  I'm not different.  This isn't about what I'm capable of handling or if I enjoy the uncertainty.  The truth is that God is God, and He is in control, whether we think we are in control of part of none of our lives.  He leads, we go, and it usually works out better when we can trust God and get 'us' out of the way."

Experiences like flying across the globe to live and serve for three months don't change who God is, but they sure can show us the real source of peace.  Is our peace rooted in our circumstances or in our control over them?  God brings peace; He is our peace.  This isn't just a defense mechanism for us who have no other option because we're going into the unknown; this is an unchanging truth, just as true for me in Nairobi as it is for you in your suburban living room.  I challenge those who are reading this to seek out God as the source of their peace in the coming months.


On a different note, I am excited and also apprehensive for what God has in store for my time in Kenya.  I know He has been refining me and preparing me for my time this fall, but I still have no idea what God wants to do in or through me.  But, I know He is at work; I know God is waiting to reveal Himself in powerful and unexpected ways.  I also know form the amount of spiritual warfare that has been going on that there are forces that are terrified of what God has planned.  My response: Good.  Let's get to work God.

Lastly, as I step out into the more unknown part of this African journey, I want to thank many of my friends and family for all of their prayer support.  I feel very blessed, and I know I will continue to be blessed by the waves of continuing prayer.  Thanks especially to my immediate and extended family, the congregations of Indian Valley Faith Fellowship and Fillmore Wesleyan Church, and my remarkably "multicultural" friends and townhouse mates who are carrying on with their own adventures up in the Houghton area.

See you all on the flip-side.


"Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD yoru God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."  Deuteronomy 31:6 

Refining, refining, refining...

It's already the end of July.  The summer has gone quickly, but I am very ready to head off to Kenya, and I am excited to say that God has provided all of my needed support money!  Thank you to all who had a part in this, and please continue to keep my trip in prayer.  

The summer has been a challenge in many ways, but not necessarily in the ways I would have expected.  Interning at my home church has been a great experience with little setbacks or difficulties; God has really blessed my time there.  However, God has been using much of the summer to stretch and challenge me spiritually.  

Refining, refining, refining...an older friend told me at the beginning of the summer that the purest Gold is refined around 21 times.  That's just a metal my friends; we are human beings; living souls with thoughts, emotions, feelings, scars—and

 and the list continues.  I want to ask us all something; how do we view refinement in our lives?  Sure, we know it is a good thing and that it makes us stronger, better, more mature, etc, but when push comes to shove let's be honest—refinement is not fun.  It hurts, and I know that I am generally a lot more angry or confused with God during times of growth and refining than I am grateful or excited.

A continuing prayer of mine this summer has been to not only understand and believe in God’s peace and freedom intellectually but to KNOW God’s peace and freedom in my life.  I have prayed for peace and freedom, but most of the time I've felt less at peace and by no means free from different struggles in my life.  This has caused me a lot of frustration, but I have begun to see more clearly throughout the past few months that God is not interested in giving us peace and freedom as if they are little packets of experience or emotion; God is interested in giving us Himself. 

Pray for peace…God will show you that He is your peace.  Pray for freedom…God will show you that freedom comes from knowing Him.  When I pray for peace and freedom my focus is often on the things I am getting from God rather than on knowing God Himself.  I’m not saying that God doesn't ever want to make things easier or ease or struggles, but do we want these things more than God?  Is He our peace, our freedom?  This isn't something we naturally say “yes” to, and this isn't something we teach ourselves.  This is why we need refinement.

God is a jealous God.  He made us, loves us passionately, pursues us endlessly and has the patience and humility to do this in a way that doesn't force us to come to him.  He lets us get angry at Him; He lets us falsely accuse Him of abandoning us, all the while loving us far too much to take our struggles, our pain, or refining fires away, because if we’re serious about knowing His peace and freedom then He will not settle for anything less than answering these prayers completely—peace and freedom are complete only in Him, apart from our circumstances. 

So…what do we do in the meantime?  What do we do when we recognize that true peace and freedom come only through knowing Jesus Christ; when we really want this but still haven’t seemed to realized it; when God just doesn't seem to be enough; when we seem worse off, crushed, weighed down because of everything else that we want for our own lives—and all the while the rest of the world seems to be doing just fine without this crushing burden to seek out a God who promises to be the “giver of all good things”?  I’m not entirely sure, because this is where I am many days.  However, I do know that holding tightly to God’s promises and commands—even when everything else seems to contradict them—while often more difficult and tiring, has always been worth the fight.  It will always be worth it, and so what we can do is continue to come humbly before the God of the Universe every morning to ask for the strength and faith to keep believing the truth that He is for us and more than capable of giving us what is best for us.  We can find joy in the midst of our journeys by coming together openly and honestly and choosing to praise God together, affirming His plan in each of our lives.  Hebrews 12:1 says that “since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  We are not in the fire alone, nor are we told to endure it alone.  We are to endure—to run—together.  It’s not just about me running the race; it’s about us running the race.

My prayer is that all of you reading this—including myself—will have the courage and faith to keep running; to take God for His word and to really KNOW the peace and freedom that come from seeking and loving the God of the universe, above everyone and everything else.  Maybe then we’ll even begin to head into the refining fires of our lives with gratitude and anticipation.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but...against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

It's been a crazy but good couple of weeks!  From June 4th-7th I traveled to AIM's national headquarters in Peachtree City, GA for short term orientation where I met 12 other individuals who will be serving from 5 weeks to a year all throughout Eastern Africa (homeschooling in Mozambique, physical therapy with special needs orphans in Uganda, working in an airplane hanger in Kenya, etc.).  It is amazing to see how in only a few days such strong friendships were formed.  Preparing to serve the Lord intellectually and spiritually really has a way of bringing the Body of Christ together.

My time in GA was a very encouraging and exciting time as the reality of my trip began to set in and as I was able to pray and join in supporting the work of other short-term missionaries.  At the same time, the reality of spiritual attack and oppression has never been more evident to me.  It's easy to forget what Paul tells the Ephesians: that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12).  I repeat, "and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Here in America we live in a society that seeks to understand everything rationally.  We often fail to acknowledge the reality of spiritual warfare; or, if we do believe in this we would rather ignore it and leave that to places like Africa.  Yes...there is A LOT of spiritual warfare throughout Africa (which is why your prayers are VITALLY important before and during my time over there), but the spiritual forces we fight against are just as present here in our daily lives.  While the reality of spiritual darkness and oppression may be recognized and accepted more openly overseas, America is daily assaulted by what I like to call "undercover darkness."  This darkness takes the form of depression, anxiety, sexual messages and ideologies and even the complacency of "The American Dream" and "The Good Life."  We are under attack, and the scariest part is that most of us don't even realize that we are.

The flip side of this, however, is the reality of John 16:33: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."  Christ has conquered sin and death; HE has ultimate authority over this world and the spiritual realms, and we are called to "put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground..." (Ephesians 6:13).  Are we arming ourselves with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit?  All of these things root themselves in the reality of Christ and His victory over sin and death.  When we acknowledge this and equip ourselves for battle, darkness stands no chance.

But...there is one more thing we are told to do.  "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).  What is our greatest weapon?  Prayer.  Our direct link with the almighty and sovereign God.  Prayer calls forth the reality of Christ and His victory in our lives and in the world around us.  What are we to do when sin and temptation bear down upon us?  Pray.  What are we to do when peace seems far away?  Pray.  What are we to do when God's promises seem alive and well?  Pray all the more in thanksgiving.  Prayer--it is ESSENTIAL for everything we do.

And so I ask all of you to take the intentional effort to pray.  Pray for the short-term missionaries who have already left for Africa; pray for me in the time leading up to my trip; pray for those who live around you here in America.  Pray alone; pray together.  Be prepared to face the reality of spiritual warfare, but face this with the confidence of Jesus Christ and what He has already accomplished on our behalf.  Pray without ceasing.