I Thought This Was Only In the Movies

Yesterday was Saturday and we actually had a little bit of a down day in the morning to sleep in, rest, catch up some reading, take Amariah and Ezriel for ice cream and get copies made at the local cyber cafe.  We headed to Ruben Slum around 5 for another evening of the Crusade with a big crowd, lots of music and a many people who made a decision for the Lord.  After we preach we turn it over to the pastor of the local Church on the Rock and he tells the new people how to find them and get involved with a church. 

Yes I actually wore a tie and Martin didn't

It is now Sunday afternoon after a very long (about 3 hr) service at a new church that started about 2 months ago by Pastor Ndete and his wife who also head up the church in Ruben Slum and run the CMIA school that some of you have visited. I preached about the River of Life and the flowing of the Holy Spirit out of John 7 and Ezekiel 47.  I handed it off to Martin at the end and he wrapped it up with a recap of the lesson and an altar call.  



 
A first time visitor came up in response to the invitation to give her life to the Lord.  As Martin was praying for her she collapsed and started writhing on the floor and screaming.  Several gathered around her and spoke the name of Jesus over her in prayer.  Keep in mind, she was in a nice dress, the floor was dirt with some rocks and she was rolling over and almost convulsing in the dirt with no concern for her dress etc.  I have seen a lot in my life and have seen what I thought probably to be demon possession or oppression but not anything like this.  I watched as my friend Martin tackled this head on with no fear, no hesitation and a great amount of faith.  As I found out later, this is one of many, many encounters like this through the years for him and Jannekah.  Ephesians 6 kept ringing out in my head through the whole event.  It was a sense of refreshing as she was finally able to stand up in her right mind, although dazed, and have a seat.  Interestingly, I seemed to be the only one who thought it was out of the ordinary.  I know what many of you are thinking because I have thought the same thing many times before.  All I can tell you is, do not underestimate the power of the evil one. He is clever and sometimes will attack in ways such as this and other times he will get to us by encouraging us to not believe in the warfare that does exist. I imagine he loves it when he senses we think his power and influence is only in the movies...

The last night of the Crusade in Ruben Slum was pretty unbelievable. We estimate at least 2,000 came out to listen to the music and the message with hundreds saying they wanted to receive the forgiveness of Jesus.  It started around 4pm and ended about 8:30 and the crowd just kept growing.  Here are some pictures that don't quite do it justice but I think you will get the idea. I must say it was crazy fun!

Pastor Ndete - Ruben Church on the Rock

Janne & Martin Singing "Ne Yesu" - "It's Jesus"

Into The Bowels of Ruben Slum

Can You Say "Bed Head Extraordinaire"

Friday 9/28 started with a visit to the Java House to meet with David Hatley, the founder of Christian Ministries in Africa.  The 26 yr old ministry has founded numerous orphanages, schools and close to 300 churches which are known by the name, “Church on the Rock”. I fully endorse them and their ministry as they continue to empower the local people and communities to be a source of change from within rather than being totally dependent on those from outside the county.  You can keep up with them at www.christianministriesinafrica.org

My Morning Coffee Ritual

After a refreshing and encouraging meeting with David, Martin and Ray picked me up and we headed down into the Ruben slum to deliver the first part of the sound system for the 3 day Crusade.  Struggling with a cold and severe allergies to the dust, they took me back to the Guya’s home pick up the remaining sound system and I went to bed for a couple hours.  Around 5:30 we headed back Ruben.  The Ruben slum is a very large slum and extremely populated.  We went into the bowels on Ruben, I would say close to a mile, down very narrow and rocky roads and into a large open area that had turned into a marketplace.  Hundreds had already gathered. The music started, the artists sang, the praise team led the group in praise and then Martin took the stage.

Copies at Cyber Cafe

Sites of Ruben Market

Martin or “Gooya”, as he is known professionally, has a unique charisma that is both endearing and encouraging.  He started rapping and the place started hopping.  They loved it.  They loved him.  They loved the message.  They loved the fact that although many crusades happen in Nairobi, very few choose to go to the time and effort it takes to go into this part of Ruben where the people are hungry for the truth and word of God.

The Rope Illustrating of Our Existence!

Martin Rapping His Heart Out!

I was so warmly greeted and the people were so engaged.  I can’t even fathom what it would be like to stand in a public square in America and start sharing the Good News of Jesus, much less watching more people start to gather rather than scatter.  Supposedly it was a small crowd which I still estimated to be about 600+.  They say the 2^nd and 3^rd night expands exponentially.  I taught them the English phrase, “I am a big deal” and let them know that the ground is level at the foot of the cross.  They are not any less of a “big deal” because of who they are, what they have done, where they live, or how much they have. “But God”, those two words that transition the thought in Eph. 2:1-10 when we are reminded of what we were before Jesus and the gift of grace we are given freely because of Jesus and in spite of ourselves.  

My New Friend Mary Selling Kale & Potatoes!

Children of Ruben

I invited them all back to the party the next two night.  Jannekay had chapatti burritos when we got home and then I crashed for the first 8 hrs of sleep since arriving… enhanced by a little Benadryl.  Looking forward to a relaxing Saturday morning and another amazing evening Crusade in Ruben.

Different Day...Different Jail

A Different Day, a Different Jail

Wednesday was a travel day from Eldoret back to Nairobi after a brief stop at the Boys Home in Nakuru to pick up some equipment and have a cup of tea with Pastor Anthony.  As we were driving away we also got to high five all the boys from the van as we were driving down the dirt road and they were walking home from school.

We arrived back in Nairobi and the Guya home Wednesday around 9:30PM, loaded up on cold medicine for the cold I've been fighting and actually got a full 7 hours of sleep for the first time since I arrived. 

Even the Prison guard got in on the dancing!

Thursday (9/27) started out with Jannekah, Ray and I going to immigration to get some visa and passport information cleared up for the trip next week into Tanzania.  A quick lunch at home and then off to Kamati Prison to minister to the boys who are there.  

The program at Kamati is the only one of its kind in Kenya in that it takes all the first time offender boys in the 17-21 age group from all over the country.  They all have a 120 day sentence and if they repeat offend they have to then go to the next level of prison.  Six of the boys had just arrived today.  I am sure their first day was unlike any other day they will have...the party began and lasted for nearly two hours.  Martin rapped, they sang along and pretty much all 80 of the boys danced and danced.  Even the prison guard got into it.

I had the honor to speak to the boys and we talked about decisions in life, consequences and the choice to leave our past behind and "press on to the goal" as the Apostle Paul talked about in Philippians 3.  We talked about the Wisdom of Solomon and the truth found in Prov. 14:12 "There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end leads to death."  There were about 30 of the boys that made a decision for Christ which was encouraging.  As I was leaving they were squatted down in lines behind each other with their hands on the shoulders of the one in front of them to be counted.  They then got in line and had dinner...a tin bowl for water to drink and a small tin bucket with some sort of porridge to eat.  Reality set in and my thoughts went to my own sons at 17 and 21 yrs of age. I talked to one boy named Andrew who was one of the last to leave.  He has two month left of his sentence.  He said he had stolen and gotten caught and was actually thankful.  If he hadn't gotten caught he said he would probably be dead because of all the trouble he was getting in.  Join me in praying for him and the others that this would truly be a life changing event.

A new life starts with a decision to follow Jesus

This evening was relaxed with the Guya family eating dinner, catching up on email and planning the Crusade which starts tomorrow (Fri) evening. 



 

Jail Time and Seminars

This post is for Monday 9/24 and Tues 9/25.  Both days were spent in a little town north of Eldoret named Nzoia which is right in the middle of the sugar cane growing zone of Kenya.  Beautiful green cane fields for miles and miles. 

Reunited:  Ray is on far left, Mikey is on far left

Many of you through FB or email heard of our situation where our Driver Ray and his friend Mikey who I have known for years were arrested when we sent Ray back to Eldoret to have the van repaired.  It's too involved to explain but in short, the pastor who was hosting our seminar had asked Ray to pick up something for him while in Eldoret.  They use a system here called MPesa to transfer money to each other through their phones. You have to go to an MPesa counter to get your money.  The lady at the MPesa counter thought Ray was part of a Con game that is going on when he went to get the money and the phone msg from the Pastor had gotten hung up somewhere in MPesa space. She got excited and called the police.  Bottom line he and Mikey were jailed for the night in an 8x8 cell with 6 guys, no bed, nothing except cement floor and a bucket for the toilet. The van was confiscated as well as a good amount of money for the van repair.  They were released Tues. morning after the Pastor went to Eldoret and showed the officials all the MPesa msgs on his phone.  We are all back together now and spent Tues. night in Eldoret.  They have lots of jail stories to tell but the best one is that they were able to share Jesus with one of the younger guys that night.
 

Worship Center where seminar was held

That kind of craziness in the police system should not overshadow all that God was doing in our Pastors/leaders seminar 2 hrs away in Nzoia.  All in all the pastors/leaders seminar went better than I could ask or imagine.  The books on Preaching I took were received with joy.  They were so relaxed and even more ready and excited to receive the teachings than they had been in past years.  I taught and Martin interpreted in KSwahili for about 5 hrs each day.  God was so gracious in that he once again took me away form my outlines and led to where I needed to lead these faithful and hungry men and women in Scripture.

Martin, trusted Interpreter

I knew the need was great for resources and good Biblical teaching but my eyes were opened to a whole new level of need out in these "village churches" where the traditions of culture are held higher than scripture.  At the end of the first day, I asked if there were any questions and a guy handed me a note that had the question that went something like this..."Is it OK wrong to allow a woman who is on her monthly period to enter the church?...along with a question regarding how long after childbirth does a woman need to wait before entering the church?

The Ladies decided I need to learn to dance..ugh!

I looked at Martin and asked if this was a serious question or a joke. No joke.  We had an amazing time of teaching and Jeremy Treat's lesson on law and Gospel from the 10 commandments came in pretty handy.  At the end of the 2nd day I was exhausted yet could have done the same thing again another 2 days.  I have asked myself so many times... "Where has our hunger gone for the Word of God and for the truths of Scripture?"  I keep coming back to the need of the people of Kenya and similar countries are so hungry because they have no other security to fall back on.  They yearn for the promises of hope and provision from God.  Their faith is in Him and not in what they have to give them that alternative to truly trusting in God.  It's Wednesday AM and we are heading back to Nairobi. 

I Pledge Allegiance

Great day Sunday with a 3 hr. road trip to Gilgel, a town about 25 miles south of Nakuru.  Experienced getting stopped by the police and spent 30 minutes trying to help Ray get out of a $40 fine.  Little did that police woman (2 actually and tough as nails I might add) know that we were getting ready to rap (Martin) and preach (me) to 900 boys at a boarding school for kids 14-19 and guess what, they are mostly kids of police officers throughout Kenya.  After starting off by telling the boys that one of their moms stopped us and gave us a ticket (great laugh), I went on to talk about how they really had an opportunity to be nation changers but they had to decide whether they were going to be a "bucket" or a "hose" (ECFers understand) in life. The time at this school was highlighted for me as the boys placed their right hand on their heart, their left hand in the air and sang "I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb".  I will post a video later in the week of that.  What a blessing to see those potential nation changers in Kenya making that pledge to Jesus.
 
 
Unbelievably attentive and gracious audience.  Afterward, the Principal of the school asked us to give him our ticket receipt and that he had already made a call and hopefully he would be able to "take care of it"

Samson

On to Eldoret with another 3 hr drive and we surprised Martin's mom with my presence.  We visited and ate a late dinner and headed to the hotel.   It is Monday morning here now and we will be heading to Nzoia for the first day of Pastors/leaders seminar.  Thanks to some generous folks back home i was able to bring 60 copies of the book Preach, which is a new book out on Biblical preaching and real "how to" information.  We will go through that as well as a bunch of other things as the Holy Spirit leads our 2 days together.

The Boys of Nakuru (can you find me?)

More on Tuesday night when I have internet again.  Thanks for the continued prayers.

Sharing the Mission

I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya last night after about 20 hrs of flying and airports. All went well along the way.  Greeted at the airport by Amariah, Martin and Ray who will be our driver for the week. Today, (Sat) has been a rest day and preparing for our first trip tomorrow.  Your prayers are coveted each day as we travel and have the privilege and honor to teach church pastors and leaders in Kenya and Tanzania.  A three day crusade will be a new experience.  

Here is my Itinerary so you can know what to pray for each day.

Itinerary:

Fri  9/21          Arrive

Sat 9/22          Rest day

Sun 9/23         Leave 6AM to Nakuru to Preach at boarding school outside Nakuru, 

                         Visit with boys at Nakuru Boys Home in afternoon, 

 Evening drive to Eldoret (3 hrs)

Mon 9/24         Nzoia Pastors seminar all day. Nzoia is 90 min. north of Eldoret

Tues 9/25        Nzoia Pastors seminar all day. 

Wed 9/26        Travel day back to Nairobi  (6-8 hrs)

Thurs 9/27       Teach at Prison

Friday 9/28     Afternoon -Time with David Hatley, Director of CMIA 

                         Preach at Evening Crusade – Ruben Slum

Sat 9/29          Preach at Evening Crusade – Ruben Slum

Sun 9/30         Preach morning Ruben Slum Church on the Rock – Evening Crusade

Mon 10/1         Travel to Moshe, Tanzania (close to Mt. Kilimanjaro)(6-8 hrs)

Tues 10/2        Pastors Seminar in Moshe – all day

Wed 10/3        Pastors Seminar in Moshe – all day

Thurs 10/4       Travel day back to Nairobi – Catch 8:30 PM flight back home.

Fri. 10/5          Arrive at SEA around noon

    

Below are also pictures of Ezriel (2) and Amariah (4), the children of Martin and Jannekah Guya, our great friends and missionaries.

Amariah was gracious enough to let me stay in her home school room, complete with bed and mosquito net.  More as I have internet.