It's now our fourth week to ministry and God has been doing so many incredible things. We are so blessed to be His vessels and to bring Him all the glory and I want this blog to do just that, bring glory to His name because He did it all. This is the Lord's story of a man named Mwongi who was lost but now is found. Every Friday our team has traveled to a near town to do door to door ministry. The first Friday, June 12^th, every home we visited was a home of believers until the last one. Lee, Joelle, two translators and myself made up our group for this ministry. We walked into the house of a man names Mwongi and were immediately greeted with joy. Mwongi is in his 70's (we never received the actually age) and he lives mostly by himself with occasional visits from one of his daughters with grandchildren. He had two wives (which is very common in Kenya for none believers) but the last one passed away 15 years ago.   He shared with us his loneliness and how not many people ever come around. Two of us shared our testimonies and we asked if he knew the Lord. He said that he thinks there is a God but he doesn't have a relationship with Him and does not know who Jesus Christ is. We asked if we could pray for him and he said yes. He asked us to pray for his ears and eyes because he has a hard time seeing and hearing. After we prayed he was so happy, his smile was so bright and he was so thankful that people even cared to come talk to him. We encouraged him to go to church on Sunday and said goodbye. Our group knew that the Lord was doing something in this man and we needed to come back. 

The following Friday we were looking forward to going back but the Pastor who we were working with had to go to a funeral so he cancelled on us to come back. However, that morning when Lee, Joelle, and myself woke up we felt the Lord was still calling us to go back to the town where Mwongi lives.   In order for us to go back we needed a ride and a translator, so we prayed for God's will to be done. After lunch that day, God opened the door for Lee, Joelle and myself to go back to this town to visit Mwongi again. As we were in the taxi on the way over, we just kept praying that he would be at his house when we got there. We also decided to bring him some flour and rice not really sure if he needed it or not. We walked into his gate and we initially did not see him so we kept praying and we heard a noise from behind the shed and we walked around and sure enough, Mwongi was there! His face lit up in joy and he welcomed us. He said he remembered us from the week before and he was so happy we came again. We gave him the food and he said that he was so thankful because he didn't have any and didn't know what he was going to eat for dinner. Praise Jesus! After some small talk we asked him if he attended church on Sunday and he said "it is better not to lie than to lie so no I did not go". He is a very honest man and we really appreciate that. As we were talking to him, we were filled with the spirit and filled with words to say. God was having a conversation with Mwongi through us. When one of us didn't have words, the other did and it was truly amazing. Lee looked down into a chicken who was near us and he looked into the chicken's eye. He saw a silhouette of the cross in the chicken's eye and it was a confirmation from the Lord. Mwongi welcomed the good news because he said "I will listen because you came back. People come to tell me about this God and leave and I never see them again"which meant so much to us. As the Gospel was being shared he would stop and think before he would respond. You could see the Lord moving in his eyes. By the end of the conversation he came to the revelation that we were sent by God. He was so thankful for us, just to have a conversation with other people made his week. The glory of God fell upon us. It was ALL Him. We prayed again for Mwongi's hearing and sight and told him, if the Lord wills we will be back next week. 

All week we prayed for Mwongi and Friday we had the door opened for us to go back to the town where he lives. We walked into his gate and he was standing there farming and when he saw us he was so happy and so joyful. He could not stop smiling. We asked him how his ears and eyes were. He said that the pain from his ears is gone but he is still struggling to hear and see. We asked if he went to church on Sunday and he said no because if he went he would not be able to see and hear. He said he prayed to God all week but did not feel anything. We then felt God telling us to show him the "bridge illustration" which illustrates Romans 6:23 in picture form so that he could understand more of who Jesus is. When we were done, we watched him as he was thinking and it suddenly clicked for him. You could again see the Lord working inside him. He began to say things such as " even thieves and satan know who God and I will no longer be confused, God is real and so is Jesus". We were blown away and we asked him if he wanted to be in relationship with Jesus Christ his savior and he said YES! We prayed with him and he began to cry. The Holy Spirit was moving through him and us. We also prayed for his hearing and sight again.   Afterwards he said "its okay if I die now" and we were almost speechless if it wasn't for God being there. We encouraged him to continue praying and to go to church on Sunday. He said, "I will tell everyone about God and Jesus!" We bought him a Bible in his language and plan on bringing it to him this week. Praise the Lord for His love and grace for all of His children! Pray for Mwongi that the Lord will continue to captivate his heart and if it is in the Lord's will for him to be healed. 

- sara healy

By Stephen Lepke written on 6/20/2009

     Well we've been here almost 2.5 weeks now and I can't believe just how much God has been doing.   We've been very busy helping build a 3^rd and 4^th grade school, leading a 1^st and 2^nd grade school, playing with kids during P.E. (physical education), and also going to the hospital.   I think in every instance, God has been moving and working in ways we couldn't imagine.

Here we walk the earth, through the jungle, miles in the morning to get to church. Here we lay down our selfish pride, cast aside mirrors, and let Christ define our beauty. Here we have no house, but make a tent full of friends our home. Here we have come, forsaking our families to follow God, only to find family, communion with our Father and brothers and sisters. Here we came because we worship God. Here we came to worship God and so we do.

     We have not forsaken all. Far from it, we are finding out All in All the Great I AM. Laying under the stars we meditate on our insignificance. Standing in the Greatt Rift Valley we praise God for our usefulness. A child hangs from every limb, and ten more press in from every side, just to touch us, only to talk. We are not significant because of who we are, or what we are doing here, but because God allows us to be his living love to the people here.

     Life in this close community is not simple, but Christ's love covers over a multitude of wrongs. We are weak but He is strong it as simple as that. In the valley there is extreme poverty among the people of the IDP (internally displaced people) Camps. Water is a scarcity, and clean water nearly impossible to come by. Children run around hungry but glad for the distraction we bring. Parents talk about the homes they left with longing, longing for the farms that feed them and the people that were killed in the political uprising. The first night as a team we questioned God. Why? Why God? Why do I have much and they have little? Why couldn't you have done this to me in their place? Why don't you multiple the simple amount of food we brought so there could be enough for everyone. WHY LORD ARE YOU SILENT WHILE THEY SUFFER?

     God answered us. "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place?"

     So we fall on our face in worship Which is why we are here in the first place. God is Holy and we are not. He is the savior and I am not. I will praise Him all my days for He is faithful.

     Faithful. Promise keeper. We petition Him, simply cry out to Him to remember His promises to His people and relieve their suffering, to provide for their needs.

     If only pictures and words could fully convey all that I see, taste, hear, feel, experience, and learn. Then I would spend every free moment writing to you that you may be blessed as much as I by what is going on here. Sadly, I cannot do God's work here justice. However, know this.

     Here I find peace because I am where I belong, following hard after God, for the fist time in years. Here my life is being changed daily. Here I am returning to the joy of my childhood. Here I learn the simple truth of children's songs. Here I am finding ‘I am weak but He is strong, Yes, Jesus loves me' Amen

Habari from Kenya!

We are here, and it is cold.

We've only been here since Friday, but we are settled in and it's starting to feel like home. Two women, Margaret and Vicky, have been cooking the most delicious Kenyan meals for us, so I've definitely packed on a few pounds since we got here. And by "here," I specifically mean Kijabe, a rural community outside of Nairobi where they house a lot of missionaries. We're staying in a roped-off section of a community center where they set up tents and mattresses for us (it's inside, but the tents are really cool anyway).

On Saturday, we spent the morning with a man named John, taking a tour of Kijabe. He's an elder in the local church and we went and saw the hospital, the schools, the scenery, and met his family. Afterwards, we went back to the community center and got to sit in on a Masai wedding. Like, a legit ceremony where the people all wear their tribal clothes and do traditional dances and everything. It was surreal. They cooked a lot of food that we had helped prepare on Friday night, and it was wonderful.

On Sunday, we went to church, and stayed for both the English and Swahili service, which was really interesting. Church here is absolutely nothing like church back in the states. It was really long, but I enjoyed it a lot. Pastor Simon talked about Hosea and Gomer, and how God will continue taking us back no matter how many times we choose to run away. It was encouraging.

Monday, I worked in a primary school with a few of my teammates. When we got there, the woman in charge literally said to us "The kids are yours for the day. Teach them." So that was a challenge, because we hadn't really prepared anything, but the Spirit moved and worked and the day ended up being very successful. The kids refer to us as mzungos (white people), so you can always tell when they're talking about you. These kids are amazing. All they want is to hold your hand and play with your hair and ask you questions about Obama. They are so sweet-natured and intelligent. I loved working with them.

Yesterday, my entire team taught P.E. in an elementary school, and that was a trip. Seriously. We played soccer and Frisbee and ran around a LOT. I was pooped afterward, but then we got to grade some papers and go into the classrooms, so we taught them how to play heads up seven up. Fun.

I don't have much else to say, but I'd appreciate it if you all would keep my team's health in your prayers. One of my leaders and two of my teammates have already gotten physically ill, and my throat has been hurting pretty badly on and off since we got here. Satan is really trying to attack my team with illness and injury, and if you could pray for our protection from that, it would mean a lot. Thanks.

I love you all! I miss you! Talk to you again in 2 weeks J

Sarah