Yesterday we had the day off so we went to the Genocide Memorial. I would like to say that it was a relaxing day but not so much. I keep thinking that it will get easier, as this was my third visit to the museum, and it's still tough. It helps put things in perspective but hard to comprehend. Practically every person in Rwanda today has been affected by it one way or another.

In the afternoon we met with two men from an organization called ADAP that creates awareness for youth on drugs. They are very dedicated to creating awareness to a little recognized sleeping giant. According to government records, 69% of the youth of Rwanda are drug users. We got some good insights to some of the problems the Rwandese face.

Last night we had a great thunderstorm before dinner. It poured....hard. Lightening struck very close to us and knocked the power out for a while.

Today we went to Gakenke, 1 1/2 hour drive uphill, to attend a church that has started CR. Pastor Jean Baptiste hosted us at Anglican Church of Rwanda Gakenke. They were having a youth crusade with close to a thousand people attending. The 5 1/2 hour service was awesome with lots of great music and dancing. I gave my testimony and talked about CR which fit right in with their theme of the crusade. The diocese pastor preached the sermon and shared very openly about his own struggles past and present. They have a great vision for the church and they believe that CR will be a big part of it.

We had lunch at Jean Baptiste's home with pastors, denomination leaders, and head of the church's primary school with 600+ children. We got to meet his family too which was a special treat.

We are winding down and preparing to start our long journey home tomorrow. Pray for safe travels, smooth connections and good rest on the plane. Pray for the team that returned to teh US last week as I am sure they are still adjsuting.

Friday Night in Kigali

This morning we met with Arthur who is writing a dissertation on addictions in Rwanda and had heard that we were in town and wanted to meet with us. He shared his story of abandonment and struggle with addiction. It helped us have a better understanding of some lives in Rwanda. He is a very passionate young man with a desire to help the addicted.

In the afternoon we had a meeting at the PEACE office where we debriefed about the meeting yesterday and began making plans for next steps including a CR seminar next year. We agreed on a format for future trainings and have tentative plans of when and where the next training will take place. We will be working out the details over the coming weeks.

It was so encouraging to hear from Jean Baptiste about how he has started CR, the impact it's already making at his church and his great vision for it's growth. God is good.

Tonight we had Italian food at a restaurant called Cactus overlooking the lights of downtown while listening to Christmas carols in some unknown language surrounded by the fragrance of jasmine and the tropics. By the way, it is September and we are in Rwanda. The pizza with bananas was great .... really :-).

Successful Meeting

The Messners and Skons made it to LAX exactly on time yesterday. Everything in Amsterdam went smoothly and even CJ stayed with the group and did not wander :-). Joe picked them up from the airport and they made it home in an hour....God was very nice and made the traffic very light. Pizza with Heather, Chris and Kelly's mom was yummy and they were very excited to see each other.

Thanks so much for your prayers for our Rwanda meeting today, they worked. We met with 10 key pastors that were all in the CR seminar in January. We spent the day reviewing the CR components and answering questions. They were so thankful of our visit as it helped clarify some things for them. They sent their greetings to the January CR team that was in Gitarama.

One church (Pastor John Baptiste's) has started CR with the Large Group meetings and is preparing to add the Open Share and Step Study groups so our visit was very timely. He completed the 8 week Road to Recovery sermon series before starting the Large Group meetings. Another church has started small group meetings in preparation to launching CR.

The meeting went very well and several of the pastors seemed eager to start CR in their churches. We learned some valuable lessons that will help us in future trainings like using flip charts with diagrams to explain the 3 components of CR and a timeline of the 8 principles showing from "Realize I'm not God" to "Giving back", from hurts to health.

Please pray for the team that returned to the US, that they adjust to the new time zone and get good rest. Pray for the emotional adjustment and reverse culture stress as they experience life in Orange County after 3 weeks in Kenya. Pray for our debrief meeting tomorrow at the PEACE office as we plan next steps to go forward with CR in Rwanda.

In Rwanda

Paul, Teri and I arrived in Rwanda last night as the rest of the team began their journey back to the US. We ran into a few friends from Saddleback at the Iris Guest House where we are staying. This afternoon we had a very good meeting with Pastor Straton and others at the PEACE office in preparation for tomorrow's meeting with key pastors from the Southern Provence where we did our CR training in January. We had good discussions about CR in Rwanda. It is good to be back in Rwanda.

Please pray for our meeting tomorrow, that we are able to clarify some things as we encourage them to continue moving forward and that we are the "Muppets". Pray for Teri and Paul as Teri's Dad fell and is in a skilled nursing center awaiting their return so he can go home. Pray for peace of mind for all concerned. Pray for the team flying home.

Back in Nairobi ..... for a few hours

After an adventurous departure from Malindi we had a great time in Masai Mara. Our ticketed flight from Malindi to the Mara didn't actually exist. After several hours of sitting around a very tiny airport, they decided to charter a private 11 passenger plane for us since we had paid tickets and their next flight was not until the following day. What an expereince.

We had 2 days of R&R to help process our experiences plus we got some really up close time with some amazing animals. We flew back to Nairobi and had lunch. Now we are relaxing for a few hours before going to the airport. The Messners and Skons begin thier journey home, departing Nairobi at 10 pm then a few hour layover in Amsterdam then non-stop to LAX, getting home tomorrow evening. The Mootes and I depart at 10:15 for Kigali, Rwanda where we will be met by friends in the PEACE office and begin our meetings there tomorrow afternoon.

Malindi

Yesterday (Friday) before we left Mombasa we took a tour of Fort Jesus built in 1593 by the Portuguese to guard the Old Port of Mombasa, we also visited Old Town in Mombasa. It was nice to get to see some of the city. We drove North along the coast for 3 hours to Malindi. We had a chance to walk on the beach and relax. We have been going non-stop since landing here over 2 weeks ago.

Today we went to Malindi prison and got to meet with some of the 67 men in CR. We heard testimonies of several men of how CR is changing their lives. They have a group for drug addicts, which is a huge issue in Malindi and long the coast of Kenya. About 80% of those attending the drug group are Muslim! They heard about the healing that was happening and they wanted to attend. I am looking forward to hearing about when one of them steps across the line to accept Christ.

The senior chaplain and our friend, Pastor Stanley, is well and is doing a great job with CR inside. We had the opportunity to visit his home and see his family again. He had a baby boy since we were here in February, they named him Blessington and his 3 sisters love their baby brother.

This afternoon we explored Malindi and saw the sights then I think we all took long naps. Tomorrow we fly to Masai Mara for a couple of days of R&R and hopefully will see a few animals.

Please pray for safe travels as we go to the Mara. For good rest. For processing the experiences as we begin the transition of leaving Kenya. The Messners & Skons fly home on Tuesday. The Mootes and I fly to Rwanda where we have CR meetings there so we are winding down but also gearing up for the next leg of our trip.

We completed the seminar today and God's presence was evident. When thinking about where we started on Monday and how today unfolded, it is pretty amazing to see how God is at work here. Bishops talked about how they would start CR in their churches. Small neighboring churches are planning to start joint CR programs. People are taking off their masks and stepping out of denial and looking ahead to establishing their leadership teams as they start this ministry.

We ended the day with nailing our hurts to the cross and taking communion. They were obviously moved by the experience. The singing was lighter, there was more joy and burdens were lifted. It was so moving to hold hands in a circle and burn the papers taken from the cross and watch the relief on peoples faces as their burdens turned to ashes. The wind picked up as they were burning and it was like God was taking them away as the ashes scattered.

The translator from Tanzania was here and we met today to discuss the translation to Kiswahili. They are eager to get the translation complete so we can train people in Tanzania how to start CR.

We are winding now and some people - "CJ", "Mike" and "Paul" - not to mention names, are highly vulnerable to giggles and are a bit out of hand. We may have to leave them in prison in Malindi if they can't get their act together. :-) At least we know people there and CR is going strong.

Please pray for safe travels as we drive to Malindi tomorrow. For the participants as they go forward and start this ministry. That we are able to process the experiences of our trip so far. To not let our guards down and be available to every divine appointment God has for us along the way. For grace as we deal with these goofy guys on our team.

CR Seminar Update

There are about 70 people attending the CR seminar here in Mombasa (actually Likoni) near the Mombasa port. We were expecting 50 participants and have over 70 and they are so excited to be here that some even have to stay off site and pay extra for accommodations. Bishops, senior pastors, pastors and church leaders are here from Nairobi, Lamu and even Tanzania.

The seminar started on Monday and they were skeptical but open and now are catching the vision of how CR can help and work in their churches. Today was the day that they "got it". It is exciting to watch it unfold. At times we lost focus of what God is doing and had doubts, He just needed to remind us who's in charge. We are just the Muppets, He is the Muppeteer. We just have to show up.

They are enjoying the teachings about CR and how to run the meetings and really liking participating in Step Study groups. They love hearing our testimonies. They have a whole new level of respect for the "youth couple" of Mike and Kelly.

We found out that the CR Africa materials are in the nearby port but have not been released yet. It's hard knowing that we can practically see where they are but can't get our hands on them yet. All in God's timing.

We are all continuing to do well and are healthy. Please pray for our last day of training tomorrow (Thursday) as they learn how to take this ministry back to their churches and train their leaders. Pray for the pastors as they plan to work together to help each other as they start CR in thier respective churches.

In Mombasa

We left Edoret Saturday morning (so we couldn't train the host church). As we drove through Eldoret town to the airport there were gentle reminders of the post-election violence last year. Fresh paint and shiny corrugated iron sheets on buildings replacing those turn down or burned because of tribal fighting when 100s of people were killed. Eldoret was one of the hardest hit areas. Much healing is needed here.

We flew on a "big" plane (40-50 pax) to Nairobi then boarded the next plane to Mombasa, arriving around noon. We had lunch with Rev. Stanley Wainana, senior pastor of Christian Truth International Center in Likoni, and enjoyed a time of fellowship and renewing of relationships. His church has CR.

We got to walk on the beach and dip our toes in the Indian Ocean and enjoy the fresh ocean breeze and relax for the afternoon and evening.

Sunday morning we crossed the ferry with little wait - praise God. We attended CTIC with Rev. Stanley. The open air and corrugated tin church is located in a 90% Muslim community. It has been torn down twice in the last 4 years to encourage them to move elsewhere but they are commited to standing firm. During the service we shared our testimonies and Mike "preached". We now call him Pastor Mike. This afternoon we are just hanging out and relaxing at our guest house. We have been blessed with good weather, it's not too hot.

Please pray for good rest and good health for us as we prepare for the 4-day seminar that starts tomorrow. I'm sure it will start on Kenya time, not ours. Pray for the people that will attend, that their hearts are open.

Thanks for the prayers and encouraging comments, it's comforting to us and helps us feel connected. Tomorrow (Monday) we get to celebrate Mike's birthday, one that I suspect he will not forget. How often do you get to celebrate your birthday in Kenya?

Senior Pastor Introduction Meeting

God set the tone for the day starting with our morning devotional about putting on the armor of God. Even though we started on Kenyan time (10:30 instead of scheduled 8:30) and at a different location, God multiplied the time and the shield of faith gave us serenity when we could have gotten distracted by the late start and change of venue.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.Romans 8:28

The 130+ pastors and prison chaplains are very eager to get training so they can start this life changing program. They LOVED the video of Kenyan testimonies from our February training and can see even more how it will work in their culture.

Bishops, pastors, prison chaplains and Provence directors traveled from all over the Rift Valley and even 200k away to hear about this ministry. It was very well received and they are anxiously waiting for in-depth training scheduled for March. Our host pastor wanted us to stay tomorrow so we could train his church to start right away. God is good.

Catching Up

We will back up to Monday and try to catch you up on what we've been doing. Kelly is helping me catch you up.

Monday morning we went to Kamiti Men's maximum security prison in Nairobi. Although we were not granted access to visit the prisoners, we had a successful meeting with the officer in charge and senior chaplain laying the foundation for the future of CR.

In the afternoon we visited Langata Women's Prison. We thought we were there to share our stories with them, God had other plans. After hearing some of our testimonies, some of the women prisoners in CR share gave their testimonies, taking CR to a whole new level as it was the first time any of the inmates had shared that openly. Even the chaplain was blown away by their sharing.

We ended Monday worshipping with a youth group called Ebenezer that we have a very strong relationship with. Mike and Kelly shared their testimony, touching many people. It was great to hear their testimonies of how CR has given them permission to talk openly. We had fun singing and dancing too :-).

Wednesday
Now we skip ahead to Wednesday because we have already posted for Tuesday. We visited Oasis of Hope, a drop in center for street kids. To read more about Oasis go to their blog linked to this page. It was great to see their new building and how much room there is for future growth. Kelly really enjoyed seeing Mike hanging out with the kids. The kids absolutely loved him. We joined them during recess then attended their Wednesday church service. Everyone had multiple hanging on them, it was awesome loving on these kids.

Later we went to Kitale Main Prison and met with the men in CR, about 60 inmates and 7 mzungus packed in a small room. We were granted access to videotape the meeting record some amazing testimonies. One inmate even shared a poem that he wrote about CR which I will post later. God blessed our time there with a rainstorm which was much needed because of the drought. They sang for us because the rain was so loud we couldn't continue talking.

Next we visited the Women's prison and were met with a warm welcome and great singing. We taped more testimonies from women that had gone through CR. God is so good and lives are changing. I can't wait to see how these videos are going to help other Africans see how CR can help them.

Thursday (Today)
At 5 am this morning, Noah walked to the local bicycle taxi stand to get a ride to the commuter van, then took a taxi to the Kitale Club (a 3 hour journey) to spend time with us. Noah was in prison for 7 years and started the first CR in Kenya almost 5 years ago in prison. He was falsely accused of murder and when he finally went to trial late last year he was found innocent and released. I think of Paul and how the time he spent in prison God used for good. To me Noah is a modern day Paul. Now he is looking at starting CR outside. He was so excited to receive a CR Bible and meet 4 of the people with testimonies in it.

A visit to Kitale would not be complete without a visit to Sister Freda's Hospital. CJ & her husband, Richard enjoyed a reunion and walk around the farm to compare farming stories. Sister Freda gave a gracious tour of the compound to see the growth of her ministry. The nursing school is progressing well and will give so many people an opportunity for education and equip them to care for so many.

We drove to Eldoret (1 1/2 hours) and went straight to the Eldoret women's prison for the first. We spent time getting acquainted then were granted access to visit the inmates. We introduced them to CR and shared our testimonies. They were obviously moved by our stories. I had a great reunion with Nolega, who is the mother of my God children in Kitale. She is doing well and her sentence has been commuted from the death penalty to 10 more years in prison. Praise God! The officer in charge wants to start CR and since Nolega has been through it she will be the leader. We left a few materials for them to get started. Asante sana Bwana (Thank you Lord).

Please pray for our seminar tomorrow(Friday) when we will introduce CR to senior pastors and prison chaplains in the North Rift Valley. Our team is doing well, everyone is healthy and having a wonderful time here serving God. The only challenge is keeping CJ and Mike separated as they tend to create mischief where ever they go :-). Now we are caught up to date. Thanks for your prayers, we could not do this without them. God's presence is evident everywhere we turn.

Tuesday in Kitale

This morning we had an early morning flight from Nairobi to Kitale on a 20 passenger prop plane and landed on a small strip in the middle of a corn field. We were met by my dear friend Margaret and our driver David who arrived safely yesterday. We got settled in at the Kitale Club and went to Purpose Driven Academy (PDA), a Christian boarding school that Margaret started. We had a tour of the school and it was great to see how it continues to grow and do well. Kelly, on our team, is an elementary school teacher and had a great time talking to the students.

The next experience is one that I find difficult to put into words but I will try. I met my 4 God children today, 3 for the first time. The first one is Augustine, I met him on my very first trip to Kenya in January 2005. He was in prison with his mother. It is a long story maybe I will tell another time but for now let's just say that we had a very unique connection. On a later trip his mother tried to give him to me to raise as my son. She was later sentenced the death penalty. Thank God they do not enforce it but still Augustine could only stay with her in prison until he was 4 and her family would not take him. It took about 1 1/2 years to work it out but I was able to arrange to send him to PDA. It was then that we discovered that he had a 6 year old sister Elizabeth. He also has an orphaned cousin Caleb (5) and another cousin Brian (8)that his father has died of AIDS and his mother is dying of it now. So that led to 4 children that my husband and I sponsor. So today was a very emotional day for me and one I have been looking forward to for months.

After our tour I saw Augo outside and asked someone who it was because I thought I recognized him. It was all I could do to not just grab him up and squeeze him to pieces. I had not seen him since he was 2 years old so I had to respect that he did not remember me and go very slowly. Margaret arranged for us to meet in the office and all 4 children came in togehter. At first they were very shy and overwhelmed by 7 mzungus (white people) staring at them. They had not seen white people before coming to PDA a few months ago. We spent some time with the group then I got to spend some time alone with them getting to know each other. I told them that I new their mother and had met Augo in prison. I brought them some school supplies, toiletries, new clothes, shoes and a soccer ball which was probably the first time they had new clothes. I had to show them how to brush their teeth as that was new to them. I showed them some pictures of my family so they could get to know me. They do not speak English so Margaret translated for us. Pole pole (slowly) they warmed up to me and after a little while we were hugging and holding hands everywhere we went. The rest of the team joined us for lunch then we went into town and got them locker boxes to keep their new things in. The rest of the team was hanging out with the other students making some cool connections.

Today was a very special day for me that I don't think I will ever forget. I get very emotional just thinking about it. It was all I could do to not cry while I was with them because they are not used to people showing emotions and I did not want to scare them. I can't imagine what Thursday morning will be like when we leave Kitale and these beautiful children that are embedded in my heart.

I'll post more later about our awesome day yesterday of divine appointments all day long.

Sunday

We attended church at CCI Thika and it was great to attend their services. They are located about an hour outside of Nairobi in a town (called Thika) of 300,000 people with 1,000 people attending their church. They were heavily promoting CR as they have been for months. The drama team did a skit during the service about joining CR. It was great. The senior pastor talked about how important CR is and really, really encouraged people to attend next week when they launch it. I was asked to speak for a few minutes and shared my mini testimony and encouraged people to attend next week. It is exciting to see it unfold. We had a great time of fellowship with the senior pastor and other church leaders, including the founding bishop. It was a great time.

Afterward (almost 6 hours later) we had lunch of black currant sodas and California cheeseburgers and did a bit of shopping. Tonight we get to turn in early as we rest up for another exciting day tomorrow. We plan to visit a men's maximum security prison and a women's prison, then we will meet with a youth group called Ebenezer that we have become quite close to. They are putting on a special program for us tomorrow afternoon. I can't wait to see what it is but am sure it will include lots of singing and dancing. I think they plan to attempt to teach us to dance - that should be really funny to see.

Please pray for good rest tonight. For our meetings tomorrow at both prisons and of course for our time with Ebenezer. Hopefully we won't hurt ourselves trying to dance :-). Pray for our driver, David, as he drives to Kitale (8-10 hours) so he can meet us when we fly there Tuesday early morning.

Saturday Evening

We all got a good night's rest last night and today we had a great meeting with the people that attended the CR training in February. It was so good to see everyone and hear how CR is changing lives. Several churches are in the process of starting or have plans to start CR in the near future. Mike and Kelly gave their testimony and it really made an impact on those attending. It is exciting to see God at work. Tomorrow we attend a church that has been working with it's leadership team since February and is launching it church wide this next week. Hopefully our visit will encourage people to get involved.

Kenya is having a severe drought causing all kinds of problems. Cattle (many people's livelihoods) are dying, crops are failing and there are rolling blackouts across the country because they cannot generate enough electricity to keep up with the need. That is why we did not have hot water, the hotel had to use generators and they could not make enough electricity to heat the water. Praise God that we all had hot showers today. I'n sitting in my room and typing this by flashlight as the electricity just went out for the night. That is why we bring flashlights :-).

Please pray for another good night's rest tonight. That we are God's vessels (Muppets) tomorrow as we attend church at CCI Thika and speak at both of their church services and meet with their senior pastor. Pray for the church as they launch CR to the congregation. That we represent God in all of our interactions throughout the day.

Yeah!! We arrived in Kenya

Our layover in London went well, a bit long but we had a very pleasant surprise awaiting us when we boarded the flight to Nairobi. That nice gate agent booked us all in business class so we were able to stretch out and be more comfortable. Thanks so much for your prayers.

We arrived early this morning (10 hours ahead of PDT) then had a great meeting today with prison headquarters about our visit. My permit will be renewed for another year, granting access to all 93 of the prisons in Kenya. Go figure. It is interesting to see what God is doing here and such a blessing to get a front row seat.

Tomorrow we have a seminar with the people that attended our training in February. We will spend the day encouraging them and helping them get their CRs going strong.

Please pray for a good rest tonight; to be God's vessels tomorrow; awesome reunions with great friends; warm showers would be nice too :-).

Connecting Flights

We arrived in Minneapolis almost 2 hours late and missed our connecting flight to Amsterdam. The next flight to Amsterdam would miss our connection to Nairobi so we were told that we could not get flights until tomorrow. We would have to miss an important meeting with the prison headquarters on Friday. So many faithful prayer warriors sent up prayers and then we were rerouted through London, scheduled to arrive Friday morning at 6am. Maybe a bit tired from the long flights but able to attend this really important meeting. Thank you prayer warriors and thank you Jesus. It's been pretty interesting to see how God is using this expereince to witness to others observing Him at work. I give away all my rights, they belong to the Lord anyway.

CR Mission Team Going to Kenya & Rwanda

Isaiah 6:8 “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said,‘Here I am. Send me!’”

A team of CR leaders from Saddleback Church including Teri and Paul Moote, Mike and Kelly Skon, Linda Messner, Jana O’Guin & CJ Messner will leave the morning of August 19th for Nairobi, Kenya. Mike and Kelly & CJ and Linda will return home on September 9th while Jana, Teri & Paul will return September 15th. We are asking for prayer support before we leave and during our trips.

Thank you so very much for joining us on this journey and supplying our prayer support. You are appreciated!
Please pray:
· That we will be humble and keep a servant’s heart.
· That we will be flexible and that our faith would grow.
· That we will rely on the Lord to lead and guide us.
· That we will be sensitive to, and learn about, the cultures of Kenya & Rwanda.
· That we will effectively share the power of healing through Celebrate Recovery.
· That the Holy Spirit will prepare the hearts of all who attend the CR trainings.
· That the newly published Celebrate Recovery Africa editions of the CR materials (in English) arrive in country in time to support the CR trainings.

Psalm 96:3 “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.”

Wednesday, August 19th & Thursday, August 20th – We depart LAX in the morning; our first stop is Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. We go on to Amsterdam arriving the morning of the 20th then an 8-hour flight to Nairobi, arriving the evening of the 20th. Kenya is 10 hours ahead of PDT.

Friday, August 21st: We plan to visit Langata Women’s prison and Kamiti Men’s Maximum Security prisons in the Nairobi area. We have been to these two prisons before and look forward to reconnecting with our friends and seeing how their CR programs are progressing. We also have meetings with officials at Prison Headquarters to discuss the future of CR in the 93 prisons across Kenya.

Saturday, August 22nd: We will be meeting to reconnect with those who attended the February Celebrate Recovery training in Nairobi. We will encourage them to continue with their Celebrate Recovery program or encourage them to get Celebrate Recovery started in their church or prison.

Sunday, August 23rd: Spend the morning attending a church that has started CR.

Monday – August 24th: We will spend the day visiting local prisons and churches that have started CR.

Tuesday – August 25th & Wednesday – August 26th: We will fly from Nairobi to Kitale on Tuesday morning. We will visit friends at local prisons, Purpose Driven Academy, Sister Freda and Oasis of Hope.

Thursday – August 27th: In the morning we continue local ministries, in the afternoon we drive from Kitale to Eldoret and will prepare to introduce Celebrate Recovery to a new region in Kenya. We will visit the Eldoret prison where Augustine and Elizabeth’s mother is serving a life sentence.

Friday – August 28th: We will host an Introduction to Celebrate Recovery seminar for senior pastors.

Saturday – August 29th: We will fly from Eldoret to Mombasa and will prepare to train those attending our Celebrate Recovery seminar starting Monday. We will visit a Church and a Prison during the day.

Sunday – August 30th: We will attend a Church that has started CR and visit a Prison in the afternoon.

Monday, August 31st – Thursday, September 3rd: We will teach Celebrate Recovery to pastors, prison officials and other representatives from 8:30 am – 5 pm daily. We will be teaching the Celebrate Recovery curriculum, facilitating small groups, giving our testimonies, and answering questions.

Friday – September 4th: We will host a follow-up meeting with the Pastors and Prisons Officials who attended our Celebrate Recovery training in Mombasa last year.

Saturday – September 5th: We drive from Mombasa to Malindi (approximately 3 hours) to meet with Rev. Stanley Chea Msanzu at Malindi Prison. Along the way (time permitting) we may stop at Kilifi Prisons.

Sunday – September 6th & Monday – September 7th: We will fly from Malindi to Masai Mara. We have a morning flight on the 6th to Masai Mara. In Masai Mara hope to visit the animal park, go on a safari and have some time to relax, process our experiences and decompress.

Tuesday – September 8th and Wednesday September 9th: Our team will fly from Masai Mara to Nairobi and we will all have a 6 – 8 hour layover in Nairobi before CJ, Linda, Mike and Kelly leave on a late evening flight to Amsterdam, then nonstop to LAX International. They will be landing in LAX in the afternoon of September 9th. Jana, Teri & Paul depart for a late night flight from Nairobi to Kigali, Rwanda.

Wednesday September 9th – September 13th: Jana, Teri and Paul meet at the P.E.A.C.E office with the Purpose Driven staff, trainers and some that have attended previous training and have started CR. The focus will be to brainstorm ideas of how to implement CR across the country of Rwanda. We will also visit a church that has started CR.

Monday, September 14th – Tuesday, September 15th: Jana, Teri and Paul will fly from to Kigali, Rwanda to Nairobi, on to Amsterdam, then Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport and finally back to LAX International. We will be landing in LAX in the afternoon of September 15th.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Celebrate Recovery Kenya PEACE Trip Report

The Pioneer PEACE trip team members of Celebrate Recovery (CR) leaders from Saddleback Church were Paul and Teri Moote, John Brennan (CA State Rep), Bryan Fenstermaker, Joann Willems, Virginia Payne and led by Jana O’Guin. Trip was January 28 – February 13, 2009. This was the eighth mission trip to Kenya focusing on Celebrate Recovery.

Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered 12-step recovery program based on the Beatitudes that helps people work through hurts, hang ups and habits in their lives. It is in over 10,000 churches across the United States and approximately 30 countries around the world.

Purpose
The team traveled to Kenya to teach the CR program to a small group of key church leaders and prison officials in Nairobi that would serve as models for others in the area. Also the team held a follow up training in Mombasa for church leaders and prisons officials that attended previous trainings to encourage them and help them as they start their programs.

History
On previous trips, teams have conducted seminars in Kitale, Nairobi and near Mombasa and trained pastors, church leaders and prison officials from across Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and Rwanda. CR started in many churches but not continued, mostly due to lack of senior pastor support. Based on that, we reevaluated the training process and how better to approach the churches to gain senior pastor support.

In April 2008 Pastor Rick Warren held a luncheon meeting in Nairobi with approximately 30 denomination leaders from across Kenya. At that meeting he talked about Celebrate Recovery and many expressed interest in the program.

In September 2008, a team of CR leaders from Saddleback held an informational meeting at ICM offices in Nairobi with about 75 people present, including some of those leaders from the luncheon as well as many other senior pastors from the Nairobi area. Those attending were presented an overview of the program, how it can impact their church, challenges they may face and how they can best demonstrate their support. They were invited to attend a future seminar on how to start the program.

CR Seminars
The first week of February 2009, the team conducted a 4-day residential seminar held at AIC Diguna in Nairobi with pastors, church leaders and prison officials in attendance. The seminar was limited to 75 people from 10-12 churches with men and women from each church. The course included both lecture and group meetings so the participants were able to experience the benefits of the program for themselves and can better understand how the program works.

The training partly consists of an accelerated CR step study, so the participants experienced the benefits of CR in their own lives during the intensive training and saw how it can help the people of their churches and prisons deal with their hurts, hang-ups and habits. It is a tool to help them work through their past and find forgiveness, and can help them with many struggles in their lives such as abuse, anger, unforgiveness, alcoholism, and sexual addiction.

By the conclusion of the seminar, many churches had created detailed schedules of how they would train leaders and start CR over the next few months.

The team traveled to Mombasa and held what began as a follow up meeting for those attending a 5 day CR seminar in September 2008. Word got out that we were there to talk about CR and many others came to learn about the program, turning the seminar into more of an introductory meeting. We were invited to come back and hold a training seminar.

Prisons
CR has been very successful in the Kenyan prisons and continues to grow. It began in 2005 in Kitale Men’s Prison and is now in all 4 prisons in Kitale as well as many prisons across the country. Jana O’Guin was blessed with a government issued permit allowing full access to visit any of the 93 prisons in Kenya.

On this trip, the team visited 8 prisons in Nairobi, Mombasa, Malindi and Kilifi, including 2 youth prisons and death row in men’s and women’s prisons. Officials from each of these prisons had attended previous CR seminars. Three of these prisons have active CR programs. The others are in the process of starting. We brought CR materials, pens, notebooks and encouragement for the inmates and officers. We attended a weekly CR meeting at Langata Women’s Prison in Nairobi to encourage them and share our own stories of healing through CR. We visited the 43 women on death row at the same prison who are starting CR. We went to Kamiti Men’s Maximum Security Prison in Nairobi and met with 150-200 men who are on death row or serving life sentences. We introduced CR to the inmates and the chaplains have since begun the program. We were invited to attend a men’s step study group with 15 men at Malindi prison and since being there it has grown to 44 men.

Relationships
We have found that it is important to establish relationships with the churches and prisons before they are willing to begin CR. We attended churches in Nairobi and Mombasa, both of which are now in the process of starting CR. We visited with friends made during previous trips, developing long term relationships. Many of the previous CR trips to Kenya have been to Kitale but we were unable to go there on this trip. Two friends came to Nairobi just to meet the team and spend a short amount of time in fellowship.

Materials
Up to this point, distribution of CR materials has been limited to the amount the teams could carry over in tubs. Zondervan has recently granted rights for an African Edition of the CR Leader’s Guide and Participant Guide in English at a very low cost. The first printing will be delivered in 2009 making CR materials much more accessible.

Many Kenyans outside of the Nairobi area have difficulty with English. The senior chaplain of Kitale Main Prison has translated the Participant Guides into Kiswahili by hand. Per our request, ICM is in the process of turning that into an official translation which will be published and made available within the next year or so.

Next Steps
A follow up trip by a Saddleback CR team to support the churches that participated in the Nairobi seminar is scheduled for August 2009. During this trip, the team will be holding an introductory meeting for senior pastors and prison chaplains in Rift Valley to lay the foundation for a future seminar in that region. They will also be conducting a 4 or 5 day training seminar in Mombasa with those that attended the introductory meeting on this trip.

Celebrate Recovery Rwanda Trip Report

A team of Celebrate Recovery (CR) leaders from Saddleback Church traveled to Rwanda to teach the CR program to a group of church leaders in Gitarama in Muhanga District. The Pioneer PEACE trip team members were Dave and Jana Lopez, Joe and Deanna Bommarito and led by Jana O’Guin. Trip was January 14 – 28, 2009.

Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered recovery program based on the Beatitudes that helps people work through hurts, hang ups and habits in their lives. It is in over 10,000 churches across the United States and approximately 30 countries around the world.

CR supports the PEACE Plan by Promoting Reconciliation. It is a permanent ministry within the church that helps people resolve painful problems in their lives. By working through the 8 principles of this program, the participants can find freedom by truly forgiving old hurts and releasing bitterness, resentments, guilt and shame from past sins. The PEACE Steering Committee in Rwanda recommended that the first CR training be held in Muhanga District, supporting the PEACE Plan's focus of Promote Reconciliation in that district.

Purpose
The purpose of the trip was to work with a small group of churches to equip them to start CR that would serve as models for other churches in the region and eventually the country.

CR Seminar
Prior to the training, the team met with the ICC (Inter Church Counsel) for Muhanga District and presented an overview of Celebrate Recovery and laid out the long term plan of conducting future trainings. A meeting was also held with the senior pastors of the churches attending the seminar to better help them understand the program, how it impacts their church and how they can best demonstrate their support.

The team conducted a 5-day seminar held at Restoration Church Gitarama with approximately 70 pastors and church leaders from Muhanga District in attendance. The participants were from 10-12 churches within the region with men and women from each church. The course included both lecture and group meetings so the participants were able to experience the benefits of the program for themselves so they could better understand how the program works.

The participants saw the benefits of CR and how it can help the people of Rwanda deal with their hurts, hang-ups and habits. Not only is it is a tool to help them work through the pain of the genocide and find forgiveness, it also can help them with many other struggles in their lives such as abuse, anger, alcoholism, and sexual addiction.

Materials
The CR materials (including the Leader’s Guide, Participant Guide, the Road to Recovery sermon series and the missions training manual) were recently translated into Kinyarwanda and field test copies were used in the training. Final publication of materials will follow after edits are incorporated. Each participant received a copy of the materials.

Next Steps
The translation will be completed and the materials published. The Steering Committee with meet with those that attended the seminar to get feedback on the training. The evaluations that were completed at the end of the seminar will be translated and reviewed. The churches will need time to review the materials and begin training leadership teams within their churches prior to beginning the CR program.

A follow up trip by a Saddleback Celebrate Recovery team to support the churches that participated in the seminar and answer questions about this ministry will be scheduled based on the feedback received.

Conclusion
The people of Rwanda will benefit greatly from CR and they appear to be ready for it. They have an extraordinary drive to heal their emotional and spiritual scars. The material translation is almost complete making it possible to go forward.