Sunday, August 30, 2009

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?

Friday, August 28, 2009

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.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

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, August 25, 2009

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, August 23, 2009

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, August 22, 2009

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.

Friday, August 21, 2009

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 :-).

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

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.

Monday, August 17, 2009

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