Sunday, February 28, 2010

How do we put into words the expereinces of today?

The team got a good night's rest, got to sleep in (ha ha) til 6. It has been raining some and that is considered a blessing. We drove to CCI Thika and met with the CR leadership. They have 14 people going through step study groups to prepare leaders, they are in book 3. They are discussing how to add the Large Group meeting and Open Share groups and see the need for them. They are becoming the Kenyan model for CR. Our visit was very encouraging to them, and us.

We had a meeting in the afternoon with Nairobi Pentecostal Church (NPC) Woodley. which has about 5000 members. Last week we accidentally went to this church for a meeting which was actually scheduled elsewhere. While we were waiting we met a key pastor and showed him a video of CR in Kenya and he invited us to come today and speak to some church leaders. The best way to describe it was there was a Holy Spirit transformation of the hearts of those attending. Then we met the Bishop over all 8 NPC churches. He has been to Saddleback and knows about CR. He was very excited that we were here and bringing CR to his churhces. They are planning to attend our next CR training. Did I mention that God was there?

Please pray for our families at home, our meeting tomorrow with churches in Nairobi that have been trained in CR or want to attend our next training that will be here in Nairobi in August (oh yeah, our plans for August have changed :-)).

Saturday, February 27, 2010

The team arrived safely!

Thanks so much for your prayers. John, Richard and Joann made it to Nairobi with all their luggage after a couple of minor travel stresses but nothing serious. They are so excited to be here. We are all checked in at Methodist Guest House and hopefully will get a good night's rest.

Back in Nairobi waiting on the team to arrive

I flew back to Nairobi today so I can meet the team coming in tonight. They had a flight delay in Minneapolis but should of had plenty of time for their connection in Amsterdam. I haven't heard from them so I assume that means they are on the plane arriving in a couple of hours. David (our trusted driver and friend) and I are headed to the airport in a few minutes to meet them. I'll post something after we get back to the hotel tonight to let you know they made it.

While I am waiting to go to the airport to meet them I'll give you an update on my remaining time in Kitale.

Yesterday morning we went by Kitale Prison to finalize arrangements for the team's visit next week. To my surprise they had prepared a program for me. The testimonies they shared were so amazing, lives are changing through Celebrate Recovery. People have peace in their lives, families are being restored, God is so good. They gave me several hand written testimonies, I can't wait to read through all of them. After visiting both the men's and women's prisons in Kitale we drove 1 1/2 hours south over very rough roads to Eldoret. We brought my 4 Kenyan children to visit their mother in prison. There weren't many dry eyes around for that! They got to spend a few minutes alone and then I spent some time with her too. She is now the pastor for all the women of that prison and has started CR since our visit last August! Did I mention that God is good. The kids enjoyed the visit so much, they sang most of the way back to Kitale.

This morning my flight was delayed from Kitale. During that time there were so many God connections. First of all there was a team from Seacoast Church in South Carolina waiting for the flight. They are a Purpose Driven Church and have CR. We had great conversations about CR and Kenya. They were with a Kenyan Bishop, John Lodinyo, who was featured in the book "White Man Walking", what an honor to meet this humble man. As we talked we realized that we have some common friends, it's a small world. Well Bishop John was talking to someone he knew, the retired Commissioner of Prisons. I talked to him for a few minutes about what CR is doing in the prisons, he was very happy. He was the one who opened up prisons to allow religious organizations in to minister to the inmates. He seemed pleased to see my permit, granting me access to visit the prisons. The time passed quickly and I didn't mind the flight delay at all.

Please pray for the team as they arrive this evening, that their luggage comes too and they get good rest tonight as they begin adjusting to the 11 hour time difference. Pray for our day tomorrow. We will attend church at CCI Thika and meet with their CR group to encourage them and see how we can best serve them. In the afternoon we have a meeting with a key church in Nairobi that is interested in starting CR. Pray for us to be the Muppets and that God will lead us and guide us every step of the way.

Also pray for a church in Kiev, Ukraine that has started CR with a few people and they are presenting it to their church tomorrow (Sunday.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Meeting the Grandmother

I took my four God children to see their grandmother. My friend Margaret who is the principle of the boarding school they live and Pastor Abraham of Kitale Prison came with us. I have been sponsoring them for about a year at Purpose Driven Academy in Kitale. I met Augustine (now 5 years old) in prison where he was born. His mother remains in prison today adn God willing will be released in about 10 years. Elizabeth, age 6, is his sister and Brian, age 8, and Calvin, age 5, are cousins.

We drove 1 1/2 hours from Kitale over pothole filled roads through the sugar cane fields through Webuye and on to Matisi in Western Kenya. The towns grew smaller to tiny villages with open air markets every few kilometers. We turned off the main road to a dirt footpath that had likely never seen car. We slowly made our way down the path. The children's excitement was building. After 2-3 kilometers we came to the end of the path to 3 mud huts on a small plot of land. The grandmother was waiting to greet us. She could not contain her excitement to see the children and meet the first mzungu (white person) to ever visit the area. Apparently it was a real honor for her to host me in her home.

She offered us cokes as that was the only soda available in the village. We sat in her mud hut with a few pieces of stick furniture and got to know one another and talked about the children. It's too much to write about in the blog so for the details you will just have to wait for the book that I have been thinking about writing one of these days. I'll just say that Brain (the oldest at 8 years old) was born to her daughter when she was in the 5th grade and prostituted herself for food. There is no way to know who the father is. The grandmother raised him as her son but could not afford to send him to school. Last year when he came to Purpse Driven Academy he started in kindergarten and is now in the first grade. All four of the children have their unique stories.

All the neighbors came to great me and wanted me to take their pictures. Even the adults liked to have their pictures taken and look at them, maybe for the first time. I was a good time of fellowship and a very positive experience for everyone involved.

Please pray for the team that will be leaving LAX at 8 am on Friday morning. Pray for travel mercies and their families as they see them off. Pray for my meetings today at Kitale Prison and then I am taking the children to Eldoret for Augustine and Elizabeth to see their mother for the first time in a year.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

A day with my kids

This morning Margaret and I took my four kids to town and bought them new shoes and a few basic necessities. They needed black shoes to go with their school uniforms and casual shoes to wear when not in school along with some school supplies and toiletries. They are all doing well in school and enjoying it very much.

They live in a home with 16 other orphan children and house parents Joel and Margaret. We took their new mattresses and other things tehre and I got to see their beds and lockers and spend soem time with their house mom. After lunch we drove to outside of Kitale town to Endebes and visited a school. We had a great time on the drive, they rode in the back of the pickup and laughted and sang the whole way. It was a very good day!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

In Kitale

Early this morning I flew to Kitale in a 12 passenger airplane. We landed on a small asphalt airstrip in the middle of a cornfield. At elast the corn was short this time. My friend Margaret was there to pick me up. I was also pleasantly surprised to see Sister Freda and Richard, they were there to meet their daughter who was on the same plane.

We went to Purpose Driven Academy and got to spend some wonderful time with my four God children. It is hard to find the words to describe it, amazing is an understatement They were so happy to see me and of I course I was so excited to see them again. They are doing well - healthy, getting stronger, doing well in school and seem very happy to be there.

I met with Abraham, the senior chaplain at Kitale Prison. We finalized a few things about the team visiting next week and spent some time of fellowship. I saw Lydia and Geoffrey from Oasis of Hope too. Lydia is so much enjoying her time here with the street kids and former street kids that are now in homes and going to schools.

I visited ICM where we will hold our CR seminar week after next. We finalized the arrangements and had a chance to reconnect with many friends there.

I am settling down for the evening at Margaret's home where I will be staying for the next few days. She is preparing a nice Kenyan meal for me. God is good!

Please pray for reconnecting with friends, more wonderful time with my kids and a good time of fellowship for me and Margaret. She is a wonderful friend and it doesn't matter that we live on opposite sides of the world, God has brought us together. Also pray for the people that will be coming to the CR seminar March 8-11 that they will be open to what CR can do in their own lives and the lives of the people they serve.

Monday, February 22, 2010

God's presence is evident everywhere I turn. Before I went to church yesterday I read all of your encouraging comments on this blog. It was all things I needed to hear. Thank you!

Yesterday at DC Saika the church service was amazing. I loved the worship, they really know how to praise the Lord through song. I "spoke" for over an hour and it was very well received. Many in the congregation afterward said they want to be a part of CR. I think it was encouraging for the pastor to get such feedback.

After church I had the privilege of going to the senior pastors home for a wonderfully prepared meal that his wife made. We had a great time of fellowship and I got to meet his 4 children. It was such a blessing.

Later I met a young woman (Pet) that I know through Ebenezer, a youth ministry that we have become very close with. We had great conversations and really connected so much. An anticipated short chat lasted about 3 hours!

Today (Monday) I met with the chaplain at Kamiti Prison, one of the largest maximum security prisons in Kenya. We had a good visit and finalized the arrangements for our team's visit there next week. I did a bit of shopping for ministry supplies so we don't have to do it when the team arrives.

I met a chaplain from Malindi Prison who recently moved to Nairobi to attend a Bible college. His prison has a really strong CR program and it is continuing in his absence. Stanley and I had a good visit and he send his greetings to all of you that have been here before. All of the students where he is attending is going through the Purpose Driven Life book together, they are on day 26. He wants to start a CR group there so I brought him some materials.

In the afternoon we made a last minute decision to visit Athi River Prison just outside of Nairobi. It was my first visit there and my driver told me this morning that he was close friends with the deputy warden so we decided to go see him. We were very well received and he introduced me to several of the officers there. To my surprise there were 2 men there that I know, who attended a training that we did in August 2007. We talked for quite a while. I was surprised to know that they had actually started CR. (I wonder how many other places here in Kenya have started it that I don't know about.) They were very encouraged by our visit today and very glad that we have materials available here now so they can continue to expand the program.

As I said at the beginning, God's presence is evident wherever I look.

Please pray for safe travels tomorrow as I fly to Kitale in the morning. Pray for great reunions with friends and of course my beautiful kids.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Saturday Night

I had a nice, relaxing day today. I even got in a nap which will really shock those of you that have traveled with me :-). I got to call a lot of people that have attended CR trainings around the country and heard some great stories of how CR is changing lives in Kenya. One small church in Mombasa has CR and is working with the prisons to help 58 former inmates transition to civilian lives using CR. Churches are starting it and people are opening up and finding healing in their lives. Praise God!

Please pray for me tomorrow morning (Saturday evening in CA) as I have been asked to "preach" tomorrow at Deliverance Church Saika, about 45 minutes East of Nairobi. I told then I am not a preacher but I would love to talk about CR so I have the whole sermon time to "talk". Pray that I will be the Muppet and say whatever God wants and someone needs to hear and He is glorified through it. The church is preparing to launch CR later this year.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Building Relationships

The last 2 days have been all about building relationships. Yesterday I met with the new administration of the chaplains office at prison headquarters. It was a time of getting to know one another and learning how to work together to further CR in the Kenyan prisons.

Today I visited 4 churches that needed a bit of encouragement to start CR. They or someone at their church has been through the training already. It was very helpful to spend time getting to know them and learning some of the challenges they face in starting CR and sharing how others have gone forward. It was a long day very well spent. I believe positive things will come of the visits. Two of the churches are very large, Nairobi Pentecostal Church Woodley has about 5,000 adult weekend attenders and Nairobi Pentecostal Church Valley Road has close to 20,000. So many lives could be impacted through CR at their churches and I beleive they will both be starting CR, all in God's timing (not mine). I also visited a center for street kids that are using CR. It was great to see boys 8-10 year old participating in the CR lesson TURN. God is good.

Please pray for these churches and others in Nairobi and Mombasa that are in various stages of starting CR ministries. Pray for the team (John, Richard adn Joann) who will be leaving LAX a week from today to join me in Kenya for CR trainings. Pray for me to have a good day of rest tomorrow.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

In Nairobi

My flights were smoothly, connections on time and the luggage made it! And I'm settled in at Methodist Guest House. Praise God. Thanks for all the prayers. I feel surprisingly rested (not in a total fog).

Please pray for a good night's rest tonight. We are 11 hours ahead of California here in Kenya so my nights and days are reversed. Pray also for the meeting with prison headquarters tomorrow morning with new leadership since I was here last. Thank God that my permit was renewed so I don't anticipate any problems with us visiting prisons. Pray that relationships will be built that will glorify God and further Celebrate Recovery in the prisons across Kenya.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Celebrate Recovery Mission Trip to Kenya, Feb 2010



Our team (left to right) is Joann Willems, Richard Bojorquez, John Brennan, Jana and Michael O’Guin. Our team leader, Jana, will depart on February 16. The rest of the team departs February 26 and the entire team will return home on March 15.

Our team of Celebrate Recovery leaders from Saddleback Church & Emmanuel Church will train and equip leaders from across the Rift Valley in Kenya to start CR programs in their respective churches and prisons while we visit and encourage those that have existing programs.

There will be updates and specific prayer requests posted here during our trip so be sure to check back often.

We would like to thank you for joining us on this amazing journey. Your prayer support is greatly appreciated while in preparation for the trip and during our trip and upon our return. Below is our "planned" itnerary so you know how to pray for us.

Tuesday, February 16 ~ Jana departs for Kenya for meetings with prison officials and church leaders regarding CR in Nairobi. She will then fly to Kitale to visit with friends before returning to meet the team arriving on February 27th.

Friday, February 26th–27th ~ The team departs from LAX in the morning, changing planes in Minneapolis then on to Amsterdam for a 3 hour layover before heading out on an 8 hour flight to Nairobi, arriving in Nairobi the evening of February 27th.

Sunday, February 28th –Tuesday, March 2nd ~ On the 28th we will be attending a church that has CR, to encourage and support them. March 1st we will hold a seminar in Nairobi for churches and prisons that are in the process of starting CR. March 2nd we plan to visit Kamiti men’s maximum security prison and Langata women’s prison to minister to the inmates and encourage their CR programs.

Wednesday, March 3rd – Sunday, March 7th ~ Wednesday morning we will fly from Nairobi to the town of Kitale in the Rift Valley. We will visit the local prisons, Purpose Driven Academy, Sister Freda's Hospital, Oasis of Hope and attend a church that is starting CR.

Monday, March 8th – Thursday, March 11th ~ We will be facilitating a 4 day seminar to train and equip churches and prisons from across the Rift Valley to begin a CR program.

Friday, March 12th – Saturday, March 13th ~ Off to Nakuru for debriefing from our trip along with some rest and relaxation before heading back home.

Sunday, March 14th – Monday, March 15th ~ We will all travel to Nairobi for an evening flight home. We will arrive at LAX on the afternoon of the 15th.