Kenya Update

My time in Kenya was awesome, although it went by so quickly. In Nairobi I met with Prison officials, CR is growing in more prisons and continues to do well. My time was short so I was not able to visit any CR ministries while in Nairobi but spoke to some over the phone.  I also met with a transition center for ex-prisoners as they are released to help integrate them into the community. They are interested in starting CR so I connected them with some of the prisons in the area doing CR. We are considering completing the translation to Swahili.

In Kitale I reconnected with many friends and our God-children. Our 4 children are growing so much. Bryan is almost as tall as me at 11 years old. He's going to be a tall man. They are all doing very well in school with Calvin #1 in his class and Augustine #3. Elizabeth and Bryan started school late but are catching up with their age mates quickly.

We only visited one prison this time, Kitale Women's.  We had a God-inspired 3 hour program. The children's mother, Nolega, has been moved there so she is closer to the children.  She has 3 years left on her sentence.  After our program the senior officials approached me and told me the story of one little girl. Her name is Rose and she's 4 years old. Women prisoners can have 1 child stay with them in prison until the child is 4 then they have to go live with relatives. Rose has no relatives that will take her. Her future looks very grim and she would likely end up living on the streets  even if one of her relatives agreed to take her and the officials knew this. They asked me to take her to be with our other 4 children there. After prayer and talking to my husband, we agreed to take her. So now we have 5 Kenyan children!! They live in a house that we rent for a pastor and his family so they can be in a loving, Christian family and get a good Christian education.  God is full of surprises.

Mission trip leaves tomorrow for Kenya & Rwanda

Jana O’Guin will depart October 9 for Kenya and Rwanda and will return October 25.   I will be traveling to and from Africa by myself but will be with African ministries partners and friends throughout the trip.  We will visit Celebrate Recovery ministries in churches and prisons in the Rift Valley, along with friends and our 4 beautiful Kenyan children.  I will fly to Rwanda where we will meet with pastors and church leaders in Kigali to introduce Celebrate Recovery for the whole family, as part of the Orphan Care initiative through Saddleback Church. We will also visit existing CR ministries in Muhanga District and Karongi District. Below is our agenda, we'll see what God's agenda is as we go along.

Please pray for all of the details of the trip and check back here periodically for updates and specific prayer requests as they come up.

Wednesday, October 9 – Depart DFW midafternoon on a non-stop flight to Amsterdam.  After a 3 hour layover, take an 8-hour flight to Nairobi, arriving the evening of the 10^th.  

Friday, October 11 – Meet with prison headquarters in Nairobi to discuss progress of CR ministries in the Kenya prisons.
Saturday, October 12 – Friends from Kitale will meet me at my hotel and will drive 8-10 hours to Kitale.
Sunday, October 13 – Attend church in the morning. Spend the afternoon reuniting with friends.
Monday – Tuesday, October 14 & 15 – Visit CR ministries in Kitale and take our 4 children to visit their mother who remains in prison there.

Wednesday, October 16 - Drive to Eldoret then fly to Nairobi in the morning. Take an afternoon flight to Kigali, Rwanda.

Thursday, October 17 – Meetings with PEACE Staff and key pastors in Kigali.
Friday, October 18 – Hold CR training for PEACE Board members and senior pastors and church leaders whose churches will lead the Orphan Care initiative and are interested in starting Celebrate Recovery.

Saturday, October 19 – Train church leaders from previous day training how to begin a CR ministry in their churches.

Sunday, October 20 – Attend church in the morning at Divine Destiny in Kigali. In the afternoon drive to Rubavu in Western Rwanda.
Monday, October 21 – Meet with the boys in a rehabilitation center on the Island of Iwana. Travel back to Kigali.
Tuesday, October 22 – Visit CR ministries at churches in Muhanga to encourage them and help them continue to grow. Drive to Karongi in Western Rwanda.
Wednesday, October 23 – Visit CR ministries at churches in Karongi to encourage them and help them continue to grow. Travel back to Kigali.
Thursday - Friday, October 24& 25 – Depart Kigali in the afternoon for Nairobi, after a brief layover then on to Amsterdam, arriving in the early morning.  After a 5 hour layover, take a non-stop flight on to DFW arriving home around noon on Friday.