In Kigali

We arrived last night in Kigali safely with our luggage. It was great to be met at the airport by Jean Pierre and Maurice. We got to practice being flexible from the start. The hotel we were booked at didn't have rooms so we checked in to the Diplomat Hotel. It has a nice view overlooking downtown Kigali. We are enjoying a relaxing breakfast in the outdoor dining room. Oh yeah, and our "plans" for the next couple of days are a bit different than we expected. "I will cheerfully adjust, change or drop my planned program to meet the local needs and fit into the local context." We know God's plans are so much better than ours and look forward to seeing what He has in store.

We made it to Nairobi

Thanks so much for your prayers. Our flights and connections have gone smoothly so far. We have just one short flight from Nairobi to Kigali, Rwanda remaining. We are looking forward to being back in Rwanda and seeing friends and what God has in store for us.

Please pray for our last flight to Rwanda, good health (Jana Lopez is getting a sore throat), for a good night's rest tonight, for our meetings tomorrow with the PEACE office, translators and pastors. Pray that we be the muppets for what God wants us to do and say.

CR Mission Trip to Rwanda

A team of CR leaders from Saddleback Church, Dave Lopez, his wife Jana Lopez and Jana O'Guin are preparing to go to Rwanda on Thursday, May 20th for a Celebrate Recovery mission trip.

What follows is a brief itinerary of the trip. You can follow along day by day and pray for specific things. We will be posting updates and prayer requests periodically from Rwanda (depending on internet connections!) so we can stay connected with you and let you know how to specifically pray for us during our trip.

May 20-21 10:30am LAX to Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Nairobi to Kigali,Rwanda
Lord take us safely and smoothly into Africa.

May 22 Meet with Jean Pierre and Pastor Stratton at the P.E.A.C.E. office. They advise and guide us throughout our stays in Rwanda. It’ll be good to see their familiar faces again.
Bless those who You put in our path to encourage us.

May 23 Travel to visit Anglican Church of Rwanda. Senior Pastor Jean Baptiste attended our CR training in January 2009 and has started the very first Celebrate Recovery in Rwanda! We are anxious to visit and encourage them.
Praise God for Jean Baptiste and his church! Lord take us safely there and protect us all with Your hope and perseverance.

May 24-25 Meeting with our original trainees to determine how best to serve them, answer questions, determine the challenges unique to Rwanda in implementing Celebrate Recovery and encourage them.
Lord, give us ears to listen and the ability to discern what is needed for this special group of men and women. Help us to understand their needs to be more effective in future trainings.

May 26 Travel to Karongi
Help us be Your ambassadors in everything we say and do. These bumpy roads are where our work is today. Help us be accepting and loving everywhere we go.

May 27-28 Senior Pastor Introduction. In Karongi we are meeting about 80 Senior Pastor’s to cast the vision of CR and explain some of the basic concepts. Your donations are helping get them to the training as transportation cost is beyond their means.
Thank God for these men and bless their efforts to help and love their church families even if it means a radical change! Help us communicate clearly with them.

May 29-30 We head south to Nyungwe National Park for down time to process what we have learned and experienced and begin thinking about returning for the next training.
Lord, be with us as we digest all that You have shown us. Help us rest for the way home. Show us Your next steps.

May 31 Travel to Kigali/visit with Pastor Hesbey our friend and head of the Inkuru Nizeza Church Group.
Thank you, Lord, for friends in far places. We are blessed to be Your blessing. Keep them healthy and protected as they work in Your purposes. Protect and prosper our time with them.

June 1 Debrief at the P.E.A.C.E. office in the morning and depart in the afternoon
Lord protect our hearts, Give us insight, Show us how to love others as You do. Make our meeting productive and full of hope.

June 2 Arrive LAX 12:40 pm.
Keep our flights on time, Lord. Give us peace instead of sadness at leaving. Help us understand Your next steps.

Thank you for being a part of our prayer team.
The Rwanda CR Team
Muraho (Hello,Good-bye,Thank you)

Back at Home

We made it home safe and sound yesterday after an incredible trip. Please continue to pray for us as we adjust both physically and emotionally to being back in the US. Pray for good rest and quick adjustment of our days and nights reversing back to CA time. Pray for us as we continue to process the experiences we had and are able to share them with others.

Headed Home

We are back in Nairobi waiting for our flight this evening. Our debrief went well and processing continues. We are looking forward to being back home and then coming back!

Please pray for travel mercies, on time flights and connections and that our luggage makes it home with us too.

It is finished, at the cross

And let the spiritual warfare begin... Fortunately we put on our full armour at breakfast so we were ready for it. First the power strip went out, then power went out, then we realized that we had the wrong certificates for the class and little time to correct it. Interruption after interruption all day long. God prevailed.

We taught about amends and forgiveness and WOW, what a new way at looking at things. It touched so many and gave hope. Then we put it all together and talked about the practical steps of starting the program in their churches and prisons. They had break out times to plan how they would start. Many presented their plans with some start days soon.

We had a great time of worship and reflection before nailing our hurts to the cross. It was powerful. We went outside and stood in a circle and burned the papers from the cross. The class broke out in a Swahili song saying "It is finished at the cross" WOW!

We went to Purpose Driven Academy so I could see Margaret for a few minutes and spend some time with my 4 kids. It was a hard goodbye but had some consolation since I am coming back in August. It's hard to believe that our trip is coming to an end, it has really flown by.

Praise report - we can feel your prayers every day and feel God's presence and leading. We have had surprisingly good energy, great team dynamics, good health and a lot of fun. There have been so many really obvious answered prayers, the type of people at the seminar, open hearts, technical challenges and even a misplaced cell phone. The answers were almost immediate for so many prayers. Keep them coming!

Prayer requests - we have one more stop in Kitale tomorrow morning before leaving for our R&R in Nakuru. We are visiting the Kitale Women's Prison to drop off a few things then the Provincial Chaplain from Nakuru who attended the seminar is riding with us. Pray for our time together. Pray for our 2 days of R&R in Nakuru, that we are able to put this trip in perspective and find words to express it when we get home.

Day 3 - Wooowwweeee Wednesday

Where to start.... Today was all about us stepping out of the way and letting God take over. They led the step study groups and did an awesome job. Joann shared her testimony which was right on and perfect timing. I spoke during chapel about CR for the ICM students and staff. John taught about the 4th step. We gave them some free time to start doing their inventories and WOW! So much writing, so many tears, so many break throughs, so much healing.

Please pray for our final day together at the seminar. Pray that we are able to effectively teach and motivate them to start CR in their church or prison. Pray that they are open to starting this ministry to bring the healing to others. Pray that we don't leave before the seminar is over. Pray for two teams from the US that are traveling to Africa to introduce CR, one to Uganda and another to Nigeria.

Day 2 - Woooooowwww

Tuesday is normally a pretty reserved day and people are still unsure of this program called Celebrate Recovery. This is not a "normal" Tuesday. Wooooowwww. They get it. They are very open to what CR has to offer. Close to 100 people are here and we expected about 80. God brought just the right people.

They loved watching the new video of Kenyans talking about their healing through CR. They were blown away by Richard's testimony, especially considering the way they view ex-prisoners. It really opened their eyes and challenged their thinking. John's testimony was a real wake up call for them too. Both testimonies demonstrated that strong men have big tears.

The worship and prayer walking demonstrates the sweetness of God's presence. He is obviously here. Before we came we prayed that we would bring the the spark of a wildfire that will spread across this country. Today a pastor told us that we were the tip of the flame and that CR would be a fire across the country. God is good.

The prayers are working, keep them coming. Pray for the people as they continue digging deep in their step studies and begin their inventories tomorrow. Please pray for the fire to build and build until it seems out of control as it sweeps across Kenya, East Africa and the continent. Asante sana Bwana!!

Day 1 of CR Seminar

Thanks so much for your prayers. People traveled from as far away as Nairobi (an overnight bus ride) and arrived safely. We had a good turn out. As we waited for the seminar to begin (Kenya time) we prayer walked the campus watching our steps for the cow patties.

One of the great gifts we receive is listening to Kenyan worship. People were open and receptive to CR. They loved hearing our testimonies and realized that we were not so different and saw the possibilities of how this could help people here. The microphone went out and it reminded us to keep our armour on. It was a great opportunity to talk about spiritual warfare. It was a great first day and very encouraging, for us and them :-). We can't wait to see what God is going to do this week. Noah sends his greetings.

Please continue to pray for those attending, that they are open to CR and their personal healing so they make take this to others in their churches and prisons. Pray for us to have continued good health and energy.

PS - thanks for the new comments!

The Road to Eldoret

The stagecoach ride to Eldoret was dusty, bumpy, long and did I mention bumpy? But the rewards were waiting at the end of the road. We were met at IVC (International Vision Center) church with awesome worship music overflowing from their huge tent. They were kicking off a worship conference. The music and dancing was a great precursor to an inspiring message on worship. We had a chance to talk about CR and the senior pastor is very exciting to get it started in his church after some key leaders attend the training which starts tomorrow. It filled us and rejuvenated our souls.

We visited Eldoret women's prison to bring them some Swahili Bibles bought by funds from the Saddleback recycling ministry. The Officer in Charge met us there on her day off. We were blessed with the unexpected opportunity to go inside and speak to the inmates. Not only did we distribute Bibles to the inmates, the officers were very excited to get some too. They related to Richard and his story. We were able to meet with some of the women in CR to answer a few questions as they begin doing their inventory. God is good.

The stagecoach ride back to Kitale was dusty, bumpy, long and did I mention bumpy?

Thanks so much for your encouraging comments and yes Valerie we were able to read your too. Maybe that could encourage some of you other faithful readers to leave an encouraging comment or prayer for us. We look forward to reading them.

Please pray for tomorrow (Sunday night in CA) as we begin our CR seminar. Only God knows what's in store. Pray without ceasing for the seminar, those traveling to be here, those attending and of course us. Pray for good rest tonight and energy tomorrow. Pray that we continue to be the Muppets.

Prayer Walking Through the Slums

Friday, we began the day at Purpose Driven Academy with the the 400+ students having an assembly with prayer, singing and memory verses. Out of all the children, only 2 were being a bit disruptive. They were both my kids. I was so proud!

Joann "preached" on Ephesians 4:23, their scripture for the school year. She gave a great message, what they needed to hear.

We walked over to the group home where my 4 kids plus 16 other young children live with Pastor Joel and his wife Margaret. They have such a heart for the orphan children that they care for. I can't imagine the amount of laundry that they do each week! After spending time with them, headmaster Peter, took us for a walk around the slums. It was pretty sobering to see the obvious poverty in the neighboring communities. There are so many children that do not attend school because they cannot afford to buy a school uniform. The crumbling mud homes were a stark reality of life in the slums. We went into a home without any place for us to sit. We met a couple of single fathers struggling to feed their kids. So many stories...

We had lunch and got to play with the children at PDA. We brought a football and Frisbee and had so much fun teaching them how to play with them. It was a great way to lighten up after the reality of the slums.

Margaret took us to Endebess to visit Shalom Academy. It's a school that she started last year and has over 100 students now. It is in an area where thousands of people were displaced, living in tents, after the post-election violence 2 years ago. These children were lacking the self confidence in contrast to the children at PDA and very reserved with us. They obviously have been through a lot in their short lives.

We went for a walk in the community and saw the river where they fetch their water and another level of poverty, something that no amount of training could have prepared us for.

On the way back to Kitale we stopped at Captain Davis's which is a small animal park and took my 4 kids (and Richard) to see their first animals in the wild (including rhinos). It was great to spend some more time with my kids, even thought it seems to short.

Today we joined the Saddleback teams that are here with Pastor Steve and we experienced an even starker reality and deeper level of poverty in Kipsungu slums. We took a walk in the slums and it made the ones yesterday look pretty nice. The igloo shaped homes were made of sticks and plastic shopping bags, clothes, spare materials and things we would discard. There were a few mud huts and they looked so nice relatively speaking. There was a small market selling food that had been discarded in town, knowing that they would likely get sick from eating it but hungry enough to take the chance. The open ditch running through the community made the cement latrine at Kamiti Prison look very extravagant. What a harsh reality. The pastor that serves that community lives in the middle in a small mud hut said that we needed to have a small mind and a huge heart to be there. It's not to analyze, but to feel. We helped Sister Freda hold a medical clinic plus a vision and dental clinic. There were more people than we could possibly treat in the time we had. I think if we had stayed there for 3 days we still could not have been able to treat everyone.

In the afternoon we went to Kitale Prison with the Saddleback teams for a celebration of running water in the prison. They had a program of native singing and dancing, it was a lot of fun. It was great to see so many of the men again who are involved in CR that we saw on Thursday. Many men came to accept the Lord. The men from our teams prayed with them. It was a wonderful experience.

Water from an Artesian well is being pumped into the prison providing water for the 1300 men. They can bath for the first time in prison. They have drinking water. Before they carried water from the creek to the prison for cooking. That was the only use for the water they had. They were very happy to have running water. Now they need soap. It was a wonderful celebration and privilidge to see the fruits of the 3 year water project.

Please pray for travel mercies as we drive to Eldoret to attend IVC church tomorrow. The senoir pastor is a great supporter of CR and will send key leaders to our seminar that begins on Monday. Please continue to pray for those coming to the semianr next week and travel mercies for those coming from as far as Nairobi to attend. Pray for the many people that are less fortunate and living in the slums so close by. Pray for a time of rest and recharging for us as we prepare for teaching the CR semianr next week.

Another day in prison

After a rain delay, we were warmly welcomed at Kitale Main prison by several hundred inmates, many who had gone through CR plus many others. A few hundred men were gathered around us, others listening from across the yard and even a few sitting in the tops of trees reminding us of Zacchaeus.

They had prepared a program for us with songs, poems and one inmate who is being released next week even sang a song for us about how Celebrate Recovery changed his life. What a blessing!

We shared our stories of hope. They loved hearing Richard's testimony, of his 22 years of in and out of prison until he accepted Christ in his heart. They refer to him as a "jailbird", going in and out of prison. Both the inmates and officers were really impacted. I think they will always remember this day when an ex-prisoner from the US came all the way to Kenya to encourage them. Richard got to experience for the first time what it was like to see what he looked like when he was in prison - hard hearted and full of anger. It was like looking in an old mirror.

The chaplain did an alter call and so many men (too many to count) came forward and accepted Christ. It was amazing to see some of those hard hearts soften. Richard prayed for them.

We visited the women's prison and shared our stories and encouraged them. There are fewer women now, only 47, and only 6 children staying in prison with their mothers - being raised by the village of women. My friend Carolyne is still there leading the CR group. It was great to reconnect with her. We were honored with Swahili songs and welcomed back.

We left CR materials, Swahili Bibles and a few Purpose Driven Life books for both prisons.

It was a very good day.

Please pray for us as we visit Purpose Driven Academy tomorrow and Joann "preaches" at chapel for the students. Pray as we finalize arrangements for our seminar next week and reconnect with friends.

Wednesday Night in Kitale

We made it to Kitale this morning on a 19 passenger plane with no problems. However we have had some technical challenges with my computer so here are 2 days of catch up.

Tuesday
We went to 2 prisons, and got to leave also - thank you Jesus. We arrived at Kamiti, a men's maximun security prison with about 4000 inmates, a little before our appointed time. We waited. And we waited. We waited some more. Then we were allowed access to visit the 130 men on death row. What a humbling expereince. We sat in chairs overlooking the open latrene running through the yard, with the execution chamber in clear view. The men sat on the ground or 5 gallon plastic buckets.

Their choir sang beautiful worship songs for us. The team was introduced and I gave my short testimony and then Richard spoke - wow! John & Joann gave their short testimonies too. Everyone (including the guards) was completely focused on every word. And it was right what they needed to hear. One man, James, accepted Christ while we were there and John and Richard got to hug him and pray with him as he did. Thank You God for allowing us to be the Muppets. Powerful!

We had a nice visit with the Officer In Charger (warden) and believe we will be welcomed back there any time. They were pretty impressed that a former prisoner from the US would come all the way to Kenya to share hope with the hopeless. We brought some CR materials, Bibles and Purpose Driven Life books.

We went to Langata Women's Prison and got to meet the new Senior Chaplain (the former Sr Chaplain was promoted to Provencial Chaplain) and we began building new relationships. We spoke to a large group of women, both remands and convicted. It was very encouraging to Chirstine (the CR leader) and others that we came back. It was pretty powerful. They seemed to really appreciate our visit and the CR materials and Bibles that we brought.

Today (Wednesday)
We got up very early and caught a fligt to Kitale. We went straight to Oasis of Hope, a drop in center for street kids. The children live on the street and come to Oasis for 2 meals each day, classes and Bible studies. It was a real eye opener, heart jerker, fun and emotional time. Geoffrey gave us a tour of the great facility then we got to play games with the kids. Red rover, red rover, let John come over..... What a gift to be there. The reality of their lives really hit home to us when we saw those same kids in town later, on the street where they will sleep tonight.

After lunch in town we went to Purpose Driven Academy and the rest of the team got to meet my kids. Sorry, no words to describe this.... Ok, they will help me find some. It was wonderful to share my experiencs with the team and to see how quickly they bonded with "my" kids and many others. At first the children were a bit overwhelmed by 4 mzungus but warmed up pretty fast. It was a great time of reconnection and getting acquainted.

Today was all about being "in the present". The verse for the day is "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 a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11.

Please pray for our visit to Kitale Prisons tomorrow morning. Pray for our meeting at ICM as we finalize arrangements for the seminar next week. Pray for those coming to the seminar, for safe travels as they come to Kitale from around Kenya. Pray for open hearts to learn about CR. Pray for the churches and prisons across Kenay that are in various stages of starting CR.

Monday Night

God's plan for us today was to hold a meeting for people that have attended previous CR trainings plus an introduction meeting for new pastors, church leaders and prison chaplains that wanted to learn about CR. We showed up, God spoke, we left - with a few other minor details in between. The CR Africa materials were a huge hit and look great! They loved the new CR Kenya video with their testimonies. CR programs are progressing well, pole pole (slowly). It was wonderful to reconnect with so many people, and it reinforced the importance of following up. Richard shared his testimony for the first time here and it touch many people.

Richard had a new identity, it was decided that he had to have a "J" name too with John, Joann and Jana so now he is "Joe Richard".

Please pray for our meetings tomorrow as we go to Kamiti Prison, a maximum security facility here in Nairobi. Pray for David as he drives to Kitale tomorrow to meet us there when we arrive on Wednesday morning.

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 :-)).

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.

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.

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!

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.