Good Good Father

I have been somewhat absent from the world of blog since my last post about memory blankets as a fundraiser for our trip. My keyboard has had a break while my sewing machine has been busy, busy, busy! The blankets have been a big success and have helped to fund our trip which is almost fully funded! Praise God! Through blankets, yard sales, donations, and extra side jobs God has provided exactly what we needed for the people He has called...another way of bringing peace to this worrier when I wonder if more of our family should be going.

Last summer when I felt God was calling me to Africa for six weeks, I sat in the backseat of the van in tears knowing I didn't want to leave my family for that long but wanting to serve His kingdom in whatever capacity He called me to. As I surrendered I felt a peace that surpasses understanding. I became comfortable with the idea that God would call the whole family to Africa for the summer and continued to tell Him daily that I trusted His plan, praying that He would increase my faith and grow us during this time. I prayed that He would give a clear call for this neon sign kind of girl. After He answered that prayer for Ensley, I continued to pray for guidance and a neon sign for EJ and even Ellie if that is what He desired. After months of prayer and some doors closing, I began to realize that His plan was for Ensley and I to go across the world together (but not alone.) While I let go of my plan for us all to go this summer, He comforted me and gave me glimpses along the way to assure me that He is in control and His plan is better than mine if I will just trust Him. Listen to how He puts pieces of a puzzle together that I did not even know were part of the puzzle when I said "Yes Lord to whatever You call me to do."

I wondered what Ensley would do during the day. She had said she wanted to help me in the pharmacy since she can't go to work with me here. I knew she would think that was fun for a few days out of the summer but boredom would most likely set in after the first day...who I am kidding, after the first few hours. I knew she could go to the school and be a part of the children's ministry but what I did not know early on was that God already knew who was going to be a part of the CMN summer teams. Some of our students in the college ministry are going to be on summer teams and will be traveling with us as well! These students love our girls and Ensley could not be more excited that they will be with us for the summer. I have no hesitations about her going with these ladies to the schools when she gets bored with the pharmacy. I never could have imagined that we would be serving alongside such sweet friends and I am so thankful!

After my post in September requesting prayer regarding things like how Ensley would handle cold showers and that she would want to quit sucking her thumb, much has happened! Ensley often asks to take a cold shower...not really sure why, other than God is preparing her. She asks me to rinse her hair with cold water most of the time...strange as it may sound, I smile and thank God each time.

We had to get a couple of shots before she could travel to Africa. If you have ever been within a 3 mile radius of our pediatricians' office on immunization day, you would know from her screams of horror that this would not be an easy day. We had many prayers from sweet friends going up to the Father and Ensley walked right in to that office knowing in full why we were there. She sat on the table and talked to the doctor about our trip and his family life and his farm and the weather and...then the nurse came in with the tray and she hesitated and tried to regain her composure (much like I did when I got my shots for college, but that is another story for another day). She got her shots while screaming and then it was over and she was fine...(she did not pass out like her mother did at 18). Victory! She wore her band-aid proudly and I sighed a sigh of relief knowing that one of the hardest steps in this journey was complete.

Soon after this victory the enemy began to attack but our good, good Father whispered peace into my heart. I am learning to rest in the peace that I find walking step by step in His plan even when I do not understand every detail or where the path will end up. Satan tried to bring discouragement, but God's Word brought precious encouragement in Isaiah 40:11 "He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in His arms. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young." I am thankful He knows what I need and He provides at the perfect time.

Over the past six months Ensley has expressed a desire to quit sucking her thumb. Praise God! It is a habit and many times throughout the day I would catch her thumb in her mouth but she would quickly remove it with a simple reminder "thumb". We were still struggling with the bedtime thumb...we had tried gloves & mittens and the cayenne pepper nail polish. Nothing seemed to work until this past Tuesday...
We went to the dentist and Ensley informed the dentist in all of her maturity that she wanted to quit sucking her thumb. He recommended a different brand of polish that he sold in the office and so we gave it a try, polishing her thumbs before we left the office that day. After a few hours Ensley forgot and put her thumb in her mouth, apparently the taste is so awful that she hasn't put her in thumb near her mouth in four days! I have checked on her many times in bed the past 3 nights and never has her thumb been in her mouth. Hallelujah!! Thank you for your prayers! He hears our every cry and knows our every thought. He cares enough about us to answer even what seems to be the smallest request when we delight in Him. He is a good, good Father!

Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for the summer. As the time draws nearer the enemy will try harder to get in the way. Pray for Ellie as she will miss her big sister and best friend while we are away. I have no doubt EJ will be great while we are gone but pray for him as he ministers to Ellie in our absence. Pray for all of the summer teams for clean hearts and minds, travel, health, safety, and wisdom. Pray for the Pine family as they prepare to move to the mission house on the campus of Miracle Power for a year. Pray for the Holloways who are currently serving in East Africa and are preparing for the summer teams arrival. Pray for the leadership of CMN as they seek to follow God's will. Pray for Dare to Dream and Bob who has partnered with CMN to help sustain pastors. Pray for the pastors and the church plants that will be a beacon in these dark places. Pray for the hearts of the people we come in contact with and the ripple effect that will continue to take place as the joy of Jesus spreads.

Memory Blankets

Our church is currently undergoing a building process which started with tearing down one of the houses on the church property that had been used for student ministry. The Wednesday after the house was torn down our student pastor challenged the students with scripture from Joshua 4. He had students share about the impact different student ministry events had on them and displayed the group picture and t-shirt from that particular event. He told them the pictures in the hallway at church and the event t-shirts they wear should be a reminder of what God did there, His faithfulness and we should see where we have come since then. He brought stones from the porch of the old student building and challenged students to take one home and keep it as a reminder of all God did in that house.

Joshua 4:21-24 "In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God."

By the end of the night we had the idea to help these students make a memorial out of the shirts from the student ministry and help us with our fundraising for Africa by making t-shirt blankets. We posted the idea to social media the next morning and by the end of the day we had ten orders. God is so good. If you have t-shirts from high school, college, workplace, ministry, athletics, etc that you can't part with but don't wear anymore send them our way and we can make them into a blanket for you to enjoy. You can comment here with your name and email address and we will be happy to get with you on blanket options and pricing.

Yard Sale

In an effort to raise money for our trip to Kenya next summer we decided to participate in our neighborhood yard sale asking friends and family to donate items. With about fifteen donors we gathered enough items to fill a 3 car garage. I stood in the middle of the items pricing and organizing and I began to cry. I was overwhelmed at the gifts of others on our behalf. I was overwhelmed at God's goodness and grace. I was overwhelmed at the thought of Him using ordinary people like us. I couldn't hardly get anything done because of the tears. I even scared Ellie with my tears, but we had the opportunity to talk about God's goodness and grace with her and that some tears are happy and then we all shared a group hug full with happy tears.

twas the night before the sale

As I organized the items and put them in order I thought of how God does this in our lives. He takes all the junk and the old and gives it order and purpose. He takes sinners and gives us worth through the blood of the Lamb making us a new creation. Then He uses us for a greater purpose when we let Him.

day of the yiggity yard sale

We prayed for clear skies so that buyers wouldn't be scared away and because you couldn't move in the garage with everything stuffed in there. We used every bit of the driveway, garage, and lots of the sidewalk in front of our house to display all of the items for sale. We started the yard sale Friday morning and my parents came to finish it up for me so I could go to work at noon. I posted a picture with a caption about God answering our prayers for clear skies with YES! and my sister in law who lives about 45 minutes southwest of us commented "If that is today, you did get blessed because it is POURING here." It made me wonder what the radar looked like...was there a little donut hole around our neighborhood from 7a-1p that day? It could have been because He is the maker of the skies and He could tell the skies to do whatever. I don't know if there was donut hole on the radar that day but I do know that the God I serve could do that.

After two days the items went from packed into a three car garage to a small stack of items in the corner. The yard sale funded about half of one of us to go next summer and we are so grateful. If you donated items THANK YOU! If you prayed for us that weekend THANK YOU! If you came by and helped carry out to cars THANK YOU! It would not have been possible without you.

We plan on participating in our neighborhood's spring yard sale in May too. So as you gather items to get rid of over the next few months we would be happy to pick them up for you. Don't think anything is not worth selling because I even had a woman tell me she wanted to buy the triangle shaped mop cover because it was pretty :) Bless her heart she didn't even have a triangle shaped mop.

Thank you for your continued prayers for the ministry in East Africa and for our family!

Kenya Calling

Following God's call to Kenya for two weeks this past summer was a scary yet peaceful journey leaving my husband and two young daughters behind for the great unknown. Throughout the whole process of preparing to go I always felt very confident that God was calling me to Kenya and I never feared. I am a worrier so my mind wandered to what-ifs but God always calmed them and reminded me that He was in control. A few nights before leaving, my husband, EJ, and I were talking about the trip and I told him I wasn't worried about anything. I knew he would hold the fort down at home and we have a great group of friends that would be coming in and out to help with the girls (keeping their mind off Momma being gone and giving Daddy a little break). I told him the only thing I was a little nervous about was what God may call me/us to once I arrived or in the days following the trip.

During clinic day two I felt God calling me to more than two weeks in Kenya. Through comments and conversations with others the past few days, I felt like God may be calling me for six weeks in 2016. I chuckled at His preparation in my mind and heart for this before the trip even started. I wrestled with the thought of leaving my family for that long but I told God I would follow Him anywhere and at any cost. One of the missionaries mentioned the whole family coming next summer to which I replied, "but my girls will be 3 and 5." The response was something like "so?". By the end of clinic day two I began praying about the possibility of my family coming for the summer as well. I sat in the back of the van looking out the window praying and crying. Praying that God would reveal His will for our family for next summer very clearly. Praying that He would provide the funding for all of us to travel and stay and for our bills at home to be covered. Praying that He would work on the hearts of the people that would be involved in allowing me to leave my new job for 6 weeks. Praying that I would be obedient no matter what the call looked like. 

I had been reading through Joshua and the next night I read Chapter 10 verse 11 "the hail killed more than the sword" and I wrote 'He will do more than you can imagine'. Verse 12-13 "Joshua prayed let the sun and moon stand still. So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies" and I wrote in my Bible 'sometimes all you have to do is ask.'  I was laying in bed that night listening to the bats wondering if the monster bug that got away from me in the bathroom could get under the mosquito net. I began to think about the possibility of my job allowing me a leave of absence for missions and God reminded me of what I had just written in my Bible, "Sometimes all of you have to do is ask". I decided right then that I would ask for a 6 week leave at the first chance I had upon returning to the states.

Upon returning two weeks later, EJ and I discussed the possibility of the whole family joining me for part or all of the summer in 2016. We are praying that God will reveal His will to us and we would all follow in obedience no matter the call. 

Two days after returning from Africa, I had a training to attend for work and my market manager as well as two other market managers were in attendance along with the market scheduler. After the meeting I prayerfully approached their table and before I could even ask about next summer they were asking me details of the trip I just returned from. Through that I shared that God was calling me to 6 weeks next summer and asked about the possibility of a leave of absence. Between the four of them I was told that would not be a problem at all. So I no longer had any excuses to give God. Knowing He was called me I know He will provide the way.

One morning in late August Ensley mentioned going to Kenya with me and I asked her if she had been praying about how God might use her if she went to Kenya. She said "I dreamed about that last night." I asked what she was doing in her dream and she said "Sitting in your lap reading the Bible." So I asked what we were reading and she said "Genesis 12". I asked what it was about and she didn't know so we pulled out her Bible and began to read Genesis 12 verse 1 

"The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you."

I told EJ the story and we decided that it was time to apply for Ensley's passport. So right now Ensley will be joining me for the summer in East Africa and again I have complete peace. I wonder what it will look like and how she will handle new foods and cold showers. I wonder how she will do on the long flights and adjusting to the new time zone, long days and no naps. But I know He will guide us and grow us through it all and I am so excited to see how God uses her and works in her life.

We are still praying about EJ and Ellie joining us and ask that you pray with us as we listen for God's voice and desire to follow His call. I would also ask that you pray that Ensley gives up sucking her thumb before we go. I know this sounds crazy but her body will not be used to the things she comes in contact with over there and the possibility of her getting sick from sucking her thumb would be greatly increased. We have talked with her about quitting sucking her thumb but she has no desire to quit right now and without wanting to quit there isn't much we can do. Thank you in advance for your prayers and support!

Clinic Week Two - Kehancha

Clinic Day Four

Nyanderena Region

551 patients treated

3030 prescriptions dispensed

875 children at camp

257 NEW BELIEVERS

who will worship with

PASTOR JONAS MAROA

and the new church plant of

GWITENBE

As we prepared to enter a new region Monday I read Psalm 91 and prayed for our safety and the people of the Kuria tribe of which some would hear of the Lord Most High for the first time.

"Lord rescue those that hear of Your love and give you their life. Protect those that trust in Your name. When they call on You, You are faithful to answer. Be with them as Satan attacks and rescue and honor them so You may be glorified and Your name spread throughout the region. Reward them with a long life in salvation."

He protected us through each village in the region and He was glorified. 604 new believers accepted eternal life in salvation over the next four days and now live for the Lord Most High. 

The school children waiting on us with their bright beautiful smiles.

Continue to pray for Janes as he trusts God to provide for his future and his family.

106 year old patient

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Clinic Day Five

Mutini Region

490 patients treated

2450 prescriptions dispensed

415 children at camp

123 NEW BELIEVERS

who will worship with

PASTOR FRANCIS SIMO

and the new church plant of

MUTINI

Blessed with another building for the pharmacy team today!

Pharmacy window

On our way home from day five I watched children run toward our van as we drove through the villages waving and yelling "Muzungu!!." I prayed that they would not remember muzungu but would come to know MUNGU and follow Him and run after Him with the same zeal and enthusiasm.

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Clinic Day Six

560 patients treated

2800 prescriptions dispensed

620 children at camp

136 NEW BELIEVERS

who will worship with

PASTOR LUCAS MAROA

and the new church plant of 

IGENAITAMB

Pastor Lucas and his wife Solivia 

their youngest daughter, Sebastian

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Clinic Day Seven

500 patients treated

2000 prescriptions dispensed

720 children at camp

88 NEW BELIEVERS

who will worship with

PASTOR BONFACE MANGERA

and the new church plant of

MINYERE

Clinic day seven was by far the hardest emotionally. Card after card came through the pharmacy with such low weights for these children that I questioned our scale at one point and was told these were just a very poor people who were severely malnourished. 

We weeped and prayed over an "8 month old" who had been abandoned at 2 weeks old and was being cared for by her grandmother who could not afford milk to feed the infant. This 8 month old had at least four teeth so I would assume she was even older. I held the baby and prayed for a miracle cradling what felt like a newborn baby because she was so small and frail. Two of our team members sponsored this baby to provide milk each month so that she might grow and all of those around her might hear of the God who provides and He would be glorified. 

Chacha weighed just 5kg (11lb) at 8 months old.

Please continue to pray for these new believers. Pray for the pastors who serving these families as they study and grow. Pray for their safety in the midst of persecution and health for effective ministry. 

Pray for the missionaries who are serving and seeking. Pray for their health, safety, clarity of mind, and wisdom.

Pray for the leadership of these ministries as they seek to honor God through stewardship of time, money, and all of their resources. 

Pray for K4K as they try to broaden the reach of that ministry.

Pray these things without ceasing (1 Thes 5:17) knowing that He knows what is needed here and there even when we don't and He will provide according to His purpose.

K4K Feeding Program

Sunday we had the opportunity to worship with the people of Wayando Baptist Church. Children's church met under this tarp on the backside of the building. We could hear the adults singing and I'm sure they could hear the sweet sound of these children.

The gospel was shared through salvation bracelets. As I helped the children put beads on and tie the bracelets on their wrist I would look into their eyes and pray that they would understand the Truth of the Gospel they were now wearing and that it would fill their lives with hope and joy. I couldn't speak their language but God heard my silent prayer for these precious children.

After church the children all lined up for one of three meals that is provided to them each week through the K4K (Kare 4 Kids) program sponsored by CMN. They all patiently waited in line and when there were no more bowls the remaining children formed another line around those who were eating. As children finished their meal they took their empty bowl to another child until all had been fed. For some of these orphans, these three meals each week are the only nourishment they receive. The meals obviously improve the health of the children, it improves their ability to learn, and it provides hope through the evangelism of young and old as they come to experience the generosity of others.

James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Caring for orphans through K4K:

• $5 feeds an orphan for a MONTH 
• $500/month sponsors a new site
• 5K4K walk/run October 31, 2015, click here to register

We saw siblings sharing their plate.

We saw older siblings assisting younger ones.

We saw abundant cuteness!

We saw joy and hope in a bowl of rice and beans.

As the children ate, this song ran through my head on repeat:

How Good It Is

Matt and Joanna Black

Lately I've been having the time of my life

Don't think I've ever felt like this before

and I've been wondering why I've never seemed to notice

How good it is to serve the LORD

Who would have thought that dipping soup down at the mission

Would leave a smile on your face

Maybe there's more to this than vegetables and ladles

Maybe I'm dipping into grace

How good it is 

To serve the LORD

How good it is 

To serve the LORD

It is

A smile, a hand, a hug, a pat on the back

Can help get someone through the day

So long my eyes were closed to hurts and pains around me

So glad I've finally seen the way

To love the Lord with all my heart, my soul, my strength and mind

Love my neighbor like myself

And offer up my life

For the sake of Christ

******************

One fast food meal or coffee in America can feed an orphan three meals each week for one month. You can make a difference. There is more than rice and beans being dipped out...

How many will you feed?

Click here to make a donation!

Clinic Day Three

Kiumba Beach Region

522 patients treated

2755 prescriptions given

150 children at camp

325 NEW BELIEVERS

who will worship with 

PASTOR CHARLES ODHIAMBO

and the new church plant of

WANYANA

Day three was incredible! People were leaving the clinic after accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior and bringing others to the pastor tent to hear the Good News! Others were coming from the shoreline to hear what was coming from the pastor tent. On average twenty percent of the patients seen will give their lives to Christ but on day three we saw that twenty percent tell others until the number came to around sixty percent of our patient total! I immediately thought of the verse

Matthew 9:37 The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few.

I was in awe of what God did in the Kiumba region that day and He reminded me that the harvest is plenty in my own neighborhood, city, and county as well. All it took for kingdom growth on the shore that day was for people to tell...who are you telling? Are you working to grow the Kingdom of God every day?

sweet faces waiting on us when we unloaded

The A-Team
Grace, Heather, Keith, Bob, Bri, Scott, Lori, Aaron,Cathy, Kaitlyn, Erin H, Chris, Briana, Erin C, Kate, Whitney, Liz

The top of the hill is the line of patients waiting to be seen at triage. The providers were stationed down the hill. The pastors were at the base next to pharmacy.

The pharmacy was literally on the beautiful shoreline of Lake Victoria as you can see from the below picture.

Janes and Tom translated in the pharmacy for week one.

Janes lives with the Kenyan director of CMN, Jonathon, and is serving in any capacity he can while he waits for the opportunity to go to school to become a teacher. He wants to get an education so he can go home to his family and support them. He is a precious young soul with a sweet demeanor and big smile. I enjoyed working with him both weeks of clinic. He can also harmonize beautifully!

PRAY FOR EDUCATION FUNDING THAT WOULD ALLOW JANES TO CHANGE THE LIVES OF HIS FAMILY AND THE STUDENTS THAT HE TEACHES. PRAY THAT HE WOULD CONTINUE TO SEEK GOD AND SERVE WHILE HE WAITS.

Tom's nickname Majiji means, humble and hardworking, which fits him so perfectly. He has five children and his 38 year old wife needs to undergo dialysis treatments twice weekly. They have sold everything they can to afford her medical care but even still they cannot afford to go to dialysis regularly. He said she is in much pain and experiences frequent nausea. 

PRAY FOR COMFORT, PEACE, AND PROVISION FOR THEIR FAMILY. PRAY THAT TOM CAN LEAD THEIR FAMILY THROUGH THIS DIFFICULT TIME.

While sitting at my desk on day three I saw the mother and three young children in the picture below. All four of them looked hesitantly at the mzungus hurriedly filling prescriptions in the pharmacy. Someone gave them each a simple doll sewn by Sewing for Nations at FBC, Hendersonville and their hesitant faces turned to grins. After seeing each of her children with a new doll, the mother threw a bottle on the ground that the youngest had been holding. The oldest child picked up the bottle while clutching the new doll and I suspect the bottle was the only "toy" the three children shared before that day and he didn't want to part with it.

We have so much and so often want more and often take for granted all that we have rather than being grateful. If we had nothing else in this world but the hope of a glorious eternal future with our Savior, Jesus Christ, and Creator, God Almighty, wouldn't that be enough? Why then do we long for anything in this life more than we long to know and understand and love Him more?

Some of the team members knew that I was looking for opportunities for interaction with the people since the pharmacy was a bit hectic. Whitney came to me on day three and told me to go love on the people and they would clean up the pharmacy area. Her thoughtfulness was overwhelming and it didn't take much convincing for me to gather my things and find a group of kiddos. Heather gave me a sheet of stickers and the children swarmed to get a sticker on their hand. Again, something as small as a sticker with a smile meant so much and brought smiles from their precious faces that warmed my heart.

As we were loading up after clinic, a young mother approached one of the providers through translation asking for help. All of the supplies and some of the team were already loaded in vans but as they began to listen to this mother they found that God held us at clinic a few minutes longer for such a time as this. The mother was in school and so could not come to the clinic we held in her area yesterday (Friday) but walked from her home to this clinic as she was out of school on Saturday. She didn't make it until we were packing up because she walked such a long way to reach us. Her son had not urinated in four days due to two hernias and needed surgery or he would most likely die. The  mother and her son loaded up in one of the vehicles and after many phone calls received surgery and follow-up care. A local pastor walked with them through this process of physical life being restored and spiritual seeds being planted.

While calls were being made I had the opportunity to pray for them and a team member got a shot of the sweet memory.

 Habakkuk 1:5 The Lord replied, "Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in our own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it."

There are so many ways you can be a part of the amazing things God is doing in the nation of Kenya;

• prayer - which is the most powerful way to be a part of His work
• monetary gifts for:
•  individuals that you read about
•  K4K orphan feeding program
•  church building construction
•  missionaries, Keith & Erin Holloway
•  Miracle Power orphanage
•  sending someone on a team
• going yourself on a construction, children's, or medical team. 

If you want more information on anything you read about on my blog, check out Church Missions Network or you can message me for more info.