Safe and Sound!

I am happy to report that our Kenya Mission Team returned safe and sound on Sunday to a well-deserved rest.  (Of course, they were all awake at 4:30 in the morning because of the time zone difference!)  Thankfully the possible protests never materialized in Mombasa.  After hearing briefly from Cliff and Eddy the amount of people that your gifts were able to reach was simply extraordinary!  I’ll let Cliff provide you with a detailed list and report, but here is the truth that God is teaching me: when God changes our plans it’s because He has something better in mind.

You may remember that our original intention was to partner with missionaries in Nairobi to work with an orphanage for street children.  However, only a couple months before the trip was supposed to leave that door was closed amid a set of frustrating circumstances.  It was then that the door to Mombasa opened up and great things started happening!  Your gifts reached many more children than we had ever anticipated, and we were able to provide in ways we had never intended.  God always seems to have something bigger in mind than we can dream up.  But I’ll let Cliff fill you in on the details.  Right now I simply have a grateful heart, both to you for your gifts, and to God for the unexpected workings of His will!

Possible Protests in Kenya

Please pray for the country of Kenya and our Mission Team today.  Word of possible upcoming protests against the Kenyan police has reached us.  These protests are said to be nationwide.  We will keep you posted on any information we receive.  Please pray that these demonstrations, if they occur, will be peaceful.  And in a place where justice is so often compromised by power and corruption, please pray that Kenya’s leaders would do whatever is good, right, and true in this situation and that they would act justly on behalf of their people.

Update from the Kenya Mission Team

Good news from Kenya!  Last night I was able to speak with Kenya Mission Team members Cliff Lusk and Brent Palermo by phone.  It was 5:40 AM their time, but they were already up and getting ready to go to several schools to hand out malaria nets and tell everyone who can hear about Jesus Christ.  Things are going exceptionally well, and they have already been to several schools, churches, and orphanages, handing out nets and spreading the word of Christ.  Over the next few days they will go to several more schools and orphanages, and even a prison.  This is truly an exciting opportunity.

Cliff and Brent were also excited to report that, in addition to the pencils and notebooks you donated, the extra money we received has been used to buy a vast quantity of school supplies for local schools, in some cases enough to see them through the school year.  You cannot imagine what a blessing this is to these schools, where even a single pencil is like gold to a student.  Thank you for your generosity!  We can’t wait to hear what God does during the rest of their time in Kenya!

Change of Plans

Sometimes God opens doors, and sometimes He closes them.  In December it became clear to us that God had closed the door for us to take our mission trip to Nairobi as we had intended.  But God is always gracious to lead us in a different direction, and recently He opened the door for us to go to Mombasa, Kenya instead.

Mombasa is a large city located on the coast of the Indian Ocean in southeast Kenya.  Pastor Eddy Hallock has missionary friends there that will be hosting our team on the trip which takes place from February 26-March 8.  If you are interested in going, places are still available on the team, and the cost is only $2850.

So what does that mean for your gifts that were intended for places around Nairobi?  The school for Rwandan refugee children and the compound for street children will still receive the resources we had planned to give them.  Furthermore, because you gave so much and surpassed each of our goals we will be able to take on similar projects in Mombasa while our team is there!  In addition, the nets will be distributed in the lowland Mombasa area where malaria is significantly more prevalent than in the highlands around Nairobi.  Ultimately your gifts will impact two of Kenya’s major cities simultaneously, for the glory of God!

Worship in Action: Kenya Final Totals

With the bustle and excitement of the holidays behind us it’s finally time to get back to business and report the final totals for our Kenya emphasis.  We have surpassed our each of our goals in incredible fashion.  In fact, even after the final week of the emphasis we were still receiving gifts.  Thank you for your wonderful generosity.

At the beginning of September we asked you to consider giving toward one of these three goals:

• 250 spiral notebooks and 250 boxes of #2 pencils for a school for Rwandan refugee children in the slums of Nairobi.
• $5000 for projects at a compound for street children outside Nairobi.
• 1000 mosquito nets at $6 per net to help prevent malaria.

To date we have received 465 boxes of #2 pencils and 337 notebooks!  In fact, we have received so many that we may not be able to take all of them over to Kenya!  If weight restrictions force us to leave a certain amount behind we will make sure that they reach disadvantaged children in our own area.

The sum of the financial contributions we asked you to make was $11,000 but to date we have received $19,289.  We recently used $7500 to purchase 1500 nets from His Nets, a rate lower than the $6 we originally anticipated.  That will allow us to use the extra money for additional projects on the mission trip to Kenya at the end of February, in addition to the amount allotted for the compound for street children outside Nairobi.  Thank you for your heart for the Kenyan people!

We Have Reached Our Goals!

Good news!  Just seven weeks after starting our current Worship in Action emphasis in Kenya we have surpassed every one of our goals.  Here are the updated totals:

1. We asked you to give $5000 toward construction and development projects at a compound for street children outside Nairobi.  To date you have given $6399!
2. We asked you to donate 250 spiral notebooks and 250 boxes of #2 pencils for a school for Rwandan refugee children.  So far we have collected 306 notebooks and 455 boxes of pencils!
3. We asked you to give enough to purchase 1000 insectice-treated mosquito nets at $6 per net.  To date you have given enough to purchase 1095 nets!

We ask that you refrain from giving any more notebooks and boxes of pencils only because of the difficulty of transporting a large quantity of school supplies.  However, we will continue to accept financial donations through November 23.  Thank you for your generosity!

Keep checking the blog in the next few weeks for more ways to pray for Kenya, an update on our upcoming mission trip, and the final totals from our Worship in Action emphasis.

What Kind of Notebooks and Pencils?

Are you interested in giving to Worship in Action, but aren’t sure what kind of notebooks and pencils we want?  Well you’ve come to the right place!  We are looking for either spiral or composition notebooks, preferrably of the smaller variety so that we can take more to Kenya.  We’re also looking for regular number two pencils in boxes of ten or so.  Thanks!

Worship in Action Kenya

Since July 2007, Worship in Action has taken us around the world, serving and meeting the needs of people in Honduras, Myanmar, Houston, and Brazil. Along the way we’ve been reminded that worship cannot be reduced to one hour each weekend. Instead it is a lifestyle of obedience to Christ’s leadership.

This fall, Worship in Action will take us across the Atlantic to the country of Kenya. Located in East Africa, Kenya is a country of 34.7 million people. 23% of the population lives on less than one dollar per day, and the government is one of the most corrupt in the world according to the Corruption Perceptions Index. We will be focusing on three of the biggest challenges facing Kenya today – the devastation of a widespread malaria epidemic, the incredible poverty of overcrowded slums, and the tragedy of countless numbers of orphans and street children.

Around the world, malaria causes almost 3 million deaths per year, yet is easily preventable. Ninety percent of the world’s malaria cases occur in Africa and in Kenya, malaria is found in all areas of the country outside Nairobi, and each year kills twice as many people as AIDS. We will be partnering with HIS Nets to provide insecticide-treated mosquito nets to the people of Kenya. These nets can reduce the occurrence of Malaria by almost 70%. The cost to purchase each net is only $6. Over the next three months, our goal is to purchase 1000 nets.

Kenya has some of the largest slums in the world. In Nairobi, home to Kibera, the second largest slum in Africa, as much as half of the population lives in only five percent of the land area. This problem has been exacerbated in recent years by the influx of refugees from neighboring countries in crisis like Rwanda and Somalia. One missionary has established a school for Rwandan refugees that gives them an education and one hot meal each day. But school supplies are almost non-existent. We want to provide the basic necessities they need to continue their education. Over the next three months, our goal is to collect 250 notebooks and 250 boxes of pencils for these children.

Kenya is also facing a catastrophic orphans crisis. In a country with an average life expectancy of less than 49 years, with countless impoverished families, and the constant threat of diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS, the number of orphans in Kenya has climbed to 1.5 million, with 100,000 living on the streets of Nairobi alone. With no place to go during Kenya’s cold nights, many of these street children become addicted to sniffing glue because of its numbing effect. Some of the missionaries in Kenya have begun a project to reclaim the lives of some of these street children and return them to society. Using their own funds a group of missionaries has purchased land outside Nairobi and is using it to build a compound for street children. A local pastor lives with the children, and provides discipleship training and job training. The compound still has many needs including additional housing and other facilities, furniture, and tools and animals for farming. Over the next three months our goal is to collect $5000 to help with these projects.

Perhaps these tragic truths stir in you not only a desire to give, but a desire to go and minister to the people of Kenya. If so we invite you to come with us as we go to Nairobi from February 19-February 28, 2009. There, we will be handing out malaria nets and school supplies and assisting with the improvement of the compound for street children. Meeting each of these needs will provide us with an incredible opportunity to tell people about the life-changing love of Jesus Christ. If you are interested in learning more, fill out one of our mission trip interest forms at the Re:Action Center or online, or simply contact Eddy Hallock at ehallock@tallowood.org.

As always you can bring your donations to the Re:Action Center located in the Tallowood Center lobby on Saturdays and just outside the gym on Sundays. There you can find out more information about Kenya, our projects, and our upcoming mission trip. Stayed tuned to www.worshipinaction.net for more opportunities and information. Join us as we bring Christ’s love and provision to the people of Kenya. This is Worship in Action!