Answered Prayer

I just took time to read again the daily prayer calendar that we handed out to our congregations before leaving for Kenya. Many of you had it and used it. It was a joy to read over the requests again and reflect on how God indeed answered what was written and will continue to do so. What a great and mighty God we have who is above ALL, powerful in all His works and hears and answers the voice of His children. To Him be praised! How humbling to be called His children!

A Few Pictures

Most of us took many, many pictures. Trying to post them all or even a majority would be impossible. Maybe this will give you a glimpse. We hope to give a full report on a Sunday evening in September. Stay tuned!

HOME!

We made it......all 15 of us back in the States, and into Coopersburg by late afternoon. We wish we knew how many miles we covered and travel time spent in these last 2 weeks besides all the air time. We had more great flights since leaving Nairobi to London to Newark, and all bags home safe and sound with us. We missed seeing cows, donkeys and goats along the road from Newark to Coopersburg! :-) They've become our routine. Some of us did see a doe and two fawns though....to remind us where we were. :-) We continue to reflect on the team that God brought together...each with their own distinctive abilities and personalities, that meshed and worked well together. We are so thankful and give Him all the praise and glory. Dr. John particularly has a passion for sharing the Word of God, and God honored that and gave him the opportunities to do so. Pray for people who heard the Word through him and through the devotionals presented each day. That God's word will not return void and will take root in the hearts of those who heard, and give the area pastors many more opportunities to minister. The needs are vast.

Please pray for everyone to get well rested tonight, and pray for each person as most get acclimated back to their work schedules on Tuesday! Again we thank YOU for also being part of the team....for interest shown, following our BLOG, praying with us and supporting us.

Hershey or Giraffe?

If someone asked you what you would prefer....a Hershey Kiss or a Giraffe Kiss, what would you say??? Some in our group would tell you even tho' they love the sweet, chocolate Hershey kiss, they would prefer the wet, slobbery giraffe kiss. :-) It happened today. Most of us had the fun of visiting the Giraffe Centre of Nairobi. What a unique experience to see beautiful, graceful giraffes up close! REALLY close! We saw them in the distance, we saw them walk toward us and we had them eating out of our hands. Yes, Jen and Steph both got a big, juicy kiss and loved every minute of it. Jen said it made her year!!! I think she took over 70 pictures at just this place!! We also heard a lot of interesting facts about these beautiful creatures created by God.....did you know they have 4 stomachs, and as a result eat a lot, and a large heart which has quite a job, they are about 16-18 feet tall, gestation is about 15 months, but if there's a drought, the mother can wait up to another 3 months to deliver!! We also got to walk on a nature trail which made us really feel like we were out in the wild. It was so refreshing to be outside walking! Traffic in Nairobi is many times worse than NYC!! We got to have some lunch and experience Kenya shopping and bartering. A few visited a fish farm and learned a lot there too.

It is hard to believe that on Sunday night we'll be boarding a plane to return to the States. The time has gone quickly. God has blessed us together as a team. There's been unity and we have worked well together. We had a time of reflection tonight. Here are just a few comments given:

"I've seen what real compassion is."
"It's been a wake up call of real reliance on God."
"One pastor says that he and his family go without a meal 50% of the time, but he doesn't want others to know. He says, "But God is good."
"We at home must learn to separate our needs from our wants."
"I want to be more sensitive to needs around me and to life together in the community of believers."
"I want to be more quick to give praise and thanks to God for all He has done for me."

Over 500 pair of glasses were given out. Pastor Osenya said one woman came over 125 kilometers to get to the clinic. Another left her home at 2 a.m. to get there. People "treked" many miles. Dr. Hentosh was able to make a connection with a doctor who will see two very needy patients at a fraction of the cost. Pastor Benard who some of us met when he visited the Lehigh Valley and lives in a nearby village, will probably get these patients to this particular dr. as he has a car, and one of the patients is his mother-in-law. As I said before, God has orchestrated more than we could imagine.

I know I said I was not going to do any more posts while here, but I just had to share this much again. Tomorrow we will worship in another Kenyan church, and this little team who are not singers will probably be singing in front of the church for a 3rd or 4th time! Flexibility is the key to a missions trip! ;-)

Let me share the verses I read today.....I praise God for the fruition of them in our lives these days.

"With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that BY HIS POWER He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the GRACE of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thessalonians 1:11-13

Indeed the acts we've done have been prompted by our faith, and we trust Jesus to be glorified through it all, and we stand in awe that He chooses to use us, and we know it's only by His grace. Praise Him with us, and know that we pray for you too as you worship on Sunday!