Back Home

We arrived back home in Phoenix late on 23 June after a rain delay in Chicago and some flap problems while landing in Phoenix.  It was a great trip, though.

I'm so proud of our team.  The students and adults all did a great job serving and ministering in the slums.  Attitudes were good, minor illnesses were dealt with, and God was glorified in our work.

Our time in Nairobi began with a trip to Joska, the boarding school for middle school students from the slum schools of Missions of Hope.  We had an amazing welcome from the students and staff with song and dance, great worship, lunch, and our initial orientation session.

The sports team stayed in Joska for Monday and Tuesday while the VBS, medical, and Bring the Light teams began working in the Kosovo slum.

Emotions were high as team members experienced the slums for the first time.  The Bring the Light teams were in homes in the slums from Monday on, but the others didn't have that experience until Wednesday morning.  You can think you are prepared for the slums, but until you go in a home yourself you just can't imagine what it's like.

Team members got to meet their sponsored children on Friday morning, and the joy on the faces of team members and kids was very evident.  This was so fun to watch.

We received a huge send-off party on Friday afternoon, courtesy of the children and staff of Missions of Hope.  Yes, this is a picture of Chuck dancing.

Our partnership with CCV was a huge blessing as we had 88 people on the trip between our 2 churches!  I appreciate their leadership and willingness to serve alongside us.  They have some amazing pictures at their trip blog at http://ccvnairobi.wordpress.com/. 

We'll have many more pictures and a complete recap of our trip in services on Sunday, 27 June.  Make sure you're here.  Some important numbers from our trip:

- 215 skylights installed.  This, by far, shatters the record for Missions of Hope – the most they’ve ever installed in 1 week’s time was 60.  AMAZING!!

- 107 people accepted Christ for the first time through the work of the Bring The Light team.

- 500+ patients seen by our team of Doctors and Nurses.

- 100+ patients seen by our team of Dentists

- 88 lives changed forever by attending a trip to Nairobi, Kenya.

See you Sunday.

Kenya - 16 June

We've had a good couple of days.  The sports team that was out at Joska returned to Nairobi Tuesday night.  They all had stories of making new friends, having fun, and amazement at what God is doing in the lives of the students.  It was a stretching but great experience for them.

After the initial day of confusion on Monday for the medical and VBS teams, the going has been much better on Tuesday and Wednesday.  They got their processes figured out and things went much smoother as a result.

The Bring the Light team has had wonderful experiences of sharing God's love and also have been sharing some amazing stories of what God is doing in the slums.  We have some tired people, but we have a lot of fulfilled people.

We are eating at an Ethiopian restaurant tonight as a thank you from the Missions of Hope staff, so that will be a unique experience for many of the FCC team.

Please know that God is blessing our work and us as we work.  Thanks again for your prayers of support and encouragement.

Nairobi - 14 June

I'm finally getting to post!  It's been a crazy couple of days so far, but we are here!  The plane ride was pretty uneventful - just 1 not feeling well enroute, but we arrived safely (and very tired) in Nairobi late Saturday night (local time).  We were missing 3 pieces of luggage, but only 1 was personal items with the other 2 being ministry supplies.

We had a wonderful time of worship on Sunday out at the Missions of Hope boarding school at Joska.  This where the midde school aged children from the slum schools attend school.  The welcomed us with song and dance, and even got all of us into the dancing act!  We worshipped, enjoyed lunch, and toured the facilities.  The picture above is from our day at Joska.  The sports team stayed at Joska to do soccer clinics for 2 days, then they will rejoin the rest of the team back in Nairobi on Tuesday evening.

Some of you have heard that there was a bombing in Nairobi yesterday.  Rest assured that we are all doing well and are not affected by that at all.  In fact, as I write this, the VBS and medical teams are getting set up and preparing to serve, literally, thousands of children and adults this week.  Wow!

Hopefully the internect connection will be functioning again at our hotel so I can continue to post.  Thanks again for your prayers.

Getting Closer!

Our team heads to Nairobi is just a few days, and we're really getting excited.  We have 28 traveling with our group from FCC to work in the slums in Nairobi.  We have some travel veterans, some mission trip veterans, and many rookies on the team.  For a couple of team members, this will be their first flight!  A trip to Africa is quite a way to get initiated to air travel.

I'll be posting to this blog during our trip with whatever frequency our connectivity allows, so check back for updates over the next couple of weeks.  In the meantime, please pray for the following:

• Safe travel
• Team spirit
• Good health
• Fellowship with nationals
• Flexibility and patience
• Physical & emotional strength
• Opportunities to share Christ
• Spiritual maturity & depth
• Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit

Thanks to all who have supported us financially to make it possible for us to take this trip.  Please be in prayer for us before our June 11 departure and during our trip.