Journey snapshot

So ... our adventure is about to begin.

Unfortunately ... that meant shots for me today!!! Me and needles don't get along well, but I'm sure it is better than contracting the actual diseases!

Several nights recently, I've laid awake a majority of the night with this nervous excitement propelling me to pray for our upcoming trip. It is hard to believe that in a matter of days we will leave behind life as we know it and enter into another world! I love the simplicity of life, beauty of the land, and the friendliness of the people. The unrest in Kenya over political issues earlier this year were a bit unsettling, but the tribal fighting has settled down and the opposing political parties were forced by the UN to come to an agreement. That helped set the stage for our arrival.

On July 4, our team of 18 will fly out from Houston to Chicago to London to Nairobi. We will spend the evening of July 5 in Nairobi and then travel cross country through the Rift Valley to the city of Kitale in western Kenya.

Beginning Monday, July 7, we will be on the ground in a small village outside of Kitale where our work will begin. Before we arrive, a pastor has gone through years of preparation, a church building and pastor's house has been built, and a team of interpreters (local dialect of Swahili) has been gathered to join our mission.

Monday through Saturday, our team will do basically the same thing. We will meet at the church in the morning, team up with our interpreters and head out down the red dirt trails in search for people to talk with. We will go mud hut to mud hut sharing the gospel with families. A handful of our members each morning will head out for schools where they will perform at assemblies ... singing songs, sharing their personal God stories, and the message about Jesus. Another few from our group will head out to prisons and do the same thing. Then in the evenings, there will be a stage setup in the local marketplace where we will have huge gatherings. Nationals will sing for a while, then members of our team will share their God stories, and one of our team members will preach.

I will be preaching at the first crusade on Monday night, and I'm already getting nervous. I did one three years ago and it was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. Unless you've seen something like that with your own two eyes, I don't think my words can't adequately paint for you the power of that experience. I'm definitely praying God does great things again.

My schedule for the week will look like this ...

Monday, 7th - hut to hut evangelism & preach at the crusade in the evening

Tuesday, 8th - hut to hut evangelism

Wednesday, 9th - lead a group doing school assemblies & preach at schools

Thursday, 10th - teach our team in the morning & hut to hut evangelism

Friday, 11th - hut to hut evangelism & share my God story at the crusade in the evening

Saturday, 12th - lead a team doing a youth conference for teens & preach much of the day

Sunday, 13th - preach for the men at the church dedication

On Monday, July 14, we will head for Nakuru where we will stay for the night and go on a jeep safari. We'll see some pretty amazing things, but I'm sure nothing will top what we saw the week in the field in Kitale!

On Tuesday, July 15, we fly out from Nairobi back to London to Chicago to Houston!

On Wednesday, July 16, I get to see my bride and kids again!!! On the 17th or 18th I will get to crash in my own bed again!

That is a snapshot of our journey. Thanks for praying with us that God does great things through us!