Technology is amazing.

It amazes us how technology can connect us across all distance. Because of Dan and Scott's persistent work, we had the distinct privilege of being present for Sa and Travis' special wedding day. Being able to 'visit' with such close friends and family bridged the gap we had originally anticipated from missing their day. It placed great encouragement within us to witness all parts of the ceremony and the reception. Another blessing was that thru a phone call, we were able to share words of encouragement and a prayer of blessing over them during the ceremony. An abundant blessing for sure!! 

Connect our hearts, Oh Lord...

Its difficult for our hearts this week as family are coming in for Sarah and Travis' wedding: Brett's grandparents and other immediate family in Colorado are flying in for 2 weeks and we would treasure the opportunity to spend quality time with them. Lindsay, Brett's other sister, just got home from FL and we know the many moments with loved ones that we are missing, as extended/immediate, close friends will all be gathered for the day. WE are trying not to get our hopes up but desperately wanting to be able to connect and to witness the day, via Skype. Its hard not being there to participate in it all and in moments like these, Africa feels so very far away. But, we pray for the peace and the acceptance that we need as we are separated during this special time. SA, Trav, family, and friends: know that if at all possible we would have been there with you all. Take lots of pictures for us--maybe some where you can insert us in the middle so we can 'pretend' like we were there:). 

An Upward Call...

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Phil. 1:3

The Kiserian race was a day that fueled us with much joy and great strength as we were encompassed by hundreds of elite trained athletes who all pressed on toward the same goal ahead- a diligence that was demonstrated thru each athlete's stride.  From the initial view of the race course, the roads were paved with consistent difficulties as upward hills would fuel the runner's pace. Japheth, one of our guys on our discipleship team,  beautifully stated prior to the race, "We are all here, equal, and its up to each of us if we run this race, for the goal set ahead." His words spoke loudly as we envisioned the choices we each make to press on toward our upward call in Christ. With this in mind, the race took on a new meaning in our view. 

We were blessed to have a view, front and center, as we participated in riding in the lead car. Thus, allowing us to witness the strides, the diligence, the perseverance of the race's constant journey. Differing levels of athletes chose to embrace the upward rigors of the race. Riding in front of the runners, we witnessed the crowd participation cheering all athletes across the finish line- all ages {young children all the way to the older men/women}, all trained { those heavier proportioned, thinner framed, stronger built}, all dressed {bare foot, in dresses, in best gear}. Yet all equal...All showed up and finished the race that was set out before them. 

Running is such a spiritually impacting sport as one gains a full portrait of a journey lived in the utmost of diligence and of strength. One can see the push needed within different parts of the course and the crowd that fuels their strides. In this course called life, we individually (all equal) choose to press on toward the goal. Yet, we have our brothers/sisters (the crowd) that is ever supporting us to finish out each part in great strength. Japheth came running around the corner with such a determined stance and after he finished strongly, he proudly stated, "I accomplished my goal." 

Although Kimosop did not take 1st position, in a forceful sprint to the finish, the crowd powerfully cheered him to the finish line. He ran a very well race and afterwards, his body felt stronger than ever.  In a spiritual sense, a beautiful depiction of our upward call to Christ as we persevere to the prize set before us. 

Update: Irene Limika did not secure a position in the winner's podium, but her placement is within the top 20 women in the world. Many opportunities to continue running in prestige races await her. 

Running Mecca of the World. .

An exciting opportunity that we have within the running mecca of the world, is that we will be witnessing hundreds of elite, professional athletes compete for the first position in a new race in Kiserian (right outside of Ngong) this Saturday, the 22nd. For those of you who know Edward Kimosop, he will competing in the 21K (half-marathon). Many of the runners who we have developed close relationships with are competing in the 10K, 15K, and the 21K. Be praying for God to run fiercely thru their bodies and allow His will to come fully upon the outcome of the race. WE are praying with great diligence that His will is for Kimosop to take the title, but we trust in God's purpose in His life. Pray for a race ran in the utmost of perseverance and strength.
In addition, we have another friend who will be running this weekend in the Berlin World Championships on Sunday the 23rd. Competing for the World Women's title, Irene Limika will be giving her all in this race. We have developed a strong relationship with her and her family and are anticipating a strong outcome for her.

1 Cor. 9: 24-27
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So, run that you may obtain it. Every athlete practices self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So, I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But, I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
 We know that her body has been trained in the utmost of diligence and in the greatest of care. We know that Irene has been training her mind to be focused on the goal that is set out before her.  Yet, we also know that the greatest prize and goal of all is to run the race in the fullest of praise to our Father- Our God in Heaven who has blessed her body with the ability to run so swiftly. As a believer, pray that Irene will be able to carry the love that she has for God with her as she runs so diligently toward the goal in front of the whole world watching. Pray that He will fuel her every step and that others may see God's love overflowing from her example. 

Prayer for housing.

We were unable to connect to Skype because of internet connection, but thank you for those who attended Jd & Shellys wedding and have posted pics. It sheds much encouragement for us to be able to 'witness' the day. 

Yesterday, we were able to speak with the owner of an apartment we have had our eye on. Its still being built, so we were uncertain of how 'quickly' it would all be progressing. AFter talking to the owner, we feel that by Sept.4th it would be available for us to move in. This week is the final negotiations on the price, so please be praying that if God wills it, then all things will unfold as He sees it. Its a perfect place- nestled on the Ngong Hills, a 2 min. walk to the church and our Center- in between Gichagi & Ngong slum-  overlooking the city of Ngong and all its people--free-range chickens running around--a place for our own garden. A 2-bedroom apartment, so an extra room that awaits any visitors:).  An inviting place for those that God has to enter our doors...We will of course miss our precious friends in BulBul but sense that God has us to be closer to our Center, for all the people there who He has brought us here to grow with. Be praying for God's will in this. We trust His timing, so if this is not the place, then we wait for what God does have for us. 

Blessed...

We are blessed beyond measure as we have the strengthening opportunity to spend the weekend with our precious friends, Lesley & Michael Stevens. We are thankful to have some good quality time with familiar, close friends. We will be going to the school where Michael works to participate in the joyous celebration of JD & Shelly's beautiful wedding day (which is convenient they live across the street from the school). What a provision that Skype can allow us to not miss the great event! Ha, but then again, pray that it works:) A power rationing these days has impacted the internet's quickness. If you are reading JD & Shelly, congratulations and we love you so much! "See" you at the wedding... 

Being Rather than Doing.

Manning eloquently stated, “We have been given God in our souls and Christ in our flesh. We have the power to believe where others deny, to hope where others despair, to love where others hurt. This and so much more is sheer gift; it is not reward for our faithfulness, our generous disposition, or our heroic life of prayer. Even our fidelity is a gift. “It we but turn to God,” said St.Augustine, “that itself is a gift of God.” My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.”

 In our Americanized framework of thinking, being task-oriented is the blood that runs through our being. It fuels our passions and paves the way for our ‘goals’ to be accomplished. It is the mile-marker that gets us to where we desire to go. This often times flows easily into our Christian approach to life: that in order to be present, to be engaged in communion with God that we must do for him- Yet, the downfall comes when our task-oriented mentality blinds us from being with God.  However, being task-oriented is also a strength of America, allowing the ability to be focused and to be diligent in accomplishing great tasks.  Pursuing goals and making marks to accomplish them is not the problem. Where the issue lies, is when those ‘goals’ and those ‘marks’ blind us from the root of where those passions came from in the first place. If being with God is not the foremost then our doing for God will be in great vain. As a Christ-follower, we often use words like grace and purpose within the speech of our daily monologue. We have never been challenged as deeply are we are in this context--where what brought us here was a great task, of building a Vapor Sports Center. What happened over these past few weeks was that we became so consumed with the many ‘marks’ to get us there, that we were blinded in being with the One who brought us here in the first place. God has allowed a bump, a pot hole if you will, to stop our task-oriented strive and reposition our path to be centered on His fueling. There have been days where God has said, put the project down for today. I need you to be relational with others and to be in communion with me. From our framework, our world lens is almost viewed through timelines and deadlines. But, in God’s lens, He sees the needs before Him and the compassion He wants to show others through us. We are not able to see that lens, if we are not centered on being with God. If our tasks of 'ministry' and 'helping others' become more consuming, then we will forfeit the love of Christ to pour through us. 

Zacharius stated, “Faith is a thing of the mind. If you do not believe that God is in control and has formed you for a purpose, then you will flounder on the high seas of purposelessness, drowning in the currents and drifting further into nothingness.” If we are not positioned in being in Christ, rather than doing for Him then will drift further out into ‘nothingness.’ We are only sufficient through the grace given to us, freely, through Christ. May we find our times with Him as the communion we need to extend our time, our efforts, and our resources to others. 

with Hands extended...

Impacted by the joy that resonates with two individuals becoming man and wife, we were reminded of the immediacy of why God has called us to the ‘nations’, here in this context and now at this time. We experienced our first Kenyan wedding, which was a joyous day to celebrate in. At the reception, we were standing at the end of the food line, soaking up the Kenyan dancing, as we saw about 50 kids in the distance waiting so patiently for their invitation to join in the festivities.

 You see, we believe that God works in mysterious ways and that He ‘wills and acts according to His good purpose.’ The week leading up to this event, we were almost bombarded by the requests extended by poverty’s hand: people knocking on our doors for needs, people stopping us pleading for our assistance, people digging thru trash to savor any type of ‘nutrition’, and the like. In what ways can we truly ‘help’ those who are extending their hand in great need? There is such a battle in giving here, because almost all are in some type of need. In this context, money is seen as a polar opposite function for life: If someone asks you for money and you have it, then their immediate needs ‘trumps’ your need. In our mindset, we are taught to ‘budget’, to save, to balance out our needs versus wants. In this mindset, there is a socialistic view of helping others who are less fortunate, mainly believing that one day you may be the one on the other end with hands extended in need. Maintains good Karma, if you will. When you give ‘effortlessly’ and then see the money handed off to another in a need that may not be a priority in your thoughts, its difficult to continue in that extension to others. To provide food on one day, and then witness a lack thereof on another, its difficult to embrace. To extend investment in others and then to feel personal attacks against their schemes, is difficult to understand. To not take it personally and to not harbor resentment on a culture’s paralyzing hand, is difficult to release. Yet, God collides with the drawing allure of our flesh, as he gently restores us saying “do not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest if you do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people…” (Gal.6:9-10). Our greatest prayer has been that He would daily restore the attack of weariness within us and that He may surface His wisdom and His discretion in our heart—that we may not see a hand extended in need as a burden for what is to come, but believe in God’s promises to sustain the righteous—that we may not embrace a belief in personal attacks, but take His ‘yoke’ that is light and allow God to bring judgment upon others---that we may not focus on the ways our help can cripple others, but believe in God’s Spirit’s leading within us to extend at His appropriate time.

 As we were praying over the difficulties that the week offered, God restored to us focus and remembrance of our time through the interaction of a specific family of four that we are sure that you will remember. Remember the 50 kids waiting…Well, their invitation was finally extended, and their feet scurried across the plain to line up for their ‘meal of the day’ Remember the blog ‘tension of the grasping hand’ with the family of 4 from Gichagi village. Well, as we get our plate of food, with no spoons left to offer, we sit down to eat along the ground (because all chairs had been taken) and lo and behold our precious friends come and sit beside us: John, Bryan, Sarah, and Francis. Each with a plate piled high of rice, potatoes, and beef stew and a welcoming embrace as they recognized who we were. If we had received a spoon, a chair, then we would have been sitting inside of the wedding tent, away from the kids, and not have been blessed by their presence.  Sitting there with them, still looking like they had been left in the mud for days, shone forth once again our purpose here. There are going to be hands extended to us most likely the entire time that we are here, and yes, its difficult to have to say no to some of their needs, but we were reminded that God has us here for a very specific reason. If we gave to all hands extended, then there would be no room left to finish what we have started here. We were the only ones sitting with the kids, behind the wedding ceremony, and it was a special moment that will be etched forever in our hearts, as we were looking at the field where the Vapor Sports Center will be placed.

 These 50 kids, and this particular family will have a place to call a second home, or for some a first home—a Vapor Sports Center will be built so that they can continuously be fed by the only food that will sustain them, by the only One who can carry them through life’s strives—the Word of God will be poured into them through the leaders that we disciple here. We have been here for two months now, and God’s presence working thru us is evident, as He used the joy of a wedding and His precious little ones to restore to us once again the joy of His salvation. We can’t help everyone, and we can’t solve the problems of Africa, but we can stay focused on why God is using us here for His purpose, and from His leading pour out to those who encompass our steps. 

Happy Birthday....

A day, in celebration, holds new meaning as we partake in a birthday within a third world environment. An embraced thought of life truly is a Vapor; appearing for a short while, then vanishing. A life celebrated because in God's Providential Hand, the strives of this world have not taken this child. Faith, Edward's daughter, turned eight years old today. A normalcy for us, a rare treasure for her, Faith opened the gift we gave her with a meticulous hand. Every piece of tape was removed with tender care- paper that she has never known unclothed the gift she now proudly possessed. A fun to paint book brightened this child's demeanor, as we witnessed more gratitude from this 'simple' gift than any given in the States. With an instant reach, Faith already was experiencing her newly found love, painting--one that she has never seen before. 

We found ourselves wanting to shout, "Rip it, its your bday." Then realizing it was the first gift that she has ever known. This newness astounded her and with a patient ease, she savored the excitement that it brought. We witnessed true gratitude and thankfulness that took root in a precious child's joy of a 'simple' birthday gift. 

We were able to take the whole Kimosop family to a giraffe, 'twika,' center where Faith was able to feed them out of the palm of her hand. With great contemplation, she slowly inched toward this 'foreign' animal and laughed as Brett and Edward fed it from their mouths! An experience that Faith did not boldly accept, but timidly placed a few bits of food in her hand instead. With her head down in a frightened stance, and eyes looking upward toward the 'twika', Faith eventually welcomed its large tongue to swoop every morsel from her palm. In an immediate jolt, Faith took off to hide behind us. With a new found confidence, Faith carried herself with an 'older' step, that on her 8th birthday, she met a 'twika' face to face.