Training Underway

by Christian

We are now fully immersed in training for our trip. So far we've gone over the following:

• Read the Book of Acts (learning about the establishment and growth of the Church, as well as exploring the pronouncement of the Gospel throughout) - ongoing until our departure
• Church Planting Introduction - ongoing 
• Cross Cultural Engagement - ongoing
• Drama training (as a part of the mini-crusades we will be leading)
• Public Speaking/Testimony training (this week)
• Working with a translator (this week)

We will also go over how to minister and share with a family, sharing the Gospel cross-culturally, and more!

Please pray for the students as they consume large amounts of info in a short period of time. Pray for wisdom and patience for them (and the leaders).

Also, do not forget to pray for the hearts of those we will be sharing with!

Check back soon for pictures and more of our training sessions!

Thank you!!!

_____________

Update to Immediate Prayer Requests

God is faithful! God is good! God never ceases to amaze me!

Since posting the prayer requests God has faithfully orchestrated several details of this trip!

• We have secured plane tickets!! As said before, we were not finding tickets for under $2300 and no travel agents were able to either (matter of fact, two of them essentially laughed at me when I told them we needed tickets $2,000 or under including fees and taxes). The reason for the limited availability/high prices was due to airlines still trying to move those displaced by the Iceland Volcano and due to World Cup games in South Africa (which are booking up many of the connecting flights). I also said that the agent who had been most helpful had "gone silent"... well it turns out that he hadn't gone silent, but was not getting my emails. Long story short: Paul K. at Crown Travel and Cruises truly came through for us! He worked hard and pieced together a trip for us that ended up being $1,900 including taxes and fees!! We will leave June 15 and return June 26. 
• We have secured vans in Kenya! We have to rent two vehicles in Kenya to transport us and the translators who will accompany us and minister with us. Another blessing - they come equipped with a driver and the amount we are paying is about what we'd pay here in the states, but in Kenya it also covers fuel for both vehicles! This is in large part due to a dear friend of Pastor Nicholas' who lives in Kenya and did all the leg work for us. We wired the money and now have two vans secured for the day.
• We have secured hotel rooms!! We had originally planned to stay on the floor of a church, but the church had no electricity (no big deal) and no running water (a big deal due to the high danger of parasites in standing water - even bathing with the water would present extremely dangerous health conditions for us; with no way to boil the water we cannot risk it so we need to stay somewhere with running water), so we opted for a nearby hotel. For the entire duration of our stay the hotel was going to cost between $2,000 and $5,000 because they charge per person and not per room (and the higher rate came from the fact that they charge more than double the price for non-Kenyan residents). Pastor Nicholas called the hotel and spoke with the owner and after talking a few moments the owner realized he knew Nicholas from his time in Kenya (Nicholas had ministered to and with him before moving to the U.S.). Nicholas asked if there was any way we could pay the Kenyan rate for all of us and possibly pay a flate fee per room versus per person and the owner excitedly offered better: $12/room/night! So now instead of a couple thousand dollars for the duration, it will be a couple hundred dollars!

We have some more details to work out now that we have dates: luggage, ministry supplies, logistics, Visas (big one!!!), and some other details, but the majors are now falling in to place! Praise God!!!

Thank you all for your prayers! We will update the site again soon with new prayer requests so keep checking!
_______________________

Immediate Prayer Request

By Christian

In addition to the prayer requests on our prayer requests page, we have one need that is of immediate concern:

We are having difficulty purchasing airline tickets. We have two travel agents working to help us, plus other individuals and unfortunately we are having trouble securing tickets within our budget range. Either tickets are too expensive, or require too many over night stops (and still usually out of our price range).

We have a really good fair through a travel agent, but unfortunately he has gone silent and we are unable to get a hold of him again. He had tickets at $1900 each, not including insurance. Pray we are able to get a hold of him and that he still has this rate on hold for us. If not, that we will be able to secure tickets within our price range.

We have run into difficulties for a few reasons:

1. We could not even begin to look for tickets until late April/early May because we had to wait for the fundraiser before committing to the trip
2. Turns out soccer's World Cup is in South Africa June 11-July 11 (same time we are trying to get into Kenya). Normally what is happening in South Africa wouldn't be an issue, but due to lack of flights into SA, many are now booking into Kenya and surrounding countries and driving to SA for the games.
3. The number of people we are taking (7 is not a lot, but it's harder to squeeze 7 on a plane than 2-4)

Pray that the right tickets will open up and we will be able to secure the seats in time. We cannot book any other parts of our trip without an itinerary (no Visas, no health insurance, no lodging, no transportation, etc.).

Thank you all. I'll keep you posted.

Updates Available

As of today, May 4, several of the pages have been updated. Be sure to check around and check back regularly for more updates. Also make sure you checkout the student-submitted post below called "A Look into the Maasai People" (written by Matt).

____________________

A Look into the Maasai People

BY: MATT

The Maasai, a great name for such a mighty but yet compassionate people group.  Native to Africa, this tribe has been disturbed and displaced over the past few centuries, and has now come to “settle” peacefully in the great country of Kenya, Africa.  Although [more than] 500,000 strong, they are not a people group that is necessarily heard of outside of Africa.  However, their history has encouraged the Maasai people to have a very distinct and enriched culture that is fascinating to many who journey to their land.

[One] aspect of their culture that has influenced the ways of Maasai [life] the most is their religion.  Due to their belief that God or Enkai (also Ngai) created cattle and they all descended from the sky to them they believe that all the cattle in the world belongs to them. [Therefore, much of their lives are spent gathering cattle; historically if another tribe had cattle, the Maasai would attack the tribe to take their cattle believing Enkai created the cattle for them alone.] Their agricultural methods, developed from this belief, have led them to be semi-nomadic cattle herders.  Within their religion, they also have a very open mind when it comes to Enkai because Enkai is their creator.  As a way of bridging the gap that separates them from Enkai they sacrifice livestock.  The Maasai spend their lives dedicating themselves to Enkai, in the hope that they might become unified with Enkai.

In Maasai society, men and women have separate duties.  Men and boys are responsible for managing and raising the cattle, and some are warriors that defend their people; while the women are responsible for caring for the household, gathering food, and cooking.  In their society men [tend to be] very prideful, desiring to become powerful leaders and highly ranked among the Maasai.  [It is this pride that makes sharing the Gospel and Kingship of Jesus Christ difficult among the Maasai men.] The Maasai people are an amazing people, mighty in spirit, but still in desperate need of compassion and the work of God’s hand.  They have shown much courage and endurance to accomplish the things they know today.