Jersey is Jersey (and Pictures!)

So it is 4am EST and we are in the New Jersey airport waiting for our connecting flight home. We are VERY tired, but very excited about getting home and seeing our families!
We were supposed to be staying in a hotel for a few hours last night/this morning, but the hotel we had reservations with stranded us at the airport with no shuttle and refused to pay the cab fair for us to take an alternate method to their hotel. So instead of a few hours sleep in a hotel bed, we are taking turns napping on the FREEZING tile floor in Newark airport with an insanely loud computer generated voice telling people not to leave their baggage unattended screaming through the halls every 4-5 minutes. Though not ideal, we are loving the time together in the airport.
Thank you all for praying for us - God answered mightlily!!!! We saw God open the hearts of over 55 Maasai people unto salvation, we baptized 11, witnessed several men commit their lives and families to the Lordship of Christ and witnessed the birth of the new church in the Maasai area! Praise God! So many blessings!!!
Here are some pics from the trip (now that we have a faster internet connection I am finally able to upload pictures)... enjoy!!

Chipati and fried goat meat (a very regular meal for our team - ate this almost everyday we were there)

Sara teaching/sharing at the Women's Conference with Josephine (Maasai young woman who translated for her)

Laura teaching at the women's conference

Matt and Christian with some of the Maasai men (the man to the left of Christian - Jeremiah - gave his life to Christ during one of the crusades and committed to lead his family to Christ!)

Sara, Laura and Sam with some of the Maasai women

Christian, Matt, Sam, Sara with our driver Robert

Matt preaching with Pastor Joseph translating

Sam presenting the headmaster of one of the schools we visited with a soccer (futbol) for the kids, along with some other sports equipment

The team visiting and sharing with the kids of one of the schools in Maasailand (we shared with over 540 students at one time!)

Pastor Nicholas and Mrs. Joyce with Mt. Kilimanjaro behind them (snow on top of the mountain)

 

Pastors Nicholas and Christian in front of Mt. Kilimanjaro 

WARNING... NEXT PICTURE IS GRAPHIC

AN unfortunate gazelle that was a Cheetah's dinner (no we didn't see the attack, just the aftermath)... welcome to Africa! 

Blessings....

Our Last Days

By Matthew and assisted by Christian

Yesterday there was a wonderful celebration service for the launching of the new church.  Young children, men, women, and even elders attended this great celebration.  There was a great feast of four goats; and Christian and I witnessed the end of the slaughter and cooking of the goat, but surprisingly, it didn’t change our appetites much.  While the cooking was going on, there was a men’s and a women’s conference.  Christian taught at the men’s conference about the importance of being a godly man leading your family to Christ; and Joyce, Laura, Samantha, and Sara taught the Maasai women about being a godly woman as a wife and also as a youth.  These two conferences touched many lives, with eight men agreeing to lead their families as a man of God, and many of the Maasai woman committing to pray and wanting to worship and honor God within their families.  Then after eating, we all danced, sang, and worshipped together before everyone said their good-byes. 

The Maasai gave us new names yesterday before our departure from the newly planted church.  The name given to Matthew was Mepukori which means the one who helps, provides, and serves those under him.  Laura’s new name was Nosotua which means peacemaker or the one who brings peace to the people.  Christian’s new name given to him was Olamayani which means blessed one or one who changes hearts.  The name given to Samantha was Namelok which means so sweet.  The name that Sara received was Meliyio meaning the one who is never bored or ever happy.  Pastor Nicholas was given the name of Saroni which means helper and Joyce’s name that was given to her was Noojilaloi which means beautiful one. The reason that we received these new names was because they considered us to be one of them; that we had become part of the Maasai people.

Today we had the Pastor’s conference.  Over 35 men (mostly pastors with a few deacons from their churches) representing over 30 different nondenominational churches.  Pastor Christian and Pastor Nicholas hosted and lead the conference.  They taught on the organization of a church and church leadership as a whole.  Pastor Nicholas taught two sessions of the conference (one was called “Church Leadership” and the other was “The Role of the Church and Church Government”).  Pastor Christian also taught two sessions which were on “The Missional Church” and “Ten Marks of a Biblical Pastor.” While Christian and Nicholas were teaching, Laura and the girls prepare and served snacks and lunch for the pastors that attended the conference (Matt was assisting Pastor Nicholas and Christian in the pastor’s conference and learning as a future church planter).  The team provide snacks and meal for the pastors, which is a big deal in Kenyan culture because they expect the host to provide the food and not the guests, making this a wonderful opportunity for the team to serve these wonderful and faithful pastors who sacrificed much to share the Gospel with many.  Laura, Samantha, and Sara shopped for and prepared tradition Kenyan stew (with the help of a few women from the local church).  For lunch they prepared this stew with beef, potatoes, onions, cilantro, garlic, and various other ingredients; and also it was served with frest chapattis (similar to a tortilla but a Kenyan flat bread).  The conference was a challenging and encouraging time for the pastors as they were fed the Word of God and the importance the inerrancy in Scripture and the authority of it, as well as, to be fed physically.  The traditional diet of a Kenyan is tea, rice, potatoes, chapatti, and some type of meat. 

In departing with the pastors that we served with all week, they asked us as a church to consider partnering with them to plant churches with them in the land of the Maasai as a long term goal.  They unexpectedly presented us with gifts as a symbol of their love and appreciation for our work in the last two weeks.  And as a symbol of our appreciation, the students presented the pastor’s with a small honorarium for their families as a way of saying thank you for their time, love, and commitment.  Also, with the blessing of Christian’s brother Robert, Christian and Laura presented their guitar as a gift to one of the Maasai pastors because his guitar, being 16 years old, was in poor condition.  They did this because he could use it for his ministry in presenting the gospel for many years to come.  After all of this took place, the team had to say their last goodbyes to all the pastors that we had become so connected with the past few weeks.  It was an even harder day to say farewell today then the day before when we left the land of the Maasai and all of those families their, but we are looking forward to coming home and sharing all of our amazing stories the we have had on this trip.

P.S. We have now lost power for the fifth time on this trip.  It wouldn't be Kenya without losing power.  Praise God for five minutes of battery life on Christian's computer.  See you all soon we pray

"Finally, We Win One!"

by Christian

In addition to visiting schools yesterday morning and this morning, we were scheduled to hold crusades in the afternoon; however, the crowds were smaller than anticipated. Most of the Maasai people were sitting at aide distribution centers for the entire day waiting for aide to be given to their families (if they leave the site and food is given out they not only miss their portion, but their family is no longer eligible to receive aide). So we held the Crusades with about 60-70 people in attendance (still not a bad turn out considering).
Something very interesting struck our team during the crusade - there were more men present then pastors, mission team and women combined! Over two-thirds of those present at the crusade were Maasai men! I asked one of the Maasai pastors about this turnout on the return to the hotel and he said "yes I noticed." Then a big smile crossed his face and he continued: "first time ever! Finally, we win one!" as he gave Laura and the girls a thumbs up.
The same thing happened today - about 60-70 people and most of them Maasai men! Praise God. The pastors have been praying for decades for a outpouring of the Holy Spirit among the Maasai men and this is the first time they have seen such amazing turnouts! God is amazing.
Side Note: Matt preached his very first sermon (complete with translator) today! Honestly I could not be prouder!! Even the Maasai pastors were overjoyed hearing him preach, both because it was a solid message and because they knew it was his first time preaching and that God was using his journey to Africa to help shape his future ministry. One of the pastors even said "you are now officially ordained by God as a preacher in Africa." A few funny notes about the sermon though: (1) Matt and I worked on his sermon until midnight last night and both of us were exhausted. He actually fell asleep standing up trying to deliver his own sermon! So I joked with him saying his own sermon put him to sleep. (2) Matt was told to preach at least 30 minutes and as I expected he came in at a time of 13 bold minutes (he asked how long it was when he sat down and I told him 13 minutes and he laughed because he thought it was at least half an hour). (3) He was nervous at the beginning  (though you really could not tell) and got so caught up preaching the Word he forgot to pause for translation. About 10 sentences in the translator finally interjected and started translating over him with a smile knowing Matt forgot. Matt smiled sheepishly and our team and Maasai pastors got a good laugh. (4) I told Matt that if he preaches with his hands to do so intentionally, not out of nerves (in other words point as directing not just to move and fidget). He took my words to heart but forgot not to point and motion with the hand that was holding his microphone. So every time he made a point and motion with his hand no one could hear him. haha
Fantastic two days!

Pray for us tomorrow! It is a culmination of the work we have been doing in Maasailand to plant this new church. We are holding a huge celebration for the opening of the new church - complete with food, worship, preaching (Pastor Nicholas) and more. They will slaughter a cow at 6 in the morning tomorrow and the men will cook the food for the feast (a major cultural shakeup because men never cook and the women many times refuse to entertain the thought of the man cooking because it is their job) and the women will go to a women's conference led by Mrs. Joyce (Pastor Nicholas's wife), Laura, Sam, Sara and some Maasai pastor wives. Pray the Maasai women will be challenged and grow (and maybe even saved, should any non-believing women come). Pray for the Holy Spirit to pour through Mrs. Joyce and Laura, as well as Sam and Sara as they all teach and bring God's Word to the Maasai women. Pray also for the afternoon celebration, that it will be an amazing time of worship! Many people are expected (right now the estimate is 200 hundred or so Maasai people, but we have no idea if that is accurate or not), to include a few government officials!

Side Note to My Children: Thank you my precious children for letting mommy and daddy come all the way to Kenya to share God's Truth with the Maasai people! We so desperately wish you were here with us, but are so thankful you are praying for us regularly. We cannot wait to see you three! We love you sooo much! Thank you for contending for the faith with Mommy and Daddy (Jude 3)!!

Sere Nado (Goodbye All) and Goodnight for now!

________________

On the Safari

by Matthew

Our missions in Africa have been really successful, not because of what we are doing but because of what God is doing in the Masai people's lives.  However, we took a break today from serving in the Masai area that we have been working in, and got a taste of an extraordinary adventure on the Safari.  This land is truly an amazing creation of God and most of our team will agree that it was the most beautiful scenery that we have ever seen.  Just to give you an idea of what it look like, imagine the ocean and how far it goes, then replace the water with tan-white soil with tall green grass growing in some places and then at the very end of your view, you see the second tallest mountain in the world split by the clouds.  You can see the snow on top of this mountain and as you look back at the plains you see wildebeest and zebras running around stirring up dust, elephants in the swamps spraying water on themselves, giraffes gracefully roaming the areas of the plains eating leaves off of the tallest trees, flamingos flying into the sky simultaneously, and many other kinds of animals that you would see on National Geographic.  Its like the best of the episodes that you may have seen on tv of these animals brought right before your very eyes.  

The mission trip is now about half way over, but there is still so much to do.  I am currently preparing for my sermon tomorrow that I will be giving at the crusade and all the other members of the team are preparing for their lessons and activities that they will be conducting later in the week.  Tomorrow we have been given the opportunity to teach about the Gospel in one of the local schools and we all believe this is going to be a remarkable experience.  Not only are the next few days going to be an experience beyond words, but this entire journey has left us speechless before the work of God.  And we can't wait to share all of our wonderful stories with you all when we return, but first we are in need of some much needed sleep upon arrival.

The Word of God moves Maasai Men On their Knees to Salvation

By Nicholas Muteti

An adventure of a lifetime began on June 15^th 2010 when the team from Bethany Baptist Church and Forestville Baptist Church departed to Kajiado Baptist Association in Kenya. The team arrived on June 17^th and headed to the mission area where God had sent them. The Massai men are well known for their fierce courageous attitude and hard hearted people to win to the Lord.

For nearly thirty years, almost one or zero men gave their lives to Christ per year. On the first day of Crusades the moment of truth came to fruition when two men gave their lives to Christ. But the new record was beat. On the eve of Father’s Day when the Reverend Christian preached from John 3 and the word of God moved these well known men on ther knees to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior! Six men opened their hearts to the Lord, making a total of eight in two days. The dynamic power of God is experienced in this mission trip. For the first time in the history of the Maasai culture, the men are being moved by the word of God to their knees together with their spouses to worship the living God. The melody of the Massai gospel music can be heard from a distance. All ages were represented in worship service on the Father’s Day service which was the first worship service of the newly launched Oldoinyio Losiligi Baptist Church (Hope on a Hill Baptist Church). The Rev. Dr. Nicholas and Rev. Bonham baptized eleven of the 52 people – men and women that got saved. The adventure continues as the team takes one day off to a Safari near Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Please pray for the team as they resume their work on Tuesday! Acts 1:8

Revival is here!

Wow! What an amazing two days! We have had a great revival in the Massai community!  There is so much to talk about, and not enough time! God is good! When we drove up to the site of the church yesterday, there were over thirty people reading for us! The Massai people were excited about us being there and witnessing to the other villages around them and they met us there to go out to meet others. We found that many people were gone to the market place, or there would be more. We split up into teams between us, the pastors that drove to meet us, and the Massai tribes people that are already believers.  We went to different villages, on very bumpy dirt roads and shared our testimonies. God had been preparing this place for us – over twenty people got saved yesterday! Then we had an awesome meeting, where we met back at the church for the Crusades. The Massai people are so beautiful, and so friendly. Today, we did the same thing – witnessed with our team and pastors and Massai Christians split up – over twenty people were saved again today. We have never seen anything like it. Tonight at the Crusades, there were over one hundred people there, doubling from last night. Christian gave an amazing sermon about the spiritual leadership the man should have in the home. Many of the Massai men do not believe in Jesus. But at least five men have been saved these past two days – Pastor Muteti said that two of those men refused the gospel and they had been praying for him for a long time. There are so many more stories to tell, but that is all we can write for now.

Africa itself is so beautiful. We are all having a great time and learning more about putting ourselves down and following the cross.

We are Here!

June 17, 2010

We have made it to Kenya! The flights took a long time – we left on Tuesday at 5 and we got here at 7 AM. It was a culture shock coming here. The driver’s seats are on the right side, and the drivers drive on the left side of the road. Although we have had quite a culture shock, the joy and love of God we have seen here is amazing. When we got off the plane,  Pastor Nicholas and Joyce saw their mothers and other family members that they have not seen in fifteen years. That was a wonderful reunion, and as Sam put it “It’s worth it just to come for this.” The girls came and crashed in the room right away after three days of interrupted plane and airport sleeping. Then we went to a meeting with the other half of our team – a group of at least ten pastors that have been working here in Kenya and are going with us when we do our witnessing work tomorrow and when we do the Crusades. They are wonderful men whose love for Jesus is so apparent on their faces, and they have been praying a long time for someone to help them minister and witness to the Massai people. It is amazing to see that God was working here and setting up our work for us before we came. Tomorrow we are starting in the Massai villages, witnessing door to door. Then in the afternoon Christian and Pastor Mutetti are preaching and we are doing the drama and sharing our testimonies. The Crusades are when people are going to come out of their homes in their villages and listen to them preach.

 We love you all and thank you for praying for us! 

Countdown to Kenya Flight

Written by Matt, Sara, and Sam

The Kenya Mission Team is now sitting in the RDU airport waiting to be boarded on the plane to New York.  Most of us already feel tired and we haven't even left the airport yet.  Just these few hours in the airport are a glimpse of what we will be experiencing over the next day or two when traveling to Kenya.  For now we are all situated at the airport and we think that the hard part of passing security and getting checked in is over.

So far it's a bit on the chill side, very uneventful and a little tough but at the same time we are trying to work as a team, be kind to each other and have a good time.  This is going to be a bumpy ride, but a great one.  When we had difficulties about the plane situation that was the scary part*, but now it's just time to relax and know its in Gods hands.

*for those unaware, our flight had been cancelled unexpectedly.  Virgin Airlines had booted us from all of our flights and up until 1 o'clock today, our flight was not back in order, but now we are going to be returning a day later instead.

Pictures

Pictures of the Team prepping and training (running through the drama and training in evangelism, cross cultural ministry, church planting, language/translator training and much more!)

Enjoy the pics! Remember - we leave this TUESDAY! We'll post pics and updates while in country, too, so check back regularly for updates and prayer requests!

L-R: Sara, Matt, Laura (Sam on ground)

Sara going through her testimony with Pastor Nicholas translating

L-R: Sara, Laura, Matt (more drama practice)

Pastor Nicholas bidding farewell until next time, Sara taken by Surprise and Sam always seizing the moment to laugh and smile

L-R: Laura, Sara, Sam, Sara's Dad Daniel, Pastor Nicholas

Training: Laura and Sam going through the Gospel 

Training: Pastor Nicholas and Sara praying together and working through the Gospel

Commissioning Service: Laura in the drama presentation of the Gospel

Commissioning Service: Laura sharing her testimony with Pastor Nicholas translating

More to come!!!

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