On The Ground

So we've landed, made it through customs, and all is well. There is much showering, laundry, and processing to be done. Stay tuned for a recap of our last day plus a couple of daily recaps that never made it online due to lack of internet. I'll let you know when they're posted. Thanks everyone!

KENYAN "BARBEQUE"

Our God is an awesome God!! As you all probably know, by the grace of God, we were able to finish the ceiling of the main events room/chapel at Naomi's Village, therefore, we had to celebrate! The celebration started with the dedication of the chapel. Bob and Julie Mendonsa told the story behind Naomi's Village, and the vision that God has given them for the orphanage. Our teammate, Joe, shared a word from the book of Nehemiah, and the Lord truly spoke through him, and encouraged us to not only be more grateful for our salvation, but also emphasized that we should "seek first the kingdom of God." We finished the dedication of the chapel with singing Kenyan style, and praying over the chapel, that God would be present there. Chai and Chapati followed soon after. It was amazing to walk into the chapel, and see the beautiful finished product, and to see God's grace and provision in that room. We were definitely reminded of

1 Corinthians 15:58, and we can't wait to see the children eating, playing, and worshipping in that room.

Soon after the dedication of the chapel at Naomi's Village, some of us headed back to Comfort The Children to enjoy the kiddos and the Malaika Mums one last time. We were able to help feed the kids and also enjoyed dancing and playing with them. George, in particular, had some amazing dance moves. I think I need some lessons from him! We were also able to meet more of the mothers of the kids, and hear some of their stories. One story in particular touched my heart: One of the older women that takes care of the kids at CTC told us that she was caring for 16 children at home, including her own children, and also children of family members that had passed away. She told us that she had recently hurt her back, but continued to work because there was no other way to provide for the children. This woman's strength and her servant's heart was completely amazing to observe and hear about. Those who didn't go to CTC, got to go to the slaughterhouse and butchery to get goat and beef for the "barbeque" at Naomi's Village tonight.

The rest of the day was spent fellowshipping, playing volleyball and soccer, and watching goat and beef get cut up Kenyan style with a machete, and cooked. We all enjoyed a lovely bowl of potatoes, cabbage, and boiled goat. Dan and Peter had also grilled nyama choma and beef, and I can proudly say that everyone on the team at least tried the goat! We were so pleased to see our wonderful friends from the IDP camp, Joseph and Doreen, attend the "barbeque," along with all the Kenyan workers at Naomi's Village. It was truly a special time with Joseph, as he had just left the funeral service for his son Brian, who passed away earlier in the week. Tonight was both a sad occasion and a joyful one as we said goodbye to the workers we had bonded with in addition to our friends from the IDP camp.

What a wonderful day to celebrate the grace and provision of our Lord and Savior, not only in allowing the progress on Naomi's Village to continue, but also in allowing us to meet and fellowship with our wonderful Kenyan friends.

Michael and Ginny

Tighten Your Brakes

Safari Day!! It's not every day you get to say you went on an amazing African Safari with 12 other amazing people. We left bright and early this morning and headed off for a two-hour drive to Nakuru National Park to see all the awe inspiring creatures God has put in this place. It started with baboons... lots of baboons. Kenyans are actually amazed that we don't have baboons roaming around everywhere in America. Baboons in Kenya are as common as squirrels back home, however Kenyans have no clue what a squirrel is and it's harder than you think to explain it to them. Anyways, after the baboons we headed to the flamingos. Thousands of flamingos cover the beach at the park. It is so beautiful to se shades of pink and white covering the shoreline. White rhinos, leopards, zebras, and giraffes were among the many amazing animals that inhabit the reserve. It is one thing to go to the zoo and see them in enclosures and cages, but a whole other thing for them to walk right next to your car and interact with you! It was so neat to feel so exposed in our open top safari van. We looked for lions for a long time and began to lose hope of finding them. We were ready to break for lunch when we came upon a whole pack of them! Mostly females and cubs... but so big! No binoculars needed, just up close and personal (25 feet away)! It was so cool to hang out with the King of the Jungle for a while. We finished up with a late lunch at a restaurant in the park. Baboons once again were our special guests. They came and sat at the table next to us, climbed on the roof above us, and we watched as they tried to break into our van to steal our snacks. They became such a nuisance that the waiter gave Joe a big stick that he used as a fake gun to run them off. They listen when you shake a big stick at them! Even though lunch was a lot of fun, we also had the privilege of listening to our driver and friend Elijah tell the story of his life. What a strong person with such inspiring words. With all he has been through it is amazing to see the faith he has maintained. We could all learn from wisdom like that! The ride home was quite adventurous filled with laughter, jokes, singing, and overheating... enough said :) Back at Bob and Julie's tonight with a wonderful dinner prepared by Dan (our lawyer/botanist/remodeler/chef friend) we are enjoying lettuce wraps with pineapple rice (YUM!) and 3 different kinds of pie all prepared in honor of Michael's birthday tomorrow. Although today was a great and relaxing day of play, we are all completely exhausted! Joe is sleeping on the floor and Katie Mayer's head has been laying on the kitchen table for quite some time now :) Time for sleep... Good Night (Good Morning).

-Katie Rooney

Hole in the Ceiling

Happy Tuesday everybody. :) I’m sitting here writing this blog as our team is laughing and playing games together. God has blessed us with awesome friendships and community. I love our team. I love Kenya. I loved today.

Lindsey, Rachel, Kristen, and I were able to spend the morning at CURE International, a hospital primarily for children with orthopedic diagnoses. I’ve been looking forward to this for a while, because I love cheering up sick kids. I also wanted to see what healthcare looked like in Kenya. Many physicians who work at CURE are missionary doctors, so I’m not sure if this was an accurate portrayal of all healthcare in the whole country. Nonetheless, I was so impressed with the facility and with the staff. The care the staff provided was full of love, and Christ was spoken about freely, both with the patients and with the patients’ parents. There were about 30 children in the ward with various limb and spine deformities. There were no private rooms, just lots of beds. The operating room is called a “theater.”

We were able to hand out stuffed animals to each child, and we prayed with a few children and mothers. We also played with several children in the playroom. We taught them a fun version of “Jesus Loves Me,” and we sang Shakira’s “Waka Waka” with them. :) They all knew that song…it was great. They also taught us a couple songs in Swahili. A lady named Phoebe was in charge of the playroom, and she had such a heart for Jesus. She shared the gospel in Swahili with two girls in the playroom, and it was beautiful to witness. One girl named Beatrice really tugged on my heart. She was four years old with severe scoliosis, and she was precious. She was there with both her mother and father, which to my understanding is a rarity in Kenya, as most care for the family is provided solely by the mother. I think we were all really blessed by our time spent at the hospital this morning.

The rest of the team worked incredibly hard at Naomi’s Village all morning. All four guys headed out to the orphanage at 6:30 to get a head start, and the other girls followed them at 7:30. The guys all worked on cutting boards and putting them up on the ceiling, while the girls sanded and varnished boards. So much work was done in the morning. When we arrived after lunch, about a third of the ceiling was completed, and it looked a-w-e-s-o-m-e. By about 4:00 this afternoon, about half of the ceiling was completed (that’s about 2500 square feet).

Today was a day full of answered prayer. God is so good, and He’s all over this trip. Yesterday the task of completing the ceiling by Friday seemed huge, as if it were very unlikely. The room is fairly large, and we needed to sand and varnish about a million boards. (Not really a million…but there sure are a lot.) We ended yesterday by praying that the Lord would multiply our time and increase our efficiency as we worked, so that the ceiling would be completed by Friday for a dedication ceremony. The Lord is faithful, and He answered our prayers. Tomorrow Bob, his friend Dan, and the Kenyan workers will work on the ceiling, and hopefully we’ll be able to finish in on Thursday. YAY! :)

Tomorrow we get to go out on a safari, and we’re all super excited about that…I’m sure there will be tons of pictures, so be on the lookout for that.

We love you all, and we’re so grateful for all of your prayers and support. Please pray for God to continue to maximize our time as we work, as well as for our continued safety. Pray for Naomi’s Village and for the orphans that will be served. And also, pray that we don’t get eaten by any lions tomorrow…

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” -Ephesians 3:20-21

-Melissa Kauk

Fender Benders in Africa

Before coming to Kenya, Mike, Ginny, DJ, and I had the opportunity to visit Upendo Baptist Church, a Kenyan church in Dallas. While there, we were blessed to meet a man named Isaac Ndegwa. Isaac immediately greeted us as we walked into his church that day and we quickly learned that not only was he from Kenya, but he was from Maai Mahiu- the exact place we would be serving while in Kenya. From the start, the Lord filled Isaac with a passion for our ministry. He and DJ were quick to exchange email addresses and when he learned that we were from The Village Church, he took the initiative to google The Village where he then read about our partnership with the Mendonsas. He went above and beyond in his research of their ministry here in Kenya and quickly became invested in Naomi's Village and all that the Mendonsas are a part of here. He would advocate our trip on facebook, raise awareness of our fundraisers, and blessed our team immensely when him and his wife, Esther, invited us over to his house for a traditional Kenyan meal. We have been so incredibly blessed by our friendship with Isaac and know that our relationship with him was orchestrated by the Lord. It is not a coincidence that the Lord would place this man from Maai Mahiu in our life. Rather, we have been blown away by His intentionality, that He would so specifically connect us with someone who has a great heart for this place and can help further His work here. Because we have been so blessed and encouraged by Isaac, we wanted to bless him in return. Two weeks before we left, Esther gave birth to their second child, Ashley, so we were able to get pictures of their new baby to take to Isaac's mother. Our team had been so excited about the opportunity to spend time with his mom, and yesterday was the day! To sit in this woman's house, being divided by language yet united both in Christ and in love for her son was a beautiful thing. She served us the entire time, blessing us with stew, nyoma choma, chai and chipate and as any loving mother would do, she busted out with the photo albums and showed us pictures of Isaac's childhood. It was beautiful to watch her look at the pictures we brought of her grandchildren and to hear her sweet voice repeat "Thank you, Thank you" over and over again. Isaac has not seen his mother in almost a year and I cannot imagine how hard it must be to be across the world from your family. The fact that the Lord allowed us to bridge that gap, even if only a little, was incredible and we were so thankful for the opportunity to spend time with this woman who raised a man who is not only our brother in Christ, but who has become a close friend as well.

Apart from visiting Isaac's mother yesterday, we spent the majority of the day working at Naomi's Village. One of our goals for this trip was to put up the ceiling of the Special Events Room at the orphanage which would complete the room and allow the Mendonsas to begin holding church services for the community there. Up until this point, we had spent the majority of our time sanding and varnishing the wood that would make up the ceiling, but yesterday the first pieces of wood were finally nailed up and I could not help but stand in awe as I looked up and saw how far we had come. Please be praying for us as there is still an abundance of work to be done. Our hearts truly desire to get this ceiling finished by the time we leave, but the reality is that we feel overwhelmed by the task and worry that we do not have enough time to get it done. Not only is it a lot of work, but things in Kenya just take longer. We have a running joke about "African time" knowing that a task that should take one hour usually takes about three. Please pray for increased faith, that the Lord would multiply our time and grant us efficiency and productivity. Pray that we would be able to finish this room and that the ceiling would be done by Friday. Pray for us to work hard, but that we would be free from guilt if it does not get done, knowing that the Lord will complete this room in His perfect timing. Above all, please pray over this room, that it would be a place where people come to meet with and worship the Lord and where many will come to know Him.

And, just for free, we wanted you to get an accurate idea of Kenyan time and how everything takes three times as long as expected with a million obstacles in between: yesterday, from the time it took us to leave the house and get to the orphanage, we both ran out of gas and got into a mini car accident... don't worry moms- we're okay :) As we were leaving the house, Dan's car ran out of gas which caused him to stop abruptly in the middle of the driveway....which also happened to be in Bob's blind spot. As Bob was backing out of the driveway, we slammed right into Dan's car...and erupted into laughter. Everyone was perfectly fine and no one was hurt. More than anything we were amused by the irony of yet another obstacle to slow us down. Of course we would run out of gas and get into an accident...how very Kenyan of us.

As always, we love you and are so thankful for all your encouragement and support.

-DJ & Courtney Hofmann

Slumdog Millionaire

Today we woke up to monkeys in the trees just outside the ENT house and knew it was going to be a good day!

The drive to Nairobi for Sunday morning church at Wells of Joy Church took just over an hour and was filled with shocking images of poverty that I can’t even begin to describe. It was like a light switch went off as we neared the Lunga Lunga Slums just outside Nairobi. The road was a murky, black substance and the piles of trash lining the streets were similar to a dumpsite. But this is not a dumpsite; this is a city and a home to approximately 20,000 impoverished Kenyans.

We parked our vehicles behind a gate on the outskirts of the slums and were greeted by Pastor Jeffery, head pastor of Wells of Joy Church, and his family. The welcome was warm and the smiles many as team members from last year greeted old friends and the eight new members took their first steps into what felt like a movie. Pastor Geoffrey led the group outside the gate and into the heart of the slums toward two shacks where the church stood before it grew in size. As we walked down the narrow black road, the images I saw were something I couldn’t have made up if I tried. The majority of the homes and businesses couldn’t have been larger than 10 ft x 10 ft. The road was covered in trash; some half buried in mud; some raked into a pile and set on fire. Everything was covered in filth and the buildings were pieced together with scrap metal and wood. Seeing a site like that in a movie is nothing compared to actually walking within arms length of the adults and children who actually live there as the stench of sewage and body odor drenched the air.

The two former church shacks were smaller than my living room with almost no circulation at all. Pastor Geoffrey then led us to the current church shack that was a short walk away. African gospel music blared as women and children lined the front and danced with absolutely no reservations. They danced around as they waved their arms, sang at the top of their lungs and jumped to the beat of the music. Once worship was over Pastor Geoffrey introduced almost everyone in the room and then our very own, Joe Crenshaw, delivered the first sermon on Jonah and his call to Nineveh. The sermon was stirring and I couldn’t have been prouder to be a part of his team as the Lord gave Joe a message that touched the hearts of people from two very different backgrounds. The second sermon was delivered by Pastor Francis from Limuru and interpreted by Pastor Geoffrey with a lot of yelling at the top of his lungs and plenty of old fashion “amens!” Four hours later the service was over and we made our way back to the car.

After church we ate at Java House in Nairobi and had our first westernized restaurant meal since our arrival one week ago. Ordering off a menu with recognizable meals and using a public restroom with a real toilet was quite a treat!

We made our way back to the ENT house in time for an early debrief where Daniel Shanks and I shared our testimonies. Two Cure volunteers, Divine and Precious, from Zambia sat with us as the team poured love and encouraging words over our struggles. We didn’t expect the Cure volunteers to say anything but Divine ended our session with a heartfelt encouragement to continue our work with the same heart that was evident to him in only a short evening. It was a beautiful and unexpected cross-cultural moment that I will never forget.

We ended the night hanging with the Mendonsas, playing mafia, and listening to the Cowboys game.

That’s all for now. I love and miss you family, friends and supports!

-Rachel Lewis

Another Way To Follow Along With The Team

Because internet has been so hard to come by (and in case we lose it fully again), another great way to keep updated is on the Naomi's Village Fan Page on Facebook. Julie tries to keep this as updated as possible. We will still try to post here nightly (afternoon back in the states). We just wanted to give you a head's up. Thanks guys!

Ubuntu

Katie Driving the Donkey

What a day! There is so much to tell that I'm sure sure where to start. This morning came with hard news from the IDP camp. Bob and Julie have a friend named Joseph who is a main leader at the camp and is also in charge of running the poultry project. We were so blessed to meet him a few days ago and hear his story of how he landed there. Joseph is an older man who has been through more struggles than I can even imagine. He was forced from his home because of violence and is one of those people that you feel closer to the Lord just being around him. Our team was more than blessed to hear all he has been through and how much he Loves the Lord. We found out early this morning that his son was murdered last night and found at the camp. Not only is Joseph our friend but our brother in Christ and so we mourn with him through this. John 16: 22 really hits home. Even though Joseph has lost his son today, he was still full of Joy. His joy comes from knowing that God is in control, his plan is perfect and no one can steal his joy. What an encouragement and an example of what full trust in the Lord looks like. Bob and Michael spent some time with him today and the team was able to see Joseph tonight.

On a lighter note, the team went back to the CTC today to help with the town beautification project. The city if Maai Mahiu does a town clean up once a month and they invited us to help. There is not a trash system in the city so you can only imagine what the streets look like. We strapped on our gloves and started gathering trash into piles to be burned and planted trees as well. It was such a great time to get to talk with the town people and hear their stories. Praise God for the sweet High school girl I met today. I wish I could pronounce her name enough to spell it so we'll just call her Chimi. We started talking about what America is like and how different Africa is which lead to an amazing conversation about the Lord. She asked me what I was most excited to see in Africa and if you've watched the video- you know....baboons! She began to tell me about how she was scared to go to Kijabe because of the baboons and how they stand in a circle and pray to the Gods. It was one of those conversations where I felt the Lord say "quiet yourself" and truly felt him speaking through me. She kept saying, "i want to know your God." Her view of who God is was so off and He gave me an awesome opportunity to tell her how my God loves her where she's at and all the things she's done in the past are paid for on the cross. AMEN! Praise God! Please pray for Chimi and solid teaching for her. Such a beautiful girl and such a neat way to see the Lord use my excitement for baboon viewing to spur on a conversation that brings Glory to His name.

Even though I haven't seen a baboon yet...I did get to ride a DONKEY TAXI! The team spent several hours today working at Naomi's Village. One of the events involved the Donkey Taxi who brings water to the work site from down the road. The driver let me ride with him and drive them. It was a great break! The team worked really hard today trying to get the ceiling in the main room together. We spent time sanding and varnishing the wood to get it ready to nail up. It was a great afternoon of hard work and funny times.

After Naomi's Village we headed over to the IDP camp for dinner and a movie outside with the kids. We watched George of the Jungle and most of the kids ended up on top of us asleep. Such a sweet time with those kids. I've never seen so many people in one place with so much Joy. It's unbelievable. They know their needs and it's not food and water. Their Joy comes from the Lord and it's what sustains them. Overall this has been a hard day but laced with so much Joy.

Thank you all for your prayers. They are felt here for sure. Please pray for Joseph and the IDP camp- for healing and comfort. Pray for the needs of the kids and the CTC. Pray for our team as we go to the slums for church tomorrow. Pray for Joe as he will be preaching. We love you all and cannot wait to tell you of all the stories and ways the Lord is working here.

-Katie Mayer

Mike, Joe, and Daniel with Joseph

Chapati-CHOP

What a great day in Kenya!!!! Today was filled with many blessings for our entire team as we visited Comfort the Children International (www.ctcinternational.org), worked at Naomi’s Village, and celebrated the day by eating at a lovely Kenyan restaurant.

The passion that God has given me is one of love for people with disabilities, so this was a dream come true as we visited Comfort the Children today. CTC is an organization that is focused on giving kids with a disability in this area a chance to receive an education, as well as give their mothers a way to earn an income to care for them. There are nine woman that work at this organization that have been left by their husbands due to the birth of their child with a disability. Many of the kids with disabilities in this nation are cast out of society, locked in dog kennels, tied to trees, or even killed because this country has very limited education on how to care for these wonderful people. They believe that there is no chance for them in life and literally treat them like animals. Comfort the Children has started a movement, in what I believe, will impact this community as well as other communities in more nations. They have given these students an opportunity to receive an education and just be loved by people, as well as educate the community that these people are still God’s children. People with disabilities are not “nothing”; they are something so significant to this world. God has created them in the U.S. and Kenya and every other nation for so many reasons. Today, the mothers were so encouraged by listening to stories I was able to share about the same population I work with in the States. They seemed so surprised that there were kids in the states just like theirs. They had no education about disabilities until now!! We were able to go into the classrooms and just play around with the kids. I was able to play with a boy named George, who has Down syndrome. He completely was putting on some karate chop moves on some of us, climb all over us, and just sit and laugh about some random things. The kids sang to us, which really made many of us tear up. It was wonderful standing in the midst of something big. God has such big plans for this population in this area and it will be great to see what He does here. I was clearly shown the love of Christ today through the people of this organization and these kids.

At Naomi’s Village today, we were able to clear out more rooms of the orphanage so now it is another step closer to serving these kids. It is amazing to sit in the rooms of this building and just imagine the giggles, laughter, and see the smiles on the kids faces. I can just see the life that is in this place before it is ever finished. Another great thing was just to sit and listen to the passion that the Mendonsa’s have for this place. God has given them incredible hearts and it has been a huge blessing to serve Christ alongside of my fellow Baylor Bears the past few days.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for our team as we go back to the IDP camp for movie night tomorrow, as well as for continued health of our team.

"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18

-Lindsey Castilleja

Black Boogers

Impromptu Worship on the Mountain

Students at the IDP Preschool

Hello Everyone!!!  I apologize for the brevity of this post, but the wifi is still out and for time's sake I'll just give you guys a quick overview of what today looked like for our team.

Today was a wonderful day filled with a trip to the IDP camp and some dirty work at Naomi's Village and also we were able to show some support at Will Mendonsa'a soccer game!  At the IDP camp we were able to play with those beautiful, smiling children again.  We made little shakers for the children out of paper plates, staples  and dried split peas.  Our goal was to walk into their classroom and teach them the "Jesus loves me" song, but i think what happened to most of our team members was a few moments of awkward silence followed by the loudest roar of shakers you've ever heard.  I don't think we were even able to teach them the song, but it was still amazing to see those kids laughing, dancing and singing about with their shakers.

I know you all are wondering what this post title is all about so here's the story: At Naomi's Village we were put to work cleaning out a partially completed (oxymoron, i know) room.  Y'all, this endeavor involved a lot of dust.  I'm not kidding, a lot of dust.  This resulted in everyone having a nose full of black boogers.  But nonetheless we all had a blast, complete with wheel barrel racing and plenty of booger jokes.

My favorite part of today was coming home to a beautiful Kenya sunset and seeing a couple of my team members soaking in the beauty with worship as Joe played his guitar.  For time sake, we were unable to upload pictures, including a pic of the moment i just described [edit: pics are now updated].

Thank you all for your prayers!  They are both appreciated and coveted.  Please know that we are well and having an amazing experience here in Kenya.  We all feel amazingly blessed to be a part of this trip and just to feel the warmth of another sun and to see the children of God from another land.  We love you and miss you all!


-Jennifer Matos

Dusty Room at Naomi's Village

We're Here!

Bob and Julie Mendonsa with Doreen and Kamau

Hello friends and family! We first need to apologize that we have not been able to update you all yet. This is the first opportunity we have had to use wi-fi, so hopefully we did not worry those who may have been expecting a notification of our arrival. Needless to say, we are here safely, and have been so blessed already.

We arrived late last night and got settled in to the missionary house, and jet lag set in, so we all crashed fast, and woke up early this morning. The first place on our agenda was Naomi's Village. We took a long, bumpy, wild ride in the "green hornet"and arrived safely at Naomi's Village...barely! For those who had been on this trip last year, it was such a tremendous blessing to see the progress of the orphanage. Last year, they left a land that was virtually bare, and this year, there was a beautiful orphanage that was getting close to completion. For those of us who are here for the first time, it was a blessing as well to finally experience the orphanage. We were able to visit with the workers over a cup of Uji (pourage), and chapati (tortillas). They also allowed us to join them in a game of volleyball. It was really great to see that the Lord's hand is so obviously on this place, and He is showing it. The workers seemed so eager to complete this project, and get the orphans in here.

After Naomi's Village, we made our way to the IDP Camp (Internally Displaced Persons). I can speak for the entire time when I say that we were all greatly moved by the things that we saw today. As we pulled up to the camp, all the children knew that we were coming, and were sprinting towards the cars, yelling, with huge smiles on their faces! They were so excited to see that we were coming. Immediately after getting out of the cars, we were surrounded, and the wild and crazy fun began. Some of us played soccer, some of us made up games that the kids loved, some of us just held the children, that virtually refused to let go of us. After hours of games and fun, the children left for a break, and we were able to sit down with the workers of the camp to hear their stories about how they got here. These new friends of ours have had some very difficult experiences, seeing family members murdered, having their houses burned down by the very people who were teaching them about Jesus, being separated from their families. Some of them have yet to see their families, as they all had no choice but to scatter for their lives. There was a particular worker whose name was Doreen, and during our share time tonight, she was a huge topic of our conversations. She said a few things that really challenged our team, and brought some necessary convictions. These people have almost nothing, except the Word of God, which means they believe what it says, because they have no other choice. Jesus truly is their only hope, and they stand on that with all that they have. They have such a passion for the Word of God, they have so much joy amidst so much suffering, and they immediately want to give what little they have to us, because God's Word says to. They don't have anything, but the little that they have is not their treasure. They have such a heavenly hope, and are so faithful to pray and provide for all the little children, in hopes that they will be able to find victory for their next generation, whether they themselves get to see it or not. The kids loved the things that were so meaningless to us, yet so meaningful to them. One of the highlights of the day was when we brought out the bubbles. It's a great sight to see a hundred kids chasing a slew of bubbles all over a field. They truly blessed us today.

Last, we would like you to continue to pray for us. Pray for our team, that we would continue to grow together, and lay down our own personal struggles at the cross, so that we would not be distracted from the gospel going out to this place. Continue to pray for provision for Naomi's Village, as well as the IDP camp. And most importantly, please pray John 6:44 that God would draw people to His Son, and that He would bring salvation all over this place. We love you all, and will update more soon!

Blessings!

-Joe Crenshaw

Who, What, Why: Kenya 2010

Buy a bracelet, build an orphanage

Our team is selling "I Support Naomi's Village" bracelets for $10. 100% of the proceeds will go to support the completion of Naomi's Village. Contact your favorite team member to buy yours now :)

Ministry Opportunities in Kenya

I just wanted to give everyone a quick overview of what sort of ministries we will be involved in when we get to Kenya:

• NAOMI’S VILLAGE
  Naomi’s Village (NV) is the orphanage that Bob & Julie recently founded (Mendonsa's blog). It is still under construction, is expected to be finished in January, and will become home to up to 100 orphans upon its completion. Our team of 13 incredible men and women will do various projects to help work towards the completion of the facility.
  

• INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS CAMP
  In 2008, nearly 3,000 men, women, and children were displaced from their homes due to post-election violence. They now live in tents or makeshift homes with no running water and electricity. We will have opportunities to love on and serve the people there including but not limited to story & music time with the preschoolers and a movie night at the camp. The Lord has opened up a huge door for Bob and Julie to do ministry among these people and we are eager to love on and learn from these men and women who literally have nothing, yet are filled with joy in the Lord.
  

• COMFORT THE CHILDREN, INTL
  (www.ctcinternational.org): CTC is a school for children with mental and physical disabilities and their mothers. In Kenya, children with special needs are viewed as cursed and are virtually shunned from their communities. Not only does Comfort the Children offer a day program for these children, but they employ their mothers as well, thus providing income for them to take care of their children. Our team will have an opportunity to partner with CTC, local schools, churches, NGO's and the government for their monthly Ubuntu Day- an opportunity for the town of Maai Mahiu to work together to improve their living conditions. Pray also for opportunities we will have to encourage and bless the mothers and children who occupy CTC.
  

Come Support Naomi's Village!

This Saturday, August 28th, our team is hosting an all-day fundraiser at the Chick-Fil-A on Main Street in Lewisville. Order a party platter or stop by for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and 20% of your proceeds will go towards the remaining construction of Naomi's Village, the orphanage we will be working at in Maai Mahiu, Kenya that will house 110 children upon it's completion. To meet the team, learn more about Naomi's Village, and make an additional cash or check donation, please stop by between 12:00-3:00.

To catch the vision of our trip and to meet some of the sweet faces that your Chick-Fil-A proceeds will surely benefit, please watch this video:



Love,
The Village Church Kenya 2010 Team

Hello World

Are you listening? Missions is a lifestyle for us. This means that in all aspects of life, we carry ourselves as ministers of reconciliation. Missions is something we attempt to live out every day. So, whether it is engaging our neighbors or co-workers, or going to serve those who live in the uttermost parts of the world, those experiences are tools to help us live out Missional Living with other members of the church. He has given us a love for the nations and for His Name. We understand full well that God is glorified in our love and unity and that it is Jesus who we want to be famous (Philippians 2:9-11). So, because we are not after glorifying The Village, we partner and support what is already at work all around the world.