Home

Made it home safely. I must say that after 17+ hours in the air, 7-8 hours hanging out in airports, and a 7 hour time change, I am a little tired. I must be crazy but I did get up and go to work Wednesday morning. By 4 in the afternoon I knew my internal clock had not reset even though I slept well my first night back in my own bed. I wish it had continued. Last night did not go as well, maybe I can get adjusted by the weekend.   

Amsterdam

Arrived in Amsterdam safely. A 3 hour layover then on to Atlanta. Sitting in the Delta/KLM Crown room with my Mission Society friends, Dick, Michael x 2, and Heidi. Reflecting on the week and plans for the future. Before we left Nairobi we had some time to go to some markets. So much to see. Everything you can imagine, all types of carved items, lots of beads, alabaster, clothes, you name it.

Safely Back to Nairobi. We will spend the night and fly out tomorrow. I just got back from dinner with Dick McLain the President of the "The Mission Society" We had some interesting discussions about the successful week and what we hope and believe will happen with the Kenyan leaders now. I am looking forward to getting home. It has been a very emotional week.

Heading out

We finished up this morning praying over all the missionaries and the mission, followed by a time of worship. There is so much good work taking place in East Africa. We are all loading up. We are traveling to Nairobi today and others heading back to their mission field. I will post pictures hopefully before the end of the week.

We had a great day today with the Missionaries. We spent time in worship. We split off in small groups and discussed times where we had been extremely challenged and God had pulled us through. Later we got back together in the same groups to discuss and pray about our current area where we need to focus.

In the afternoon we went the Nakuru - Menengai Crater. It is only about 3 miles outside Nakuru. It is the worlds second largest volcanic crater. So incrediably beautiful, words can not do it justice.

We finished the day with some more worship and a movie.

Another beautiful day in Nakuru. The missionaries all made it in safely. They have come from Tanzania, Ghana, South Sudan, and Kenya. We Are having a rich time sharing and caring. We will have an outing this afternoon to a nearby crater that is the largest in Kenya I am told. The street vendors of the downtown market don't understand just looking or I am not interested, they try to escort you to their table and are relentless in their effort to get you to buy something. One day this week I must have had four or five guys trying to sell me stuff at the same time. But I am safe.


Miss you all!

The conference comes to an end today. Sad to see my new friends leaving, but I am rejoicing in how close we have become in such a short time. It is amazing how quickly Gods love brings people together. They were all very grateful and are looking forward to putting their new mission ideas to work. I have so many interesting stories and challenging situations from many. It is a testament to their faith that some continue on. Kenya has great potential. I am looking forward to meeting 20 or so "Mission Society" field missionaries as they arrive this afternoon for a weekend retreat away from the mission field. I know I there will be many stories to share from this time.

Email connectivity has been poor, I am posting as much as I can. Peace friends!

The people here are great. They are so appreciative for the conference. Today we taught about information for them to take back to their churches and present. Ways to get their congregations more mission focused. How break it down it areas of concentration. I was able to get the afternoon off and went with a friend from Atlanta on a Safari. We traveled all of 3 miles from the conference and were at a wildlife refuge. We saw lion,water buffalo, water buck, giraffe, gazelle, antelope, zebra, rhino, flamingo,and lots of other birds. Amazing.

Wednesday was a day discussing how to be on mission with God. The church exist to reach the lost. It is not "the building" We have been commanded to GO.Churches need to be outward focused and not inward. Many of the frustrations of the Kenyan missionaries and church mission leaders are similar to those we experience in the US. The congregation looses touch with the missionaries and the church mission efforts. They feel as though they are on an island by themselves.

Tuesday

Tuesday was great. All of the particicipants made it in and we have great group. Everyone seems Eager to become more missional in their own churches. There was discussion of braking down the walls that sometimes cause tension between tribes and becoming more unified. We discussed The Mission of God, the great commission, and the great command. We reviewed all the statistics of Christians in the world. We talked about the unreached people groups and the 10/40 window where the majority are found. We ended the day with song and communion. I have some video and pictures but cant seem to get them uploaded. Blessings to you all!

Conference begins

Starting the conference today. After meeting with Rev. David Mutai of the African Gospel Church there are challenges .There are hundreds if not thousands of years of discord between the 42 tribes of Kenya, which spills over into their denominations also. There will be 10 different denominations attending our meetings. In addition to the challenge of teaching "the Great Commission " there is the challenge of getting them to look past natural rivalry. Looking forward to a great day!

Nakuru

Got some much needed sleep. We Had asucessful trip to Nakuru today. It is about 2:30 northwest of Nairobi. You drive along the rift valley for most of the drive, very pretty. Saw zebra, impala, and baboons. The baboons come right up to the median of the road looking for food.

Narobi at 8:30 PM

Made it to Narobi. 26 hours of travel and 17 hours of flying. I was not successful sleeping on the plane, so I am beat. Good night sleep tonight,I hope, and off the Nakuru in the morning

Leaving today

Travel day has arrived. I will be leaving Columbia around noon, to Atlanta, then to Amsterdam, then to Narobi. Why I have to go northeast then southeast sort seems strange, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I will arrive in Narobi Sunday evening at 8:15 PM.

Thursday night

Trying to get the iPad to work with the blog. So this post is a test. Sorry!

Thursday Before

Work is too busy. I am ready for the trip for many, many reasons. Trying to get all my ducks in a row. My Grandson Garrett made the C-Team football team this week. 7th and 8th graders. He will be in the 7th this year. He is very excited. He wants to make this trip with me, maybe another time.  

Only two weeks until I head out. I am really looking forward to this experience, but not the long flights. If anybody wants to give me enough Delta Skymiles for an upgrade to business class, I would not argue with them. I will be participating with "The Mission Society" in an International Mobilization conference in Nakuru followed by a Missionary retreat. 

I am going to Kenya

Yep, I am going to Kenya this summer. Rather then delete the trip to Ghana I thought I would keep it going with this trip. Follow me if you will. I will be participating in an International Mobilization conference with The Mission Society.