Good Morning from Kilifi!

Good Morning from Kilifi, Kenya! It is hot and humid and our prayer yesterday was that we will survive this shocking change. Our praise today is that we have made it through the night and are feeling relatively good today. I know the Lord’s grace is with us because we have a day to regroup and prepare for the good times ahead. We are here at the same guesthouse we have stayed in for the last 2 times in Kenya. We were greeted so warmly by the staff here and it felt like we aren’t so far from home after all.

For a note of God’s continual presence with us and His interest in seeing to the work He has for us, I must tell you of our first miracle. We were in London, had a few hours of catch up sleep and then we were to meet up with Brad, our partner for this training trip. He and his wife came a few days earlier to celebrate their anniversary. We were supposed to call them to set an exact time to meet in London. But it turns out that the apartment they were staying at listed the wrong number on their site so we had no way to connect with them. We had only two options: find their apartment according to the address or go with what he and Al had talked about; meeting at the Paddington station (underground rail system). We found their apartment but had no way of knowing which room was theirs, so we decided to go back to the station and look around. We had prayed that God would somehow join us together but by now that prayer seemed a long ways off and “nigh to impossible”. We decided to walk around the station to see if there was another entrance when lo and behold we ran into each other on the crowded sidewalk! They had given up, gone to eat and then said they would try one more time. I thought, "only believers could have a shred of hope in a situation like that". But really our hope has much more substance than that. To consider the fact that our God who is Lord over all, holds everything together and created everything hears our prayers from anyplace in the universe and answers such a thing as “make it possible to find our friends in London” is amazing to consider. It is beyond my understanding and so we simply praise our wonderful God and trust Him for the days ahead and what He intends to do in the hearts of all of us. More miracles to come!

We didn’t have time to give a report on Al’s trip to Venezuela before we left. The trip went very well and his teaching was well received and stirred a lot of discussion. Al met a ReachGlobal missionary there who may make some connections for future training in Latin America. I (Edie) met Al in Minneapolis after he returned so we could attend our team meetings. Al’s leadership of our Global Training Team is going to take more time in the future so we are trying to figure out how to prioritize our schedule. Thanks for helping us through your prayers.

Final report from India

I apologize for not keeping up the reports for the blog. Between internet problems and a very hectic schedule, I have been unable to write. The conference went well in Ahmadabad after the team finally arrived. Everyone’s teaching was well received and at the end several pastors and women were asked to give testimony about what they had learned and how the conference had affected them. Each one mentioned several specific things they had learned from the various teachers, which showed how well they had paid attention. Several mentioned my teaching on marriage and one leader even said he had been struggling in his marriage and asked the whole congregation for prayer that he might implement what he had learned. It is very unusual for any of them to mention such private things and to do so in such an emotional way. I have committed to pray for him and his wife.

I had some good meetings with the leaders of the ministry here about the training network we are creating. They are all beginning to understand the concept and are getting excited about the project. Over the next several months they will be prayerfully choosing the initial master trainers that we will train to start the program. Pray for them that they will choose the best candidates for this position. Much work needs to be accomplished on their end and mine but we hope to get started with the training before the end of the year.

We concluded the conference with a time of simple carnival games for the slum kids who had been coming for the children’s program. They loaded about 130 kids in the back of a truck and brought them each day. The kids were super well behaved, a real testimony to the work that has been accomplished in their lives. Their changed lives is what is leading many of their parents to Christ. It was fun to see them so joyful with each little game we created for them.

We got up about 4:30 on Sunday morning and travelled all day to Goa, a more tropical area on the West coast of India. We were all quite tired by the time we got here. It is very warm and beautiful here and a good place to refresh and debrief from the conference. I have enjoyed getting to know the other team members during this time.

Tomorrow we get up at 3:30 to go to the airport for the trip back. I have a 12 hour layover in Delhi, an 8 hour layover in Amsterdam and a 3 hour layover in Minneapolis. Altogether I think it will be about 52 hours before I am home in Fort Dodge. Pray for my stamina and patience.

Al

Editors note: My Dad will be arriving home sometime on Thursday evening, the 13th.

Pictures from India

The pictures are: The slum houses, the pastor and family serving there, and a typical India intersection experience.

An Interesting Day

Today was an interesting day as we traveled across the city to a slum area where the ministry here, Logos Holistic Ministries, is doing some work. They just built a ministry center and we helped dedicate it. The building is quite small, I think they said 15 by 30. The pastor working there will live in this building as well as use it for ministry to the community. Actually it is bigger than the allotted 10 by 12 homes the government has built for the poor residents. The immediate area houses 20,000 people and the nearby area another 30,000. The pastor started this ministry about 5 years ago and was visiting once or twice a week. They felt that the Lord was telling them to move to the location so that they could better identify with the community. They lived in one of the small houses for three years and have seen real growth in the effort to reach these people. The people were at first very resistant to having them there but they have won them with their love and persistence. They now work with 2,000 children, and as the kids come to understand the message they go home and share with their families. This is just another example of the good work God is doing in India.

Tomorrow the training starts and the team from Valley will be a day late because their flight from Chicago was cancelled. So I might be doing a lot more teaching tomorrow than I expected. But this type of thing often happens and the Lord always helps us through. My internet access is sketchy but I will try to give updates as I can. Thanks for praying for me.

Al

A New Year in India

I arrived here in Ahmadabad, India around 10 in the morning on Sunday. I left early Friday morning from Ft. Dodge and somehow I feel I lost a day in there somewhere. Actually it is 11 ½ hours different, so I lost only ½ day. The trip is always grueling and this one was no different. But I am glad to be here and greatly enjoyed seeing Wilson and Nish’s bright smiles as they greeted me at the airport. I spent about 7 hours overnight in the Delhi airport and it was very cold, around 45 degrees; they do not heat the place. I had not expected that and had some trouble staying warm. Actually it is supposed to be in the 70’s with lows around 50 all week which is a bit cooler than I had expected. I hope I stay warm enough in the summer clothes I brought.

This week I am teaching on taking heed to your doctrine, from I Tim 4. I am reminded of the need to set our minds on the truth and to always be checking what we believe against the Word of God. It is so easy to casually drift in subtle ways away from the truth ,and when we do we always do so to our peril. I am so thankful for the Word and its constant correction in our lives. Pray for me to clearly teach these dear men from that very Word.

Al

Last days in Ghana

Today was the last day of training. Tomorrow I do the devotions on Ephesians 5, we hear testimonies and then we leave after lunch for Accra. We fly out for Atlanta at 12:30 am that night. The teaching has gone really well and I think the pastors gained a lot on Bible study methods and on the principles of marriage. It is always interesting to me how much I learn by teaching; even as I teach the same things, God opens up new insights to me over and over again.

I did learn a lot about the ministry here, called IN Network, Ghana. It is quite extraordinary. There is a cult here called the Trakosi. It teaches that if something bad happens in the family, like a death or serious problem, it is because the family is cursed by the gods. The only solution is to take one of your virgin daughters to a Trakosi priest and offer her to him as his slave. Girls as young as 5 or 6 sometimes are given into slavery in this way. The priest keeps them and sires many children from his "harem". Some have over 100 slaves. The ministry here helps liberate these girls, counsels them, offers training so they can earn a living, and gives their children an education. Nearly all become Christians in the process.

A man from Wisconsin came with us and has been taking great pictures. I have posted some on my Facebook page and hopefully I can attach more on the blog when I get home.

INN tries to plant a church wherever there is a shrine for this cult. We were training some of their church planters and some other pastors from the area that they invited. We are so privileged to be a part of this great ministry. Our prayer is that these men will be better equipped to go home to their churches and build them on the Word of God. Thanks for your help.

Al

Pictures from Ghana Trip