We are back in the USA

We had an amazing trip. Allow me re-cap some of the highlights. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday our two main objectives were to provide medical help and walk the village sharing Christ's love and inviting people to accept Christ as their personal Savior. The number of people ready to accept Christ were 97 (wow). Please pray that the seed we planted will be nurished by the Holy Spirit. The new believers in Mtepeni will be challanged in ways that are not familiar to us, we are fellow believers here in the US. Please continue to pray for all followers of Christ to be strenghtened by the Holy Spirit within us all. This is one of the trails we traveled.

We were all amazed by the work that is being done in Mtepeni, the new water well, now clean water is available. Many times the traveling distance to get water would be a mile or more; every day. These containers are re-used and carried on their heads. The new school is being built is educate the children of Mtepeni, it costs the parents $6.00 a month to send each child; that is alot of money and many children won't be able to attend because of it. Real 4 Christ is working on a way to help sponsor the children. We visited other schools and loved and played with lots and lots of childen.

Sorry we didn't keep this updated daily, among other challenges the internet was not working properly.

Blessed and Serving Him....Jaimi

July 31 2009

We had a little issue with connectivity last night, so this is for two nights. Yesterday, was a great day, like most days around here. We headed far away to Perani and Tiwi. Tiwi was the first school we visited. It was about 2 hours away. It was a nice school, with lots of property and lots buildings. The children were very well behaved and they had a cool performance for us. Singing. We each had to introduce ourselves, and Chris told them it was my b-day the day before, so the entire school sang happy birthday to me. It was great! We all played various games with the kids. Duck duck goose, soccer, football, basketball, singing, red rover and more soccer.

Then we were off to Perani; another gorgeous drive and well worth it! We arrived there during a parent-teacher conference and you would not believe how many babies were there! It was awesome! We snuck in the back of the biggest building, the church I think, and the kids sang some songs, and performed some competitions. Like who could get their uniform on the fastest, blow up a ballon the fastest, etc. It was great. Chris had a lot of fun messing with the kids as they competed. He took their clothes and threw them. The people loved it. Afterwards, we went outside and set up our stations. Ballon blowing, medical and soccer. It was great! I started with ballons, but it was crazy. Sometimes, they didn't even want us to shape them into creatures; took to long. haha. Then I helped with the doctor's cleaning heads and putting ointment on their infected bumps. I'm not sure what they are called, but they all have it. Then I played soccer and some more! The kids loved it. They were all so sweet and good. If you told them to do something, they would do it right away. To the best of their ability..example "Go get a goal!" They would try, but Dave made a really good one man defense!

Today was another wonderful day. We went to Vipingo. I passed out on the way there, but I'm sure it was a beautiful drive. When we got there, we were pleasantly entertained by some more singing. It was great. Then the entire team was assigned to classes where we would do a craft with the kids. (Thanks to Medina who organized all of the crafts!) My class was first grade, but they were smarter than most 3rd graders in America. It was a fun craft, drawing on popsicale sticks, and then taking them apart and trying to piece them back together again. We had lots of fun. We all went to play volley ball. It didn't work too well, they were way to short for the net. Then they got their faces painted and I climbed a huge tree. Afterwards, we cuddled with the littlest kids and took great pictures.

Then we went back to Mtepani. We played with the kids, sorted rice with the mamas, and played soccer. We also distributed toothpaste, toothbrushes, candy, and toys. Some of us even got to tie babies to our backs and tried to balance gallons of water on our heads. We failed, but the mamas got a great laugh out of us. :) And last, but not least, the gates for the school finally arrived! So did the cow for killing. We will be eating him at the Celebration Service on Sunday.

Alright, well hope all is well at home. Mungu akubayiki. God is so good!!
Love,
Ann

Wednesday July 29

Today was our third and final day at the Mbewau Academy. During these three days, the teams walking the trails have been blessed with the opportunity to lead so many people to Jesus. If only one person had been saved this trip, it would have been more than worthwhile. However, over 50 people have chosen to follow the Lord in the past 3 days. It is truly amazing how God works through each of us.

We have also been able to serve the people here by providing medical care. Several local Kenyan nurses have assisted us with translation and helped us see patients. We have diagnosed patients with a wide range of conditions, from minor to life-threatening. The most serious was a child with a infection that had spread to his brain. Although we urged the mother to take the child to hospital, she chose to take him to her village shaman instead. Lisa prayed over the boy before he left, but we ask everyone to remember him in your prayers, that he will survive despite being untreated.

Today, the group had to say their goodbyes to the children at the Academy, but we will be going back at the end of the week, so it was not a true "Goodbye." I am certain there will be more tears and emotion when we leave the village for the last time. Everyone has grown to love these children. We are even more blessed by knowing these children than they are by knowing us. They shine love through their smiles and hugs, all freely given.

God has blessed each of us on the trip, ad I know that even more blessings are in store. Thank you all for praying for our team. Please continue t0 remember us all in your prayers.

In Him,

Joy Anne

Tuesday July 28 2009

Words cannot describe today but if I had to say one word I would say "upendo" which is the Swahili word for Love. Today was filled with so much of Gods love, it was simply amazing. This morning I gave the testimony for our group when we were all on the bus and I told them all about what I wrote in my journal on Saturday. I asked myself two questions. One: Am I really ready for this trip? My answer was No. I explained that I don't think there is really anyway to prepare for any type of mission trip because you really do not know what to expect. But then I asked myself the second question which was: But Am I willing to lay my heart on the line and serve the Lord? and my answer was yes. We are all here to serve the Lord and simply Live for the Lord. Our mission was to come to Kenya and shine the light of the Lord among these Kenyan people and I believe that we have been doing very well in our mission if not even better.

So today we went back to Mtepani and we went back on the trail in the morning which is one of my favorite things to do. I was very nervous yesterday to go out and just speak the word of God to everyone but as I trusted in the Lord more and really followed my faith, I became stronger as did everyone else on the team. I think in just this short week together we have all grown to become a family and to have another family is an amazing feeling. I love each and everyone of them just as much as I do my family at home.

So far, in the past two days, over 30 people have asked Christ to be their Savior. It is such a joyous moment when you look into someones eyes and know they understand and when you look unto someones eyes and just see them shine with happiness.

After walking several miles on the trail, we came back to the school and played with the beautiful children. I love them all so much. Yesterday I had the joy to play sports (which is exhausting but oh so fun) and today I got to facepaint and although I am not much of an artist, the children still liked my artwork!
After another long day in Mtepani, we went back on the bus to go back home. (and i always seem to fall asleep on the way home which is about 30minutes. God has blessed me with being a hard sleeper...nothing can wake me up :) it is awesome)

As soon as we got back, we showered and went to crossroads church where we were going to have our bible study with everyone. And let me tell you, many people were touched and blessed by this night. 4 of us had the privelege of giving our testimonies and then Craig gave a short devotion after which awesome. Emily was the first to give her testimony and although she was nervous, she was very profound and the Lord spoke right through her. After Joyanne got up and spoke about her story and I was so touched to hear about how she is so happy now even after all the struggles she has endured in the past. (her nickname is "smiles" by the way and she is deff. full of them) and then little laura went to the podium and talked. She is a blessing to have on this trip and I was so proud of her as well. And then the fourth person to talk was me which after hearing all there testimonies, it was a hard thing to follow but I have never felt the Lord give me so much strength. I have told my testimony in the past many times but giving my testimony in crossroads church in Mombasa Kenya is a different experience and it was awesome.
I could go on and on about all that we have learned and how many people we have touched but I just want to leave you all with a verse.

"I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do" -John 17:4

We are here in Kenya to tell everyone about his salvation and to spread the good news. We are finishing the work that he told us to do.

We miss all of you back home and love you all.
mimi nakupenda (i love you)

Kwhari (goodbye)


-Jenny.

Pictures of Mtepani

Monday July 27

Jumbo! (Hello)
Today was a great day. First off, we boarded a bus and left the voyager hotel around 8:15 am. Of course that was after we packed our backpacks with lots of water, toliet paper, bandaids, tracts, color packets (candy,crayons,paper for kids), and some kind of rain protectent. Then we picked up the translators (who are Christians too) and drove to Mtepani; about a 45 minutes drive with about half of it on a dirt road. When we arrived at the church/school we meet the kids (about 55, ages 3-5); they are so cute! But it was a quick visit because we needed to be on our way to tell people about Jesus! I was in a group of 6; four of us, and two translators whose names are Titus and Justin. Justin is married and has three beautiful children, titus was a younger man. Then we prayed and left; walked about two miles (in the pouring rain) down a dirt road surround my beautiful scernery. Many palms tree, flowers, grass and corn. The village was small, and you couldn't see any of the houses, just lots of trails. The first man we visted knew about Jesus, but refused to invite Jesus into his heart until sunday at church. He said we could pray for him then. So we will! When then meet a muslim family with a lot of kids! They didn't accept Jesus into their lives, but they were very interested in what we had to say and the tracts we handed out. They even let us pray for them. We then moved onto a large family, but the grandparents wanted nothing to do with us so we had to leave, even though their daughter wanted to hear. That was heartbreaking and I cried. Then we walked to another hut, and there we found a believer whose daughter and son were not yet saved. After sharing the gospel, the daughter and the son were both saved! It was great! We then meet a mother and her baby on the trail, she wanted to know Jesus, but would not invited Jesus into her heart today. We are keeping her in our prayers. Then we meet Margarita whom we talked to for a long time, but didn't want to trust Jesus. However, while we were talking to her, a large crowd gathered, and three woman accepted Jesus into their hearts! But then we had to leave, and just to give you a taste about how sweet the Kenyans are, Gladice one of the girls we meet on the trail, held my hand all the way back to where she had to leave (about 15 minutes) it was really sweet. When we made it back to the school, we had boxed lunches on the bus. They were good! Lots of fruit and yogurt. Then we made three stations for the kids. The doctor, crafts and face painting, and sports. They loved it, and we loved them! We got back to the Hotel around 5:30pm, showered, ate, had a great team meeting, and prayed together. Now we are relaxing, and i'm going to go look at the stars... I hear they are amazing! Mungu akubayiki! (God Bless you)
Love,
Ann

Sunday July 26 2009

Lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ,
We are called to celebrate the good news that is our redeemer and savior. Today we joined Crossroads Church in the celebration of their seventh year. They have a wonderful praise band and lead the congregation in several contemporary praise and worship songs. Jim Horne the pastor shared about taking risks for the cause of Christ and used Pauls letter to Philemon as the basis for his message. It was a great sermon and celebration for the church. It is the evidence of what can grow from the obedience of the chosen to act on the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Our hope is in the Lord and our prayer is that we will be able to have congregations as alive in Christ in Mtepani and all over Kenya. We spent the remainder of the day preparing for ministry in Mtepani tomorrow. The fence we had anticipated building has been finished already so we will be installing the pillars for the gate which was procured today. Tomorrow we will begin with feild evangelism going in groups of two or three joined by translators and local believers from home to home sharing the Gospel and inviting everyone to Sunday service. After lunch we will return to the school to work with the children providing medical attention, preforming crafts with them and playing games outside. Pray that we reflect the Lord who sends us.

David

Kenya July 2009

Good Day All,

We are here in Kenya at the Voyager Hotel in Mombasa eagerly awaiting our first day of ministry. It was a long day and a half of travel and we experienced God's hand upon us in many ways. While we initially did not get all of our luggage we did get three of the four misplaced bags and are hopeful for the last bag getting here. Please pray for team unity and for the Holy Spirit to fill us all with a fresh annointing. We walk in the knowledge that the Lord goes before us and is our rear guard. Tomorrow morning will will walk to church about half a mile away. Our accommodations are very nice and our rooms cool down rather quickly when we go to our room and insert our key to get the a/c operating. We have secured a few cell phones for emergency calls. I am carrying one and Chris has the other.
Chris 254-712293743
David 254-715819973

Love to you all,

David

We are Here!!!

After many long hours of flying we have made it to Mombasa. We are missing three ministry bags and Lisa's personal bag. Please pray that those will arrive quickly. We will blog more in the days to come.

Here are a few things to pray for over the week:

Health

Safety

Open hearts as we present the Gospel

We have water!

Real 4 Christ Ministries wants to say THANK YOU to Crossway International Ministries and the churches in Alamo Heights, Tx for providing the funds for Mtepeni's new water well. Mbewau Church and Academy has fresh safe water for the very first time. This new well will allow Pastor Nzaro and other church members to share the Living Water of Christ with local villagers as they come to get safe fresh drinking water.

The smiles on these faces say it all! Thank You!

The work continues!

Pastor Nzaro and Justin are standing in front of the shed that will house the controls for the water well pump.

Justin is painting the new 6 hole bathroom.

The new school is just about finished. Chris and the San Antonio team will have a dedication service in July.

This beautiful little girl is one of the many children that will benefit from the new school.

Justin and Titus are working on a new fence for the property.

Water for Mtepani

Drilling for the Water Well in the village of Mtepani (near Mombasa, Kenya) began this week. Big "thanks" to Bob Nicol and his ministry for donating his time and money for this much needed project!

Mtepani School Update

The work on the Mtipani school building is coming along Great! God conitnues to bless. Please continue to pray for the people if Mbewau Church and Academy. Also please pray for Real 4 Christ Ministries as Chris and Lisa are going to be on the road a lot over the next few months of summer.

Mercy goes home!

Mercy has gone home. I (missionary Michelle Windell) went this morning and cleared the bill. She was all smiles. I have put her photos on. Here are the finances: 300,000/= beginning. 10,000/= Diana asked for, 84,000/= hospital bill, 45,000/= doctor bill. It is amazing how much the doctor cut from his bill. This leaves 161,000/= about $2,040.

Paul (headmaster from her school) has been so great, he has been to visit and even taken some little gifts to her. The doll she has in her lap is now called Faith! Paul is going to be sure she gets "proper" attention, as proper as village can get. But he will be sure a nurse or someone looks after her. I think he has gone everyday to visit them. When he arrived at hospital this morning, Mercy ran to him and gave him a big hug! He is a great guy and I know he will look after her well. Thanks for all your doing for her. I know the mom is grateful.

Mercy

Mercy



Mercy is a young girl that we met at the feeding center in Vipingo, Kenya. She had fluid on her brain that had caused her head to swell more than three times its normal size. Mercy had headaches and seizures because of this. The Sunday after our return Hillary presented Mercy and her situation to the church. That day we raised enough money to pay for Mercy to have surgery that would save her life. April 14 Mercy went into surgery. Thank You to all of the people who helped Mercy. She will be in the hospital a few more days but is doing well. Please keep Mercy in your prayers. We will post another update in a few days. God Bless and Thank You!

Michelle Windell
"I visited Mercy today. She looks good and her mom says she is doing well. The doctor told her she may be going home Friday. I took her some milk, cookies, coloring book and crayons, poor thing, she looked scared to death when Les, Simone and I all walked in. The facilites are nice and her mom was so very friendly."

Mtepani School

The Work Continues

Here are the latest pics from Mtepani. The contractor is getting ready to pour concrete for the second floor. It is amazing how these guys uses sticks to hold up all of the forms.

God Is Good...All The Time...All The Time God Is GOOD!

We are home.

God is GOOD! The Mission Mombasa team has arrived back at home safely. God worked in a mighty way while we were in Kenya. About 50 people accepted Christ as thier personal savior and our lives are changed forever. We want to say THANK YOU for all of the prayers, encouragement and support we received from so many people. As I sit here and think about the trip I am once again overwhelmed with all of the things I saw and felt in Kenya. The people there are hungry for food, education, and hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ. As we arrived at the airport I looked at Chris and said this is the end of this trip but just the begining for Real 4 Christ and the AMAZING things that God is doing in and around Mombasa.

God Bless

David and Kim Hayes

Please remember to keep Pastor Nzaro and the Mbewua Bible Church and Academy of Mtepani in your prayers. As we get more pictures of the school and news of God's work we will try to keep you updated.

Day 6- celebration Sunday at Mtepani

Pastor Nzaro of Mtepani has an amazing burden and passion for his people. I was challenged by his enthusiastic worship and powerful preaching. Hallmark has invested in a godly man with a tremendous heart!

-Jon Haley

Todays service at Mtepani was such a blessing! I could really feel the spirit of God moving in this poor country church. The people have so little, but lift up their voices in praise to God with a spirit that is unlike most I have seen anywhere else. I truly wish that our mission field in the U.S. were as easy as it is here. I will miss Kenya very much.

-Kim Roberts

Today at Mtepani was amazing! My favorite part was listening to a young lady pray because she was so passionate talking to God. It felt like God was right there in the little church with us! I will always remember it!

-Christy Montieth

Today was our final day in Mtepani. I experienced my first African church service. That was unique in itself. The people there prayed with so much passion, and praised so loudly. It was encouraging to see this in the hearts of all the people there. They are poor, but they loved and laughed and praised God like it was the last day of their life! I pray that we do not forget the hearts of the African people, and that we can carry on the spirit of worship, prayer, thankfulness and love back home with us.

-Brandon 

Today we had a final church service in Mtepani. It was amazing to see just how much the leaders of the church had prepared just for us! Many of the ladies spent 2 days building a kitchen to prepare lunch in. One man, Jackson stayed up the entire night preparing the food for us and nearly five hundred other people who joined us in the service.  They are extremely giving people.  But, I think my favorite part of the day was when they presented us with coconuts as a gift.  Another man, Justin cut them open with a machete and we drank the juice out.  It really was a good day!  See you all soon.

-Rachel

Mtepani will always have a special place in my heart.  The kids were so amazing at listening and understanding the gospel.  I saw four boys walking by the church and I waved them over.  They listened to the message and one of them ended up excepting Jesus into his heart. It was awesome to see!  Keep praying.

-Hillary

One of the awesome sights of Mtepani today was all the Kenyan's praying aloud during the church service.  It made me think of Heaven and how beautiful the sounds will be from every tribe and nation praising God.  To think God allowed us a small part in that!  Thank You for your prayer and support during our trip.  We love you and are so thankful for our church. 

-Kelly

I see the compassion Pastor Nzaro has for his people, but he also preaches the truth to them.  He does not sugar coat it.  He has two good men, Jackson and Justin to stand along his side.  I see God blessing the church in Mtepani.

-Greg Wagner

What a way to end our trip! We attended the MBEWAU church service today and what a service.  We spent time with the children today and you could see the hope they had in Jesus Christ.  We are way tooo blessed in America and seldom think we have enough. God bless the village of Mtepani. See you soon.

-Wayne

Praise the Lord!  We have had such an amazing day at Mtepani's church service.  Just knowing how hard everyone worked for the lunch that was given, brought tears to my eyes.  My new found friend Maureen let me know that Pastor Nzaro's wife was not feeling well and would be going to visit a doctor. I was able to pray for her, and she asked me to eat lunch with her.  Her health is very important, because she does so much for her family and the church.  Pray for her and the people of Mtepani.  Keep the team in your prayers for travel mercies.  

-Katina aka Mama FuPi 

We are so blessed to have been able to come to Mtepani! The church service was wonderful. We loved the worship... the loud voices and makeshift drums filled the air. During the preaching, we were able to take the children outside for sunday school. Several boys raised thier hands, at the end, saying that they accepted Christ as their savior! Please keep the people of Mtepani in your prayers, and that God will raise up leaders in these children. 

-David and Kim Hayes

I really enjoyed being with the kids! I was very surprised when I found out a small boy was fifteen years old. I asked the teacher about him and she said that the children in Kenya do not have as much food as the children in America and can not grow as big. I am thankful that we have everything that we need to grow up properly. I hope to come back to Africa soon!

-Lauren

Day 5 Tiwi and Perani

Today we visited our last two schools, the first was Tiwi and the second is called Perani. The first school was huge, and so beautiful! We were greeted by children who compete in singing competitions. I've never heard young voices that were more beautiful. This has really been a recurring theme all week, but we love it so much. I could never and will never get tired of hearing these beautiful voices singing praises to the Lord. I believe a tear was brought to every eye at some time during the week because of their worship. 

At our last school today, the children left us by marching and dancing out of the room in a line, while singing a song with us. As they left we gave each of them a goody-bag that many of our Hallmark students put together for them. We sang, "We are marching in the light of God." These children are being taught every day to walk, sing and dance in the light of God, just like the song says!

See all of you soon! And I love you mom and dad (I'm safe)

- Love Rachel

We are having a great time!!! It was so much fun to visit the different schools. Tomorrow we are going to be going to the market and snorkeling. We will not be blogging:) Love you Mom, Dad and family!

-Kim Hayes

Day 4 Bumoni and Vipingo

Today we visited 2 feeding centers.   These centers are fully funded and have very nice buildings.  They have about 150 children.  God has really blessed these centers and have almost all of their needs met.  I was able to see what a feeding center and school can look like when it has plenty of support. The new building at Mtepani is just the beginning of some exciting things to come for that area.  God is really working on this trip.  Many of our hearts have really been touched.

Today we went past an alligator farm.  It was pretty cool to look over the wall and see the BIG GATORS!

~David Hayes

Day3

This trip so far has been AMAZING!  It has opened my eyes to so many things.  I lead my first person to the Lord yesterday. It was a young lady. Today, I gave my testimony for the first time to a group. I was extremely nervous, but once they started asking questions it was easy to open up.  One boy named Barry, pulled Kim H. aside and told her that he struggled with the same stuff I had.  He said that he had prayed to accept Christ and wanted a new beginning.  It makes me very happy that God can use me to impact others. We'll see you in a week... Shout out to Chad, told you I'd do it! I love ya'll.

~Lauran Chazaretta

God has been working every day.  On Tuesday, we had a medical clinic and teams went out to evangelize.  When we arrived at Mtepani the pastor advised Bro. Chris to go and comfort a family who lost a small child during the night.  I asked Chris if I could go. On the way we learned that we would be performing a funeral for the child.  We drove on some pretty rough roads and arrived near the small village.  We walked down a trail to a small hut made of straw and mud.  The men and father were gathered under a shade tree.  Several women were sitting by the door.  As we walked into the hut, we observed several women and the mother inside weeping and chanting.  A small 8 month old baby boy named Morgan was wrapped in a blanket. Little Morgan was beautiful and appeared to be asleep.  They asked Bro. Jon Haley to preach Morgan's funeral.  Bro. Jon did a great job presenting the gospel.  Even though it was a tragic event, little Morgan's short life was instrumental in 12 people accepting Chirst as their savior.  God is Great! 

~Greg Wagner

Day 2 Mtepani Village

The men have been meeting every morning for a devotional on integrity.  It is a real blessing to continue studying about God's word while we're here in Africa.  Today we went back to the village of Mtepani to play with the children and to go out into the village to share the Gospel of Christ.  I thought I had seen kuntry (country) before, boy was I wrong!  Today I hit the trails with Lauran, Hillary and two translators, Robert from Crossroads Fellowship and Jackson from MBEWU Church.  We visited with people who had never been reached with the Gospel, wow what an awesome experience that was!  As we entered into the cluster of huts the translator asked any of the adults who were there if they would come out to hear some good news from the mzungu (white man,) boy did they surprise me with their reaction!  Every person we spoke to was very receptive to what we had to say and listened attentively.  We all shared the Gospel as we moved around the village and by the Grace of God 8 Kenya's accepted Christ as their Personal Savior!  I was extremely excited about how God worked today!  I have been blessed everyday that I have been here and count it a privilege to be able to share God's love in Kenya!  God Bless.  I miss you Kati-185 ~ I miss yall too Madi-Maci-Mia

~Wayne Spaulding

Today the group visited Mtepani again, but it was a little different.  We had a medical center for the mothers and their children.  Kelly Wagner and Diana (a local Doctor) saw about 70 women and children.  The rest of the group went out into the village to share the gospel from hut to hut.  They had an amazing time. 13 were saved, Praise the Lord! Kim Roberts and I stayed to entertained the children while they were waiting to see the Doctors.  We really had a good time today.  The children are still very shy at first, but once we broke out the face paint and chalk they were not shy anymore.  Kim did most of the face painting and I gave them construction paper and markers to color.  The Teacher told them to draw things they knew.  My favorite part of the day was when I sat down with the Teacher and each child came and showed me what they drew.  I was able to ask them by name(because they wrote their name on the page) what each item was and they were able to tell me.  Most of them were three years old.  Amazing! 

Christy Monteith

Hello from Kenya, Just wanted to let you all know that today was so amazing! Please know that witnessing in America is so much harder to accomplish than in Africa.  There were two groups that went to visit people's huts (homes) and share the Good News with them, I can say that the Kenyan's are all so welcoming and kind hearted.  We were not told to go away, but to please sit in our best chair.  That was so encouraging to me.  There were a total of 13 that excepted Christ in their heart.  God has changed my heart here and I Choose to bring the new me back home.  

I have met a wonderful Godly young lady that is 20 and truly Love's God.  She doesn't want us to leave to the States so soon, and I know that it will be hard for me to say good bye.  

To my friends and family, please know that I am in good health and truly blessed to be here!  It is hot, humid, and hard to find ice anywhere here.  But we are finding ice cream tomorrow!  We are so spoiled in America and I know some things in my life are gonna change when I come home.  Mom, Christi, and D I love you and wish you could see how beautiful it is here.  Jen and my church family, keep our safety and travels in your prayers.  Our driver is really nice and a good friend of the Moore Family so we are good with transportation.  

Please know I am very thankful for all of the prayers and support.

With Love,

Katina aka Mama Fu Pi

Mtepani village

Hot, hot and hotter! We spent the day hauling bricks, singing, coloring, wielding an ax, playing duck duck goose, and of course blowing bubbles. Yes, that's correct, we did all that today. The church and community are overwhelmed with the generosity of Hallmark Baptist Church. God is going to use the church to be a lighthouse in this community. Pray for us  tomorrow. we will be going back and setting up a clinic as well as evangelism. 

By the way... the school is coming up fast. They have most of the walls up!

-John Haley

Mtepani village

Sunday

Today we visited Cross Roads Fellowship with missionary Jim Horne.  The Kenyan people really love to come to church and worship the Lord.  Several people raised their hands to say that they had accepted Christ as their Savior.  The Lord is really working in a mighty way in and around Mombasa.  

Our team was able to spend some free time roaming the beach after lunch.  The beach boys will try to sell you anything to make a few dollars.  It's really sad to know that just outside the gates of our hotel is so much sadness and poverty.  God is really working in each of our hearts.  Please keep us in your prayers.

~David Hayes

Visiting the Kibera slums and feeding center

Well... we're here. I'm overwhelmed with all that I have seen, and we have only been in Africa for one day. I'm thankful that we made it here safely. I knew that we would because I believe in my heart that God wants us here. Everything that we have experience prior to the trip points to that. Today, we visited with over 300 children and the staff at a school in the slums of Kibera. I have only heard and seen pictures of things such as these. To experience first hand, to smell, touch and laugh with children that live off of a dollar a day ripped my heart to pieces. Despite the terrible living conditions, hope fills the heart of these children who have no reason to hope. Their hope is in Jesus Christ. What a beautiful sight we saw today! We were able to feed the children and eat beans and rice with them. That was incredible and tasty. I was also able to play soccer with these kids. We gave them a soccer ball that was donated for our trip and they were so thankful. I love it here already! Hi mom, dad and all the family. I love you all and know that God is doing awesome things right now.

-Brandon Adams

Today, we visited Simon Kabaki's school and feeding center in Nairobi, Kenya. The moment we arrived I could hardly hold back the tears as I saw the conditions the these people live in on a daily basis. As I walked to meet the children, I stepped in raw sewage. I met five young girls between the ages of twelve and fourteen who taught me how to play soccer. After I held their hands, they stayed with me for the rest of the time. Each girl wanted to touch my hair. They were starving for love and attention. One told me she want to be a nurse, one a broadcaster, and another a doctor.  We as Americans are so spoiled and have so much. God has blessed us with many riches and blessings. I believe it is our obligation to help people in conditions like these and to let them know the love of Jesus Christ.

-Kim Roberts

I held one of the volley balls that was donated for half of the morning, then finally got to play with it. Playing outside with the kids was my favorite part of the day! I spent the whole time running back and forth with over 100 chasing me and copying everything I did. I have never seen anything like it. I love it here and my heart is so delighted, but at the same time heavy from seeing these kids. They love the Lord, but their living conditions are almost unbearable.Pray for them. Hi Mom! Hi Whitter!Hi Bubba! Love you, and yes I'm wearing sunscreen.

-Hillary Hunt

traveling

Sorry for not posting anything sooner... 

we haven't had internet access.

We are finally to Mombasa, Kenya. Last night we arrived in Nairobi, stayed the night at a mission hotel. We were all very tired and some couldn't sleep because of the time difference. 

These are our EMERGENCY contact number: 

primary number 071-229-3743

secondary number 071-58109973