Even More Kenya Pics!

So this set of pictures goes through the last few weeks of the Kenya GP this summer. It's not very complete, in part because a lot of the stuff we did (slum visits, working at the orphanage, etc.) precluded us from taking any pictures. In any case, these cover the 3 weeks following our return from our ministry assignments and then our week in Mombasa for our debrief. Hope you all enjoy them!

Torque

Well, this has certainly been a wild past few weeks. In case you don't know, torque is the force used to twist things or spin them around, and that's about where my life seems to be right now - spinning me around in its ups and downs till I'm pretty much exhausted.

I wrote a week and a half ago about how happy I was with God, life, and the universe in general. I think that was the night before I found out about my Dad's cancer. And since then it seems like I've been running from one thing to another, some great and some not as great, until now I just need to rest.

Last Monday I had my first small group for the Truth Project. A little on the low side (3 other people), but not bad for a first week. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get really anyone to come to this week which would have been our first actual session, so we had to postpone, which was kind of a bummer. On getting back afterward, though, I found out that there area actually several people who wanted to come who will probably make it next week. Again, up and then down and now up again. I started a prayer meeting on Tuesday as well, but no one showed up. Down again.

Large Group that Thursday was pretty good; we had a great speaker from a church in Edgewood, Brian Hackett, and a great number of people - really exciting! As I found out later, though, many of them were only there because they know the speaker, and they don't even attend UNM. Sigh. Plus I've started to notice just how many new people we have who are sticking around, which is great, but also the people who have shown up to one or two things and now aren't around any more. It's a normal thing for any chapter, but it's always sad to lose people, especially if they seemed like they wanted to be involved and really be a part of the group.

There have been other things going on, but I won't get into them. I'll just let you know about yesterday (Tuesday), which kind of was the culmination of a two weeks of spinning my life around. I got a flat, which meant arriving 45 minutes late to a big meeting for some potential supporters (Christian business people), plus finding a time to replace it. I had a doctor's appointment later (no signs of Malaria!), the prayer meeting I was supposed to lead on the other end of town an hour later, a meeting with my IV Area Director after that, and then another potential donor meeting, with dinner somewhere in there. I ended up missing the prayer meeting so I could get the tire fixed, which meant spending about $440 to replace all four since the flat was the result of age and wear, not just a puncture. Quite a day.

God is good, though. Despite all the ups and downs, I really feel like He's just stood beside me and helped me remember that there is a plan, even if I'm too caught up in the craziness of life to recognize it.

I'd like to thank you all for praying for my Dad and my family. We're all doing really well, and we have a little more information now on the cancer. It's called chronic lymphocytic leukemia and is one of the more common forms, but also one of the less dangerous ones thankfully. The doctors think that my Dad has a somewhat minor case, though they plan to treat it a little more seriously until they are sure. In any case, apparently they don't plan to cure it because, since it's a blood-based disease, there is a fair chance that it is originating in the bone marrow, meaning curing it would require a bone marrow transplant, which would be more risky than just living with the cancer and treating it. As it stands, my Dad probably won't start any kind of treatment for as long as a year, and afterward they will just treat it any time it seems to come back. It's not exactly a clean bill of health, but I'm very thankful that it's not something more serious. Thank you all again so much, and please continue to keep this in your prayers!

I'd also really appreciate if you would pray for the students coming to IV right now. This is a kind of crucial point in the year since it really shows who will and who won't remain a part of the chapter or become a major part of what we do on campus. We have a lot of big plans for the year, but we're going to need the support of the chapter if they are going to pan out. Speaking of which, please pray specifically for our Great Escape retreat in a couple weeks. It's our fall conference, and we really hope students will come and maybe even bring some non-believers since we are going to try to use the event in an evangelistic way.

And now I'm going to go to bed to put an end to this madness of my twisty-turny life.

"Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off."
- Proverbs 23:18

A Plea

I just found out this weekend that my Dad has lymphoma. That's a type of cancer, specifically of the immune system and affecting the lymph nodes. He had some swelling of his lymph nodes and went to the doctor, who performed a biopsy a week ago. Only the preliminary tests are in so far, but he does indeed test positive for lymphoma, though we won't know more information about it until further test results come in. I need you all to pray for him and his health.

He actually is dealing with it very well - probably better than most of us, which I can only attribute to his firm faith in God and His love, provision, and sovereign will. And that's the position I pray that we all will take as we face this challenge, especially when treatment, probably a mix of chemo and radiation, starts.

I know it's often common practice for us to pray for God's will in these situations, and that we will understand it regardless of the outcome, and I want to ask you to pray for those things. But honestly, I want more than that. When the sick, the invalid, the dying, and the possessed were brought to Jesus, people didn't ask Him to just let them have peace about whatever outcome God willed for them, leaving with a handful of reassurance and a parcel of hope that maybe one day things would be better. They came to Him and asked to be healed, and so they were healed. They trusted in the character of God: that He is a God Who desires good for His creation and desires to heal. I want my Dad to be healed, and I trust that God will do so if we ask it of Him. And so I'm asking that you pray not just that we would be comforted during this time, that the treatments would go well, that we would understand God's will, or even that my Dad will get better under the care of the doctors, but that God would heal him and remove the cancer that is in his body. He is more than sufficient for such a request.

Thank you all so much for your support and your prayers. I'm sure that God will not hear them in vain. May He bless you all as He continues to bless us.

"This is what the LORD says:
'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on the earth,
for in these I delight,'
declares the LORD."
- Jeremiah 9:23-24

Wind in my Sails

Life is good right now. I'm not entirely sure why, but it just seems like everything is working in my favor, and I continue to see how God is blessing me. My life is falling nicely into place, and I'm so glad to be able to praise God continuously for his many blessings.

For one, we finally have internet at my new house (which by the way is officially dubbed "The Asylum") which means that I can now stop worrying about how to stay up to date with the world around me. There are still a few things that need to come together before our whole system here is set up, but for now having a wireless connection set up here is a great blessing.

I've also been amazed at how things with IV have been going. We started the first Large Group with about 40 people. Then last week it jumped to 46 people. That's a crazy thing to have happen; usually the first week is by far the largest, and in later weeks there is a drop in attendance as people's schedules fill up or they move on to other things. I have never seen a Large Group get bigger than the first night. We just had our meeting this week, and I was a little discouraged because as it started we had the first few rows mostly empty. Unbeknown to me, people trickled in during the meeting, and when I looked back at the end of the night, there was a whole group of people standing in the back because they didn't have chairs to sit in. We had 54 people total. WOW! Not only is this the biggest group that UNM has seen since I've known it, it's the biggest well into the semester! God is doing cool things, and it's amazing to see Him continue to draw people in, certainly not just because of what we're doing.

And to top it all off, our landlord decided to buy us a brand new (and very nice) propane grill as a housewarming gift. Seriously, it's just like God to do some great stuff all around me and then to have something like this as icing on the cake.

All of this has really made me be thankful for the fact that we serve a God of provision. It's been coming up again and again, whether it is the Large Groups, the internet, my fundraising, or even just a kind word at a right moment. And I believe that it is also thanks to you and your prayers that these things have been happening. It's honestly hard for me sometimes to see the usefulness of prayer since there isn't a direct cause-effect relationship all the time, but I'm sure that without the prayer that you all and others have been giving toward the work of IV and just for me as well, these things would not have happened.

And so I am so grateful to you all as well for that, and hope that you will continue to remember me in your prayers throughout this year. I hope that sharing this with you will remind you that prayer is effective and essential to our success. I hope that you also will be reminded of who God is: that He is lavish in his love and takes joy in filling our cups to overflowing. Praise God!

"The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but victory rests with the LORD."
- Proverbs 21:31

Ministry Assignment Pics

Here is the second set of pictures from my summer mission trip to Kenya (finally). Sorry this has taken so long, but I still don't have internet at my new place, so getting anything uploaded is a little tedious. Anyway, these take place over the three weeks that I was in the Musul/Kimanju/Ewaso area living and working with Pastor Samuel and his family. More pictures from the last few weeks of the trip hopefully to come soon.

Approaching a Sense of Normal

Well, my life is finally starting to take some kind of a regular shape as different events begin to fall into place. This coming week will be the beginning of our Small Groups and GIGs (Groups Investigating God - essentially Bible study for interested non-Christians) as well as the prayer group. I'll be co-leading a Small Group going over the Truth Project, which is a series released by Focus on the Family to help teach the Christian worldview. I've been through the series before, and I'm really excited to be able to share it with others. Also, if all goes well, I'll be leading a GIG as well, getting together with a couple non-Christians weekly for about 4 weeks to look at the Bible and discuss what it says on various issues like how we can know God.

This past week has had some firsts as well, including my first time doing contact evangelism. Yes, I could say that I did essentially contact evangelism on numerous occasions while in Kenya this summer, but doing it in an American context is very different; I can't simply go up to people and ask them if they are Christians or if they would like to have a relationship with God. Instead, I went with my area director, Rod, and we would approach people to ask them if they would like to share their views with us, only sharing our side if they wanted to hear it. In any case, it was a good experience, and hopefully some fruit will come of it. Please keep the two people we shared with at length in your prayers.

We also started our regular Large Group sessions this week. We'll be studying God's missional heart by going through the book Salvation to the Ends of the Earth. It describes how the entire Bible displays God's desire for missions, and so every other week we're going to look at a different section and talk about what it means for missions. This last week was on the nation of Israel as a missional people versus a priestly people, and it was a cool way to look at them. We also had more people this week than the first week - something I've never seen happen before! Usually the numbers dwindle after the first week or two once people get more settled into their schedules or decide that they don't feel like they fit with IV, but I've never seen numbers increase, and it's definitely a testament to God's desire for us this semester and not a reflection of our own efforts. Praise God for his provision, and please pray that this pattern of growth will continue and that the new students we continue to meet will keep getting involved, as many of them already are.

I'm still trying to work on my fundraising. It's been really hard to find the time to call people and set up appointments, but I'm about 80% complete now. Please pray that I could finish the raising my support by the end of the month.

"How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands."
- Psalm 119:9-10