Full days and full hearts

We have had a couple full and wonderful days!

One of our favorite things to do here on the blog is have team members share with you. Stevie, Kim, and Nicole L are sharing today and we will post some bonus pictures below…

“My heart was over flowing today when I was able to meet the student I sponsor through fox river's my gift for Jesus. We live so far apart but God brought us together this week in Kenya!” ~Stevie

---

“I can’t begin to share all the different emotions and experiences on this missions trip after just 3 days, having the opportunity to meet my sponsor child (Rose) but I’ve also had the pleasure of seeing what just $25 a month can do in the lives of these children, families and schools. I’ve seen it first hand and now I want to sponsor Rose’s sister too! Jesus is Strong, mighty and faithful in any language, and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to witness his work and provision for these beautiful new friends!” ~Kim

---

“Today was another awesome day filled with God’s goodness and love. The students we meet love to dance, play, and laugh with us. Here are some smiles and dancing from the day - there were thousands more smiles shared and hundreds more memories that we all will cherish!

We also got to meet our sponsor students! Meet Karen, she is 6, in grade 1, and is as cute as ever! Here’s her dad, cousin, and many friends in the community. We got to pray together at the end. If you think of Karen and these others students and community, please pray that they continue to know how much Jesus loves them!

And the teachers ARE incredible!
To all my educator friends out there following this blog, get this…. The teachers leave all their students (about 36 in a classroom), pp1 (our 4k) through 8th grade in their classrooms, alone to continue learning or on break outside (recess) while they ALL meet for breakfast and lunch together. And the kids, they stay listening and learning without harm or chaos!!

So, being a social worker in education and helping with many behaviors both in the classroom, l and outside of it I asked - how can this happen? And the teacher I spoke to share about how much their Pastor is involved in meaningful conversations with the children about God’s love for them and how to behave.

Being in public education back home I find that being told you can’t talk about Jesus leaves me feeling sad. One teacher today told me, as a follower of Christ you can’t help but want to share Jesus all the time. And it’s true, Jesus is the way-my way to be the best educator and person I can. These teachers and kids at Bomani know and love God and they are thriving in their education! It’s full of life, hope, joy, and love at New Life school in Bomani, Africa. And my prayer and hope is to bring this type of joy that only comes from the Lord to the students and staff I work at when I return!” ~Nicole L

---

Kenya Team 2024

The team has gathered for last several months to prepare and get to know each other. We have sat in meetings discussing all things about traveling, what fun things we will do with our sponsored students, the experiences we will get to have, we have prepared our hearts by spending time in the Word, we have prayed for the mission and for each other… we came together to live out the Fox River mission ‘A Heart for People and a Message of Jesus’.

This past weekend we gathered for our last pre trip meeting, packing day, and team commissioning. This weekend is the last checkpoint before we take off!!

Packing day is always one that comes with a bit of stress wondering if we will get all of our supplies neatly sorted and into our limited space. And yet, each and every time God says ‘watch this’ and we get it all and then some packed and ready to go serve the people of Kenya! We cannot wait to use these supplies to love and bless the kiddos and staff at the schools!

Another special moment is when the team is commissioned by the Fox River congregation. This moment always reminds us that Fox River people are what make these trips and this mission possible! Without the generosity and prayers of those of you right here at home, these things would not be happening. Thank you for allowing and sending this team to represent so many of you!

Pastor Guy and Denise left this past weekend and have arrived in Kenya safely. Pastor Guy will spend the week teaching and pouring into Pastors at the pastors conference and connecting with partners. Denise will be meeting with our partners and preparing for the team to arrive.

The team will start our journey on Sunday, July 21.

We will be posting here and on the Fox River Missions, Facebook and instagram pages. Follow along!

One More Flight

We've arrived safely in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! One flight down, one to go!

The last blog post said that we'd arrive in Kenya around midnight Milwaukee time -- this was a mistake. (Chalk it up to an early morning with little sleep!) We actually landed in Ethiopia around 7am local time / 11pm Mikwaukee time. We now have a short layover and then a 2.5-hour flight to Mombasa, Kenya.

The flight from Chicago to Ethiopia was fairly uneventful. Seemed like most of the team was able to get at least a little shut eye.

If all goes according to plan, we will land in Mombasa at 11:30am Kenya time / 3:30am Milwaukee time. At that point, we'll have 12 people going thru customs, which can be an adventure. We'll then have some activities to get settled in and keep us awake until evening as napping just makes the time adjustment worse.

Please pray with us that our second flight and entry into Kenya is as easy as the start of our journey has been!

Commissioning and Packing

Are you ready to join us on our adventure!!  We now leave in just a few short days and are very excited to see how God uses this team.

Commissioning

Last weekend Fox River (all campuses) commissioned our Nicaragua team.  What a privilege it is to be sent and supported by our entire church body! 

Just to give you a glimpse of what a commissioning weekend looks like...  We start at our Waukesha campus for our Saturday night service and then again on Sunday morning, we then split our team to go to our Muskego and Waterford campuses. And do a little hopping back and forth.  3 campuses covering 6 services over the weekend! 

Two of the team members were willing to share about how it feels to know our church is praying...

Delaney- "The fact that we have so much support from our congregation and Pastors throughout our journey brings such comfort.  As we were praying the Holy Spirit really opened my eyes to the fact that complete strangers can pray for something directly for me and it still has impact.  I found comfort in this weekends commissioning and it also showed me how supportive a church family can truly be."

Heath- "Commissioning is important to me because it allows me to feel that the church and senior staff is supporting us and behind us. I'm excited to go on this trip and allow god to work through us aswe are there. Amen"

Packing day!!!

That's right, you heard me!  We are so close it's time we got our supplies in some suitcases!  

18 students and 9 adults!! 27 people = lots of luggage... and today we packed one bag of supplies for each team member!! 

As we have shared before packing day is a daunting task when you look at the piles of supplies we need to fit into our limited suitcases, but it always seems to work out!   

From bubbles to peanut butter we pack it all! 

As we zip up the final suitcases, and our trip approaching quickly, will you join us in prayer in this specific area? Prayers that all of our luggage makes the trip with us and is accounted for on the other side.

The stories, the joy, the heartache

Well, we have been home for a week and the emotions and the adjusting are in full swing.  I love trips... I love the people... I love the team... I love the place... I love being the hands and feet of Jesus... I love seeing the difference Fox River has and continues to make in this country, in this community.  But, man the emotions that come with saying goodbye, leaving (your baby sister make it even worse), adjusting back to 'life' are tough to swallow.  I am so thankful I serve a God that holds my heart and knows the pain and the joy that comes with missions! 

With all that being said, let me share what God did...

You might have already read some of this, but bare with me and keep reading...

WE SAW 84 PEOPLE GIVE THEIR LIVES TO CHRIST!!!  In just 6 short days 84 people became part of the Kingdom!!  REJOICE!!!! We have new believers to celebrate!  And that number is only a portion of the hundreds of patients, kiddos and families that we came in contact with, that we had the opportunity to share and plant seeds into their lives that could change their eternity.

We had a year of firsts in the midst of all the 'normal'. 

Our Medical team was the first team that was working in the clinic when a baby was born!  Some of our medical gals got to be hands on! So cool!

We had a movie night for the first time... So much fun!  Something that was a treat for the people of La Esmerelda!  We watched 'Inside Out' in espanol. 

We Celebrated 5 years of the clinic being open and all of the work God has done through that time!

We were able to go, see and pray over the land that Fox River purchased for a new church in Las Nubes!  You might only see green, but we were able to hear the vision of this land... God has BIG plans for this community!

We swallowed children with a giant whale!  Oh, the laughter that came from those sweet kiddos!

We rode in a cattle truck, on motorcycles, bus and in the back of a pick-up (and that doesn't even include all the walking/hiking)!  SO many forms of transportation that made for lots of laughter, muddy backsides and a few bruises! 

And so much more...

Through all the fun, tasks, and work that we do there the best moments consist of getting to know and encourage the Nica team!  We couldn't do what we do without them and I know the time we spend in their community, in their life is such fuel for them!  Yes we get to see people come to Jesus and we get to see babies being born, kiddos laugh when another gets 'swallowed' by a whale, we get to give out hygiene packs and bless those people... But then we leave (even when our hearts don't come with us).  The most important thing we do while we are there is encouraging and supporting the ministry that Pastor Denis and his team work hard at everyday, day in and day out!  If I could only describe to you exactly the amount of gratefulness and heart felt love that these people have for Fox River's partnership and teams you would be in tears.  God has formed such a strong bond between our churches that the only way to describe it is 'Family'!  Language has NO power over the love that we share through OUR God!!  We laugh, we cry, we share, we pray, we love TOGETHER!!

We had to ask so many people to join us to make this trip and this week a reality, and we are so grateful for them and all the work they did with us and for us!  From translators to kitchen ladies we had quite the team of Nicas that stood beside us all week.  The people of La Esmerelda are so very special to Fox River and we can feel that that is a shared feeling!  If you ever wonder how the blood of Christ connects his people you should come to Nicaragua!

I can honestly say that leading a team is one of the most exhausting yet rewarding jobs I have ever been given.  From the tiny details to the giant spiders I have had to 'handle', I'm glad I have a team to laugh at or with me, to cry for or with me, to pray with and for me... My God has such wonderful plans and I in the midst of all the rain, mud, tears, laughter, goodbyes, heartache, joy, 'colored' tent poles, bugs, rats, bats, snakes, and on it goes... am so glad to be a part of this ministry! 

Para mi Nicas~ Te amo y muy profundamente a todos de menos.  Estoy muy agradecido de Dios escribiria una historia como la nuestra.

To my Fox River family~ THANK YOU!  You make this all possible through your giving and prayers!  You are not unnoticed!

To those of you just following along~ I hope you see what the power of Unity in Christ can do!

You have read our stories, yet there is still so much to share... so ask us!!  Ask anyone of the team members, I promise they have something you haven't heard yet!

Commissioning and packing

COMMISSIONING

Last weekend the Nicaragua team stood before the congregation as Pastor Guy lead them in prayer. The feeling that comes with knowing your church is praying over you and each of your team members is a feeling that can only be experienced!  Fox River sends off teams fully covered in prayer, support, and encouragement!

The team buckled up for a full weekend of being loved on by our Church.  We loved being able to hop back and forth between our Waukesha and Muskego campuses, knowing that Waterford campus is praying over us as well!  

 We were also able to join the church as we prayed over and sent Kerri (who is now safely in Nicaragua)! What an awesome experience to be able to gather around her and send her off!

Will you join us in praying as we go?  

Here are some certain areas: 

• Travel- timing, customs, safety, and everything in between
• Health- that we stay well rested and fight off the travelers sickness
• Luggage- we need our supplies, can you pray them there for us? 
• People-  Our team members as well as each person we will come in contact with!  For us to allow God to shine brighter than us. That the Nicaraguan people will have open hearts to the message of Christ. 
• Our Events- Clinic days, VBS, Women's Outreach, Teen Night, Movie Night, 5 year Celebration, Hygiene packs, Field day.  

You can find prayer cards at any Fox River campus!  >>>

 

 

 

 

PACKING!!!

Today we came together as a team to pack up all of our supplies. ALL. OF. THEM.

What a packing day entails...  We start off by standing and looking at the heaping piles of supplies that we somehow have to fit in our limited amount of suitcases that can only way 50lbs.  We spread out our suitcases.  Then we get to it... next step would be to get rid of all the bulkiness we can... taking things out of boxes, wrappers, etc.  Ziplock bags are our friends and we use 100's of them!  We spend a couple hours packing, weighing, shifting, repacking, reweighing, and on it goes until each suitcase weighs in right around the 50lb mark. 

It might take a lot of work, patience,  and a whole lot of GOD power for us to get all the things we need into these suitcases, but we love the time we get to be with our team and to see how God makes it all fit.  All of these moments are what builds the experience we will talk and share about for a lifetime! 

These supplies are what build up our events, the hygiene packs, and so much more.  It is so important that they all make it there!  This is a big area we would love you to pray about with us.  Customs can be a little tricky at times and the airlines have so many bags to make sure get to the right places with the right people.  We know we serve a God that has bigger plans than ours and that He has gone before us and is coming with us, but we also know that He listens to us when we cry out!  Will you cry out over our supplies?

Kenya Medical Mission Trip 2017

View fullsize

Roger examines a student's ears.

You've probably heard a lot about the Summer Mission Trips to Kenya and Nicaragua and all the relationship building, supply distribution, and overall mission support that happens on these trips. Did you know that we also send teams on targeted medical trips to meet the health needs of the people we serve in those two countries?

The Kenya Medical Mission Trip in February 2017 is the next trip that our medical team is planning and we are looking for more doctors, dentists, and other medically-trained individuals to help us provide basic health care to the people of Kenya.

View fullsize

Our Kenyan partners staffing the temporary clinic pharmacy. 

Medical Mission Trips are designed around clinic days. The team arrives at a school, sets up stations for exams, treatments, medication distribution, etc. The team then sees students and members of the community, performing basic checkups, treating conditions as the supplies and expertise of the the team allow. The day is tiring, but very fulfilling. 

On the February 2017 trip, the clinic days will take place at the two primary schools that Fox River sponsors (New Life Academy in Bomani and Crossroads Academy in Vipingo), as well as two other schools in the area. In addition to the clinics, the team will be focusing on providing some health education and health promotion. Educating people on basic health and self-care concepts can go a long way in improving the lives of the people we serve in Kenya.

View fullsize

Jodie and one of her new friends on a Clinic Day.

Are you medically-trained? Starting to feel the call to spend about a week impacting the lives of literally hundreds of God's children in Kenya? 

You can read more information and begin the application process on our Trips page. While the trip is still several months away, time to prepare is short. Applications are due August 1, 2016. If you are interested in joining the trip, or even if you'd just like more information, please fill out the form on the Trips page, and someone from the Medical Missions Team will contact you soon.

Whether you're prayerfully considering being a part of our next Medical Mission Trip, or you'll be following along on our blog from home, please join us in praying for the Medical Team as they prepare to be the hands and feet of Jesus in Kenya, as well as for the people we go to serve!

Preparation- Nicaragua team

A lot of preparation goes into the trips that we take.  We spend months planning, making decisions, getting our supplies, fundraising, getting to know our team members, and on it goes!

When we get to Nicaragua Fox River will join the Nicas and form one team.  Part of our team will be working in the Clinic and the other part will be out in the communities.  Although we will be doing some different things while we are there we are all just one team.  We go as ONE body, each given different gifts and abilities in order to fulfill the same task > Sharing the love of Christ.  (1 Corinthians 12)

I’m going to share with you about how the Nicaragua team is preparing to go…

We prepare for the tasks that we will be doing, physically for our health, for the environment we will live in, and most importantly we prepare spiritually to be open to what God has for each of us.

Some of the best moments we have as a team are our monthly meetings.  As a leader, there are so many details that need to be looked over with a fine tooth comb on a regular basis, having a team to help with planning and cultivate ideas is the greatest thing ever!  Don’t let the title ‘leader’ fool you, I have the great privilege of walking beside and among them as they plan and take ownership of the trip as a team!   At our meetings we have groups who work on certain tasks and we have moments where we come together as a whole and discuss.  We have groups for music, games, crafts, stories, and the medical group. EVERYONE is a part of the planning!  I am so grateful for my team!  

Our music group teaching the rest of the us the dance for VBS. 

My absolute favorite part of all the preparing, planning, and craziness is the time I get to sit with the team and get to know them.  We take time at each meeting to hear each others stories, to hear what they are excited about or maybe even what they are nervous about.  

Intentional prayer! 

Pastor Guy praying over the team. 

Then we spend time in what we call ‘Intentional prayer’, we give our worries, and praise to our Creator!  We want to make sure we are always working with God and not apart from Him.  We pray for our planning, our team members, travel, we pray for the people we will work with, for their planning, we pray for all the people that our team will come into contact with, we pray for the clinic and church in La Esmeralda, for our supporters, we pray that our hearts will be aligned with God’s plan, we pray for the unknown…  Will you join us in praying? 

God is already at work answering prayers of support and partnership.  He is working in the hearts of all of us and of those we will come into contact with. Supplying the needs we have as we prepare to go some obvious and some that we didn't even know we had.  Giving courage and peace to those of us who have fear and anxiety, and giving patience to others who can't wait to go see friends and make new ones. We have such a great God who loves us with an everlasting love, it is His desire that we come to Him to fulfill our needs.  Let this team be a testament that He does in fact meet our needs and bless us greatly.

Counting down the days until we get to see all the planning come to fruition! 

How A Mission Trip Changed Jenni's Life

It wasn't until I was overcoming a bad depression that God reminded me I had always wanted to do a mission trip. I came into it with a need for purpose and a history of traveling on vacation to China, Thailand, Morocco and Egypt and seeing some of the poorest families on the planet. I had mentioned the desire to my boss who mentioned that her boss attended Fox River Christian Church and had a mission program. The meeting was the following week. So, with a great bit of fear, I attended my first church service at Fox River, attended the mission trip information meeting and joined a mission trip and a church that would change my life.

I had been consumed by fear. My relationship with my boyfriend was failing and I had wanted to leave for seven years. But, I was stuck. I remember the first trip being hard as I'm not great at developing relationships quickly but as I got settled, I learned there is so much more going on than in my little world in Wisconsin. Kenyan children do speak English but are very shy. They appreciate the smallest gestures: a hug, a smile, crafts. Each kindness brings hope to an unexplainable poverty. I learned about gratitude, love, friendship and a God who loves them and me. I learned about grace for myself to give grace to others.

The first trip was amazing: we built a house out of the earth! I left with a new outlook on life and lifelong friends. I left my boyfriend 10 days after that trip. I started buying my clothes at Good Will and I cancelled my cable TV. God told me to support three kids in Kenya and I looked at my budget and said yes! The letters over email I have written and received have given me great joy. In July, I will go back for a third trip because I can't imagine a better use of my time and resources.

I knew missions could change lives but I never expected I would be so impacted. God is good all the time and all the time God is good. It saved my life and gave me purpose and a reality check of what is important: love.

Emily's Nicaragua story

I remember coming back from Nicaragua. Those few short hours and even sometimes days after returning can be so, so difficult to cope with. I hate to say, but I spent most of the trip home either crying or trying desperately not to. It hadn’t even been a day yet, and I already missed Nicaragua and everyone in it more than I could put into words. Just imagine; everything that happened and everything you witnessed during your time there is so fresh in your mind that it can be difficult to cope with the fact that the world that you’ve grown up in is now the source of your culture shock. All I wanted was to be back in the country and with the people that I had fallen in love with. Coming back from a mission trip can be a really hard thing to explain. Everyone wants to hear about the “fun” things that you did. They want to see all the pictures and they want to hear the stories. But sometimes the stories are hard.

I was challenged, just as my teammates were, to love other people in less than ideal circumstances. When you’re on the outside of a mission trip looking in, it can be easy to see only the polished version. I don’t think anyone really means to make it that way. But it can be hard to look past the countless pictures on social media of all of the beautiful kids the team is getting to know and the countless lives that are being touched and remember that the team is made up of imperfect people, who are imperfect at serving each other and even imperfect at serving the community they are in. Mission trips—at least for the two that I was on—are full of challenges and uncomfortable situations that force growth in people. And sometimes fighting that growth can be an ugly thing. Sometimes it comes out in impatience or a lack of mercy and grace for a fellow team member. Sometimes it comes out in moodiness or unforgiveness. Whatever form it takes, something I quickly realized on my trips was that things were not always as perfect as we like to make them seem. There were many times where I was less than thrilled with my teammates. I know for a fact that there were times that they were less than thrilled with me. However, it was in those times that Jesus could really work in our hearts and change us to become more like Him.

Despite these imperfections and challenges, I know that I wouldn’t want to look back on it any other way. I think that we have a tendency to want to take our stories and clean them up so that they can fit into a tidy and polished version. But that isn’t reality. If we take an honest look at the bible, we can see that God’s people have been a mess throughout history. Even some of the most notable figures in the bible have stories that are far from perfect. David, Moses, even Paul. Just like it is common with mission trips, sometimes the mess in these people’s stories can be overlooked. In doing so however, I think we rob ourselves of the true beauty that God can work from our mess and our imperfection. How could we fully understand God’s saving power in Paul’s life if we did not first understand where he came from? How would we be able to see the vastness of God’s grace if we didn’t fully grasp the weight of David’s decisions? How can we see the beauty that God works in cross cultural missions if we don’t also let ourselves see that we are an imperfect team of people trying to love an imperfect community with a lifestyle very different from our own? The answer is truly that we can’t. We won’t be able to experience the depth of God’s grace for us if we aren’t honest about the depth of our shortcomings.

I wasn’t able to go on the trip to Nicaragua this past summer. Even though it’s been a year and a half or so since I’ve seen the friends that I made there, I still miss them oh so much. There’s been a lot that’s changed in my life since the last time I was there, a lot of new places that my Lord has led me, and a lot of new things that He’s taught me. Even though many of the people that I went to Nicaragua with have gone their separate ways, it’s been amazing to see how our church’s partnership with the church in La Esmeralda has shaped some of my team members and their futures. I think there is something truly beautiful in serving cross culturally, and seeing Jesus reflected through another group of people. There was a lot that was challenging about being in Nicaragua, and a lot that was challenging about trying to love people who know a very different life than we do. In that though, there was so much beauty in loving and being loved by our friends in Nicaragua that has changed me for the better.