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The Fox River Students Kenya team met at the church bright and early this morning! We are all packed up and ready to go.
We board a plane in Chicago at 6:00am, and take off for D.C., then we'll be off to Ethiopia and down to Mombasa.
Please be praying for safe travels!
The Vipingo Pastor's Conference officially began on Monday night with a meal and opening session. 170 pastors checked in and enjoyed their first night together. They all sleep in the Bible Institute building. It's wall to wall mattresses during these 4 days! These men enjoy the time to learn, to fellowship and be encouraged.
2015 Pastor's Conference Theme: Leading with Vision
170 pastors
Guy teaching on vision.
I spent the day preparing for the team and getting caught up in Vipingo. I enjoyed having lunch with the teachers, meeting with James, the head teacher, and sharing a Bible study time with the teachers at the end of the day. We gave our pastor in Bomani, Abraham, a ride home and we enjoyed a delightful conversation about what he was learning at the conference. He said the highlights were Guy speaking on vision for the church and another speaking who talked about the vision squasher of anger.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, Bill and Guy will both be teaching at the conference. The men enjoy the small group discussions after the sessions as well as the panel discussion time where they can ask questions of all the speakers.
A special thank you to Fox River for making this conference possible. The pastors who have gathered are so thankful to have the opportunity to grow and be encouraged. Please continue to pray for these last 2 days.
As I write this, the Fox River Kenya team is in their final preparations for departure. They will gather at the Waukesha campus at 1 am Thursday morning to begin their journey. Please pray for this special group of teens and adults as they travel and serve God in Kenya.
Crossroads Fellowship Church, Mombasa
Sunday we enjoyed the worship, teaching and friends at our sister church, Crossroads Fellowship Church in Mombasa. That evening we had the opportunity to meet with the youth staff to prepare for the 3 events we have planned with teens from our group and Crossroads. It was fun to see the excitement grow as the final plans developed.
Bill and O'Neal mapping out one of the activities for the teen outreach on August 1.
Monday Bill was able to visit both of our centers. It was fun to show him around and introduce him to our partners there. He even had a bit of time to have some of Anne's tea and chapatti. Guy and Bill had lunch with the Crossroads pastoral staff. In the afternoon Bill and the youth staff headed to the Butterfly Park to map out one of the activities for the teen outreach on August 1.
We ended the day with a delicious meal at the Horne's looking forward to the pastor's conference to begin on Tuesday.
Bill, Guy and I arrived in Mombasa at 3:30am. One piece of luggage was lost so it took some time to fill out the paperwork. It was one of the bags of books for the pastors conference. I'm confident it will be found and retrieved before we need them on Thursday.
We arrived at our hotel at 5am and are ready for a few hours of rest before we go to church at Crossroads Fellowship. Thank you for praying for a safe journey!
Denise
Our flight from O'Hare to Istanbul departs at 10:40. We are boarding shortly so last minute communication is happening.
Pastor Bill, Denise & Pastor Guy depart this evening for Kenya. We arrive in Mombasa very early on Sunday morning Kenya time which is 8 hours ahead of CDT. Sunday we will attend Crossroads Fellowship Church to worship and reconnect with friends and partners in Mombasa. Monday is a preparation day for the pastor's conference that begins that night in Vipingo. Both Guy and Bill will be teaching and interacting with about 200 pastors from the coastal region of Kenya. The conference ends on Thursday afternoon with the Bible Institute graduation.
I will be preparing for the team and working in our schools. Thank you for praying for our journey to Kenya and for the opportunity we have to pour into church leaders in Kenya!
Denise
This morning was the commissioning for the 2015 Kenya Team.
The 2015 High School Kenya Team departs on Wednesday, July 22. Please pray for a safe journey and God's blessing.
Our hearts are very heavy this morning as we are about ready to leave....
We have been welcomed with love from the moment we arrived and it hasn't ceased since. It has really shown us a little taste of heaven and what it will be like when we are reunited with our friends that we have made here. The goodbyes were so very hard, but we know that when we meet again it will be so very sweet.
This week we had the honor to put on a VBS for over 350 kiddos at 4 different schools throughout the communities. All of which heard the message of salvation. Of those 350, 32 have accepted Christ as their savior!! There is no greater feeling than to know that what we have done here has left an eternal impact.
Would you join us in prayer for all the kids who have accepted Christ and for all those you have not yet decided, that they would also come to know him as their savior.
Yes our hearts are so very heavy because we have to leave this place and the people that we love, but at the same time our hearts are so full of joy for all the things that God has done here in Nicaragua.
Please pray for us as we make the transition home, and that what we have learned here would not be forgotten or overshadowed by the craziness of life! That we stay focused on what really matters, showing Gods love and making him known to all!
We are off and on our way home! Adios Nicaragua, until next time!
Melody
Today we came down the mountain into Managua for a day of fun with our Nica friends! Along with the fun we had we also had to say our final goodbyes. 😭 💔
We invited our Nica friends to come to the hotel with us for lunch and a few hours of swimming. Then we went shopping and to the Managua port (it's like the Milwaukee lakefront) to enjoy the lake scenery and some ice cream! Although this seems like a pretty basic day in our lives, it was a really special experience for the Nicas! We ended our night with pizza at Papa Johns for dinner!
Then it came time to say adiós to many people we care so much about! God has really bonded this team together and saying goodbye is just no fun.
We are emotionally drained tonight, on top of just being completely exhausted! Please pray we get good rest tonight for our travel home!
Our flight takes off around 2pm tomorrow, your prayers are greatly appreciated as we travel tomorrow! We will update when we can.
