Introductions

For our first full day with all team members having had a good night's sleep, we began our day visiting Hanzi. He is one of our kids with special needs. Having realized we had helped him as much as we could, we were able to place him in Sahajanand Special School in February. This was our first visit to Hanzi.

I thought we were going to have a short visit in what I assumed was a small school for special needs children. Upon arrival, I was very surprised to find a large facility with 800 special needs children and adults from ages 6 to 50. Our hearts were quickly won over by the children and the amazing care givers in this facility. 

Because Hanzi is an adult, he is learning life skills and a trade. The students in his class are learning to make beaded jewelry. We had the opportunity to directly support Hanzi and his school by purchasing some of the items he and his classmates have made. Even though we were only there for a short time, our hearts were deeply blessed with a lasting impression of hope.

Next, we were off to tour Vallerye McMillion High School where 60 of our graduates from Bomani and Vipingo attend high school. They are thriving in this new environment and we are incredibly thankful that our partner, Manna Worldwide, is sponsoring our students. 

Lunch was a stop in Mtwapa at Pizza Inn & Chicken Inn. Yum!

The afternoon was the introduction to the center in Vipingo. We were greeted by the whole school welcoming us with singing. Afterward we heard recitations and songs by our sweet children. We exchanged gifts with the staff and set off on a tour of the facilities: Crossroads Fellowship Church, Crossroads Academy, Bible Institute and Life Spring Rescue Center. The rescue center was the big hit with all those adorable little ones!

We had Human Hungry HIppo fun with the staff and had the opportunity to each spend some one on one time with a staff member where we heard about their role at the center and prayed for them. Before we knew it our time was over and we had to head out.

After supper together we had our first team meeting during which Pastor Brent challenged us to "Be Great. Serve." We closed our day with a short walk down the beach for some gelato. It was a good day and we were very blessed!

Tomorrow is the Big Day at Vipingo. We are looking forward to this community outreach and fun day! Thank you so much for your support and prayer!

The Journey Begins

Wednesday, while Team B was in route to Kenya, Group A took the Bomani class 8 students to the Hallar Park zoo. We enjoyed learning about the animals and our class 8 students. Two of the highlights of the day were watching the crocodiles being fed and feeding the giraffes. After having traveled for 36 hours with very little sleep, Team A did an awesome job!

Thursday, Team B arrived on time at 7:30am and hit the ground running. After a quick shower and preparing staff gifts, we headed to Bomani. Our first stop was the government school where we toured the facilities, heard a few presentations and gave gifts to the school. Class 8 students were each given a geometrical set - a necessary and treasured educational tool. A large water tank was given to store water for use when their tap water is unavailable. Can you guess what gift Pastor Brent is presenting in the picture below?

That's right a toilet! They were so excited to receive them!  

Our next stop was New Life Academy - the Fox River school in Bomani. The team was blessed by the songs, poems and Scripture recitations of the students. While the students had lunch, Bobby & Lisa Bechtel treated the team to a tour of the facilities and a history of the center. The team was treated to a special lunch cooked with love by Matron Anne and her incredible team of cooks. 

After lunch we enjoyed having some fun with our partners in Bomani.

It was a good day and everyone did an excellent job pushing through their jet lag to represent Fox River well. 

Tomorrow/Friday, we will visit Hanzi in his special needs school, tour the high school where our students attend after our schools and meet our kids and partners in Vipingo. Please continue to pray for this team. They have shown themselves to be mighty in God's grace! We are grateful for your prayer and support.

The team event got up and learned some Kenyan dance moves! 

Together Again!

After lots of praying and God moving in big ways we are all now serving in Kenya together! 

Please pray that we can adjust to the time difference quickly as we have already hit the ground running!  

Adjusted Kenya Schedule

This has been a wild ride! I know that God is not surprised by the event in Turkey that caused our team to be rerouted. He intends to bring good out of all of this and I cannot wait to have them here in Kenya to begin to see that plan unfold! We are all humbled and grateful for your support and prayer.

I have worked with our partners in Kenya to devise a new itinerary for the next few days. During this time that I have waited for the arrival of our team, I have been blessed to spend time with a family of four who came to Kenya to spend this first week with our team. Their daughter spent 3 months in Kenya when she was 16 and returned with a passion for what God was doing in this place that drew her to prepare to return to Kenya one day as a missionary. But God had other plans. In that year after her return she was killed in a car accident. Her family has traveled to serve as she served and learn about this place that captured her heart. It has been a joy to get to know them!

Here is the adjusted schedule:

*remember they are 8 hours ahead of us

• *Today/Wednesday, July 20: Group A arrives at 7:30am after 28 hours of travel. We will take the Bomani class 8 students to Hallar Park zoo for the afternoon. 
• Tomorrow/Thursday, July 21: Group B arrives at 7:30am after 28 hours of travel. We will go to Bomani with the same activities that were planned for Wednesday: visit government school, go to our school, New Life Academy, to hear children's presentations, tour the school, serve lunch to the children and have fun activities with the staff.
• Friday, July 22: In the morning we will visit one of our students who is in a school for special needs students then travel to visit our students who are in the MANNA high school. In the afternoon we will go to Vipingo for the scheduled events we had planned for Tuesday afternoon.
• Saturday, July 23: The community outreach day at Vipingo - no change.
• Sunday, July 24: Church at Crossroads Fellowship - Jim Horne's church. Afternoon community outreach in Bomani.
• Monday, July 25: Leadership training with class 7 in both schools in the morning. Class 8 from Vipingo to Hallar Park zoo in the afternoon.
• Tuesday, July 26: Fun day with Vipingo students.
• Wednesday, July 27: Fun day with Bomani students. 
• Thursday & Friday: Safari
• Friday evening: Group A departs
• Saturday evening: Group B departs

These next couple of days are going to be very taxing for the team because of a lack of sleep. Please join me in praying that they will get the rest they need to do what God has brought them here to do. Thank you!

Prayers for our Kenya team

The Kenya team needs our prayers.

Travel has become really messy with the commotion in Turkey.  The team was supposed to fly Turkish Airlines Sunday night, but their flight was canceled.  

Pastor Brent, Denise (from Kenya), and many others have spent countless hours trying to figure out a new plan.  The new plan is for the team to split into two groups and travel both Today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday).  They are no longer flying Turkish airlines.  It's a bit of a set back, but God has it under control and we need to keep remembering that! 

Denise and the Kenyans are anxiously awaiting their arrival and there are lots of activities planned that rely on the team being there.  But above all else we want to make sure travel is the safest we can make it, and being patient right now is the only way we are able to make that happen. 

As you can imagine this is quite the process and this team and its leaders could really use your prayers.  

The team came together to pray. 

 Will you join the team in praying specifically for:

Guidence for the leaders

Patience for the team

Safety 

Understanding

Families~ there are family members sending off their loved ones and in all this I'm sure fears have arose.

Rest~ that each team member will get good rest on the flights because they will hit the ground running because of the set back.  

The spiritual warfare that this team is facing is so real... So pray they will focus on the God they serve in the midst of all the chaos!

Turkey~ is in a place of destruction and could use so much prayer.

Denise~ she is already in Kenya and this is her team.  I am sure there are many things she is wishing she could do to help from so far away.  

God is working in this and has a greater plan! 

Thank you you so much for partnering with us in prayer.  

Kenya Trip Summer 2016

On Saturday, July 9, the Kenya team packed their supply bags in preparation for their July 17 departure.  

That same weekend Fox River commissioned the team and prayed over them in every service.  

Please pray for the team as they travel to Kenya to represent Fox River and serve beside our partners in Bomani and Vipingo. 

Let's Hear from Kerri...

At the beginning of June, we had the privilege of sending off Kerri Roberts to Nicaragua for her internship for the summer. She has had an exciting and busy few weeks, so without further a due...I'll let you hear directly from her!

"This year coming to Nicaragua has been a very different experience for me than usual.  I have had the privilege of coming before Fox River and getting to help prepare for the team.  It was really cool to get to see all the things that go into preparing for a team and being part of that.  There is so much more work than I ever knew or cared to think about. The Nicas work many many hours getting La Esmeralda and the houses we stay in ready for us, and Donna runs around the country getting all the things together for us, so that the team will be comfortable while they stay."

"God worked this week.  We had two different groups in our team this year, the ones in the clinic and the ones going out into the communities.  I got to be part of both sides and I can honestly say that both work extremely hard to accomplish whatever task God has given them on this trip.  This year since we had separate groups that meant we had less translators…which meant I was a translator this time.  Friday the medical people had their first clinic and saw patients! The community group went out into Las Nubes and La Esmeralda to hand out hygiene packs Fox River donated.  We broke up into three groups and headed off in different directions.  As we walked around to the houses and started to share these gifts it opened the door for us to invite them to the events we would be having that week, and also to share about the hope we have in Christ and the love He has given us.  This is always one of my favorite parts of the trip, and this year was no different. I love this part because even though I don’t know much Spanish I can still communicate to the people that they are loved. In all it was an impacting week, as 84 people accepted Christ!!! Thank you God!"

"On Friday, I had my first young women's event at the church in Pochocuape.  I was blessed to have a great group of ladies to help me make this day possible.  The five of us were able to speak and show and be Christs love to thirty-five girls and it is our prayer that they felt it.  It is my desire that these girls are able to understand that they are so much more than this world tells them.  Some of them are starting to have children at the extremely young age of twelve and are told that if they aren't married and starting a family by 18, that they are worthless.  They are told they are useless and ugly and unwanted, and the list could go on and on.  That is why I chose to take a day and try to help them they are loved, chosen, and blessed.  I pray that they would be defined by that instead of the worldly standards!

We broke up the day up into three different sessions.  A session contained worship, a message, and some small group time to discuss. We played some games to start the day.  Between the sessions we had some activities for them to do.  They got to paint a canvas, we painted their nails for them, and we did a photo shoot.  They all really enjoyed painting the canvas and getting to make it their own, we had written "Loved, Chosen, and Blessed" on all of them so that they would have a daily reminder of these truths.  Nobody here really has many pictures of themselves so we took some single shots and some group shots for them.  And who doesn't love to be pampered a little?!  They really like bright colors so most of them left with neon nails!  We had a great lunch made by a woman named Kathy, she is a fantastic cook!"

"Being part of the beginning of Pochocuape has been so so cool!  The other night at youth group a young man named Fran accepted Christ.  He helps us in Sunday school.  Marcelo who is the pastor at this new church is so passionate about reaching these people and it really neat to watch and listen as he gives the gospel.  Tuesday we were having bible study there and I was just sitting and thinking about how cool it will be to see the growth of this church. I need to step out more and talk to some of the girls.  I am not very confident in my Spanish skills, but I just need to set my pride aside and make a fool of myself if that's what will get me going.  In Pochocuape we have Bible study on Tuesdays, youth group on Saturday evening, and service on Sunday. I literally get to watch this church be raised up and that is something so different and special.  It is so humbling to me that God would use me in the ways He has."

We love hearing what God is doing in and through Kerri and in the lives she comes in contact with. For more updates, please follow along on her journey at www.persiguiendo13.blogspot.com

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!

Do we have to?

As I sit here this morning waiting for the shuttle to the airport with a heart full of emotions, I choose to think about the amazing things God has done this week through the partnership Fox River has made with the people of Nicaragua! 

Goodbyes never seem to get easier even when you know God will bring you back! 

Out flight is at 12:30... Will you pray us home?? And for all the emotions and things running through our heads this morning as we leave this place that has hold of so much of our hearts.  

We will see you soon!  

A weeks work

Hola! 

We know our blogging has been scarce, so buckle up we have a whole awful lot to share with you!!!

First.... Our most exciting report... 84 people decided to give their lives to Christ in the last 7 days!!!! PRAISE HIM AND REJOICE with us that we have new family members!

Some team members are going to share with you...

Bree~ 

I have had the blessed opportunity to work with the VBS team this Nicaraguan trip.  We visited four different schools in the surrounding areas to share the word of God with the children. We started off with some songs and dances, and then told the story of Jonah, with props and audience volunteers of course.  Then the kids had the chance to surrender their their life to Jesus before heading to games and crafts.  It took a lot of prep to coordinate everything for this VBS, but seeing a child's face transform into a genuine smile made it all worth it.

For I believe that Gof portrays this essence of joy through children.  they have an open sincerity, and it is amazing to witness  a girl or boy point that sincerity towards Jesus.  Several kids gave their life to Christ in VBS and we are praising God for it.  My soul is filled knowing that we could provide hope to these schools.  I hope and pray that these kids continue to have more opportunities to witness the love of Jesus, and that His presence continues to fill these schools.  I thank God for this chance to serve a great Nicaraguan community with a wonderful team.  There have been challenges, including rain and sickness, yet people have kept incredible attitudes through it all.  Working with such an amazing team has allowed us to better fulfill our mission.  I am excited to hear how the church in La Esmerelda will impact the kids and people of the surrounding communities in the future. Pray that go blesses such a glorious church and beautiful people.

Jodie~ 

My husband and I had the privilege of going on Fox River's first medical mission to Nicaragua and we are completely blessed to be on the second. On Monday, we had a laboring woman walk 2 miles to give birth to her eighth child. To be with her for this experience was priceless. No medications, no air conditioning, a room for her and her baby with four medical personnel the size of a small bathroom and she never made a sound. After the baby was born, she asked us to name her baby. We came up with the name David. Mom was doing great after the birth but the baby had possible/probable muconium aspiration and needed to be seen at the local hospital which is about an hour away. The mother sat in the back seat of a truck with her IV bag held up by the rolled up window. Her mother was to her left holding the newborn baby boy and the doctor was sitting up front. Before they ventured out on their journey through jungled and bumpy roads, our team circled around the mother and baby David and prayed over them in Spanish. Even though we speak different languages, we speak to the one true God. God is so good! All the time! This clinic has done so much for the people. I thought two miles was far to walk laboring, but if this clinic in La Esmeralda was not established, she would have had to walk for hours or may not have went to a hospital at all.

Kevin~​

​I am once again humbled by the physical hardships of the coffee farmer.  A drink that the rest of the world takes or granted causes immense hardships for Nica families whose lives would consist of coffee bean farming.

We had a couple team members who chose that this week was a perfect time to show the world that they are followers... Brittany and Kevin were baptized Tuesday, June 28th at the waterfall in La Esmerelda!!!  IT WAS SO AWESOME!!!!​