GETTING THE TEAM READY

It is about time to send our first 2018 Nicaragua team out.  These men will have the opportunity to help construct a children's facility next to the church, giving the children a place to have their Sunday school and also a space to have a nursery. This is really exciting because our partner church in La Esmeralda has never had a space that they could dedicate to the children, they have had to either meet behind the church outside or under the (tiny) porch of the Pastors home.  Now they will be able to start a nursery and have classrooms for the children to learn and play and be loved on.  We are also excited to be putting some bathrooms in that same building. All of these things are giving the church the capacity that the need to grow and reach even more people in this community and those surrounding!  

Each missions team that we send has the honor and privilege to be prayed over by our congregations before they leave which is something we value so much as we prepare to go. This past weekend Fox River prayed for this work and the men going to do it at every service. One of the reasons we value this so much is because we believe that prayer is so powerful as God tells us in His Word. Another reason is because we want those who do not get to go to be involved in what God is doing through our church. Each prayer and outstretched hand that is lifted up is making a difference in the lives of these children and their families that we are going to impact through this building. If you were there this weekend praying over us, thank you!  If you weren't and would like to be part of God's working its not too late!  Pray now that God would do something new and exciting in and through each of these men, and that this facility will bring more people to know Christ and in turn bring God glory!  

After church we met up and had some lunch and fellowship and began packing our bags.  Yes, even though we don't leave til Friday we have 14 bags packed and ready to be loaded up.  These bags are very important because they carry supplies that the men will need to complete the projects they have been tasked with. Will you start praying now for all the bags to arrive and for God's hand to guide us smoothly through customs in Nicaragua? I love packing together with the team because it starts us all off working as one and also  brings some understanding to the new culture we are about to be in for 10 days. This is when it starts getting exciting seeing everything start to come together, all the prayers and fundraising and conversations and meetings all getting us ready for what God has in store for next week.   

Will you pray these next couple weeks?  Pray that God will start today working in the hearts of each man who has sacrificed to go on this trip? Pray for the Nicaraguans we will be working with, that their hearts will be softened to what God has for them as well.  Pray too for safety and health.  

You can follow along with the team as they travel and are on the ground in Nicaragua right here!  Look for our next post on Friday. 

Since my sister was not able to fly with us I decided to pack her as my checked luggage. She has done a lot of the work in getting this team ready and planning all the details for them. Shout out to Abbey for all the work she does for all our Nicaragua teams! 

The Silver Lining

It has been a sad couple of weeks at Fox River's New Life Primary School in Bomani as we had to bid farewell to the young Francis Samuel Jefwa. He was a student in grade 3 and had been ailing for a while. The family and the school gave him the best care possible but he passed on to glory.

Francis - an ever happy boy

Francis’s empty spot in class 

In the midst of all the sadness, the silver lining to young Francis’ life is that he trusted Jesus with his life. On one of the occasions when the teacher presented the gospel message, he was among the students who made a decision to receive the forgiveness of sins and live for Christ.

Francis' classmates and teacher

Teachers leading in song at the service

Class 3 students celebrating their friend in song.

The service was a beautiful celebration of life that was held at the school. There were plenty of songs of praise and worship of God from both the students and the teachers. A lot of good was spoken and the gospel message of hope was shared to encourage the family and community at large.

Francis’ family Members 

It was a difficult day for these little ones to comprehend.

As we continue to pray and trust God for the growth and success of these children, let’s pray for Francis’ family, his classmates and the teachers. For surely in God’s time we shall be with Francis in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let’s Connect

The Tech Booth at Crossroads Fellowship Nyali.

The Fox River missions team is excited to introduce you to a new boots on the ground partner in Kenya- O’Neal. Hear from O’Neal today... 

This is going to be an interesting read because this is my first time to blog. In as much as I work at the Media Department at Crossroads Fellowship Nyali. Writing stories is not my cup of tea. My wife Jenna is quite a story teller and is giving pointers- which I am thankful for, together we are a great team. I say this because I am a thinker and a tech guy not a writer.

The Nyanjes 

I have decided to take up the challenge, because then I get to share with everyone stories of God’s goodness through the different hands and feet he has used to bring hope to children and communities here in Kenya.

Community outreach day at vipingo

I have had numerous opportunities of seeing smiles and hearing of dreams of little boys and girls at both New Life in Bomani and Crossroads Academy in Vipingo. I want to share these moments with you as I get to interact and do life with the rest of my people out in Bomani and Vipingo.

Pizza Day with Graduating class

As you read this please keep praying for Jenna and I as we serve and love our people. Being a tool in God’s hands is the best part of our lives and we couldn’t ask for anything more than being where we are. Looking forward to sharing more stories of life in Kenya and Gods goodness. Stay Tuned. 

Medical camp at Vipingo

Constructing a Future

God is at work in the community of La Esmeralda, Nicaragua, and it is time to follow as he provides for the future. 

This April Fox River Missions is sending a men's team down to partner with the church in constructing a building for their children's ministry and plans to get a bathroom built too.

Pastor Denis, his team, and a team from the Managua church have been hard at work getting the structure of this building up.  They have done all the the foundation work and just this week the team for Managua have been up there putting up the structure and roof.    Our guys will go in and finish the project up.  How exciting it is to watch the progress of this project! 

Let me share with you the importance and excitement for these facilities..

As of right now the children meet on the porch of Pastor Denis' home or in a home close to the church.  They currently do not have an inside place to hold Sunday school or any other children's activities during church services. 

This building will bring them inside so that in the rainy season it will not effect how they do children's ministry.  This building will give them a space that they can grow and have no problem having space for all the children who come.  It will also give them the capacity to have a nursery which has never been a possibility before.  A space that Pastor Denis and Karen's children and the children from the community can grow up and hear what Christ has done for them.  And so much more!  We are so excited to see how God uses this building!  

And for the bathrooms... currently the church has no bathroom.  This might seem silly, but having a bathroom on church grounds will be so beneficial.  I believe that this very simple thing will be used to grow this church.  This will be a huge blessing!

There are more projects on the list to continue to build up this church and just not enough time for our guys to get it all done.  But, we know Pastor Denis and his teams will continue to work towards the future, so that this church will continue to see lives changed.

We have called this project 'Constructing a Future' because this is all about the future of this church, the future of these children, the future of the Kingdom!  

Pray for this future with us!  

VIP's at Fox River

We have some very exciting news to share!!! 

Some of our mission partners from Kenya will be coming to the states for 6 months to experience life and ministry in a new way at Fox River!  

Pastor Gideon, his wife Joy, and three boys: Jotham, Joshua, and Jayson.   

This will be quite the exciting and a completely different life experience for each of them.  This will be the first time they travel to the United States...the first time these boys have been out of their home country.   

Pastor Gideon is the Executive Pastor at Crossroads Fellowship Church in the Mombasa area.  Our missionary, Jim Horne, is the pastor of the church.  This church holds a special place in our hearts as they have welcomed us in each and every time we have a group in Kenya!  Joy is involved in their women's ministries and she is the administrator at our children's rescue center in Vipingo.  These are big shoes that will need to be filled while they are here with us.  Will you join us in praying for their ministries that they have said 'see ya later' to for the next few months?  It's never easy to leave your people, ministries, and life.

This is a long trip for well traveled adults.  Which means for a family who hasn't done much traveling, none the less across the world with three little boys, it will be a long couple days!  This is something we ask you to pray with us about.  Smooth, safe, and a quick travel.  

They will also be experiencing the cold for the first time ever!  We want just one more snowfall so that they can see exactly just how magical a snowfall can be.   We know, we know...but, they have never seen snow before!

There are so many things we can show them and share with them while they are here, but the most important will be to share how God is working in and through Fox River.   They are excited to be here and to do life with us!  They will be around at Fox River in various ways, make sure you introduce yourselves! 

Will you join us in praying as they have started their journey here?  They will have traveled by train today and then will board their first flight just after midnight on Wednesday (3pm Tuesday here).   They will arrive in Wisconsin on Wednesday late afternoon.  In all, they will be traveling for almost 4 days.  

Pastor Jim at Crossroads, Commissioning Sevice.

We are so anxious for them to get here!!!  

Two Days of Celebrations - Friday

Today was graduation day at New Life in Bomani. It was our hottest day this week but we enjoyed celebrating new beginnings for these young people.  

I was privileged to represent Fox River

The processional. It is a slow rhythmic step that brought lots of laughter for the adults bringing up the rear! 

Traditional dance

Awarding the certificate and the backpack with Bible from Fox River

Gifts for visitors

Cake cutting ceremony

The graduates fed the parents

2017 graduates. They are all headed to high school. 

Gift bags from sponsors.  

We had a delicious lunch with the teachers. I had the privilege to pray over them before we left.  

The evening began with the first large group meeting for Celebrate Recovery in our sister church in Mombasa, Crossroads Fellowship. Jeff came on the trip to help them prepare for this beginning. It was a wonderful first night for them! 

Jeff with the team.  

We finished the evening with our partners and friends, Bechtels and Owanos.  

With two days left before we depart, I will be wrapping up all that needs to be done. We greatly appreciate your prayers for us! 

Two Days of Celebrations - Thursday

So much has happened since I last wrote. Yesterday we took the New Life graduatates to tour the mall and make pizza. Here are a few highlights. They had so much fun broadening their world just a bit. 

Jeff got in on the fun. 

And O’Neal

In the afternoon, we had a short visit to the high school. 

Gifts from sponsors brought so much joy! 

Girls dorm

Inside the girls dorm. 

We closed the day preparing for the graduation ceremony at New Life in Bomani. This is a crew of our friends that helped sign Bibles and pack the back packs that we give to each graduate. Many thanks for the help and fun! 

Work and Blessings

This morning was filled with meetings, followed by blessings. I had the opportunity to eat lunch with some pretty amazing teachers. The food in the center is always good and the staff is always amazing. I so appreciate the thoughtful conversations and lighthearted moments of laughter. 

After lunch we were privileged to distribute gifts from sponsors. This year sponsors had the opportunity to purchase a gift bag that we assembled in Kenya. The process began with two hours of shopping last night. The men with us were great troopers. We divided the list and off we went. 

Purchasing

Two hours later we checked out with 180 each: reusable shopping bag (small plastic bags are now illegal), washing soap, sugar, fun pens and pencils, cookies and a Choco Pie treat. The older kids received a couple of gender appropriate gifts. The high school students also received a toothbrush and toothpaste. 

Assembly line

The Crossroads Academy upper primary kids are filled with joy.  

Even the little ones are thrilled with their treasures! 

Crossroads Academy kids say thank you to their sponsors!

Mall Tour & Pizza

Today was a fun day where we did some activities with the graduating class from Vipingo. We went to the mall (city mall the largest in the Mombasa). We crowned our day with a stop at Dominos Pizza where all the kids got to make their own pizza which is usually fun to do because it’s a first for most of them. 

Dominos is where we gathered to do fun activities like make our own pizza.

Fun facts about making pizza and tricks of spinning the dough.  

Dorcas is a fast learner. She got her pizza ready before everyone and is just waiting for the oven to heat up. 

Yummy!!!

Let’s cut it to size and go enjoy it. 

We enjoyed a last outing with these precious young people that have been a part of our lives for 11 years. Some will continue in our program to our partner high school. Others will leave us to attend other high schools out of the area. We thank God for the privilege we have had to be a part of their journey and pray that God will richly bless all of them as they follow HIM.

Preparation & Celebration

After arriving safe in Kenya with all of our bags on Saturday morning, we spent the rest of that day and Sunday preparing for the week, reconnecting with friends and partners, supply shopping, signing Bibles and preparing book bags for the graduates and so much more.  

Today, Monday, was the graduation ceremony for the 29 graduates of Crossroads Academy primary school in Vipingo. This is the first class of students that have gone all the way through the school. They started with us in Kindergarten 1 when we opened the school in May of 2007. It was such a joy to see them finish well and prepare to move on to the next step in their academic journey. 

Receiving their certificate of completion

Presentation of awards including the book bag and Bible from Fox River that Jeff was able to present.

The cake cutting ceremony is a part of every Kenyan celebration

Trying to get the whole "bite" in there!

I had the privilege to speak to the graduates and challenge them as they take the next step in their journey.

The 2017 graduating class

Will you join me in praying for these precious young people? Pray that they will never forget their roots in faith, family and love. Pray that they do well in high school and become a generation of influence in Kenya.