WE ARE HOME ! ! !

We are back in the USA! Jet-lagged and culture-shocked, we're back. Parents greated us at the baggage claim at SeaTac and we went our seperate ways- to our clean sheets, our hot showers and soft green grass lawns. We've returned to our well-lit homes, our garbageless streets and quick meals from those magical ice-boxes in our kitchens! I (north) woke up at 6:30 am the day after our return and had Spaghetti-Os, Tomato-Basil Wheat-Thins and ice-water for breakfast.

It feels so strange to be here. Amanda and I wanted to go grocery shopping this morning, so all before 10am we hopped in our luxurious '93 honda accord (with cd player and AC!!!), drove down smooth-paved streets, looked at a Carpeted apartment, visited the Chiropractor and ran to Walmart. I feel like I woke up in heaven this morning, surrounded by extravegant comfort and Utopian landscaping.

Please continue to follow this blog as we will continue to update it. There is still a lot of work left to do. Here are some memories we'll never forget

On Our Way Home

We're here in London/Heathrow airport for another 4 hours, waiting for flight 939 to board and take us home to the US. We all miss milkshakes and cheeseburgers. But our entire second mission lies ahead of us once we touchdown in Washington. We have evangelized and God has blessed that ministry abundantly. People are being discipled and encouraged in Kenya. We've made and impact in Eldoret, Bungoma, Matete, Amagoro, Mwamba and even Masailand. Now we set our sights on the pacific northwest:

TO INSPIRE.
That is our next and equally great task. We need all the prayer and support to continue. It has carried us this far and is even carrying us home, but the mission is incomplete. Thankyou, and please, to quit on us now. Even after we land and take showers and sleep and eat BBQ and thank God for saved souls and clean sheets-- even then...

IT IS NOT OVER!!

Our Last Week In Eldoret

Daily trips to the market, Interviews with Teachers, French Toast for Breakfast, we often find ourselves talking about movies and food from home, but I think when the day comes for us to return, it will be the hardest part. Please remember to pray for each of us.

Briana: Been feeling sick off and on (like all of us- the food). Preached wonderfully, even though people laughed at her introduction because "Briana" is the name of a Tribe. She's been teaching in the school and refreshing each of us with her gentle nature.

Alex: Serenading us nightly on the Acoustic Guitar, passionately playing the part of Jesus during our daily crusades. He's also enjoyed teaching in the school and learning to wash clothes by hand.

Esther: A stern teacher to 7th Graders, she plays with the children and reads "The Silver Chair" during Matatu rides.

Hannah: God is really challenging her, and using her in the Crusades, as the main "tempter" in the alcohol scene. She has also enjoyed teaching in the school and shopping with "Mama" Rachael Sarara.

Rachael: She has been so bold to try different things and stepping far out of her comfort zone. We refer to it as sky-diving in accordance with a prophetic word from our prayer meeting before departure.

Ariel: She always seems to have a child on her lap, or else she and Hannah are teaching kids how to play thumb-war. She seems at home here and predicts a tearful return to America.

Grace and Russ: Constantly serving, with the cameras, the bags and preaching powerfully, they deserve extra appreciation for being a parental presence on this trip. Grace is constantly in awe of this beautiful country and Russ asks the best questions.

Amanda and North: Learning and growing and finding joy in the experience of our team members. This trip will certainly exceed our expectations of the impact it will have on the lives of our team, kenyans and americans as well.

Thankyou for your prayers. We need them more than anything.

Bungoma Outreach

We've just returned to Eldoret from a long and fast-paced week of evangelism in Bungoma. Here are some pictures:

Rachael with a girl from the Bungoma Church

Grace and Russ in our Hotel room in Bungoma

Hands raised for salvation

Alex crucified in front of a crowd

Pastor Moses' Children

Ariel preaching away the rain and leading nearly 100 people to Christ on our first night.

You Can't Even Imagine

After the second crusade in Matete (on the outskirts of Bungoma) we came to Pastor Moses' home, a 50x100ft plot of land surrounded by Maize crops and his wife Judith served us chai by Lantern light. 15 people squeezed into their 8x10ft mud-home and talked almost until dark. Pastor Isaac (who has been our guide in Bungoma) introduced us one by one to the others present and many of us leaned our heads agains the mud-cement walls as we listened. The furniture was hand built and doileys covered the upper half of the walls as decoration. A sheet was hanging across the space just to the left of the door to separate the sleeping space from the meeting place. It was humbling, sitting in this environment with several grown men smiling and content, wearing suits and ties. After chai it was time to leave.

Walking through the driving rain as the sun sets over Bungoma, in western Kenya is an unforgettable experience. When it rains in Kenya, the ditches run with red mud, Matatus flip on their headlights to see through the gray/blue curtain and the drops roar down on tin roofs which protrude from endless acres of 10 ft high maize plantations. As it gets darker, we are waving for a matatu that will fit all 12 of us (2 local pastors included). You can feel yourself get taller as the mud cakes and turns your dress shoes into platform boots. A man in a tattered shirt, shorts and flip-flops silently leads a pair of white speckled cebu towing a cart through the twilight along the road right past me. The rain sounds like an open air stadium full of applause.

Once we caught a matatu, we piled in (i mean we really CRAMMED in) with several more kenyans, making this toyota astro-van thing (11 seats = 6 if it were in America) buldge with 15 people + the driver. The second matatu man (who opens the door and takes the shillings) flips a switch and a little flourescent green tube light flickers on, illuminating the interior. Open windows keep us moderately cool and allow splashes of raindrops to tap on some cheeks. The wind swishes by and we realize, if we were to journal this, blog this or try to describe this to someone who has not experienced it... You Can't Even Imagine it. It's AWESOME!

Though this was a simple little ride home after the crusade, it will be a lifelong memory for all of us.

Bungoma Outreach

We've moved into the Country Side Hotel in Bungoma.

Yesterday we rode boda bodas (bicycle taxis) into town and had some chips (fries) at the coffee garden restaraunt. It was sunny all morning but as we headed for our gospel outreach in Matete, we could see some very dark clouds covering the hills and coming our way. We were worried that we would be rained out, because when rain falls here it falls harder than your high-pressure shower head at home. But we prayed and for the first time our students saw God do a miracle with nature. As we spoke it in faith, the rain fell everwhere EXCEPT in the little village where we preached and performed our Human Video. Ariel shared the gospel and the response moved several of us to tears.



NEARLY 100 PEOPLE CAME FORWARD FOR SALVATION!!!!



This was an un-advertised gathering, there weren't more than 200 people within earshot! That simply does not happen in America! WOW! Last night we debriefed and today we will do it again... God will do it again.



Tomorrow we go to Amagoro, only a few kilometers from the Ugandan border. We will visit Otatai (a bush village) and perhaps even set foot in Uganda. Don't worry parents, southern Uganda is completely safe. We are all healthy and praying for miracles. Our faith has been strengthened and we have been humbled that God could use us this way.



Another answer to prayer: All three missing bags have been found and are being delivered to Eldoret, where we will return to next week. We love you church family. Please remember to pray for us, without prayer nothing happens.



More Prayer Needs:

-That we could find the perfect time to do our necessary interviews... There have been so many moments we wish to have caught on film.

-Only a few minor discomforts, a mouth sore, a bug bite, an upset stomach, all the things to be expected on a trip like this. Just pray that they wouldn't hinder us.

-That our outreaches in Amagoro and Bungoma Town will be just as fruitful

-That our technical equipment will hold up... we're surviving here in Bungoma without a battery charger