Charlton

Finding Truth

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Charlton

Greetings all in the name of our King Jesus, it has been awhile since I last blogged. I have been traveling on various missions all around Kenya, Uganda and most recently Tanzania.

I was so blessed to connect again with a beautiful family from the Middle East. Their commitment to the Lord is inspiring and I want to share a testimony from a dear sister in Christ. (For their safety, all names have been change.)

Testimony of finding Truth

Kristen was Born to a very loving Muslim family in 1989. As a family they where very committed to their faith, Kristen prayed 5 times a day, read the Koran and studied at the madrasah (Muslim school) through high school. Kristen loved Allah and Muhammad very much.

After High School, Kristen went to train as a Lady Health Visitor [LHV], this was her mother’s desire for her. In order to study, Kristen had to stay in a hostel. This was the first time she had ever been away from home without being accompanied by her father. She passed her first year and entered into her second year. At this time, Kristen met a new first year student called Lorna. They became close friends. Lorna told her family about Kristen, and Kristen also told her mother and grandmother about her new friend, Lorna.

As their friendship grew Kristen learned that Lorna’s family converted from Islam to Christianity, she was not happy to hear this. She asked Lorna’s mother Naomi, “How could you do such a thing?” Naomi responded that Kristen had not read the Bible. They discussed this further, and Kristen accused Naomi of not reading the Koran with the correct interpretation. Naomi responded with a smile saying, “When you read the Bible you will not talk like this.” Kristen knew that the Bible was one of the five Holy Books, but she believed that the Koran had the final authority. When Kristen’s mother and grandmother learned that Lorna’s family was Christian, she was told to stay away from them. Kristen did not follow their advice and continued the friendship.

Because Naomi stayed busy working at her medical clinic she was not always available to answer any questions Kristen had, so Lorna’s twin brother, Steven, would talk with Kristen. (This communication was done by phone only, they did not meet face to face.) After one year, Steven sent a gift to Kristen… it was a Bible. She thought that it was okay to take it home as Muslims consider it to be one of the five Holy Books. She showed her family the Bible and placed it next to the Koran. One of Kristen brothers, who knows the Koran by heart, was furious. He scolded her; she was upset by his reaction she took the Bible down and hid it.

Kristen liked reading the Bible and in time she spent more time reading the Bible than the Koran, but she showed her family that she was still reading the Koran. She also would share small things from the Bible with her family but they would not accept its truth. Kristen’s family noticed that her behavior had changed and they found out about her communication with Steven, this did not make her family happy.

Kristen decided to read the entire Koran with a detailed translation to find something to share with her family. In doing this she found many things about Jesus in the Koran to which Muslims do not pay attention. She gathered books about the Prophet Jesus. She found that in the Koran Jesus is called the Spirit of Allah. When she compared the Prophet Jesus with the Prophet Muhammad she found that Jesus was more spiritual. Slowly over time Kristen stopped reading the Koran and praying namaz, instead she would pray to Jesus! Inside of her was great fear at the consequences of what she was doing, there was a battle going on inside. So she prayed and ask God to show her the right path.

At this time her mother was very angry with her and she was removed from her education at the hostel. Kristen continued speaking with Steven on the phone and shared with him what was happening at her home. He encouraged her with verses from the Bible. The first time her mother got angry with her, Kristen prayed in the Name of Jesus as Steven had taught her and a half an hour later she noticed that her mother was no longer angry. Her faith was encouraged, she loved her mother much and was happy at this result.

The communication between Steven and Kristen grew into more and they felt it would be good for them to marry. Naomi had learned that Kristen had accepted Jesus and was praying in His name! Naomi wanted them to go to Kristen’s parents and ask for her hand in marriage. When she told her mother she flew into a rage and forbid Kristen to see Steven and his family again. Her family became very strict with her, she was monitored all the time and accompanied wherever she went. However, she had decided she wanted to marry Steven.

When Naomi heard that Kristen’s family had refused to allow her to marry, she understanding what a shame it was for the family. She took Steven’s phone from him so he could no longer communicate. However, when she realized that Steven and Kristen were truly in love, she returned the phone to him. Though it was difficult Steven continued to reach out to Kristen and encourage her with Scripture.

After knowing Steven for two years she went to his house for the first time; it was Resurrection Sunday. She was greeted with great love, and she felt at home. Although she had not seen Steven before, this she was happy and she wanted to marry him. Steven continued to teach her about the Word of God. Kristen was fully committed, she now knew the Truth and the Truth had sent her free!

Steven’s family talked about the marriage, but Steven’s father was not happy about the union as he knew it would mean trouble and even death for the family. Steven and Kristen were very upset about this and decided to pray, fast, and seek God’s will. Steven’s older brother and father asked if she was prepared to leave her family. She responded that the Lord would give her strength. Steven and his family decided on a date when Kristen would leave her home.

Kristen made sure she had all her documents and left a note for her family. In it, she told them she had come to know the Truth and had accepted Jesus Christ. Kristen met Steven and Naomi and they went straight to court where they were married under Muslim law. When she didn’t return home that night, Kristen’s mother called her. Kristen told her mother that she had left a letter for the family and that she was fine. Her family kept calling but she did not answer. A few days later they had a church wedding.

Kristen’s family did not leave things alone. They registered a case of kidnapping against Naomi, Steven, and Lorna as well as a case of adultery against Steven. Steven’s father advised that Kristen should file a petition to say that she had left her family and married of her own free will. However, Naomi thought this would incite Kristen’s family. Her family sent Police to Naomi’s house to find out were Steven and Kristen were hiding. Naomi would not give them any information and she went to jail for two nights. Kristen phoned her family and asked them why they had Naomi arrested, she was told that they did not care about Naomi, but she must return home. When Naomi was released from jail she went straight to check on Kristen.

Naomi never angry or uttered a bad word against the actions of Kristen’s family. Kristen testified that in all the years since her marriage to Steven, his family has never spoken one bad thing against her family. She has been completely accepted by the family.

“I am far from my home and far from my family. But I don’t feel I’m among strangers. ”

Kristen and her husband along with other family members have been forced to flee for safety, by circumstance they have had to literally sell everything pack a bag and leave the country. They now see God’s wisdom in the situation because they have been freed from all the things that tie them to this world, and can now serve the Kingdom of God as pilgrims and sojourners in a strange land. Their circumstances have placed them in a unique opportunity to expand the Kingdom of God and this is something they are very excited about!

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:13-16

Sojourning in Africa,

Charlton

A MONTH IN REVIEW: FEBRUARY

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Charlton

We are thankful everyday that the Lord lets us continue working in the mission field of Kenya. Praise and glory to the King of Kings!

This past month certainly started with a BANG! We experienced our second emergency snake bite case. A sixteen month-old was rushed to our compound one evening because she was bitten by a snake. She had a fang mark on her leg that was starting to swell, and she was drifting in and out of consciousness. After assessing the patient, Tim, Charlton, and Wanda jumped in the van and rushed the child and her family to a hospital in Eldoret, about two hours away. We are happy to report that she is doing well, and returned home several days later.

Not long after the little girl was brought to us, a two month-old little boy was brought to us as well. His name was Primus, and he was malnourished. We (the Sweazys) had the beautiful opportunity to take him in and nurse him back to health. Through the generous donations of the body of Christ we were able buy him ample formula, take him to the doctor, and buy him clothes, blankets, and other needed supplies. He is now back home with his grandmother who has been his primary caregiver since birth. She has been trained on how to feed him, but will need further training. Please keep grandma, and baby in your prayers.

During this two week period of caring for Primus, we had an intense four day Swahili language class scheduled as well. Our brother Glenn came up for the week, as well as our language teacher Jim. Jim has been living in Kenya for 22 years, and is fluent in several local languages. Charlton actually met Jim in Kisumu through mutual brothers and sisters in Christ. He arranged for Jim to make a trip to see us, and the timing could not have been more perfect. The Nafziger family had just arrived, and were able to get a jump start on the language!

Charlton also made a trip to Uganda with Nashon to assist a brother named Joseph, who is doing work with a group of physically handicapped people. They made several repairs to the building in which everyone lives and works. They also replaced and repaired equipment that they use to make a living. Later on in the month Joseph came to stay with us for a weekend to further his discipleship. He also had to opportunity to see how we do home fellowship and communion.

Literally, the day that Joseph left to return to Uganda, Tim and Charlton drove down to Kisumu to visit one of our home fellowships. They both did some teachings and spent some good time with the people.

Unfortunately, this month has had some challenging times as well. Our neighbor’s relative died at a very young age, which brought much sadness to the village. Marc, Cindy, and Tim were able to attend the funeral, and it opened up a door for Marc to teach about the Kingdom.

Marc has also been dealing with some church discipline issues in Saboti and Naitiri. We are happy to report that the Naitiri church has completely confessed and repented. We have also had major breakthroughs in the Saboti church. God is doing amazing things!

Thank you for the continued prayers and support. We are excited to see what God is going to do next.

A GREAT START TO 2015

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Charlton

“He, therefore, is the devout man who lives no longer to his own will, or the way and spirit of the world, but to the sole will of God; who considers God in everything, who serves God in everything, who makes all the parts of his common life parts of piety, by doing everything in the Name of God and under such rules as are conformable to His glory.” -William Law

We strive daily to work for the Lord with all of our heart, soul, and mind. Doing everything in the Name of Jesus, desperately trying to conform to His image. Glory to God in the Highest. What an honor and privilege it is, to be the ambassadors of Christ.

This new year has certainly started out with a bang. Since the beginning of the year, ten people have surrendered, repented, and have been baptized! Six out of those ten people live in Saboti, where a new home fellowship has been established. Last week alone, this brand new home fellowship had 23 people in attendance, with several people who wanted to know more about the Kingdom of God, and are receiving further teachings. The home fellowship in Bidii baptized three people, and our last baptism was a newly converted Imam (http://kingdomdriven.org/every-tongue-will-confess) who we are now working on relocating.

After people are baptized, they are strongly encouraged to walk closely with the brethren. One-on-one discipleship is key, but we also have various mid-week meetings: the mama’s meeting, youth meeting, and wazee (Wa-zay) meeting. Let’s start with the wazee meeting. You may be asking yourself, what is a wazee!? Basically, a wazee is just an elderly man. But around here, age is relative; once you hit your forties you can be a part of the wazees. The wazee meeting is like a very interactive home fellowship. They come together to pray, sing, and encourage one another. Currently, the wazees have been keeping busy with various livestock ministries. With the money received from an outside charity, cows, chickens, and a pig have been purchased. The livestock have been a tool in teaching the wazee about kingdom finances, through what we would call a “merry-go-round.” Basically, its a way of everyone chipping in some money so when there is a need or issue with one of the animals, the funds are there to lend a helping hand to anyone that may need it.

On average the youth meeting has about 15-20 people, ranging in age from 15 years old to about 35 years old. These guys are hard workers, and a number of them are employed by KDM. Recently they have been working on building the KDM discipleship housing. One of our youth named Sam, his wife Sarah, and their three month old son just moved into this building this past week. Sam just started translating books for us, and he is also a gifted teacher. Another project the youth are working on is a fish pond. They are hoping to use the fish pond to generate some income to not only assist one another, but the needy.

Last but not least, the mamas in our fellowship have been growing not just in numbers, but in spiritual maturity. We are hoping to get another mamas meeting started in Maroki, where another one of our home fellowships is located, in the near future.

Not only have we been teaching and discipling people locally, but we recently had a Women’s Conference where 52 mamas came together from various home fellowships and were taught about biblical womanhood. Also, a group of four men from Nabiswa, Kiungani, Toll Station, and Saboti are being trained as field evangelists.

In other news, we have some updates on the various Great Commandment work that is going on. The jigger clinic has been a huge success. To date we have treated roughly 700 people, and handed out over 500 pairs of shoes to people who have desperately needed them. This past month we have really been trying to get these shoes moving, sometimes going out several times per week. We’ve also been distributing SAW (Support A Widow) parcels. These parcels are a one-time gift that contain food and household supplies, as well as a little money. This is a CAM (Christian Aid Ministries) program that is administered through some of our dear brothers and sisters in Kisumu. This year we have already distributed about 40 parcels. Here is a short testimony from one of the recent recipients:

“I had been without food, caring for a few of my grandchildren. I woke up one morning, not having any idea how we would feed ourselves. I prayed to God, and that same day you came with the SAW parcel. I was so happy, and I continuously thank God for this help.”

Some of you may be familiar with the story of our local brother named Victor. He has received various cancer treatments, but we are sad to report that treatment has not helped his condition. He is a very sick man, and only God knows how much time he has left. For quite some time, Victor has been wanting to get his driver’s license. Because of his cancer, he is limited on job options. So, we have put him through driving school, and he has joyously received his driver’s license. But, just because someone goes through driving school, does not mean that they know how to drive. So, we will be giving him one-on-one driving lessons starting this weekend. Please remember to keep Victor in your prayers.

In January, our fellowship also hosted a marriage ceremony. A disciple named Patrice got married to Joan. Patrice had been previously baptized but was re-baptized into the Kingdom along with Joan about a month before their wedding. Thanks to everyone who financially supported Patrice and Joan in making this joyous day happen!

We are very happy to announce that Tim and Rebekah Nafziger and their three (plus one on the way) children have finally joined us here on the ground in Kenya. Karibu!

Looking ahead, we have some great missions planned for February. Next week we will be hosting a week-long Swahili language class. A man who has lived in Kenya for 30 years has made it his mission to help missionaries learn the local language. Glenn Roseberry will also be joining us from Tanzania for this event.

Charlton and Nashon (a local disciple) will be making a trip to Uganda to do some follow-up discipleship, as well as following up with a Christian disabled group, who they have taught the Gospel of the Kingdom to. They plan on assisting with equipment repair, such as paraplegic cycles and sewing machines. They will also be working on the building that they meet in, since it is falling apart around them.

I will close by sharing some photos of a recent Carrier/Sweazy Family Day trip to Mount Elgon. Thank you for all the love and support. Enjoy!

The War On Jiggers

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Charlton

Every week, for the last few months, we have been going out to alleviate suffering by removing jiggers, spraying homes, and giving out shoes. All of this has been made possible by the generosity of Heavens Family, and some wonderful kingdom saints from America. Many women, children, and men have been helped, and this is forever going to change their lives. All glory and praise to our heavenly Father.

The chigoe flea or jigger (Tunga penetrans) is a parasitic arthropod found in most tropical and sub-tropical climates, not to be confused with the larval form of Trombiculidae (called chiggers) found in more temperate climates. It is native to Central and South America, and has been inadvertently introduced by humans to sub-Saharan Africa. At 1 mm long, the chigoe flea is the smallest known flea. Breeding female chigoes burrow into exposed skin on the feet of mammals and remain there for two weeks while developing eggs, during which time they swell dramatically, sometimes causing intense irritation (condition called tungiasis). After this point, the skin lesion looks like a 5- to 10-mm blister with a central black dot, which are the flea’s exposed hind legs, respiratory spiracles and reproductive organs. If the flea is left within the skin, dangerous complications can occur including secondary infections, loss of nails, and toe deformation. These are relatively rare, but heavy infestations combined with unsanitary conditions greatly increases the likelihood of complications. (Source Wikipedia)

These sand fleas are absolutely debilitating if not properly cared for, and the removal process is painful. I actually got a jigger in my foot the day I helped distribute shoes. Let me tell you, it felt like a severe ingrown toenail, and it was not easy to remove. So, with the help of local brothers here on the ground, and visitors who have come to stay with us, we have been working to KICK JIGGERS OUT!

There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. Deuteronomy 15:11

Every Tongue Will Confess

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Charlton

This week, we’ve had the honor to be a part of a pretty amazing story.

But this amazing story did not begin this week, it began over a year ago in a mosque…

Marc had the opportunity to teach an Imam (an Islamic leader) and his family about the kingdom of God. During this teaching he prayed for the Imam’s daughter, who was seriously sick with a long term illness. Unknown to Marc, she was miraculously healed in the name of Jesus! Amen!

Now fast forward a year. Through an astounding set of circumstances the Imam was able to reconnect with Marc, through Charlton. They set up a meeting at a local disciples home. At this meeting, the Imam was recounting the events of his daughters healing. He admitted that he felt God’s presents that day, and he even later borrowed a bible to look into what Marc had taught them at the mosque. It was all true. The only problem was, he did not know how to get back in touch with Marc.

Praise the Lord, because after this meeting the Imam surrendered, repented, and then Marc and Charlton took him down to the river to be baptized.

“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phillipians 2:9-11

Women’s Conference

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Charlton

This past weekend KDMK had our very first women conference! It was a wonderful event. We had 52 women in attendance, from near and far. Every lady who was a baptized member in one of our home fellowships was invited. But in true Kenya fashion, we had a few random visitors show up as well. 🙂

Marc actually came up with the idea for this event, and organized the entire thing. One of his objectives for wanting to get all of the women together, was just that. It was so encouraging and uplifting knowing that other women from around the country are on this kingdom journey with us. Being able to share together, sing together, eat together, laugh together, and simply look into each others eyes brought a beautiful unity between all of us. The only negative that I think we all experienced, was not being able to communicate as freely as we all would have liked due to the language barrier that we still experience. However, we have a very intelligent local sister in Christ that speaks excellent English, named Linda. She translated the entire conference. We definitely needed her help because Wanda, Cindy, and I (Natasha) did all the teachings for the day. The reason that the three of us did the teachings for the conference was simply because we all live in the same compound. We were able to collaborate and organize what we were going to share in a short amount of time. And Cindy made a great point to encourage all the ladies to continue sharing, and teaching one another.

So, after a worship song, prayer, and short introductions I was the first one to share. My main focus was seeking the favor of God. I really tried to encourage the youth, that they are not to young to serve God in big ways. (1 Timothy 4:12) I find Mary’s life to be a perfect example of that. Out of all the woman in the world, God chose this young Jewish women to be mother of His only son. She was the “favored one.” (Luke Chapter 1) So I used scripture to shed some light on her character as well giving a detailed breakdown on the fruit of the spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25) Those characteristics are suppose to define us as followers of Christ.

Next, Cindy gave a detailed teaching on biblical womanhood. Sharing scriptures on how to become the wife and mother that God calls us to be. She started in Genesis and worked her way through the New Testament, really focusing on God’s order of headship and submission. One point that I really appreciated that she made was pointing out that older women are instructed by scripture to teach younger women the practical aspects of running a household; on how to love our husbands and raise godly children. These teachings are not something that women in this area are used to hearing. So it gave many mama’s plenty of things to think about, and a great opportunity for self evaluation.

Wanda closed the conference by weaving portions of her testimony in conjunctions with 1 Corinithians 6:18-7:40. She wanted to share the areas in which she fell short of the proper roles in marriage. Her transparency, and honesty was really refreshing, and I think many women could relate with what she had to say. She ended with sharing the joy she has experienced by being able to serve the kingdom of God as a single person. Now she is able to be totally devoted to our King without any distractions.

The three of us are at three different places in life. We have three different experience levels, and three different backgrounds. But God intertwined us together beautifully to share the message that He wanted His daughters to hear.