Mission Lodwar Turkana country

Lodwar/Turkana Mission Report –Exhausted! But also encouraged. I just returned from a long overnight bus journey from Lodwar. Let me share the experience with you. Pictures will come later…they are on Sam’s phone.

It started with a mission in West Pokot last month. Attending that mission were many people from afar…including Lodwar. Lodwar is the last city before Sudan, besides Kakuma which is a refugee camp. Citizens of Lodwar do not consider themselves Kenyan. They say they are “going to Kenya” when they travel to Kitale. Turn the radio on and you hear stations from Sudan and Ethiopia, not Kenya. It is beyond the reach of government and police. It is ruled by whoever holds the gun. Police and military have tried to tame the area without success. Now police will not dare venture to the area. As a result, missionaries seldom venture there as well.

To get there one must travel a long road (sort of a road) through mountain passes with steep drops (no guardrails!), steep inclines and descents miles long forcing the driver to go in first gear to prevent burning the brakes, desert paths that meander through dried river beds (and some not dry)…it is mostly unpaved and very treacherous. Our overloaded and top-heavy bus nearly tipped numerous times and we were also stopped by a gang of AK-47 weilding youth. They stopped the bus, walked around a bit, and then waved us on by. The trip through the desert must be at night to prevent tire failure…though we still suffered two blowouts. But sleep in not an option on these “roads.” And my bout with malaria did not make the trip very pleasurable. There are also elephants (the team saw them while I was sleeping) and lions there. We are talking the wild frontier!

Then there is the people. There are four tribes in Kenya that are the most respected and feared for their history as warriors. There are the Maasai, Sabaot, Pokot, and Turkana. They are all pastoralists with herds of either cows or goats. They are all cattle russlers. They all believe that all the cattle on earth rightly belong to them and do not consider it wrong to steal cattle from other tribes. The Maasai are fierce warriers who kill lions by hand as a rite of passage to manhood. They have never been conquered and walk with pride to this day. However, their warrier kin-tribes have continued to advance in warrior tactics. The other three tribes discovered the gun and guerilla warfare. The government of Kenya landed a crushing blow to the Sabaot a few years back but to this day have not been able to subdue the Pokot or Turkana tribal areas.

The Turkana and Pokot are bitter enemies, exchanging cattle raids with seasonal regularity. The Pokot are further south and have cows. The Turkana live in drier regions and only have goats. However, when dry season comes, the goats die. When the weather breaks the Turkana again must go raiding the Pokot to replenish their goat supply. Also, guns are numerous but bullets are scarce. There are just two sources: attack a police outpost (which is common) and steal their bullets or trade the Sudanese bullets for a cow. One cow is worth 200 rounds. Now the Turkana do not have cows. So they must raid the Pokot for cows and trek them to Sudan to exchange for bullets. That is life here on the wild frontier.


Then there is culture. Straight from a National Geographic special! Perfectly acceptable for men, women and children to parade around with no clothes at all, right in town. Albeit somewhat rare in town (though I have seen several nude folks in town), but commonplace in the villages. They live in round reed and stick huts approximately eight to ten feet in diameter. These huts are excellent for offering cool shade even during afternoon heat. The land is public and communal, and not personally owned. People can move their homes at will in search of better food or water for their goats. Traditionally women wear numerous colorful beaded necklasses which stretch their necks and colorful wraps–but the poorest go nude and some of the progressive in town wear modern clothing. They may have some other jewelery. Traditionally men wear a colorful wrap. Men carry a stick used as a weapon, for walking and for herding goats. They also carry a unique wooden stool that serves as a shield, weapon, pillow, and chair. All of these tribes rest their head on a wooden stool for a pillow each night. They brush their teeth with a stick that when broken emulates toothbrush bristles. Bathing is public fare at the rivers.

Boys are trained as youth in archery. They can finish a person from hundreds of meters with precision with their powerful homemade bows. When they master the art, they graduate to guns. They are given ten rounds and must pierce the center of a coin from hundreds of yards with open sights by the tenth round or receive a severe communal caning. No schools or hospitals outside of town centers–and this is a vast area. They know how to trek in deserts. It took Charles one year on foot to make the trip to Lodwar (the big city) from his home town. That is resolve!

Lodwar is Turkana territory. We travel through Pokot territory (equally lawless) to get there, but it is 100% Turkana. I have been given great favor ministering to Turkana people. In fact, I have baptized more Turkana than any other tribe. This is interesting since I live in Bukusu lands and walk and work with mostly Luhyas. There is something about Turkanas that I love tremendously. They are hard people to change. However, when they hear truth; when they understand something; when they make a commitment; there is no turning them back. I love that. That is my personality. When I am serious about something I am very serious. But to change me is hard. They are a people of extremes. I am a person of extremes. When I served the world and sin, I served heartily. But when I converted and decided to follow Christ, I committed 100%.

So all these Turkana converts make strong disciples. They know how to count the cost and live and die for Jesus. Hard to find a Luhya or Kikuyu ready to live and die for Christ like that!

So these folks don’t grow crops. It is too dry. However, I am teaching them how now and they are excited to try some new techniques. They are eager to start soon and I will send someone to assist at first. Interestingly, water is not too deep. A borehole can be advanced for under $1000 by a local drilling machine. That one well can revolutionaize an area.

Their normal diet is goat and fish. Lake Turkana, a huge freshwater lake, boasts some excellent fishing. It is a vibrant industry for those fortunate to live close to the lake. But for most, it is the desert and goat. Lodwar is a boom town with all supplies coming from Kitale. All fruits and vegetables, beverages, and general wares come from Kitale. Without that lifeline the city would cease to exist. But the common folks in the rural places do not have access to those wares. When our bus drove to town it was cram packed with wares–even a new motorbike was put on the roof of the bus.

Turkanas are not considered unreached. The Joshua Project lists them as 48% reached. However, that 52% does not see much activity due to the extreme difficulty in accessibility via motor vehicle and lawlessness and risk of violence. The police and military are not even willing to venture to these parts let alone Kenyan and foreign missionaries. Another danger is the flood of refugees from neighboring Muslim countries Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia. With them comes elements of al-Shabaab which is the local al-Qaeda group. The lawlessness here gives them safe cover to organize.

There is another piece of trivia about Turkana. Gold and oil have been discovered here on public tribal lands. Anyone can go prospecting (that is, Turkanas) and many have become rich. Almost all the shops and businesses in Lodwar were launched with funds from gold discoveries. But those who can get metal detectors are booming and the locals are missing out. The purchase of a metal detector for one of our disciples is some really low hanging fruit!

Well on to my recent mission. Pastor John from West Pokot organized this meeting with a local evangelist who attended my meeting in West Pokot. Pastor John saw me baptize five Turkanas in West Pokot which is now a strong house church of committed disciples. He knows first hand the power and simple effectiveness of New Testament practice and the Gospel of the KIngdom.

The first day we met in a small building in the middle of nowhere. We had half a dozen ministry leaders and a couple dozen church members and local tribal folks. I taught the Gospel of the Kingdom and discipleship. Now I was shocked to find out that only two of my ministry leaders could read! When I learned that I suggested meeting at the guest house I was staying in for the second day to limit the meeting to ministry leaders. This was a bold step that I knew was necessary. I taught them house church planting and evangelism and how to teach the gospel and plant churches to illiterate people using storytelling and Shepherd’s Storybook. It was a great success! We now have an executable plan. Over night the Lord burdened me to teach them more. I saw a gap between presenting the Gospel of the Kingdom to a Christianized culture and presenting it to a totally unreached illiterate group. I taught them how to introduce God, the Bible, Jesus, Sin, Satan, and redemption. I praise God for this. It was awesome. The Lord showed me exactly how to present these concepts to people through a simple and remarkably convincing story presentation. The students were very appreciative for this additional instruction.

In order not to offend the people who had organized at the other location I sent Silas with Charles (who is fluent in 18 tribal languages including all of these warrior tribes and many unreached groups) to teach them. They gathered 52 people who were there for a funeral. The completely unexpected irony was the host of the funeral was Charles’ aunt and the person who died was his cousin! Small world! That village was already Christianized as one of my student pastors lived there. He said there were only two non-Christians in that village. Guess what! Those two repented–one a Muslim–and are being baptized today as I write this. But I have to admit I was right in relocating the meeting. We would have been limited to the surficial while I know I needed to go deep with the four super-committed ministry leaders who will be the sprear-tip of the forthcoming mission work among the primitive tribal areas.

The last day was evangelism. Again, it was a reached area. I shared with three traditionally dressed mamas and two others in modern clothes. The irony, the traditionally dressed women were already baptized believers but the others were not. We baptized Sarah, a 25 year old married women struggling with an unfaithful husband who lived in Nairobi. She will be discipled by one of our trained leaders who is a gifted healer. She is a remarkable woman. God revealed Himself to her directly as a child before Christians were there. She now has a reputation from afar as the go-to person when sick. She has the gift! When she prays they are healed–period! This woman, whom I call “mama evangelist” and another woman paid for our food while there. A shop owner paid for accommodations and had his restaurant cook the food. They sent me away with many gifts such as a reed broom, mat, the wooden chair/pillow/shield (which was a huge honor to receive) and two pigeons which immediately flew away on me.

Please pray with me for time, tactics, and resources to thoroughly reach these people. We are planning two upcoming trips: one for agricultural projects and one to teach new leaders at Lake Turkana. Pray for success for those whom we have mobilized. Pray for the right projects to meet the needs of these people: metal detector for gold prospecting, water wells, agriculture, and so on (???). Pray for funding for those projects. Pray for me to fully train Charles and leverage his remarkable language skills–he is a huge asset that I want to fully utilize.

Thanks and God bless you

Annual Meeting –Year in review and future plans

We held our annual meeting for Kingdom Driven Ministries with the Board last night and wanted to share with you some of our discussions. It has certainly been an extraordinary year and we are looking forward to even more fruit as we continue to grow. We thank you all so very much for making it all possible through your financial and prayer support!

Here are some highlights from the past year on the ground in Africa:

  • Dozens of pastoral training missions having trained between 200 and  300 pastors and leaders in the Kingdom Gospel, Kingdom expansion (Evangelism), discipleship and house church. Luke 10-style community evangelism resulted in many baptisms and follow-up discipleship.
  • Hosted multiple short-term missions (visitors from US)
  • Trained and launched Glenn Roseberry to Tanzania. He is doing great–be sure to follow reports on his blog or Facebook.
  • Revised literature to reduce expenses
  • Issued 28 microloans (some individual, some group) in total 551,500 KSH for numerous small businesses. Average loan amount approximately 19,700 KSH or $240. Partial repayment of all but five loans. Just two loans paid in full.
  • Orphan care: several one-time gifts given. First “Forever Family” launched recently. This has been slow going because our program is based on placing orphans in the homes of Kingdom Christians. This first year has been focused on evangelism and discipleship to make those hosts.
  • Medical assistance: numerous emergency and routine medical expenses funded through the mission.
  • Academic training on an individual basis: English training, Horticulture, Computer Skills, farming techniques, and small business
  • Two board members attended a Farming God’s Way (www.farming-gods-way.org) seminar and the Carriers have launched a “case study” for the community using their small shamba.
  • Local book lending library established; many Kingdom-oriented books as well as practical resources have been lent out.
  • Local medicine cabinet and medical care facilitation has been implemented to meet a very real need in the community.

Plans for 2013-14

  • Continued multi-day pastoral training/evangelistic missions
  • Continued evangelism, discipleship, and home fellowships (planting and mentoring)
  • College-level training for pastors and ministry leaders (20-week course, 5 hours every Saturday. Launching June 1.)
  • Business/Small farming training seminar(s)
  • Family/marriage/parenting seminar(s)
  • More assistance for poor and needy: specifically medical expenses and empowerment gifts rather than just business loans
  • Microloan program evaluation; recommendation is to give gifts rather than loans where possible, also to focus on agricultural loans and loans to existing business (i.e., for expansion), which seem to be more successful. Also, possibly gifts of livestock where recipients can “re-gift” to others in need once livestock has reproduced.
  • Expansion of orphan care program expected as pool of candidates (Kingdom Christians willing to take in non-related children) grows.
  • Charlton, Natasha, and Wanda Sweazy moving to Kenya, 2014.They will be involved in orphan care and medical assistance programs.

 

 

More facebook posts May 25 thru July 21

More facebook posts May 25 thru July 21.

May 26

Met w Silas and Gilbert today. Have a plan for continued discipleship. English a problem for Silas and Gilbert a good translator. Plan is to meet together as a group and also with Henry going forward. Should allow setting a good foundation here in Kiminini. Cindy taught about 20 women at a women’s mtg today. She shared a brief testimony and then went through the entire Gosp of Kingdom and left them with tracts.

May 27

great day of ministry. met w local doctor for hours over dinner. shared gosp of kingdom. excellent reception. jane asked for copies of tract to share w others. very encouraging. message is proliferating here in kiminini. her brother samuel read kes and asked for a swahili bible which i provided.

May 28

Went to Kachibora to share the Gosp of Kingdom w Davids family. Well received. Isaiah went out with Silas and Silas provided tracts to three of his disciples to go out preaching. Very happy with Silas. He gets it.

May 29

for u all following my posts about preaching the gospel of the kingdom, or wondering why we are kingdom driven ministries, watch the presentation posted on my wall entitles the gospel of the kingdom. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7z4i_LuDs0&feature=share
May 29 cont
follow up on yesterdays mtg. davids family held a long family mtg to go opver what i shared. they all agreed it is the truth and asked we return for two or three days to guide them on next steps–which are repentence and baptism. their neighbors also attended their mtg and also want in. the neighbors are now sharing the message w their family. i see a house church is conceived and will soon be born here. glory to God.
May 29 cont
In Nairobi now. Work permit approval notification letter in my hand. Going to immigration tomorrow morning to finally secure this permit.
May 30
The work permit is signed, sealed, and in my possession. praise God.
May 31
In eldoret. almost home. looking forward. enoch turns one tomorrow.
June 1
boys are in their element. just purchased them an old suzuki ds80.
June 2
met w tonny in kitale today. organized for home fellowship starting in our home tomorrow. really it is a fellowship w the objective of birthing new fellowships by discipling the attendees.
June 3
getting ready for fellowship. invited just a few folks. curious how many will come. will update later. very much look forward to it. miss our old church family in indiana a lot. hard starting over.
June 4
met w three men this morn. all three surrendered (lk 14, blank piece of paper). next week spiritual inventory. Cindy and i now in kitale waiting for lunch. children rule the roost today.
June 5
Met with John O. Peter, Dawson Mudenyo, and another brother this morning for teaching and fellowship. Great time. Love these guys. Tonny and David Wanjala coming from Maridadi and Nairobi in prep for the Mumius mission thurs thru Saturday. Pls pray the the mission.
June 6
two more disciples baptized in nairobi yesterday. message of kingdom shared w leader from tanzania. david sent him w tracts and KES. He requested I visit. As typical, he testified he had never heard this message before.
June 6 cont
Here is a link to a single detailed mission report for the first 90 days in Kenya. http://valuesdrivenfamily.com/june-2012-africa-missions-update/
June 6 cont
cindy ministered to two women today. one, rose, is on fire. i spent hours w tonny. good stuff.
June 7
Mumius mission with team: David, Henry, Tonny w me. first day of teaching done. overwhelming reception. taught gospel of kingdom and discipleship. went thru cost msg and inventory. tomorrow home fellowship, lk 10 evangelism, and muslim evangelism for a couple hrs. then lk 10 2x2s in field.
June 8
awesome mission. many saved. will baptize several sunday. visited 34 households. at least 8 muslims. only two muslims rejected the message. one mute child who had gone insane openned the bible and read “Jesus had entered the village and was healing all kinds of diseases.” mom was amazed and received Christ. no rain during entire mission. first time no rain in months at peak of rainy season. went to hospital and prayed for healing for many sick children. incredible reception to message. people ae amazed, trained, and mobilized. i love my job. entire team doing great, henry, david, and tonny. lead teams in villages.
June 9
mumius mission done. heading home. six baptized today after surrendering, repenting, and completing spiritual inventory. one slain by the spirit when list burnt. certainly got everyones attention.
June 10
Here is the most recent mission report with photos–a must read! http://kingdomdriven.org/mumius-mission-report-a-case-study-for-the-kdm-model
June 10 cont
Great fellowsip tonight. Folks asking good questions. Disciples doing great. Six received Gospel of Kingdom message today here in Kiminini area.
June 11
“From the little I have learned from others and through experience, I wonder if the current Church-Planting Movements have not taught international Christianity the viability of non-clergy movements, that everything Christ commanded can be accomplished without money, clergy, chapels and power structures. Put positively, the biblical patterns remain both viable and perhaps more effective, over time, than privileged, ecclesial power structures.” Mission Frontiers, May-June 2012, p 24.
June 12
Today is going to be my first “tourist” day in Kenya. I am taking Jonah to Mt. Elgon National Park for his birthday. Yesterday, I was coordinating meetings for Kimilili, Nairobi, and Kakamega. Got my driver’s license. Met with a couple of my disciples (Silas, Henry, and Tonny). Silas presented the Gospel to six folks on Sunday and they all received. He wants me to help him bring them to repentance and baptize them. Cindy met with Rose. She is on fire. She has presented the Gospel of the Kingdom to five people in the last week. Cindy is meeting with them today for next steps. Tonny has a couple new disciples. David is being challenged. He has been evicted due to renovations for his house. His permit for his new business (a KDM gift) has issues again. He is down, homeless, broke, and no business prospects. Please pray for him and his family. I gave out two copies of KES and several tracts. Lots of positive movement, bit also pushback from the enemy on the David front.
June 12 cont
jonah and i had a great time at mt elgon. saw many monkeys, buffalo, gazelles, water bucks, zebras and baboons. cindy met w 7 women, all women her new disciple Rose, our neighbor, presented the Kingdom gospel. These women now evangelizing the entire community. they love the kingdom gospel and want all to believe it. I am working a neighbor. he wants breakthru for alcoholism. working w him.
June 13
Microloan for grain resale given today. solar battery recharge, bicycle taxi, and an inventory loan for a shop near closure. all loans that will allow kingdom Christians freedom to minister while providing for their families. very rewarding work.
June 14
shared gosp of kingdom w group of 22 widows. all received. tomorrow teaching discipleship and house church.
June 15
follow up in mumius, two new house churches and three more disciples. all 22 widows trained, surrendered. henry doing spiritual inventories as i write this. back in kiminini, rose, cindys disciple, taking the kingdom to the people like a wild fire. she does community health ministry as a volunteer. all heart. love her.
June 17
Just finished up fellowship. There were about a dozen standing or sitting on the floor with about 25 seated. It is more of a seminar than a home fellowship. Today taught on freedom from sin and the spiritual inventory. Lots of new faces. These are not churchy folks. Nighborhood drunk here asking great questions. Glory to God!
June 18
Erastus from Mumius called David today and told him he has baptized six more disciples and gone thru spiritual inventory. Festus, the man whose wife had demons cast out, has baptized two new disciples. I an in Nairobi now prepped for a training meeting tomorrow. Picked up 100 more KES, 300 kingdom gospel tracts/booklets, and a couple dozen Bibles, in preparation for the next mission. God is great!
June 19
After Nairobi mission: Waiting to board my bus back to Kitale. Should be home by 7 am. Another nights sleep in a bouncy bus. Mtg went excellent. Bout 60 in attendance, 50 pastors. Entire message received. Incredible response. These guys are fired up. They will immediately start preaching the kingdom and making disciples and establishing home fellowships. Teaching on freedom from sin and inventory powerfully received. Testimony: “teachings are practicable and biblical.” followed by applause of agreement. Praise God.
June 19 cont
i am certainly adjusting to africa. i’M now putting on a winter jacket when temp drops to 60 F. praising God for my awesome jacket given me by my former employer Acuity Environmental Solutions right before I moved here. It costs more than i could ever justify spending on a jacket, but sure is perfect for out here doing what i do.
June 20
Home safely. rested well on bus. was still tired from night trip to nairobi and full day of training, so i slept great. great to be home w family. lots of accounting and administrative stuff to catch up w now.
June 22
Last wk stated neighborhood drunk at fellowship. Found out yesterday that he has been dry since the mtg. He is really a great guy–smart, talented, and personable when sober. Pray for him. Silas is doing great. The boys gave him a microloan and his business is thriving. Pray David succeeds in finding a new place for home and business. Two other personal loans given out since returned from Nairobi. Widows asked fro return visit. Ten Nairobi pastors asked for Shepherds Storybook which is a pastoral training guide for new house churches. I am supposed to get my motorbike today. If you intended on helping fund, please do so soon, as it is underfunded. We raised $700 and have $1400 to go to meet the need. I have three missions in the next couple weeks that will utilize it. Really excited about wheels! Water well near completion and parcel from the US that we shipped in February supposed to come soon. Things finally coming together. Excited. Schedule is filling up–objective is a mission per week. Tough on family me traveling so much, but I try to focus on family best I can when I am home.
June 22
Pls pray for Aniga, alcoholic who was dry for five days. He called me late tonite drunk, begging for prayer. pray also for Henry who i discern is at a crossroad. (turns out he was not drunk!)
June 23
Here is my new Yamaha YBR125G. Rode the children around and went shopping in town on it today. Isaiah and I rode together, he on his Suzuki DS80 and me on my bike, down the rural roads. — in Kitale.
June 23
Rose and Rose, Cindy’s disciples, shared the Gospel of the Kingdom with over 25 people today, with excellent reception. Amazing. She is doing multilevel marketing approach. Tells people if they were impacted by the message, organize their friends and family and she will share with them. Unstoppable! We are still working through setting a stronger foundation of discipleship with her and she (they) are receptive.
June 24
Awesome fellowship. Widdled down to the elite from a crowd. 15 today. Awesome stuff. Wk 1 was Gosp of Kingdom, wk 2 surrender, wk 3 freedom from sin, this wk bearing fruit, lots of kingdom parables, and the mission of making disciples. Great response. Lots of personal discipleship. Village drunk still sober. He told Isaiah that I disciplined him about drinking so he totally quit. God is awesome.
June 25
Met w 3 disciples today. Two did spiritual inventory. Cindy met with 6 women. Aniga still dry and doing good. New disciple George following church this Sunday. Lots of great progress. Festus baptized five today. New Yamaha a real blessing. Well set in borehole today. Can’t wait for pipes running water! Cindy has two training meetings tomorrow–follow ups w folks Rose shared with. I have a meeting Wed and a 3-day mission with the entire team in Kimilili Thurs thru Sat. Crazy week. Pls pray it all comes together.
June 26
Cindy taught gospel of kingdom to two groups today, one about 40 and one 10. !any follow ups planned, including full missions w the entire team. Anita, a solid disciple who works w youth, envisions Isaiah discipling her youth groups. People very receptive to message and hungering for more. We need prayers on how to quench this thirst. We need more laborers, Bibles, booklets, manuals, and time.
June 27
Met with two prospective disciples today. Presented gospel of the kingdom and NT practice to one w very good response. Foresee mission and fruitful relationship. Other even more promising yet. Planning seminar right here in Kiminini. Team now assembling for Kimilili mission which begins tomorrow.
June 27 cont
Email report from Festus:

“Thanks very much brother Marc,I received the Bibles Yesterday and the two house churches are on fire for Christ.My wife preached today to 3 ladies and insisted much especially on what happened to her when David was preaching to us and all of them surrendered.Have to baptize them before leaving for Nairobi.I have to meet David for more instructions.He promised me shepherds story books.

Festus.”

June 28
Grt mtg in Kimilili. Taught Gosp of Kingdom, discipleship, and spiritual inventory. Very well received. Nairobi house church disciples baptized three more today. Glory to God.
June 29
New report from Nairobi. Woman David baptized during shotterm trip led to another family being saved. That family moved to another location and just led three muslim mosque leaders who surrendered to the kingdom and asked David to return soon and baptize them. They are now sharing the kingdom with their coleaders at all three mosques they lead. huge stuff.
June 29 cont
First day of lk10 field ops. Four teams. About 20 received gospel of kingdom, four muslims–two i shared w personally. These guys are trained and mobilized. Amazing fruit. Gave them pep talk hard work ahead. Spiritual inventories and baptisms planned. One house church officially starting next Wed. Amazing stuff. God is amazing.
June 29 cont
Guys. I am just a bit overwhelmed and humbled by the amazing fruit of our mission model. The reports just keep pouring in, and they just keep getting bigger and better. And this is just the beginning. I am training the mission team to lead teams of their own. David will be ready in weeks to lead his own team. So pray with us that we are able to handle the demands of preparing/printing/shipping literature, organizing transport of the team, scheduling meetings, and obtaining sufficient funding. This and the orphan care and microloan/business training program. Also, the bible shortage is crazy. SIX OF THE PASTORS AT THIS MEETING HAD NO BIBLE.
June 30
Terrible sick all night w fever and severe aches and pains. Will visit lab today to see if I have malaria again. Appreciate prayers. Hoping just something else as I have a lot planned over the next couple days.
June 30 cont
Keep Cindy and family in prayer. Cindy teaching a large group of ladies today at a local church. Couple children sick and both parents on mission. I should return when her mtg is wrapping up.
July 1
David completed spiritual inventories w three Muslim leaders today and baptized them publicly in the presence of their Muslim friends. David was invited to present the Gospel of the Kingdom to a group of Muslims who were present This Thursday. Pray for the Lord to work wonders. This is some incredible stuff!
July 21, 2012Follow up on the three Imams. Full confirmation. These are bonafide imams of three mosques who publicly repented and were baptized. Many muslims in attendance asked David to share this message w them thurs. David is meeting w the new disciples today. I honestly have to belive this is an unprecedented historic event. Three in one day! Pray for all the members of these three mosques. This has caused quite a stir of confusion for these precious people. The mosques are in disarray. Pray for God’s wisdom, love, truth, and protection as He continues to reveal HImself to the people of Kenya.
July 3
STILL SICK. Consulting another doctor this afternoon. This week’s mission already delayed a day. The show must go on tomorrow. Pray for speedy recovery. Very weak and drained. Fever gone. Still gastrointestinal issues and sore lymph nodes in abdomen. Diagnosis seems right, but recovery slow.
July 4
Prepping for Mroki mission today. Appreciate prayers.
July 4 cont
Sooo busy. Feeling somewhat better. Or too busy to think bout how I feel. Did Mroki mission. Small crowd–bout 25. Came home and did another quick sharing at a group of 30 of gosp of kingdom. Doing inventory with Aniga tonite. Cindy taught kingdom at a church today, bout 15 folks. Silas on Mroki mission. Preached kingdom to 30 women w Aniga. Cindy went out and taught w Rose and Rose. All our disciples getting trained. Festus got a microloan and started his business today. Another close to securing a loan. Pray for Aniga, he has repented and abandoned an illegal profession and now desperate for alternative income. Another microloan this week launched three bicycle taxis today. That is one loan, three incomes. Another disciple struggling to find alternative income–a loan he has(from a bank) had a payment due today. Pray for him.
July 5
One of my disciples meeting with five muslims interested in learning about the kingdom this morning. pray for him.
July 5
Nairobi disciple met with 8 muslims today and presented the Gospel of the Kingdom, and 5 surrendered to the Kingdom, did spiritual inventory, repented, and were baptized.

In Mroki, I led 6 to the Kingdom at one location. We gathered a bunch of neighbors into one home. They all surrendered. Went through next steps and they are ready to repent and be baptized. I then coached a young pastor to go thru inventory w them, bring to repentance, and baptize them. Then I coached him on organizing them as a home fellowship and shepherding them from behind the scenes. I gave him KES and highlighted what we had just discussed and Shepherds Storybook for the brand new house church. Praise God for so much fruit in one day!

Oh, Cindy had a great day too. Met w two disciples with awesome progress. Kiminini is a rocking place for the Kingdom. We now have eight Kingdom Christians within a stone’s throw here–I mean almost all our neighbors. Really cool stuff. You go to the local market/shop on our street, and there are always a few Kingdom Christians there fellowshipping. Everyone notes how this place is totally transforming since we arrived. I praise God for this. It really makes the sacrifices and hard moments worth it.

July 8
Been sooo busy, no time to post. Cindy had mtg w about 20 yesterday. Great response. Coached Silas to go back to Mroki to prep nine folks ready for baptism scheduled for tomorrow. Finally received our shipment from US. Big blessing. Lots of visitors. Aniga and Silas, Rose and Rose, and Annette doing great. Kdmk annual mtg yesterday. Fellowship imminent here.God is awesome.
July 9
Taught head of a large ministry and group of about 15-20 gospel of kingdom. Wow, what a response. One pastor had a vision of heaven opennong up and this message coming down while I taught. Several surrendered including a muslim.He did in a great way. He got up and said he had never heard such a gospel and for the first time in his life he can say “praise the Lord.” I am beginning discipleship tomorrow. He said he wants to share this message with everyone he knows. Well, this organization shares much of our mission but has a 10 yr head start. They are mapped and organized regionally and will be instrumental for developing my itinerary. Praise God.
July 10
Spent afternoon with new disciple Yusef. He surrendered everything for the Kingdom. His wife is also on board. He totally understands the Kingdom and has so much faith. He lost his job as instructor at the local madrassa school and will also lose his apartment which is paid for by the muslim school. This couple makes ideal disciples. They embraced the Kingdom better than anyone I have every ministered to before. They already intend on starting a house church, preaching the kingdom to all, and making disciples. Did spiritual inventory today and gave them reading assignments prior to their baptism next week. You will here of this man again and again. I have extreme clarity that this man will be powerfully used for the Kingdom.
July 11
Cindy taught large group of women today, about 30, with weak response. Late start and all they cared about was wrapping up. I taught same group last week w same response. We are done with that group. We will let those who are serious come to us.
July 12
cindy did spiritual inventory w couple disciples today. i shared kingdom w 17. so far 2 surrendered. many believe but fear surrendering due to regional religious stronghold. praying to baptize several saturday. two who surrendered are married couple ready to start house church. festus baptized 8 today. glory to God!
July 13
Four surrendered and completed spiritual inventory today. Cindy has one disciple prepped for baptism. Festus planted two new home fellowships. Another fruitful day. God is great!
July 14
Several spiritual inventories and repentence today. One a feared witch. Two baptisms and one new house church. We praise God.
July 14 cont
Give to those who ask. What a clear command. Poses a challenge when folks ask all the time and the more you say yes, the more they ask. Trying to strike a balance between needs and wants, and filtering out manipulation and abuse. Pls pray for Cindy and I to be discerning and exercise wisdom. There is an assumption we are rich cuz we r white Americans, but in actuality have very limited resources.
July 15 cont
Finally home from the mission to Eastern Kenya. Training a new team from Nairobi: David on lead, Joseph, Noah, and Godfrey for Lk 10 teams. This mission not as anticipated. TOld to expect 50 pastors; found 15 widows instead. We did see many repent, including a witch, and started one new fellowship after baptizing a couple Justus and Elizabeth.
July 16
Just baptized three folks: a muslim leader and his wife (Yusef and Florence) and Rose’s son Georgie. Doing spiritual inventory with two folks as I write this. Also included are photos from the baptism of Justus and Elizabeth in Eastern Kenya.
July 17
The power of multiplication! I have a week off due to a scheduling mistake by the coordinator of the mission I had on the calendar for this week. But the work continues. David Wanjala was called to Kisii by Festus, his prize disciple who baptized 8 last week and planted two new home fellowships. The traditional (institutional) pastors in the area were in awe as to the enormous success of Festus’s ministry and asked me and David to go to Kisii and teach them. Well, since I had a mission scheduled and had several baptisms planned this week, we sent David solo. Below is the report from David.

“The Nairobi team spared the money you gave them and gave to me for bus fare to meet and teach in Kisii. Instead of 20, there were 23 pastors. I have successfully taught two kingdoms, freedom from sin, spiritual inventory, discipleship, and church planting. AMAZING! No one rejects. Went through inventory with 13 pastors. All promise to start house churches. They shall all be going out two-by-twos (Luke 10 style) tomorrow and Wednesday with Festus’s team. I am on my way back to prepare for Machacos mission. The 23 pastors in Kisii need Shepherd’s Storybook and 200 tracts. I have given them Kingdom Expansion Series.”

The consensus of followers of my facebook posts is that the amazing DAILY fruit of this mission is unprecedented and frankly, hard to believe. Well, we have done nothing in secret. Our mission message, model, and method is published and available for free for all. It is simply New Testament practice and early church doctrine applied in the most practical of methods. Low budget, no formal education, no institutional controls; just a movement launched multi-generationally and organically.

If you would like to see such fruit in your location, go to www.kingdomdriven.org and read and apply the materials found there. We are literally just applying the field-proven resources we have published. Or if you want hands-on training, schedule a two or three week visit with us here in Kenya, and we will train you. You are very welcomed!

July 18
Many microloans going out. These are another tool used to keep our mission low budget and get a good team for a workforce. For example, you may wonder who supports David and Festus, or even Silas, Henry, Tonny and Erastus. These men are all KDM teammembers who receive not-a-penny of support. But they ALL have received one-time microloans or gifts to support their families which allows them to commit undivided attention to Kingdom expansion. Employees with no salaries: folks laboring for God’s glory, not a paycheck. Love it!
July 19
Here is a report from the front lines: from Festus, David Wanjala’s disciple, a man whom I have never personally met.

“David, the pastors and leaders appreciate much of what they heard you teach here. We have gone out with them in twos and today we have just baptized 5 people. The 13 pastors you went through inventory with them have started house churches already. The baptized 5 had no bibles and therefore I gave one each. They come from another village a bout 3km away and therefore I gave them the shepherds story books to start house churches.

By the way, did you realize that amongst those pastors you taught there was one visitor who is a senior man in Kenya Department of Defense? Immediately you left he came to me and said he had never heard of what you taught though he was in church for so long. I went through inventory with him and he told me to tell you that he is organizing for a meeting in Lanet barracks for you to teach a bout 120 soldiers for 3 days, then move to Eastleigh for other group of a bout 50 soldiers.He says he is doing it in one week from now. He asked me for your email and telephone number. This is awesome brother. You still have much to do. I will be in Nairobi shortly to see you and the progress of my business then back in the field.

The pastors liked the books especially KES and TWO KINGDOMS.

See you brother,
Festus.”

July 19 cont
Here is a great report emailed to me today! Some info concealed for security reasons.

“Hi Marc! I don’t know how to call you but from my point of view you must be an apostle. Well,i am one of the former 3 Imams if at all you heard of it,who surrendered to the Kingdom message which was preached to us by beloved David in ???????.We were baptized publicly and it brought rough time on us. We received threats to be killed by the rowdy Muslims so,we ran away with no intention of turning away from Christ whom we proclaim as now the Lord. David gave us bibles and Shepherds Story books.We started a house church in ???????? in one of our friends house who also accepted and surrendered and baptized him. We are living in a rental house, my house was burned immediately i ran away from ?????????.They stopped paying me even for the work I was doing. I called David and he sent me some of his clothes for us and our children.This doesn’t shock us, Jesus says it is blessings to be poor, I just read it Yesterday.
We have been secretly teaching this message to our Muslim families here and now we have 17 Muslims converted by the Gospel of the Kingdom. We are baptizing them tomorrow about 5 kilometers away from Muslim community.The strategy is that after baptism we send them to our extended families far apart to ensure that all our families have received this message. we are doing this immediately. I will be back to ??????? ?????? evening to collect my documents i left with one of my friends.I will look for David and be back by ????????. Now, though this is happening, the challenge is that we have no resources until we get on our feet again.This dear ones need bibles, Kingdom Expansion Series,tracts and shepherds books. If KDM can be able to support us for the time being at least 25 English bibles, 15 swahili bibles and as many Kingdom Expansion Series and Shepherds storybooks as possible just for once because we are organizing to start buying ours with the funds that we are expecting. Please help us if this email reaches the head of this missions. Otherwise, blessings.

?????????, ?????????”

July 20
Text from David at Machakos mission following full day of teaching, Day 2 of mission:

“Went out just 3hrs, 40 people were reached with the kingdom message, 18 surrendered, taking them through spiritual inv this afternoon as pastors watch, baptizing 8 tomorrow morn. The msg on the tracts and Luke 10 amazes ppl. bro, you brought revival here.”

July 21 (this morning)
Taught gosp of kingdom to 18 yesterday. well received. 4 pastors present. encouraging testimonies after. highlight was a woman who attended teaching two weeks back who was very sick, likely malaria, testified that she was healed when i had prayed for her. an observation. seen miraculous healings in the US, but pray for 10 and see only one. here, pray for two and see one healed. i think it is their God-RELIANCE, FAITH, AND SPIRITUAL WORLDVIEW. They have no money for alternative care, and deal with curses and witchdoctors as common fare. so a disproportionate number of healings here. in west, you reach for advil when you have a headache. they pray. annoyance is they want me to pray as if i have the power, and not the God i serve. funny story. woman had bad headache and asked for prayer. prayed for her and then offered her advil. she refused meds cuz headache was instantly gone. we had several healings at the eastern mission. one elderly widow had tingling in her left arm, sign of possible heart condition. immediately healed.

Short-term mission in Kenya

First and foremost all glory, and praise to God for all the amazing things that happened during this two week mission. Many objectives were accomplished; if you have been following Marc’s post on FB then you have read about the fruitfulness of this trip. It was awesome to see God’s hand at work in the lives of those we came in contact with as well as members of the mission team! One purpose for this trip was to disciple and motivate locals in Kenya, as well as the brothers from Uganda and American. We desire to become laborers in the harvest by planting Jesus into the hearts of men.

The main focus of this trip was to further God’s kingdom. We did this by coupling Jesus’ purpose for being sent, found in Luke 4:43. Along with the great commission, which is to make disciples, (obedient followers of Christ) found in Matt. 28:19-20. If Jesus was sent to do the will of the Father and speak the very words the Father told Him to speak, John 12:49-50, then we must do the the same. Jesus said his purpose was to preach the gospel of the kingdom; not only did Jesus make disciples but he rose from the grave and commanded us to make disciples. As we walked through the slums of Nairobi and the villages of western Kenya, we put Luke 10 principles into practice by letting God direct us as we looked for the man of peace (the person the Lord has been working on that is ready to receive the message and take it forward).

The message we shared is the same message Jesus taught, “the gospel of the kingdom.” It is a call to commitment, a call to surrender, and it is a message that describes a total change of allegiance from the kingdom of this world to the kingdom of God! Yes that allegiance happens now while we are still on earth, while we are still breathing oxygen. We are called as Christians not only to be citizens of God’s kingdom, but to live for God’s kingdom. The very laws of heaven are firmly established today and meant to be obeyed.

It was amazing to see people making a choice to change their allegiance from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light! A prostitute was delivered and surrendered her life to follow Christ, a child was healed, and village/family leaders told friends and family to come and listen to the message we shared because they knew it was the truth. The Spirit was truly preparing the way for the message and convicting the hearts of those seeking.

In John 15:1-10 Jesus gives a great example of citizenship in the kingdom, we see two aspects in this passage: 1) gaining citizenship/getting on the vine 2) remaining a citizen/staying on the vine. We also see in James 4:4 that we can make ourselves an enemy of God by aligning ourselves with the world. In Luke 17:21 Jesus says, “the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” Therefore we seek to plant the seed of the kingdom into the hearts of men and we pray that it will take route. We seek to identify disciples and as we do we invest in that person just a Jesus did.

With short-term missions, discipleship is a tough thing to do. Jesus said “teach them to obey everything I have commanded.” That is why it is important to have followers of Christ left behind that will continue the work. That is a part of what made this short mission a success; there are committed saints left in Kenya that will, and are, continuing to labor for the kingdom. They are following up and discipling individuals, physical needs are being met, and home fellowships are forming. As people repent and follow Jesus, more ground will be taken for the kingdom.

the short-term mission trip to Kenya has ended, but the mission itself has not!

Luke 4:43

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

Matthew 28:19-20

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

19  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

John 12:49-50

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

49  For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”

John 15:1-10

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

15 “ I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

James 4:4

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Luke 17:21

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”