Wow, this time as flown by.
I don't have long but I wanted to make sure you all know we are alive.
We are all doing great, but rest will be great once we get a chance to slow down (on the plane??). The crusades have been good, busy and learning experiences for all of us in this totally different culture. Freedom is defiently a theme we've all been learning.
We only have a few short days left of ministry and we are excited for the opportunities that are still to come. We have each been blessed with opportunities with children these past weeks, and we will be changed forever because of it. I thank you for your support and prayers, they don't go unnoticed.
We will be arriving on Canadian ground in 5 short days so prayers concerning traveling will be appriecated.
A lot of us have mixed feelings on whether we are ready to be back but are so thankful for the length of THIS stay. Hense the THIS, we love Africa. :)
Bye for now followers, you'll hear from us soon when we've arrived back to Canada.
Speaking for the team,
Neema aka Deana :)
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The Journey Is Long
Hey Everyone,
thanks again for reading this blog. Sorry that we are unable to consistantly interact with you but I do have a second to update you now.
Every morning my African Papa, James, and Rev. Captain both tell us girls, "eat more, and hurry up the journey is long"...haha Today I'm feeling this way about our time here. But it is so good!
We were able able to bless two communities this weekend with crusades going on at the same time. The team was split up so it is difficult to tell how both went but the sessions I was at were wonderful. Jesus' is defiently at work here in these peoples lives.
Also we are totally being protected by God and I figured that would be encouraging for all to hear.
I will just ask you to pray for a few things:
- A sister here, Caroline, just gave birth to a baby last night and lost it just today. This will be the 4th baby after 3 still births.
- Protection while traveling.
- For the hearts in the upcoming leadership training (Mon & Tues) and crusades (Thurs, Friday, Sat).
- For energy, many of us are becoming tired.
- refer back to others, I am getting yelled at to leave ;)
Thank you all for your support, we really feel the benefits from it here :)
Love and God Bless,
Your sister in Christ,
Deana Dale
thanks again for reading this blog. Sorry that we are unable to consistantly interact with you but I do have a second to update you now.
Every morning my African Papa, James, and Rev. Captain both tell us girls, "eat more, and hurry up the journey is long"...haha Today I'm feeling this way about our time here. But it is so good!
We were able able to bless two communities this weekend with crusades going on at the same time. The team was split up so it is difficult to tell how both went but the sessions I was at were wonderful. Jesus' is defiently at work here in these peoples lives.
Also we are totally being protected by God and I figured that would be encouraging for all to hear.
I will just ask you to pray for a few things:
- A sister here, Caroline, just gave birth to a baby last night and lost it just today. This will be the 4th baby after 3 still births.
- Protection while traveling.
- For the hearts in the upcoming leadership training (Mon & Tues) and crusades (Thurs, Friday, Sat).
- For energy, many of us are becoming tired.
- refer back to others, I am getting yelled at to leave ;)
Thank you all for your support, we really feel the benefits from it here :)
Love and God Bless,
Your sister in Christ,
Deana Dale
Monday, August 2, 2010
God is Faithful
Dear faithful readers,
So sorry that we are unable to write on this blog more to keep you up to date on our happenings! The team is having such a fantastic time in this beautiful land and today you will be able to hear from all the college girls on what's going on here. Yesterday we were given a day of rest because of fatigue due to daily traveling and just being generally busy in the day. I will leave you to hear from the rest of the girls...
_____
Alisha- Jambo, all! I am writing to say that we are all healthy. We have had a few minor allergy problems dealt with medication. Rob rolled his ankle playing ball with some young men, but it was not bad and he is doing fine. God has been very good to us because none of us are significantly ill. We are being fed well. We wash our hands in a sanitary way before each meal. We are given only bottled water to drink. We have a group handsanitizer that is used continuously. We eat a lot of rice and authentic meals. Asante! Thanks!
_____
Jambo everyone! This is Megan M.
One of the main ministry opportunities we have to be be a part of is the crusades going on. Our first crusade in the village of Ebuhando is ow finished with many people accepting Christ for the first time, finding freedom and a new found love for Christ. We were able to minister through song, testimonies and preaching. Josh and Deana shared their testimonies and gave great challenges. The worship we shared wit the Africans is very different from what they are used to. A lot of our team has found freedom in worship by watching an being a part of the joy and excitement the Kenyans put into praising the Lord. The African worship is very vibrant and not constrained by time. We have never experienced anything like it before and it is beyond words. Anthony was able to preach on the final day of the crusade and left the people with knowledge of the love of Christ and how he is able to fulfill a hurting people.
On Sunday the team was split up to minister to different churches. Cory, Glenn and Kathy were all able to preach in the churches they went to. The ladies presented a song (which was also the first time for some to sing individually into a mic!!) Kathy and some members were able to attend a meeting for woman leaders, where Kathy had the opportunity to speak.
That is just a little update on our ministry times. God Bless!
_____
Jambo from Casey!
We have been finding it somewhat difficult to find time to be together as a team with us all sleeping in 3 different locations with hours between us. We have been taking the time to pray, worship and talk together after supper everyday before we leave for our separate homes. This is easily the favorite part of my day and I aM sure that it is also for many others :) We have also had the time to practice 2 skits as a team anad have already presented one and are actively [praying for oppouru7nities to share the second. We also have been bonding a lot on our long commutes. God Bless!
_____
Jambo all readers!
I dont have a lot of time to write this but I want to say thanks for all of your prayers and support!! I just wanted to share a bit about things that have been happening.
Everyday we are blessed to be able to spend so much time pouring into the children in the village. All of them have needs, most of which we cannot meet. However, the Lord has been bringing specific children to our attention that need the most love and help. A couple of days ago Delores was asked by a mother if she could take one of her children back to Canada with her. We have been experiencing so much of this hopelessness and sadness that it becomes overwhelming. But God is faithful! We have definitely noticed a HUGE difference in many of the children since the first day that we spent with them. There is so much more that I could share, but unfortunately am out of time. I want to thank you again for your continued support.
Love in Christ,
Megan Wright
_____
Thank you all for your prayers because we definitely see the work here from your faithfulness! God is doing great things and I can't wait to share with you specific stories after we return. I'm missing home a bit, like lying under the stars with friends, but we are lying under the stars as a team and my Africian family is taking good care of us. On Sunday we got asked "how are you, how are you, how is OBAMA" haha
Here are some prayer requests:
- good health
- softened hearts for the people we are still to minister to
- God's protection over the people who recently gave their hearts to Jesus at the crusade
- protection during traveling
- orphans that we minister to on Tuesday and Thurs (orphans)
- unnamed prayer requests
Thanks again,
Love and many thanks,
Deana :)
So sorry that we are unable to write on this blog more to keep you up to date on our happenings! The team is having such a fantastic time in this beautiful land and today you will be able to hear from all the college girls on what's going on here. Yesterday we were given a day of rest because of fatigue due to daily traveling and just being generally busy in the day. I will leave you to hear from the rest of the girls...
_____
Alisha- Jambo, all! I am writing to say that we are all healthy. We have had a few minor allergy problems dealt with medication. Rob rolled his ankle playing ball with some young men, but it was not bad and he is doing fine. God has been very good to us because none of us are significantly ill. We are being fed well. We wash our hands in a sanitary way before each meal. We are given only bottled water to drink. We have a group handsanitizer that is used continuously. We eat a lot of rice and authentic meals. Asante! Thanks!
_____
Jambo everyone! This is Megan M.
One of the main ministry opportunities we have to be be a part of is the crusades going on. Our first crusade in the village of Ebuhando is ow finished with many people accepting Christ for the first time, finding freedom and a new found love for Christ. We were able to minister through song, testimonies and preaching. Josh and Deana shared their testimonies and gave great challenges. The worship we shared wit the Africans is very different from what they are used to. A lot of our team has found freedom in worship by watching an being a part of the joy and excitement the Kenyans put into praising the Lord. The African worship is very vibrant and not constrained by time. We have never experienced anything like it before and it is beyond words. Anthony was able to preach on the final day of the crusade and left the people with knowledge of the love of Christ and how he is able to fulfill a hurting people.
On Sunday the team was split up to minister to different churches. Cory, Glenn and Kathy were all able to preach in the churches they went to. The ladies presented a song (which was also the first time for some to sing individually into a mic!!) Kathy and some members were able to attend a meeting for woman leaders, where Kathy had the opportunity to speak.
That is just a little update on our ministry times. God Bless!
_____
Jambo from Casey!
We have been finding it somewhat difficult to find time to be together as a team with us all sleeping in 3 different locations with hours between us. We have been taking the time to pray, worship and talk together after supper everyday before we leave for our separate homes. This is easily the favorite part of my day and I aM sure that it is also for many others :) We have also had the time to practice 2 skits as a team anad have already presented one and are actively [praying for oppouru7nities to share the second. We also have been bonding a lot on our long commutes. God Bless!
_____
Jambo all readers!
I dont have a lot of time to write this but I want to say thanks for all of your prayers and support!! I just wanted to share a bit about things that have been happening.
Everyday we are blessed to be able to spend so much time pouring into the children in the village. All of them have needs, most of which we cannot meet. However, the Lord has been bringing specific children to our attention that need the most love and help. A couple of days ago Delores was asked by a mother if she could take one of her children back to Canada with her. We have been experiencing so much of this hopelessness and sadness that it becomes overwhelming. But God is faithful! We have definitely noticed a HUGE difference in many of the children since the first day that we spent with them. There is so much more that I could share, but unfortunately am out of time. I want to thank you again for your continued support.
Love in Christ,
Megan Wright
_____
Thank you all for your prayers because we definitely see the work here from your faithfulness! God is doing great things and I can't wait to share with you specific stories after we return. I'm missing home a bit, like lying under the stars with friends, but we are lying under the stars as a team and my Africian family is taking good care of us. On Sunday we got asked "how are you, how are you, how is OBAMA" haha
Here are some prayer requests:
- good health
- softened hearts for the people we are still to minister to
- God's protection over the people who recently gave their hearts to Jesus at the crusade
- protection during traveling
- orphans that we minister to on Tuesday and Thurs (orphans)
- unnamed prayer requests
Thanks again,
Love and many thanks,
Deana :)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
God Has Not Forgotten
How powerful are those words! We landed in Kenya only a few short days ago. Praise God that we got here safely and are able to be here and bless people, yet I feel like we are the ones getting so blessed! Everyone here is so giving despite not having much of their own! It is so convicting to a lot of us and it is difficult to just sit back and not be able to give much back but our ministry! And how truly excited they are for our time here.
Yesterday was our first full day here and it was supposed to be our day of rest. The day consisted of a wonderful Kenyan Church service welcoming the mazungus (thats us white people + Anthony- who is considered white here! haha). We sang, danced and praised the Lord for the work he will do during the crusades here! This service was so long and so powerful and I believe a lot of us will be learning to whole heartedly do worship, despite how silly it may seem to us now! I'm so excited for God to be breaking down those barriors for us! Grace, the woman who the 5 girls are staying with, spoke so passionately about how God has NOT forgotten the people in these lands with so much power and I know I got so excited about the work they KNOW is going to happen. There are no doubts in any of our minds that something powerful is going to come out of this ministry here! Bwana asifiwe! Everyone says amen? :)
We Canadians are quickly getting used to a lot of rice, pit latrenes and sponge baths! It is all so wonderful, and the landscape? How can we not praise the Lord after seeing the beauty he has created!
We are being so blessed by all the children we encounter! They all love to shake our hands and say "how are you, how are you?" because that's all a lot of the public school kids know how to say. The private school kids do know quite a bit of english though, along with a lot of the adults, which makes it quite easy for us muzungus! But we are still practicing the lines that Kennedy taught us, way back during the planning for this trip in Caronport. The people all light up when they see us, they wave, they laugh and sometimes run after us. I'm always left wondering what they are saying to us in their language.
Jet lag? I think we have all defeated it and are just ready to start the crusades tomorrow. Please be praying for the Lord to change these peoples hearts, so that they can say "blessed be the name of the lord" despite anything they are going through. It is difficult to see the street kids and the poor kids and I just want to pick them up and take them home, instead I just pray that something will change in their hearts and the Lord will see them and fill their hearts! Please keep these hurting kids in your prayers!
It is almost time to me to return to Benyore, but I hope you will remember these prayer requests:
- safety against disease and infection
- effectiveness in ministry
- that the language barrior won't be a problem
- physical strength for the team as this will be a tiring time (long days, physically demanding, spiritually demanding)
- wisdom and clarity for the leaders of the crusades (July 29th-Aug 1st)
- team unity, we need to stay connected so there is no room for the devils attack in this area.
This is all that comes to mind, and I will be checking in as much as possible(every few days) to keep you all updated. I hope you realize I did just travel 10 minutes by motorbike to write this to you. It was sweeeeeet! So I will be coming back again to write more, especially for this experience.
God bless you all for your prayers, support and love.
Nakupenda from Africa,
On behalf of the Caronport to Kenya team, Deana Phillips!
Ps. Happy birthday Daddy :)
Yesterday was our first full day here and it was supposed to be our day of rest. The day consisted of a wonderful Kenyan Church service welcoming the mazungus (thats us white people + Anthony- who is considered white here! haha). We sang, danced and praised the Lord for the work he will do during the crusades here! This service was so long and so powerful and I believe a lot of us will be learning to whole heartedly do worship, despite how silly it may seem to us now! I'm so excited for God to be breaking down those barriors for us! Grace, the woman who the 5 girls are staying with, spoke so passionately about how God has NOT forgotten the people in these lands with so much power and I know I got so excited about the work they KNOW is going to happen. There are no doubts in any of our minds that something powerful is going to come out of this ministry here! Bwana asifiwe! Everyone says amen? :)
We Canadians are quickly getting used to a lot of rice, pit latrenes and sponge baths! It is all so wonderful, and the landscape? How can we not praise the Lord after seeing the beauty he has created!
We are being so blessed by all the children we encounter! They all love to shake our hands and say "how are you, how are you?" because that's all a lot of the public school kids know how to say. The private school kids do know quite a bit of english though, along with a lot of the adults, which makes it quite easy for us muzungus! But we are still practicing the lines that Kennedy taught us, way back during the planning for this trip in Caronport. The people all light up when they see us, they wave, they laugh and sometimes run after us. I'm always left wondering what they are saying to us in their language.
Jet lag? I think we have all defeated it and are just ready to start the crusades tomorrow. Please be praying for the Lord to change these peoples hearts, so that they can say "blessed be the name of the lord" despite anything they are going through. It is difficult to see the street kids and the poor kids and I just want to pick them up and take them home, instead I just pray that something will change in their hearts and the Lord will see them and fill their hearts! Please keep these hurting kids in your prayers!
It is almost time to me to return to Benyore, but I hope you will remember these prayer requests:
- safety against disease and infection
- effectiveness in ministry
- that the language barrior won't be a problem
- physical strength for the team as this will be a tiring time (long days, physically demanding, spiritually demanding)
- wisdom and clarity for the leaders of the crusades (July 29th-Aug 1st)
- team unity, we need to stay connected so there is no room for the devils attack in this area.
This is all that comes to mind, and I will be checking in as much as possible(every few days) to keep you all updated. I hope you realize I did just travel 10 minutes by motorbike to write this to you. It was sweeeeeet! So I will be coming back again to write more, especially for this experience.
God bless you all for your prayers, support and love.
Nakupenda from Africa,
On behalf of the Caronport to Kenya team, Deana Phillips!
Ps. Happy birthday Daddy :)
Friday, July 23, 2010
Hello Everyone,
This is Anthony Henderson writing to you from a small internet cafe in Nairobi, Kenya. Dan Jensen and I are the 'Advance Team' getting some prep work done before the rest of the team will join us on monday morning.
We had safe travels, got to see Brussels, Belgium because our flight was cancelled and met some really cool people on the way. While in Bujumbura, Burundi a deathly sick man was carried on the plane for an emergency lift to Nairobi, that moment I realized, we were not in North America anymore.
We are doing some prep work before monday, seeing the city and of course seeing where the Lord might open a door for ministry. We feel safe, everyone does seem to be interested in us, but more than that both Dan and I are eager to see and meet the people.
Folks, God is good; there is tons of evidence for it and though we feel so unworthy or unqualified to be his workmanship...suck it up. He chose us and that is a glorfious thing.
Pray for us as we are here, pray for safety; but above that, pray that we would encounter God in a way that will blow our mind away. We want to grow a faith that can move mountains. We are excited to be here and we are anticipating our God to do great things.
Pray for the rest of the team as they are meeting in Toronto and travelling to Nairobi (via London).
Blessings on you all. We know Christ will be glorified through through this work!
Praise to His Name.
Anthony
This is Anthony Henderson writing to you from a small internet cafe in Nairobi, Kenya. Dan Jensen and I are the 'Advance Team' getting some prep work done before the rest of the team will join us on monday morning.
We had safe travels, got to see Brussels, Belgium because our flight was cancelled and met some really cool people on the way. While in Bujumbura, Burundi a deathly sick man was carried on the plane for an emergency lift to Nairobi, that moment I realized, we were not in North America anymore.
We are doing some prep work before monday, seeing the city and of course seeing where the Lord might open a door for ministry. We feel safe, everyone does seem to be interested in us, but more than that both Dan and I are eager to see and meet the people.
Folks, God is good; there is tons of evidence for it and though we feel so unworthy or unqualified to be his workmanship...suck it up. He chose us and that is a glorfious thing.
Pray for us as we are here, pray for safety; but above that, pray that we would encounter God in a way that will blow our mind away. We want to grow a faith that can move mountains. We are excited to be here and we are anticipating our God to do great things.
Pray for the rest of the team as they are meeting in Toronto and travelling to Nairobi (via London).
Blessings on you all. We know Christ will be glorified through through this work!
Praise to His Name.
Anthony
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Pre-Kenya Hello to All!
An excited 'hey' goes out to all who are reading this,
This is Deana posting from Echo Bay, ON. I'm going to share with you some pre-Kenya information, let you guys know what is going on right now, prayer requests and share some of my heart with you. The next time you will probably hear from me is in the beautiful land of hot(I'll soon find out how hot!) Kenya!
I am so excited to be able to share my time in Kenya with all of you - starting in only 2 short weeks! So much has been changing in these last crutial days and it's getting a lot of the team so excited but a little bit nervous at the same time! I don't think I'd be wrong in saying that we are being tested and taught to turn to Jesus for our strength! How exciting is that?
Like I said, a lot of changes have been made, but one that will effect us every day is we will no longer be staying in huts with the locals but rather staying in a hotel while we are there. This will help us better ensure the safety of our team members while we are on this adventure! It may sound like we are taking the easy road on this one, but I'm pretty sure that this will not be a five-star experience with satelite TV. I'll let you know if I'm wrong though!
I'm hoping that all of you who are reading this will join with us in prayer. We are all in need of it for different reasons but there is one universal problem: we miss calculated the costs by about $500...each. For the 15 people from Caronport, SK that adds up to a lot of money. We only have two short weeks to gather this money, but it gives us an opportunity to show how faithful God is!
To my team members reading this: we need to not be discouraged by this, but pray hard and keep preparing ourselves spiritually, emotionaly, and physically.
Some more prayer requests I hope you will keep in mind: for Anthony's visa to return in time (as an American he would need his before hand), no problems for the rest of the team (minus a few who purchased them before) who chose to purchise their visa at the airport, for us to learn as much Swahili to help communication with the locals, no stress only soaking in the Lord to prepare ourselves, that the hearts will be softened of the people we will come in contact with and for the money we need to come in! Let's rely on the Lord for answers to these important requests. I'm sure there are more that were not brought to my attention, God knows what they are so I pray he answers them too!
It's only 14 short days until we all join together in the Toronto airport! This is such a dream come true for me! Even through my fundraising, sharing with people and my preparing spiritually for this trip, it doesnt seem real! I am so excited to love on orphans, learn how to love more genuinely by being refined in this far away land, dig my heart out for the community (in well form of course!), and to see my favourite animal-a giraffe for the first time! Of course I'm excited for everything but these are a few that first come to mind! God as blessed us with an amazing opportunity! And you've blessed us by supporting us on this endeavor and in return we will be able to bless you with our experiences and stories once we've returned, make sure you take us up on that offer!
I am already so thankful for all of you who are supporting us prayerfully, financially and in so many other ways. Without all of you, none of us would be going on this adventure to fulfill God's work! Blessings on you!
Thanks, love and many blessings,
Deana Phillips <3
This is Deana posting from Echo Bay, ON. I'm going to share with you some pre-Kenya information, let you guys know what is going on right now, prayer requests and share some of my heart with you. The next time you will probably hear from me is in the beautiful land of hot(I'll soon find out how hot!) Kenya!
I am so excited to be able to share my time in Kenya with all of you - starting in only 2 short weeks! So much has been changing in these last crutial days and it's getting a lot of the team so excited but a little bit nervous at the same time! I don't think I'd be wrong in saying that we are being tested and taught to turn to Jesus for our strength! How exciting is that?
Like I said, a lot of changes have been made, but one that will effect us every day is we will no longer be staying in huts with the locals but rather staying in a hotel while we are there. This will help us better ensure the safety of our team members while we are on this adventure! It may sound like we are taking the easy road on this one, but I'm pretty sure that this will not be a five-star experience with satelite TV. I'll let you know if I'm wrong though!
I'm hoping that all of you who are reading this will join with us in prayer. We are all in need of it for different reasons but there is one universal problem: we miss calculated the costs by about $500...each. For the 15 people from Caronport, SK that adds up to a lot of money. We only have two short weeks to gather this money, but it gives us an opportunity to show how faithful God is!
To my team members reading this: we need to not be discouraged by this, but pray hard and keep preparing ourselves spiritually, emotionaly, and physically.
Some more prayer requests I hope you will keep in mind: for Anthony's visa to return in time (as an American he would need his before hand), no problems for the rest of the team (minus a few who purchased them before) who chose to purchise their visa at the airport, for us to learn as much Swahili to help communication with the locals, no stress only soaking in the Lord to prepare ourselves, that the hearts will be softened of the people we will come in contact with and for the money we need to come in! Let's rely on the Lord for answers to these important requests. I'm sure there are more that were not brought to my attention, God knows what they are so I pray he answers them too!
It's only 14 short days until we all join together in the Toronto airport! This is such a dream come true for me! Even through my fundraising, sharing with people and my preparing spiritually for this trip, it doesnt seem real! I am so excited to love on orphans, learn how to love more genuinely by being refined in this far away land, dig my heart out for the community (in well form of course!), and to see my favourite animal-a giraffe for the first time! Of course I'm excited for everything but these are a few that first come to mind! God as blessed us with an amazing opportunity! And you've blessed us by supporting us on this endeavor and in return we will be able to bless you with our experiences and stories once we've returned, make sure you take us up on that offer!
I am already so thankful for all of you who are supporting us prayerfully, financially and in so many other ways. Without all of you, none of us would be going on this adventure to fulfill God's work! Blessings on you!
Thanks, love and many blessings,
Deana Phillips <3
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Our mission
As we arrive in Kenya our goals are simple and yet intentional, they include:
1. Preach the gospel- We have been invited to join the local church and preach during the Bunyore Crusades (evangelistic conferences) to which thousands of people will come from far away villages to hear the good news of the Scriptures.
2. Digging fresh water Wells- We want to ensure there is clean and safe water for communities around Kisumu.
3. Pastoral training- Local church pastors do not possess proper bible training or leadership coaching; often they are lay leaders with little to no education at all. We want to provide effective leadership training, in depth bible teaching and pastoral coaching.
4. Showing mercy to orphans- Kenya is plagued with diseases such as HIV/AIDS and we want to come around the good work already happening through the local church in Kenya and care for those who have lost their parents and families.
5. Giving workshops at local universities- We have been invited to come in and do a number of presentations on various topics such as: leadership development, faith in the 21st century, generation X and other useful subjects for kenya's next leaders.
1. Preach the gospel- We have been invited to join the local church and preach during the Bunyore Crusades (evangelistic conferences) to which thousands of people will come from far away villages to hear the good news of the Scriptures.
2. Digging fresh water Wells- We want to ensure there is clean and safe water for communities around Kisumu.
3. Pastoral training- Local church pastors do not possess proper bible training or leadership coaching; often they are lay leaders with little to no education at all. We want to provide effective leadership training, in depth bible teaching and pastoral coaching.
4. Showing mercy to orphans- Kenya is plagued with diseases such as HIV/AIDS and we want to come around the good work already happening through the local church in Kenya and care for those who have lost their parents and families.
5. Giving workshops at local universities- We have been invited to come in and do a number of presentations on various topics such as: leadership development, faith in the 21st century, generation X and other useful subjects for kenya's next leaders.
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