Monday, June 22, 2015

You and Your Whole House

In August of 2013, Sean embarked on an exploratory trip to Kenya. We had already received the call a year before that, and we felt God was opening the door and saying "It's time to move forward." While in Kenya, the Holy Spirit ordered Sean's steps the entire time as he walked out the truth of Ephesians 2:10:
For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

One of those divine appointments occurred on August 5, 2013. That was the day Sean met a man named Dennis. Here is part of my blog post recounting the story:
The other day, Sean and his friend Julius hired a piki-piki to take them somewhere. When the driver heard that Sean was going to preach on Sunday, he asked Sean to come and preach to him one day. So Sean decided that instead of walking to the meeting place on Sunday, he would hire Dennis to drive him there instead~that way he would be able to stay for the service.

Dennis had recently heard the gospel from another customer, and after hearing the same words from Sean he decided that God must be speaking to him! So he repented of his sins and joined the family of God! Later on, Sean visited Dennis' home and shared the gospel with his wife, who is a Muslim. Please keep her in your prayers~we are believing for this whole house to be saved! (Acts 16:31)

For those of you who took that prayer request to heart~God heard you!!! Dennis' wife Zena was baptized into the body of Christ yesterday. She had been raised a Muslim, but when she saw the transformation that had taken place in her husband~she knew that there was something to this "Jesus". Dennis no longer spent all his earnings on alcohol and partying. He no longer slept around with other women. He came home to his family every night and he began to behave like a godly husband and father. She asked many questions and listened to the answers carefully. She saw the power of God evident in the lives of other believers around her. One night she had a dream/vision that a man came into her room and said:
"I have come to cleanse your heart."
Not long after that she burned some very important Islamic papers she had been given that were supposed to provide protection for her. She began to attend our home fellowship, and received deliverance during corporate praise, prayer and worship on 3 separate occasions. God sovereignly moved without any help from us! It was amazing to behold.

Zena knew that she needed to take that last and most important step of being baptized, and after watching the 2 baptisms last Sunday, she finally decided it was time to take the "plunge"! Three other ladies also joined her. It was definitely a time of rejoicing! Please join us in praying for Zena to be strong in the Lord as she is already receiving opposition from her Muslim family. She is now harassed for being baptized~especially because she chose to do it during during Ramadan. Please also be praying for Zena's niece, Sharifa (shown in the picture above) and Zena's entire family to be saved.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

One year in Kenya

Life in Missions from Missions Machine on Vimeo.


Sorry it has been so long since I've done a blog post~honestly most days I can't put two coherent thoughts together!  I do update on Facebook more often, so you can stay updated better through our ministry page there (see the sidebar here on the blog).

We arrived in Kenya on May 14, 2014.  The past year has whizzed by so quickly, yet crawled by so excruciatingly slowly at the same time.  It's hard to explain.  This has definitely been the hardest year of our lives, but at the same time we have seen God do the most amazing things!

Our church family in Australia asked us to make a video about life in Missions.  I'm posting it here in case anyone has a half an hour to kill and you want to see me do the ugly cry.  We are planning on making another video soon that will cover the past year more thoroughly as to what God has had us doing here in Mombasa.

One thing we are so grateful for, is the faithfulness of God shown through the love, care, prayers and support of our brothers and sisters in Christ in America, Australia and Canada.  You have carried us through this past year in so many wonderful ways.  ASANTE SANA (thank you very much).  We love and appreciate you more than words can express!