Safari Yangu

Fullness

2008-08-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

If I had to choose a word to describe my past two weeks here in Kenya, it would definitely be FULL! Not full as in I’ve been super busy - but full as in my heart has felt so full of God’s presence, joy, and peace. I’ve truly felt like a vessel “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). And let me say that it’s all a testimony to God and His working in my heart over the past year- and nothing to do with me. God has been speaking to me about fullness for over a year now and has been leading me on a journey towards it, but it seems like my heart is just finally beginning to truly experience and enter the tip of all that He’s wanted for me.

A friend sent me an e-mail as I arrived to Kenya saying that as she was praying for me, she saw a picture of a soaking wet sponge that just dripped blessing wherever it went. She saw that as I soak in the Holy Spirit, he is going to make me a dripping sponge that drips blessing wherever I walk because of HIS spirit in me instead of my own striving. I found so much freedom in her words to know that I simply get to soak in God and His amazing presence and He will do the rest. For the first time ever, I don’t feel pressure to squeeze as much “ministry” as possible into my days here. Normally I race around the village trying to visit as many people as possible, hug as many kids as possible, write as many e-mails as possible, etc. But this time is so different. I have such a peace in simply “being” here. If I spend a whole afternoon reading and journaling by the river, great! If I only visit one person during the day, but go overflowing with God’s love, great! I think I’m beginning to step into the quality of life and fullness that God created us for.

And the amazing thing is that I’m learning that we’re far more effective in this peaceful, full, abiding state than when we try to race around and “do” a bunch of things for Him each day. One of my Kenyan friends approached me the other day and said, “Kierra, when I look at you, I see hope. I see joy, peace, and hope. Something is different about you.” I asked him if I seemed different than last year and he replied, ‘Yes. Last year you seemed…somehow stressed.” Wow, I couldn’t believe how transparent my striving and stress were to him and others in this community. Thank you Lord for leading me down this journey towards fullness in you and for the new reflection of you and life in Christ that you are allowing others to see in me. This world doesn’t need more striving, stressed-out, workaholic Christians. It simply longs to see in us a reflection of the hope, freedom, peace, and joy that only God can give.

So although there’s been “ministry” that I’ve been blessed to be a part of these past two weeks, I didn’t feel like that’s what you need to hear today. I think God simply wants to invite you wherever you are to continue to “soak” in Him that He might make you an overflowing sponge that drips his presence and life wherever you go. More and more, I’m realizing that life isn’t about doing things for Him, but simply abiding in Him and allowing Him to fill us to overflowing so that He can touch others with and through us. I was planning to attach some pictures and share some stories of what God’s doing in this place, but as I tried to load the pictures onto my computer, I accidently erased them all. Yeah, big bummer! But then I felt this gentle nudging from the Holy Spirit, “Kierra, your supporters and friends don’t need to see a bunch of pictures of you doing all these “great” things in Africa. They don’t need to see you at all. They need to see me. So instead of pointing them to you and the supposed “greatness of Kierra,” will you simply point them to me? For in me is life and I am longing to overflow them with life as I am overflowing you right now). So there you have it – the King of Kings is inviting you into His presence and I pray you respond and experience the joy of His inflowing Spirit and life! (And don’t feel bad if your experience isn’t immediate. It’s a journey that takes time – but I can’t think of any journey I’d rather be on!)

Ok, one final thing. We are hosting our annual youth camp next week and would love your participation! First of all, will you please pray? We’ll have between 200-300 youth (ages 15-30) staying at our Training Center for 5 days for a time of teaching, worship, games, and fellowship. This is a hurting generation in this country – and one that seems to often be neglected. Most of the post-election violence at the beginning of the year was led and caused by groups of youth – youth who are angry, fed up with injustice, hurting, and longing for change. I’m sure that many who attend our camp will be ones who were caught up in the violence. Will you please pray that God meets them in a powerful way? Pray for the teachings, the conversations, the worship times, and for divine God encounters. Pray that each heart hears from his maker and the lover of his soul. Pray for unity and forgiveness and reconciliation and reversal of lies and strongholds of the enemy. Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill and love on these youth. Also, we still need to raise $2000 to cover the cost of this camp. Our normal funding for the camp didn’t come through this year, but we are still holding it in faith that God will bring in the resources. Though we require each youth to pay a small amount to attend, the amount they can afford is nothing compared to the cost of running the camp all week. If you’re interested in contributing towards the camp and towards these youth who are the future of this country, you can send a check to the ELI office at PO Box 67 Upland, CA 91785. Just write “Youth Camp” in the memo section. Thanks so much!

Exciting Update!

2008-07-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

Well, in less than 24 hours I’ll be on a plane heading to my beloved Kenya! It’s been a whirlwind past month and I wanted to update you before I left to catch you up on some exciting things going on in my life and to ask for your prayers.

Michael Blaser: Yep, that’s right – I met someone! God has brought the most amazing man into my life and our past month and a half of dating have been a gift straight from heaven. Michael went to Kenya with ELI in May and I conveniently got to help plan his trip. Though I thought he was amazing before he left, God didn’t let the sparks start flying for either us until right as he returned. As I talked with him to debrief his trip the day after he returned, I found a kindred heart that I have never connected with in such a powerful way. Michael is such a man after God’s own heart! He is deeply in love with Jesus and loves His people so sincerely. He’s a lover through and through and he has definitely won my heart. He’s goofy, totally fun, extremely caring, gentle, deep, passionate, humble, a leader, and so much more. Everything about him and our relationship is beyond my wildest dreams and imagination and I have sensed God’s peace, leading, spirit, and favor over us in a way I’ve never experienced before. So needless to say, we’re really excited for what God has in store for us and the journey ahead.

WOTH Retreat: What a joy to watch God refresh, heal, restore, and love on His precious daughters on this retreat. We had women attending who serve in 48 different countries around the world! Wow, talk about a powerful weekend to minister into the nations as we ministered to these mighty servants. I was amazed at how many women showed up to the retreat totally burned-out, depressed, depleted, hurting, lonely, and dry. But as we loved them throughout our time together, prayed with them, listened to them, pampered them, and asked God to minister to them, I watched Him breath hope, life, joy, peace, and energy back into his tired vessels.

The massage time was powerful for me! I massaged for 5 hours straight each day and was amazed at how much strength God gave me to persevere and finish strong. Thank you for your prayers – He definitely answered! One interaction stands out to me that I want to share with you as an encouragement. As I massaged one woman, I asked the Lord what His heart was for her. This is what He said to me:

“Kierra, you know how your heart has overflowed with love for Michael so much that it’s gotten to the point where you feel like it’s going to burst? Where the love you feel for him is too much to contain inside you and you feel like you might explode and it almost hurts? Well, that’s only the tip of the iceburg of what I feel for this daughter of mine. My heart is overflowing with more love for her than I can contain. And this is how it’s felt since the day she was born and how it will continue to feel into all eternity. For though human love comes and goes and has heights and lows, my love remains constant. I never fall out of love with my children and the intensity of my love never changes.”

Wow, I was blown away as I heard that. And the amazing thing is that this is how he feels about you and me and every other person in this world. Now if that’s not enough to put a smile in your heart today, I don’t know what is.

Hope Walks: I’ve mentioned in past updates that we’re holding an event called Hope Walks on November 1st to raise money for our kids in D.R. Congo. Basically, it’s an opportunity for kids here to raise money and walk on behalf of orphans and vulnerable children affected by the AIDS crisis in Africa. It’s a fundraising and awareness building day that we’re hoping will also unite churches and the community of Brea. I encourage you to read more about it at www.hopewalks.org/brea. And I also encourage you to be involved! If you live near the Brea area (Southern California), you can register to walk online and join us for a fun day! Or, if you’re unable to attend, you can sponsor me to walk at www.active.com/donate/hopewalksbrea/KHiggin16. Or, if you work for a company that might be interested in sponsoring the walk, you can give them the attached letter. We are looking for event sponsors right now to help us cover the cost of the event so that all money raised by the kids and other walkers can go straight to Africa without paying for any overhead. We’re hoping to raise about $9000 from event sponsors, so please talk to your companies, or pass this info on to others who might be interested. Let me know if you have any other questions, and feel free to pass my contact info to others. Thanks so much!

Kenya and D.R. Congo: As I leave for Africa tomorrow, I have a sense that God is inviting me on a 6-week honeymoon with him (others have told me this as well as they’ve been praying for me). I am excited to go and dive into depths of a friendship with him that I have yet to enter. I have such a deep desire to grow in my friendship and intimacy with Him right now and am excited to have six weeks away to do just that. I’m also excited to serve, love on our staff and kids, host the team coming, etc, but mostly I’m looking forward to soaking in God. I’ve felt Him say that this trip isn’t so much about going to “do” for Him, but to go and “be” with him. In John 15, Jesus says to His disciples, “I no longer call you servants, but friends.” In the past, I’ve always gone to Africa with the mindset of a servant, but this time I hear God inviting me to come as a friend. Jesus’ ministry flowed out of an intimate friendship with God – not just trying to do a bunch of things FOR God. That’s my desire as well. So please pray for me as He leads you in this! I would also love prayers for my health and protection (especially as I travel to D.R. Congo in Sept).

Thanks friends- I treasure you so much and truly love walking this journey with you!

He Restores My Soul

2008-07-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

All right friends, I’m calling all prayers to enter into battle for me this coming week! I leave next Tuesday, July 8th to start set-up for the Women of the Harvest Retreat that we’re hosting from the 10th-13th. I’ll be serving on the volunteer staff team along with 33 other women to host a weekend of refreshment, healing, encouragement, joy, and restoration for over 100 women coming home for furlough after years of service for God’s Kingdom in countries all over the world.
The goal of the retreat is to provide spiritual, physical, and emotional refreshment for these ladies. We hope to remind them of their true identity as beloved daughters of the King, provide refreshing times of worship, study of the Word, prayer, and rest, demonste God’s lavish love through gifts, pampering, beauty, healthy physical touch, fun and laughter, and create a haven environment where we provide listening, counseling, small groups, and a chance to interact with others who “get their life.”
Wow, what a joy to participate in bringing this type of love and refreshment to God’s precious daughters! Throughout the weekend I will be providing massages, leading a small group of 7 women, helping with set-up & clean up each day, and providing love and encouragement in any other way I can.
I covet your prayers for the week as you intercede for me and these women. Please pray for:
Finger, hand, arm, leg, and back strength for me! I have never given more than 4 massages in a row before, so I am going to need some extreme Holy Spirit power to flow through my body the whole weekend.
Anointed hands for healing. I long for God’s healing power to flow through my hands as I massage and pray over these women. Pray for emotional, spiritual, and physical healings.
Wisdom, discernment, and a sensitivity to God’s Spirit as I lead my small group. Pray that his Spirit mightily touches each woman in my group and fills our conversations and prayer times together!
Thanks so much friends! I am excited to report to you all the incredible ways that God moves during this week!

Sonship

2008-07-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

God has been taking me on an incredible journey of freedom this past month and I am excited to continue down this pilgrimage with him. I learned about an 8-month course called “Sonship” when I was in Colorado last month, and I am now three weeks into it. Through readings, homework assignments, cd lectures, and phone discipling sessions with a professional counselor each week, the course leads people from living as orphans under the law to sons and daughters of the King living in the freedom of grace.
I have been challenged to the core as my perfectionist and people-pleasing tendencies have been rooted up and exposed for what they really are - the desire to promote the greatness of Kierra rather than the greatness of God. I’m realizing that my desire for the praise and approval of everyone around me is actually the desire for them to worship me instead of the King of Kings. It’s humbling to learn, but so healthy and freeing! I’m breaking free from the bondage of worrying about the opinions of other people as I understand my identity as a completely forgiven, deeply loved, sinner saved by grace alone. I am a daughter of the King free to simply point others to HIM! You can read more about the sonship course at www.whm.org/grow.

What I've Been Up To

2008-07-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

Speaking - Thanks so much for your prayers for my preaching time at Sun Hills Church in Sacramento! God gave me a clear message for his children there about the fullness of life that He longs for them to experience, along with every other person on this planet. It was a joy to watch him move in many lives that morning - including my own!
I also had the joy of recently sharing at a VBS where the theme for the week was ‘Love Ilula” (one of the Kenyan villages we work in). The children spent the week doing odd jobs around their homes and neighborhoods to raise money to help us care for our 96 orphans in Ilula. It was amazing to hear parents tell about the attitude shift in their kids throughout the week, especially in Wal-Mart and grocery aisles. Suddenly children who used to whine and complain for every toy in the store were educating their parents about children around the world who don’t have toys or even food most days.
Still Writing - Though the process is slow, my book is still coming along. I am now completely finished with the first 7 chapters and should have the next three finished soon! The last five are works in progress, but I’m hopeful that I can finish the entire first draft by September.
Oh friends, as I listen to God’s heart and write, I am learning much about the fullness that he longs for us to live in. He longs to give you a life-transforming revelation of His love so that you might be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19). He longs for us to live, serve, and love out of fullness! So often we do these things out of obligation, duty, guilt, or a striving spirit. But His heart desires to overflow your cup with His intoxicating love and fullness and for your life to simply be characterized by the overflow of that cup. The world doesn’t need to see more striving Christians - it simply needs to taste and drink of the living water that freely overflows out of our cups.
Training - I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to receive and give a lot of mission training these past few months.
The training weekend in Colorado was amazing! My ideas about community development, discipleship, empowerment, and the Kingdom were deeply challenged, stretched, deepened, and transformed. I came away from the weekend with such a heart to truly disciple people as Jesus did and lead them into an experience of His Kingdom in every area of their lives. I want to see His Kingdom come to transform communities across the globe!
It has been fun to also provide training for our teams and interns who are heading to Africa this summer. I love getting to challenge our short-termer’s mindsets about their purpose in going, their focus during their time in Africa, their approach to ministry, and the attitude of their hearts. It’s fun to watch light bulbs turn on in people’s eyes and the heartbeat of God begin to beat with their own.

Coming Up!

2008-07-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hawaii!!!
That’s right, my friend and co-worker Diana Hom and I head for Oahu on July 23rd! We’re excited for the SuDance events we get to serve at and for the lives in Sudan that will be touched and transformed through the help of the funds raised. We’re excited to be a voice for God’s forgotten children in Sudan at the events and churches we’ll be visiting. And we’ll be honest, we’re also excited for some fun girl time on the beaches and in God’s incredible creation! We’re hoping to learn some hula worship moves - who knows, maybe we’ll bust it out at church when we return.
Kenya & Congo!!!
I leave for Kenya on Aug 1st for a month of re-connecting with our staff and kids, hosting teams and interns, helping with the ELI annual Youth Camp, and providing massage, prayer, and love for our staff there. Then I’m off to D.R. Congo for a week with a couple others to reconnect with our staff and kids there, get updated info and stories for our Hope Walks Event coming up on Nov 1st, and seek to provide encouragement for those living and serving in this war-torn country. I can’t wait to see what God has in store and to get back on African soil! Bwana asi fiwe! (Praise the Lord!).

Summer Plans!

2008-05-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

As always in this crazy adventure, God is up to much in my heart and life, and I am excited to share it with you. I’ll take you through a quick journey of my summer plans (really exciting stuff), and then through a quick journey of where my heart and mind have been lately. So here we go:

As I look at my calendar for the coming months, I am completely blown away by God’s goodness, love, provision, and gifts. Here’s the schedule:
May 15th – 18th: Trip to Colorado Springs for a conference on Community Development and Discipleship among unreached people groups! I am so excited to spend four days learning and discussing holistic ways to bring the hope of God into communities who have never heard about Him before. I can’t wait to learn from some of the staff of Mission: Moving Mountains who have been working for 10 - 20 years among tribes in West Africa to introduce them to a God who cares about their hearts, souls, emotions, health, crops, and kids! (www.navigators.org/us/ministries/movingmountains).
June 6th – 9th: Home in Sacramento for a birthday celebration and family reunion as my sister returns from her year in Indonesia! The Higgins foursome will be back in action and I can’t wait! I'll also be preaching at Sun Hills Community Church Sunday the 8th and all are welcome! The services are at 9:00am and 10:45am and it is located at 1001 Suncast Lane, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762. I'm also excited to stop in Fresno on my drive back to do some training for one of our teams going to Kenya this summer!
July 8th – 13th: Serving at the Women of the Harvest Retreat in Irvine, CA. This one is super exciting!!!! I’ll be volunteering as staff on a retreat for women who have been serving cross-culturally around the globe and are home on furlough in the States right now. Once the women arrive at the retreat location, they are welcomed into a time of refreshment where they can relax in their hotel rooms, fellowship with other women, worship in English, receive excellent teaching from the Word, and be treated to a variety of pampering options, such as a massage, haircut, pedicure and color analysis! There will also be professional counselors and prayer partners to meet individually with women throughout the retreat. (You can read more at www.womenoftheharvest.com).
So guess what I’m volunteering to do all week? That’s right - MASSAGE!!!! I’m so excited to spend a week massaging and ministering to women who have dedicated years of service to bring God’s hope to every tribe, tongue, and nation around the globe. I’m excited to love and bless them, but also to hear their stories and learn from them (I know that many have lived in foreign cultures for 20 years!). And YOU have a chance to partner with me in this! First of all, I’m going to need some major prayers. I’ll probably be giving five 60-min massages per day, so these hands and arms are going to need some serious divine strength infused into them! I gave four massages in a row on yesterday for the first time and my muscles are feeling it big time! It was a good wake-up call to realize that I’ve got some muscle pumping to do to get ready for this retreat. I’d love your prayers for divine strength and for the healing, restoring touch of God to flow through my hands into his precious daughters. Second, there’s an opportunity for you to partner with me financially in this. I need to raise $850 to cover the costs of the week, so if you’re interested in contributing to help me bless these women, you can send a check to ELI PO Box 67 Upland, CA 91785 (just write #315 in the memo section with a comment saying WOTH retreat). Or, if you’d like to schedule a massage with me, just let me know. I’m putting all my earnings from massage towards this retreat right now, so you can get a massage and contribute at the same time!
July 22nd – 31st: Hawaii!!! Here’s the crazy story: ELI has been partnering with an organization called SuDance that is seeking to impact Sudan through the DJ/music industry (www.sudanceglobal.org). Together we’re working to find sponsors for the 200 kids at the ELI school in Southern Sudan. With the theme, “Re-mix the life of a child,” we’re excited to watch the music industry rise to the occasion to make a difference in this war-torn country. My friend Diana Hom (ELI’s new sponsorship coordinator) and I helped at a few SuDance events last month and were blown away when they invited us to fly to Hawaii with them to do some more events out there, connect with a key church, and vacation! Needless to say, we didn’t need much persuading – so on July 22nd, we’re off for an all-expense paid work/vacation trip to Hawaii. We can’t wait to see what God has in store for the connections we’ll make out there, the lives He’s going to touch in Sudan, and the fun of enjoying his breathtaking creation together! He truly is a God who continues to do immeasurably more than all I can ask or imagine! Here's a picture of Me, Diana, and DJ AJ Mora!
Aug 2nd – Sept 10th: Kenya and D.R. Congo!!! That’s right – I’m going back and I can’t wait! I’ll be in Kenya for the month of August reconnecting with our staff and kids, helping to host a team from Fresno and our annual Youth Camp, and experiencing first-hand the state of the country and people after the post-election violence and unrest. I know that there is still much pain and exhaustion in many lives from the months of unrest and I hope to be able to provide a listening ear, shoulder to cry on, healing massage, breath of fresh air, and prayers of faith for my friends and family there. I pray that God uses me to bring His refreshment, joy, healing, and hope in any way He can. Many of you have asked what the state of Kenya is like right now, so I’ll give you a brief update with what I know. For the most part, the violence has ceased and a relative calm is resting on the country. But the tragic affects of the past months will linger for years to come. There are still close to 300,000 displaced people living in camps with no homes to return to. Prices have skyrocketed and many families are struggling greatly to purchase food and basic necessities. Trust was broken as long-time friends suddenly turned on each other in the heat of the violence and the wounds of betrayal are still raw and deep. There were also hundreds of women and children treated for cases rape and sodomy in the Kenyan hospitals and I know that those physical and emotional wounds are still felt daily by the victims. So while the violence has died down, the country is still in need of much prayer, healing, and reconciliation.
During my time in Africa, I also hope to travel to the ELI school and ministry in D.R. Congo with a couple of our staff members. I can’t wait to see the 500 kids and staff at our school again and to get updated stories and info to share with supporters and churches back here. One event I’ll be gathering info for is a walk-a-thon called Hope Walks that we’ll be holding on Nov 1st in Brea, CA. Hope Walks is an opportunity for kids (and friends and families) in America to walk on behalf of orphans and vulnerable children in Africa affected by the AIDS crisis. Much of the proceeds from this walk will go to ELI’s kids in D.R. Congo. I’ll send more info about this event in the coming months because I’d love for you to participate, but for now you can read more at www.hopewalks.org.

So there you have it – the exciting travels of my summer! In between these I’ll be continuing my work in the ELI office and speaking to various groups and churches. I’m also still plugging along with my book. Though I had no idea what a long process this would be, I am still thoroughly enjoying writing it. I’m hoping to complete the entire first draft by the end of this summer and then we’ll see how God leads from there.

Oh, and while I’m talking about books, can I recommend one to you? It’s called “The Shack” by William Young and all I can say is that it rocked it my world and in many ways transformed by view of God and my relationship with Him. If you’re looking for a summer read – I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this one! And I’d love to hear your thoughts after you read it. Even for you friends who aren’t too sure about the whole God thing or are angry with him or feel like He’s abandoned you – I really recommend that you read this. It’s not a churchy book. It’s a raw, honest story of one man’s real questions to God in the midst of overwhelming pain and God’s response and dialogue. Read it and then give me a call so we can talk about it!

“Being” verbs
I’ll end this update with a little of what God’s been teaching me lately (much of this is from “The Shack.”). One of God’s names in the Bible is “I AM.” His name is a verb – a being verb. He is all about being verbs – verbs like loving, living, growing, sharing, laughing, learning, enjoying, and abiding. He’s about relationship – about being with us. I want to be about the verbs that God is about. So often, I am about “doing” verbs – things like working, accomplishing, producing, finishing, etc. I usually fall into bed at night thinking about all that I’m going to “do” the next day. But I want to start falling into bed thinking about who I’m going to “be” the next day. For this is at the center of God’s heart. He’s more concerned about who I am and about our relationship than what I’m doing throughout the day. So I’m learning to focus on being with him, being with others, and being present to each moment – and on being a woman of His love, grace, joy, and peace no matter what I’m “doing.”

Thanks for continuing to walk this journey with me. I love you all and love living this adventure with you.
In His Grip,
Kierra

Abundant Life

2008-05-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

I know that many of you are asking, “What’s next Kierra? When are you heading back to Africa?” Sorry, but I’m asking those exact same questions to the Lord myself! The future is still a bit of a mystery to me. As much as I love speaking in the States and providing ways for others to be involved in bringing God’s hope to a hurting world, my heart still longs to live in Africa full-time. But as I look into opportunities to do that, specifically working among unreached people groups, I continue to sense that it’s not quite God’s timing for me to move into that season. I know it’s coming, but for now He’s still calling me to serve Him and the people of Africa stateside. There is a book He wants me to finish, ways He wants to prepare me, and lives He still wants to touch through me here.
So while my heart longs to be overseas, I am learning to be faithful to serve in the place God has called me to now. I’ll be honest: some days it’s a struggle. But I find hope and strength in Colossians 3:4 as God reminds me of the lessons learned during my sickness. In this verse, Paul promises, “When Christ who is your life appears, you also will appear with him in glory.” During my eight months of extreme sickness, The Lord taught me the secret of abundant life through this verse. You see, Paul says, “When Christ who is your life appears,” not “Christ who is a part of your life.” Christ must become our entire life, and when He does, we will experience abundant life in any and every situation. Because in Him is life and He will never leave us or forsake us. If He is my life, I will always have abundant life - whether sicker than a dog in bed for eight months, working in the States, or living in Africa.
If I make “ministry in Africa” my life, then this season in the U.S. may feel void of abundance. But if Christ is my life, then I have just as much abundant life here in the States as I will when He relocates me to Africa one day. It’s so tempting to make other things our life: our ministry, our family, our friends, our jobs. But those things will never fully satisfy and they can be taken at any moment. I invite you to join me in this journey of making Christ our lives and finding life to the full in any and every situation.
Does this summer hold a trip to Africa? I hope so! Though it won’t be as long as my typical trips, I’m hoping to spend about a month there re-connecting with staff and friends, collecting stories to bring back to the States, and helping out with our few interns and teams. I don’t know the details or dates right now, but I’ll keep you updated. What I do know is that this summer and the coming year will be filled with abundant life in Jesus Christ my Lord!

Oh Say Can You Sing?

2008-05-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

The funniest moment of our trip was definitely at the welcome assembly Kristen’s school put on for us. Everything started out well with teachers and students giving speeches about what a great teacher Kristen is and how much they appreciate her. But things deteriorated quickly when the headmaster announced that the next item on the program was to be a Higgins Family rendition of the U.S. National Anthem. Now if you know anything about our family, you know that we have absolutely NO musical talent whatsoever. None, nada, zilch. But despite our protests, we soon found ourselves standing in front of the crowd, two lines into that monstrous anthem completely off key and unable to contain our laughter any longer. We lost it. I mean LOST IT! I don’t know the last time I've laughed that hard. We had tears streaming down our faces and I couldn’t even stand because I was laughing so hard. After finally composing ourselves, our next attempt at the song resulted in a similar breakdown of laughter two lines into it. It wasn’t until our fourth attempt that we actually made it through the entire song (voices horribly cracking at “the land of the FREE”) and received a standing ovation in response. Our laughing faces beautifully graced the front page of two newspapers the next day and we are expecting a call from American Idol any day now.

The Higgins Family in Indonesia!

2008-05-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

That’s right! In the month of January the mighty Higgins foursome reunited in Indonesia, laughing and loving in true Higgins form. Though not all went as planned (I truly believe they could make a box office hit movie “Higgins Family Vacation” from the adventure!), we had a blast being together again and seeing Kristen in what has been her “home” for the past eight months.
I must admit that this was a deeply humbling trip for me and I definitely left the islands with a new hero - my sister! I embarked on the journey priding myself in being a hard-core traveler and expert in cross-cultural ministry. Well, on arriving to a humid land of foods that didn’t agree with my stomach and heat that stole all my focus and energy, I found that I’m not as hard-core as I once liked to think - in fact, I can be quite the wimp. But I was amazed time and time again as I watched Kristen lay down her life for the people of her city, joyfully embracing discomforts to love others with the selfless love of Christ. Let me share just one example that I pray challenges you as it did me:
The fan in Kristen’s room quickly became my favorite attraction, and I was dumbfounded to learn that this treasure was a new addition to her possessions. She had lived in unbearable heat and humidity for six months with no fan! “Why?” I asked. Her reply was heartfelt and genuine: “The family I live with can’t afford a fan (a $3 purchase) so I didn’t want one either. I want to live life with these people on their level. I don’t want to be the rich American who can come over and buy whatever luxury I want. I want to break down the barriers that separate me from them - not create walls. So I bought them a fan for Christmas and bought myself one as well. Now we all have a fan in this house!”
Kristen, thank you for your example of selfless love. Thank you for the reminder of the kind of love we are called to. Thank you for laying your life down for others. You’re my hero, girl!

His Healing Touch

2008-01-02T15:26:00.001-08:00

I’m proud to announce that I am now officially certified in Swedish/American (full-body) Massage, Thai Massage, and Stretching Massage. I’ve been a busy student since arriving back to the States, but I’ve loved every second of it! It might sound strange, but massage was something that God very clearly placed on my heart this year and I know He wants to incorporate it into my ministry. My prayer is for each person I massage to feel the healing, loving, restorative touch of the Living God. I’m so excited to be able to bring it overseas to bless burnt-out missionaries, AIDS patients, others with terminal illnesses, and anyone else who needs the healing touch of God. I pray that as I bring it to unreached areas where people have never heard of Jesus, they will encounter His touch for the first time and I’ll have an opportunity to share Him with them. But it’s been fun to use it here in the States as well! I’m developing some great friendships in my classes and I love getting to pray for and minister to them as we practice on each other. I’m excited to continue new classes in the Spring and to learn more techniques to bless God’s sick, hurting, overworked, and stressed-out children.
If you’re interested in receiving a massage, or if you know someone that you want to bless with one, just e-mail or call me. It’s $35 for a 60 minute full-body massage. I wish I could make them free, but I’m trying to raise some money through them to be able to keep taking classes. I have a table and all the supplies, so I can come to you or you can come to me - whatever works best for you! And I have gift certificates that you can buy as presents for people. Oh, but missionaries are free, so let me know if you know a missionary who needs some loving on!

Knowing His Heart

2008-01-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

As I sat pondering this thing called trust one day this summer, I asked God, “Lord, why is it that after walking with you for over 20 years, I still have so much trouble trusting you with certain areas of my life?”
“It’s because you don’t fully know and believe my heart for you, Beloved,” came the gentle response. “You will never fully trust someone if you don’t know their heart and intentions towards you. So ask to know my heart for you - I want to share it with you. And once you begin to truly know my heart for you, you won’t be able to keep yourself from trusting me - it will be so natural.”
I asked Him to share His heart with me that day and share He did! As I sat before His feet that afternoon in my hut, I heard my Lord speak 15 aspects of His heart to me. Things like, “My heart longs for my joy to be in you and for your joy to be complete. My heart longs for you to experience life to the full. My heart towards you is generous and I delight in giving you the desires of your heart.”
As I wrote them down that day, I knew I needed to spend some extended time soaking in each of these truths, meditating on scriptures about them, and letting my understanding of them move from a head knowledge to a heart knowledge.
So that’s exactly what I’ve been doing these past few months. I’ve been plopping on my porch in the morning with a candle and cup of tea and letting the Holy Spirit speak to me about the incredible heart of our God. And as He reveals these truths to my spirit, I close my eyes and just type.
But the thing is, the more I type, the more I’m realizing that these words aren’t for me alone. They are words for all of God’s children. They are words of life that He wants to share with others. So, even though I didn’t plan this at all, I believe I just started writing a book! For now, I’m continuing to listen and write and am trusting Him to lead each future step in the process as it comes. It’s a bit of a daunting and intimidating adventure, but one that I’m excited to embark on with The Ever Faithful One at my side.
I’ll keep you updated, but for now, can I encourage you to ask God to share His heart with YOU also? He wants to. He really does. And trust me, when you begin to get a glimpse of it, it will change everything!

Sharing His Heart

2008-01-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

I have been so blessed by the opportunities God has given me this fall to share His heart with others - especially His heart for the nations, the poor, and the oppressed. From churches to school chapels to home fellowship groups to dessert nights, I have loved sharing stories of Africa and our incredible God and watching Him touch, challenge, and inspire lives. This picture is from an event we did in Sacramento called “Hope Walks.” Over 700 kids and their families walked to raise money for our kids in D.R. Congo. We set up simulation tents where the kids could see what a bedroom or classroom is like for a child in Africa. I was the African teacher for the day and had a total blast!
I am excited because this is more of what my job is going to look like as we move into the New Year. My season as Team Coordinator is coming to end and we are currently looking for a new person to take over that position. Though I have loved walking the journey with the teams who serve with us in Africa, the coordination and administration of the job drains me, and I’m seeing that my gifts and passions truly come alive when I get to speak, to be out and about raising awareness, and to spend time with people rather than my computer and spread sheets.

Spilled Tea and a God-encounter

2007-10-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

Friday morning I settled into my favorite place on our back porch with my tea, candles, computer, and Bible, excited to spend the morning writing with God. (He’s leading me to write a book which I’ll share more about in my next update). I had just turned my computer on when something fell on my head and to my horror, began crawling in my hand as I grabbed it. Not knowing what I was holding, I screamed and threw it, along with most of the tea in the mug I was holding. To my dismay, I watched the majority of my tea spill onto my computer and soak through the entire thing. I tried to dry it as fast as I could, but it was no use. Slowly the screen on my computer went dimmer and dimmer until it was completely black.

“Ok, don’t panic,” I told myself, “This happened in Kenya and God fixed it. He can do it again this morning.” So I prayed and asked God to revive my computer and save the hours of writing for my book that were on it. Sadly, nothing happened. “Well God, you must be up to something. I know you could fix this if you really wanted, so you must have some other plan for today. Show me what it is and how I can join you in it.”

I packed up my things and decided to drive to the laptop repair store down the street from our office. Maybe they could help. Praying the whole way to the store, I walked in with confidence that God would show up. And boy did He ever. I was met at the counter by a middle-aged man who I soon learned was named Jashwinder (Jesse for short). I told him what happened and we turned on my computer to see what he could do. And to my utter delight, it was working perfectly – the screen was bright and clear! “Thank you Lord!” I exclaimed. “Wow, I was praying that God would fix it as I drove, and He totally did.” Jesse didn’t quite know how to respond to that, but he said he’d still like to wait a little bit to make sure everything was working ok. As he fiddled with it, I began asking him questions about his job, where he came from, etc. He’s from India and moved to the States in 1985. But it’s been a lonely 22 years here. “No one seems to have time for anyone else here,” he said. “I miss India, but I can’t go back to visit because I’m still waiting for my paperwork to come through.”

As we continued to chat, I mentioned God again and he said, “Wow, you really believe in God don’t you?” “Yes,” I said with a big smile, “He’s my best friend. Do you believe in God?” “Yes, I believe in God. I feel like you have to – I mean all this can’t come from nothing,” he said. “Do you know Him,” I asked. “No, I don’t know Him,” he admitted. “I’d like to know Him, but I just can’t seem to figure out how.”

Throughout the next hour he told me about the beliefs of his religion Sikh (a form of Hinduism). He sadly admitted that he just didn’t have time to spend the 4 hours of meditation a day that was required to be able to know God. I listened and asked questions, and then shared about the God I know and how much easier it really is to know Him. Jesse was very interested and said that he would love to read a Bible if I brought one to him, and he was interested in coming to church as well.

As I was getting ready to leave, I said, “You know, I knew God was up to something this morning. He could have fixed my computer at my house, and I was asking Him to. He fixed it for me in Africa one time when I really needed Him to, and He could have done the same thing today. But He chose not to, and now I know why. He wanted me to meet you and for you to know who He is and how you can know him.” Jesse’s eyes filled with tears and he said, “Would God really do something like for me?” “Absolutely,” I said with a smile “that’s exactly the kind of God that He is.” “I can’t believe this,” Jesse exclaimed, “Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”

After praying for him, Jesse looked at me and said, “I’m really glad you came in today. I’ve never met someone like you before.” And that one line brought tears to my eyes. It still does. Because what I heard in those words was “I’ve never met someone who really cared about me and where I came from, loved me with the love of God, and was bold enough to tell me who He is.” How sad. How can this man have lived 22 years in our country and never met someone like me? I wonder how many Christians have walked into his store and never once took the time to ask his name, love him with Christ’s love, and share the truth of God with him. Because the truth is, Jesse should have met plenty of people like me throughout the past 22 years. He passes Christians every day. And yet none have reached out to him.

We don’t have to travel to a foreign country to reach the nations. The nations are coming to us. The “unreached” are at our back-doors. They are working at our laundry-mats, lap-top repair stores, restaurants, and grocery stores. They are aliens in a foreign country who are lonely, struggling to find their place, and hungry for love and God. Will you seek to reach them with me? You don’t have to go to India to be a missionary. God may very well bring a Hindu from India straight to your neighborhood so that they might be reached with the good news. Will you keep your eyes and hearts open? Will you ask for opportunities to reach the nations in your daily life? Will you allow some spilled tea and a broken computer to lead a lost child into the Kingdom? Jesus isn’t coming back until this gospel has been preached to every tribe, tongue, and nation (Matthew 24:14). Let’s finish this task so our King can return! Our commission as His followers is clear: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20.

So, what's next?

2007-09-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I arrive back to L.A. on Sept 15th and will start work again in ELI's office as I follow-up with this summer's teams, help train next year's, and do some speaking at chapels and churches.
I'm also planning to get my massage license!!! I am so excited about this as it's something that God has really put on my heart this past year. I love giving massages, but really want to get trained professionally to use this gift in ministry, especially overseas. I know there are certain massages you can learn for AIDS patients, cancer patients, and people with other terminal illnesses. Plus, I'm excited to use it to bless people in ministry who are tired, burnt out, and need a little love poured back into them. I know that it may also be a tool God uses for me to connect with and minister to people in unreached or closed areas (meaning you can't go there as a "missionary"). The possibilities are endless for what God may do with this talent and the lives He will touch. My prayer is that as I massage and pray over people, they will feel the touch of the living God and experience physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. I actually started this ministry during my time in Kenya and watched God touch and heal quite a few people (by the end, I was giving at least one massage a day). And yes, I definitely want to bless friends with it too, so once I start my classes this fall, feel free to give me a call and I'd love to come practice on you!
And I will continue to pray this fall about where God is taking me next. I will keep you updated as He leads.

A Day I Will Never Forget

2007-09-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

We were up at 6:00am packing the van with sacks full of rice and mosquito nets to bring to a remote village still unreached by relief workers; a village where my hosts, Moses and Samantha, (an amazing Cambodian Pastor and his wife) were hoping to plant a church (they have already planted about 500 churches throughout rural Cambodia!).

Four hours later we pulled into the village where people had been waiting since sun-up. Word had gotten to them that help was coming that day and they walked for miles hoping to receive food for their starving families. Before I knew it, Moses had all the adults sitting down so he could share the message of God's hope with them and directed me to entertain the 40 kids while he did so. Not knowing more than a couple phrases in Khmer (the national language), I was so thankful when Samantha came over to help translate for me.

"What should I do with them?" I asked her. "Teach them Jesus Loves Me," she replied. Ok, I thought. I can do that. And thus started a fun repeating game as I said a word from the song and the kids tried hard to say it after me. After they could successfully say the first line, "Jesus loves me," I asked Samantha to translate it for them in Khmer. She just looked at me and said, "But they have no idea who Jesus is - they've never even heard that name before." I was speechless for a minute. I knew that there were lots of places in the world where people had never heard the name Jesus, but I had never been in one before. Yes, I've been around people who don't know Jesus or anything about Him, but at least they had heard the name before.
Samantha just encouraged me to continue teaching the song. I obliged, still in shock, and got to the line that says, "for the Bible tells me so." I asked her, "Have they ever heard of the Bible?" "No," she replied, "They've never heard of it." Again, I found myself struggling to take in this information. Sure there are lots of people who have never read the Bible and don't know what it's about, but these kids didn't even know such a book existed.

At that point, I stopped the song and asked Samantha and the kids if I could tell them a story instead to help them understand the song. They all nodded enthusiastically. "Ok," I said, "This story started a long, long time ago back at the very beginning of the world. Does anyone here know who created the world?" "No," they all said with wide eyes, "Will you tell us?" Tears filled my eyes and I struggled to continue. I guess I assumed they would have some belief about how the world was formed, but all that met me were curious little faces, eager to hear where everything in this world, including them, came from. Wow, where do I even begin? I wondered. I felt completely inadequate and humbled to be the one sharing the truth about our Creator and Savior with them for the first time, but did my best to fight the tears and begin the story.

I really have no idea how much they understood of what I shared that afternoon. From creation, to Adam and Eve, to Heaven and Hell, to Jesus and his death on the cross, I'm not sure what made sense or tied together for them. But I did my best, and my interpreter did her best (I don't think she always understood me, but we tried J). I do know that at least these kids have now been introduced to the person of Jesus and the God who created them. And I pray that Moses communicated the message well to their parents who can then explain more to them at home. And I rejoice knowing that plans are in motion to start a church in this small village where people can come to learn more about this God who is deeply in love with them.

I don't know how to describe the emotions swirling in my heart as we left the village that day: a strange mixture of sadness, joy, urgency, and calling. So much of this world is in desperate need of good news – news that we have, but keep to ourselves. They are hungry for God, for Truth, and for Hope; and He is even more hungry for them - for a relationship with them. And He's asked us, His church, to go and take the Good News to every corner of the world. When will we take him seriously and finish this task He's given us? People are waiting. Jesus is waiting.

I sense that this type of ministry is what God is calling me to next. I'm not exactly sure the details of where, when, or how, but I'm seeking God's guidance in all these areas. I'm excited to see where He leads. One thing I know: even though my experiences in Thailand and Cambodia were amazing, I definitely realized that my heart is in Africa. I felt so homesick for Africa the entire time and really feel that's where I belong for now.

Here is a picture of some of a baptism that Moses did in the village. About 60 people were baptized that day. Praise God!

Read at your own risk...

2007-09-07T02:45:00.000-07:00

I’m sitting here in Cambodia in my air-conditioned room feeling totally sick to my stomach – not from the Cambodian food, but from the pain and atrocities that my eyes have witnessed these past few days. But I’m hoping that maybe if I spew out my emotions and thoughts on paper, I’ll be able to keep my actual lunch down.

I just returned from a visit to an old brothel in the city that International Justice Mission shut down a few months ago and the missionaries I’m with are renovating to become a ministry center and church for the community. Though it is about to become a place of hope, I was completely horrified as I walked down the halls. Hundreds of little girls (most ages 7-16) were sold by their parents to the owners of it and used as sex slaves - suffering more horror than my mind can comprehend. Confined in separate little prison cells just big enough for one small bed, they were only released to stand at the front door for “customers” (mostly Western men) to choose from. Once chosen, it was back to the prison cell to be raped, beaten, and tortured any other way the man desired. Most girls suffered abuse from about 10 men a night. The heat and smell in the rooms was unbearable for me (I was sure I was going to faint or throw-up), but this is what they lived in day-in and day-out. Some rooms had drawings on the walls of tears, crosses, and cries for help. And though my heart rejoices that this brothel has been shut down and these girls placed in rehabilitation homes, it breaks knowing that thousands more brothels just like this are still running in this country and millions more girls still live this horrific existence.

I sit here on my bed wondering why them and not me. What right do I have to be in this air-conditioned room while millions of less fortunate ones are suffering every type of torture imaginable right now? I don’t know. But I do know that it’s not ok and we as the church can not sit and turn a blind eye to it. I can sense God’s holy rage at the torture of His children and the evil monster that people have turned the gift of sex into. And I understand a little more his desire to vomit a lukewarm church out of his mouth in Revelation 3:15-16. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I feel the same urge right now. It makes me literally sick to think about remaining in my own comfortable little world, sitting idly by while others suffer like this. Jesus would not sit carelessly by, and we can’t either. For we are now His hands and feet on this planet- his vessels for setting the captives free, binding up the broken hearted, and fighting for justice.

This world needs more Don and Bridget Brewsters (the couple running this ministry). Just an average American couple in their 50’s, the Brewsters saw a Dateline special on child trafficking two years ago and let it move them to action. They took a scouting trip to Cambodia to visit the area of the brothels shown on T.V. and came home knowing they had to do something. Though the couple had never considered or seen themselves doing missions one day, they moved to Cambodia and started Agape – a ministry providing healing, rehabilitation, hope, and the love of Christ to girls rescued from this horrible industry. The restoration these girls are going through is truly miraculous! All because a couple of empty nesters decided to let their hearts be broken for something that deeply breaks God’s heart- and to follow Him into action. (You can read more about the ministry at www.aim4asia.org and watch the Dateline special at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4038249/ - The brothel on the video is the one I went in.)

I sit here wondering what the world would look like if the entire Body of Christ were willing to respond to the deep needs of God’s people like this. Jesus declared His mission statement on earth in Luke 4 - “To preach the good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” and it’s still His mission today. Only today, we are the vessels He’s chosen to use to accomplish this mission. Will we respond?

Challenged, hurting, moved, and inspired,
Kierra

2007-08-30T02:42:00.001-07:00

“Now this is eternal life: that they may KNOW you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3

Often when American teams come to serve with us in Kenya, they make statements like, “Wow, the Kenyans seem to know God so much more than we do. I wish I had a faith like theirs.” And it’s true – many of the Kenyans do know God in a totally different way. Throughout this summer, the question that has been stirring in my heart is: Do I really KNOW God? Do I know HIM, or do I mostly know a lot ABOUT Him? My prayer has been to see God’s face and to know Him intimately for who He really is. With all my heart, I want to know HIM. And today I got to experience a miracle in answer to this prayer.

One of the reasons the people here know God so well is that they are desperate for Him. They live in situations where they have no where to turn but Him. He is truly their only Hope. And so they come to know Him in a way that only the desperate can. Today I became one of the desperate and I met Him there as well...

As Americans, we rarely find ourselves in situations where God is our only answer and hope. If your child gets sick, yes, you can pray, but if nothing happens, you can go to your medicine cabinet, or the doctor or even hospital if needed. There are other options if God “doesn’t come through.” If you lose your job, you can almost always at least get some type of job (even if it’s at McDonalds), and if even that isn’t available, there is welfare, and as a last resort soup kitchens so at least you and your children won’t starve to death. The point is: there are options other than God to help you in your situation. If prayer doesn’t work at first, it’s not the end of the world. But here where there is no welfare, soup kitchens, or even menial jobs, families find themselves sitting in an empty hut (they don’t have a table to sit around), literally praying for God to bring manna from heaven so they don’t starve.

Today, in a small way, I understood the kind of prayers they must pray. I arrived to Nairobi this afternoon; my time in Kipkaren is over and tomorrow I fly out for Bangkok, then Thailand, and then New Zealand for the rest of my travels. I have been communicating with the friends and ministries I will be visiting in those places, but haven’t had a chance to write down all their contact info and make sure all my connections and everything are set. So I sat down at my computer this afternoon to work on all this, only to find that it was completely dead. It was totally gone – it wouldn’t even charge when plugged into the wall. I think the airline must have dropped it somehow when I was flying to Nairobi. I tried everything I could think of for ½ hour and finally gave up in tears. What was I going to do? I didn’t have a single contact number or e-mail for any of the people in Thailand or Cambodia, and didn’t even know the name of the guest house I was supposed to take a taxi to when I arrived. And the only place that info was stored was on my lifeless computer (I don’t have an e-mail that you can get to from other computers – my computer is the only place I can access my outlook from).

Completely defeated, I sank to my knees on the floor of the my room and cried out to God. Lord, you are my only hope right now – if you don’t come through, I’m going to arrive in Bangkok tomorrow with no clue where to go or how to contact anyone. I will be completely lost in a foreign country. I needed a miracle; only a miracle would do. And I as I asked for a miracle, for God to restore life to my computer, I sensed He was leading me into an opportunity to get to know Him in a totally new way. Sometimes it’s so hard to serve overseas as a single girl. I often feel vulnerable and alone with no husband to help me navigate (I have a horrible sense of direction), help make logistical arrangements (this always stresses me out), protect me, and fix things like a broken computer. Would God really come through as my “Husband” in this situation? Could I trust Him to come through for me? Is He really enough? As I prayed, He assured me that indeed He IS enough, and He IS able to care, guide, and provide for my every need.

I remembered a sermon my Dad preached here where he said, “We should get excited about problems, because you only get to witness a miracle if you start with a problem. We’ll never witness miracles without problems.” And so I began to get excited. I want to see miracles – not for the sake of the miracle, but because I want to see my God in action and truly get to know Him and His character and power. I read one of my favorite stories in 2 Chronicles 20 (read it!) and cried out with Johasaphat, “Lord, I am powerless to fight against this vast army that is attacking me. I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on you.” And then I worshipped like the Israelites for the victory I knew He would bring. Worshipping, and claiming Mark 11:24 “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours,” I asked God to restore life to my computer and walked over to my computer in faith waiting to watch its lights come on. And sure enough, they DID! Tears of disbelief and joy started pouring down my face as I witnessed this miracle and watched my God come through for me. I didn’t even touch the computer- the lights just came on and it came to life right in front of me – it was amazing!

As I was crying in disbelief, God whispered, “Kierra, why are you so surprised? This was nothing. Did you really think that fixing a broken computer was too hard for me? Oh, how little you know me. Come on, next time ask me for something big. I’m so much bigger than you realize – come and know me for who I really am.”

Today I got a glimpse of the God the Kenyans know. And I can’t wait to continue on this journey of knowing Him more. It may mean more “problems” and desperate situations, but if those circumstances lead me to the King, then so be it. Anything to see His face and KNOW Him – “For this is eternal (abundant) life, that we might KNOW Him, the One true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.” John 17:3.

The God of so much more...

2007-08-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably MORE than all we can ask or imagine, according to His work within us, to Him be the glory… (Ephesians 3:20)

Well, the God of “so much more” has been at it again in my life. For all those feeling discouraged today about things not working out the way you thought they would, let me encourage you that God’s plans truly are so much better than our own. I’m really learning that every time MY plans get canceled here, it’s because God has something so much better in store (sometimes I have to wait a while to find out what He’s up to, but it’s always incredible). So, here’s my latest story…(sorry it’s a bit long)

I was planning to go to Uganda for 3 days with some Kenyan friends this past week, but at the last minute they realized their passports had expired and we couldn’t go. I knew God must have something else planned for those 3 days, but had no idea what. And boy did he ever! I was sitting at lunch sharing with our director about how God has been stirring up a passion for unreached people in my heart these past 8 months. (By “unreached”, I mean people who have never had a chance to hear the good news of Christ, never heard the name Jesus, have no Bible in their language, and no church to go to for answers). He recommended spending some time with his friends who have been serving among an unreached tribe in Northern Kenya for the past 12 years. I said I would love to. He called them right then and there and they said, “Can you travel tomorrow? We have a car driving up tomorrow and you can hitch a ride with them (it’s about a 10 hour BUMPY drive up to Lodwar where they live). We’re taking a team out to the bush for two days and you’re welcome to come join!” I said I was up for it and then had 2 hours to pack and prepare to leave at 6:45am the next morning.

And what an adventure it was! I got to make the 10 hour drive with an incredible lady who has been serving among the Turkana for the past 11 years. It was so fun to hear her stories of all the struggles, joys, and victories of her time there. Then I arrived to Lodwar where I got to stay in the home of Greg and Mindy Yost (12-year missionaries to the area), along with 10 other Pioneers Missionaries who were doing a scouting trip to the area (Pioneers is another missions agency that sends people to unreached areas all over the world). I was so blessed to sit around the dinner table with this amazing group of people and hear miracle story after miracle story of how God is bringing people into a life-giving relationship with Him. We serve a MIGHTY God and I realized on this trip how much I limit Him and how small my faith is sometimes.

I learned about Diviners (witch doctors who control all the people) among the Turkana who received dreams from God telling them that a man was coming with a black book that had THE TRUTH in it and to look for him. I learned about the first churches being planted among these people as a missionary just read through the Bible with them as his text for learning the language. He started in Genesis, and by the time he got to Luke, they had already started 4 churches on their own without Him even knowing or providing any teaching yet. Simply from hearing the Word of God themselves, they knew this was the Truth, fell in love with God, and knew they had to start spreading the good news to others.

We actually only spent one day out in the “bush,” and it was quite an extreme experience. First of all, it was HOT! They said it was a cool spell, but 100 degrees didn’t feel like such a “cool” spell to me. Those of you who know me well know that I’m addicted to water and drink it non-stop, so the heat was a stretch for me. I kept chugging water the whole time, but still felt dehydrated most of the trip. We drove 2 hours into the middle of nowhere (no roads to follow, just desert sand, a few shrubs here and there, and lots of goats and camels). Finally we arrived to the “meeting tree” and held a biblestudy and prayer time for the many people who gathered. Then we all had a goat roast together over an open fire under the stars. And THEN, the drums started. It was pitch black out with the just the fire light and the most amazing stars I’ve ever seen in my life providing our light, and the drums signaled it was time for church! Church starts around 10:00pm and often goes through the entire night. There’s no building – the people just gather under the stars and jump, sing, testify, read God’s word, and pray together. It’s mostly jumping and singing with the other things thrown in every half hour or so. It was INCREDIBLE to worship God with these new believers in the middle of a desert land that has been controlled by Satan for thousands of years. It was an experience I will never forget, but by 1:00am I was ready to stop jumping (it was one of the best work-outs I’ve had in a long time). I think they stopped the service early for us Wazungu (white people) because they could tell we were fading. Finally, around 3:30am I fell into bed in my tent completely blown away at the gift of the day.

My heart was moved on this trip and I have an even greater desire to be out serving among the people of this world who have never had the chance to hear the gospel. I saw such a hunger for the Truth and knowledge of the One True God. Many villages in Turkana are now finding abundant, eternal life in God, but they are illiterate and cannot read the Bible for themselves yet. They are asking for people to come and read them the Word of God every day. They are so hungry for it and will do anything to hear God’s life-giving words each day. (They also told us that as long as someone reads the Bible to them, the demons can’t come and speak to them or torture them. But if they go 2 weeks without hearing the Word of God, the demons come back and torment their villages). Some of the saved Turkana are now going out as missionaries into Southern Sudan, Somalia, and Chad. They met one tribe in Southern Sudan who somehow obtained two cassettes of sermons in their language. The village gathers every day to listen to these two cassettes over and over again. It’s all they have of God’s word and they can’t get enough of it. The most prized supplies for the village are batteries so they can keep the cassette player running each day.

There is a suffering, lost world out there yearning to find the truth, and God has given us the commission to bring it to them. He’s waiting on us to bring his Hope to every tribe, tongue, and nation, and THEN the end will come (Matthew 24:14). He’s waiting on us; they’re waiting for us; what are WE waiting for? I was thinking about how hard it would be for me to move to an area that hot (where I have trouble thinking because I feel so dehydrated), where all they eat is goat meat (and I’m definitely NOT a meat person), and with huge spiders and scorpions combing the ground. But you know, the heat of northern Kenya is NOTHING compared the heat and torment of Hell, and it’s nothing compared to the cross that Christ went to for us. As followers of Christ, we are commanded to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, “And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.” Are we really willing to do this? To deny ourselves, to leave our “airconditioned” comfortable lives to suffer a little 100 degree heat and a few scorpions so that others won’t have to suffer the flames and torture of Hell? “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:12

Someone told a story in church today about a pig and chicken who wanted to help the starving people in their village. The chicken said, “I know, let’s provide a big breakfast for them of eggs and sausages!” The pig looked at the chicken and said, “Yes, it’s a good idea, but you only have to make a contribution by providing the eggs. I have to give my life to provide the sausages.” So many of us are content to be the chicken and simply make a contribution here and there that doesn’t really cost us much. But Christ calls us to be the pigs who are willing to literally lay down our lives for the suffering in this world.

I’m processing a lot right now and am really praying through where God is leading me next. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be to an unreached area, but I don’t know the details of how, when, or where yet. All I know is that my heart has been stirred deeply and I’m willing to go where He sends me. I’m learning about a bunch of different opportunities right now I would love your prayers as I continue to seek God’s guidance. And I pray that your heart is stirred to seek what He may be asking of you and the role He wants you to play in bringing His Hope to EVERY tribe, tongue, and nation.

Rejoicing and Morning

2007-08-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn. Romans 12:15

This verse encapsulates the journey my heart has been on this week. It has traveled the gamut of rejoicing and mourning with those God has brought into my path these past few days. The roads I walk here are filled with both extremes - reminding me often of the surprising connection between the two: deep pain leading to a joy of the Lord that surpasses any earthly joy, great desperation leading to the only true Hope, and utter emptiness leading to complete fulfillment in the only One who can truly fill us. Let me share a bit of the mourning and rejoicing God allowed me to enter this week…

First, there is Pauline who Pastor Peter and I went to visit yesterday. We were actually on our way to visit someone else when he got word that Pauline was desperately calling for him (I’m so thankful for the way God continues to interrupt and change our plans here – truly, no day ever goes as I expect it to). As we arrived at the home, we found a very old, frail Gogo (grandma) groaning a bit as she leaned over on a bench, scraping saliva out of her mouth with a stick. My heart broke as I learned that her throat is swelling shut, her tongue is heavy and very hard to move, her mouth area is numb, and talking and swallowing are basically impossible. Because of this, she hasn’t been able to eat in weeks and is literally starving to death. Sometimes she manages to swallow a bit of water, but as we witnessed, she often chokes on it as she tries to swallow. The hunger pains are so bad that she has tied material around her stomach to try to ease them at least a little. And to add to it all, every bone, joint, and muscle in her body is in intense pain. My heart broke to see someone in such agony and tears filled my eyes as I silently mourned with one who was mourning. A light massage with some Tiger Balm for her aching muscles, and a heartfelt prayer were all we could offer at the time. We are working with her family to try to get her to a hospital tomorrow and will see if there’s anything the doctors can do. (She did stop her groaning for a minute as she broke into laughter after looking at the picture I took of her. I rejoiced to see her smile even for a few seconds).

Then there’s Lucy, who I met today. Pastor Peter and I were visiting one of our Samaritan ladies whose son was killed last week after being hit by a truck on his bicycle. We were already mourning with one family when a neighbor asked if we could please come look at a hurt girl. Entering a tiny shack in the slum, we met 9-year-old Lucy. Lucy’s mom is extremely sick with AIDS and has been in the hospital for the last few days. 5 days ago, Lucy was trying to cook for the family and spilled boiling water all over herself. She has third degree burns covering her entire stomach and arm. With no money in the house for transport or medical bills, Lucy has stayed in the shack for the past week in that condition. Unable to wear clothes because of the burns, she has just draped a piece of material over her bony frame. 50 cents would have paid for her transport to a clinic, but the 5 children in the family were unable to come up with even that meager amount. Again my heart broke for the desperateness of the situation. We prayed with all our hearts and then helped provide the transport and medical fees to bring her to the nearest clinic. Lucy lit up with one of the most beautiful smiles I’ve ever seen as we asked her if she wanted to go to the clinic, and my heart was touched beyond words as she snuggled her head into my neck to look at the picture we took together. I don’t know the road ahead of her, but God does and He cares and I pray he allows us to walk more of it with her.

But the week hasn’t been all mourning - there has been great rejoicing too. There’s Prisca, a pregnant single mom, who I was blessed to lead to the Lord on a home visit. I rejoiced that day, and rejoiced even more as she arrived to our training center a few days later to do a Bible-study with us. I am excited to watch God continue to transform her. Then there’s little 3-year-old Noah who received braces for his crooked legs last week from an American team. His legs have already made a huge improvement in just one week, and the tears of joy in his mom’s eyes as she testified to God’s goodness ushered me into a place of rejoicing beyond words. The list of victories goes on and on, but let me stop here for now.

My heart has been moved this week and I pray that yours has been also through these stories. As followers of Christ, we are called to truly enter the rejoicing and mourning of others. We cannot numbly sit by. I was challenged by a friend this week (who grew up as a street boy until he was rescued by a good Samaritan and met Christ) and I will leave you with the same challenge. It’s from Lamentaions 2:19: Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street.

Will we happily sit by in our lives of comfort while children faint from hunger at the head of every street, or will we choose to mourn with those who mourn, pouring out our hearts through the watches of the night for the lives of the suffering in this world? I’m not sure I know what it is to intercede throughout the night for the Paulines and Lucys of this world, but I desire to learn. Oh Jesus, please teach us what true love, compassion, and sacrifice look like.

My Cup Overflows

2007-07-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

The Lord is my Shepherd“What has the Lord been teaching you lately?” I asked my dear friend Betty as we walked the 2 miles to the market where we would get a taxi to take us to the school where we would visit her son Patrick. With a radiant smile and sparkling eyes, she answered, “That He is truly my shepherd.” She went on…

“I’ve been reading Psalm 23 for the past 6 months and I still can’t contain the joy that fills me when I read it. Imagine Kierra, the Lord is MY shepherd! He’s my personal shepherd and with Him as my shepherd I never lack. He knows just where to lead me, how to provide for me, and how to care for me – He knows every detail of my life. And for sure, my cup overflows! Every day I am drinking from the overflow of God’s blessings that run down the side of my cup (she took my water bottle to demonstrate how she drinks from the side as the blessings keep overflowing). I don’t know why He keeps blessing me like this – He’s such a wonderful shepherd. In fact, I think I might be His favorite.”

My heart wondered at her words and the glow on her face because from an earthly perspective, none of these words make sense. HIV positive, a single mom, no real source of income, and living in a small mud hut with her aging sick mother and her 3-year old niece (who she’s taken in as her own daughter), Betty spends most days feeling a bit sick and hungry as she faithfully provides testing, counseling, and encouragement to others infected with HIV. Nothing does she lack? Her cup overflows? Overflows with what? I decided to ask.

“Betty, I know that you don’t have much food in your home and you often go hungry. I know that you don’t have a husband to walk this road with and to provide for your children. I know that you feel sick much of the time. So how can you say so joyfully that you lack nothing? What is your cup overflowing with?”

She smiled at me as if she knew a great secret that I should also know by now. “For sure, there are days when there is no food in the home, but I don’t worry. It’s those days that I pray to my God and say, ‘Lord, this is your time. This is your time to come through as my shepherd. It is for you to provide for me today.’ And for sure, He always does. He ALWAYS provides. Sometimes He provides food, but other times He just provides Himself and His love and joy and peace. My cup overflows every day with more love, joy, and peace than I can contain. It overflows with my God; my Shepherd.”

Oh. Thank you Betty for the reminder that with Christ as our shepherd, each of our cups truly does overflow, no matter what circumstances of life we find ourselves in. My cup overflows, and I want to live in joyful gratitude for that. I want to recognize all the gifts that God has lavished on me today to the point where my grateful heart becomes convinced that I too must be His favorite. For that’s the truth. Betty is His favorite and she lives in the light of His favor each day of her life. But I too am loved as His favorite and can live in the light of that favor if I only recognize it each day. It’s true for each one of you as well. He loves you and delights in you more than you can possibly imagine – He loves you as His favorite! May you recognize and drink from the overflow of your cup today, and thank Him for it.

But the truth is that every person in this world is His favorite and many of them will never know it unless we tell them and show them. Millions of people in the world live in unreached areas where there is no church, no Bible in their language, and no possibility for them to hear the name Jesus or know His love. Millions of others eek out heart-wrenching existences in the midst of things like war, child sex-trafficking, and inhumane slums. How will a Cambodian child sold into a brothel ever understand that she is God’s favorite unless we rescue her, love her with God’s pure love, and introduce her to the one who wants to be her Good Shepherd and overflow her cup? How will a Muslim in Qatar or an unreached tribe in Ecuador ever meet Jesus as their all-sufficient Shepherd and source of joy unless someone introduces them? We have an amazing Shepherd in whom we lack nothing and we have a responsibility to help others experience this as well. We are the vessels God often chooses to overflow the cups of others. Will we selfishly keep the blessings that overflow out of our own cups, or will we share these blessings with a world in need? May we share with a heart of gratitude and love.

Gratitude
I read a quote yesterday that said, “Gratitude is being more aware of what we have than what we don’t have.” Can I insert a “Selah” here like they do in the Bible? “Selah” means to pause and think deeply about that. Pause for a minute and let the truth of that quote sink into the depths of your heart.

Betty understands gratitude, and I want to as well. May we live lives of gratitude – for surely, as sons and daughters of the King of Kings, we should live as the most grateful people on earth. Let us testify to the greatness of our God. One of my Kenyan friends commented the other day, “Americans don’t really know how to testify do they?” “No,” I sadly answered, “most of us don’t.” In America, a “testimony” typically refers to the account of how a person met Jesus as their Savior. In Kenya, a testimony is simply the joyful proclamation of what God has done in your life this week, His greatness, and His goodness to you. No one needs a formal setting to “testify” to God’s goodness in their life here. Whether passing on the road, working in the kitchen, drinking chai, attending a staff meeting, or fellowshipping in Church, the people here testify! The gift of life, the pouring rain, the health of their kids, the gift of salvation, the clean drinking water, the grace of God – all are reasons for the testimonies to flow here. And through this stream of testimonies, gratitude also flows.

A day in Kipkaren

2007-06-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

I thought I’d write you tonight to give you a little glimpse into my daily life in Kipkaren, Kenya. Sorry I haven’t had much time to write personal e-mails to those of you who have written me, but maybe this update will give you a bit of an idea why. My days here are definitely full: full of surprises, unscheduled events, and God. I love them, and I think you’d love them to, so I want to invite you to experience my Thursday this week:

6:15am- My alarm goes off and I crawl out from under my mosquito net to meet with my King and allow Him to prepare my heart and mind for the day. After some instant oatmeal and good God-time, I’m ready to head out (no time for a basin “shower” today).

7:30am- I’m off with our two interns to make the 3-mile walk to the Kipkaren market. It’s market day and we have a special vender to visit! Mary is one of the ladies who we led to the Lord last summer, gave a loan to, and helped leave prostitution. With our help, she was able to start her own business of selling food in the market and has been paying the loan back ever since. Yesterday she proudly came to the training center to make her LAST PAYMENT!!! She has now successfully paid back the entire loan and is still going strong: strong in her business and in her faith. She is still passionately following after God and I am loving doing a weekly Bible-study with her again.

8:00am- Arrive at Mary’s stand and buy chai (tea) and chapatti (sort of like a thick tortilla) from her for breakfast. I am blown away by how well her business is doing. She doesn’t even have time to talk with us because she has so many customers. She totally thought outside the box for her business and I’m so proud of her. Instead of selling the typical vegetables like every other vender, Mary decided to sell food to the men who come to buy and sell cows in the market. These men stay in the market all day (a couple hundred of them), and need some food to sustain them. Mary is now supplying them with chai, chapatti, & ghideri (beans & corn) and is getting an incredible response! Thank you Lord for the amazing transformation in the life of your precious daughter!

8:30am- After breakfast, I walk around the market to buy some fruit for the week, along with some gifts for the Compassion child that I sponsor. I get to visit him and his family next week, so I bargained for a few items to bring them: a blanket, a backpack for him, and a scarf for his mom. Then it’s off to make the 3-mile walk home. Along the way, I run into the mom and sister of my good friend Betty. Betty has AIDS and got really sick with pneumonia this week. They update me that she is back from the hospital and is doing better with the medicine she now has. Knowing that there isn’t much food in the home, I send my newly purchased mangos home with them for my dear friend and promise I will visit soon. So much for the fruit salad I had planned to make J.

11:00am- Still not home yet. “Why?” you may ask. Well because it takes 10 times longer to get anywhere around here than in America because you stop to greet every person you pass on the road. And greeting usually means hugging, asking how the day is, finding out where they’re coming from and going, inquiring about home, sharing where you’re coming from and going, and then sending greetings to their home. So you can imagine that a three-mile walk can be quite the long event when you pass a villager every 3 minutes or so (it is market day you know, so most people are out and about). But even amidst the numerous greeting breaks, I am able to enjoy a really good and deep conversation with the interns as we walk. I really love asking them questions, hearing their hearts, and helping them process all that God is doing here.

11:30- I make a quick stop in the ELI health clinic talk with the nurses there. We have a team coming from America on Sunday who want to do something special to bless all our women staff members. They’re going to give massages, pedicures, and manicures to each lady, and I’m in charge of scheduling each of our staff for an appointment. As I explain the idea to the two ladies who serve at our clinic, they break out in huge smiles and excitedly sign up for an appointment (I don’t think they’ve ever experienced anything like this before- so I’m really excited!!!) All of our staff pour and pour their lives out for the people of this village, and I am so excited for a team to pour back into them and for them to feel so special and loved.

12:00pm- I’m almost home, but then get stopped at my good friend Ruth’s house. She and her in-laws are getting ready to prepare cassava root for lunch and insist that I stay and try it. It’s not good to refuse food in this culture, and I also want to spend some time with Ruth, so I say ok and join them in the mud hut kitchen. 45 minutes later the cassava is finally peeled, cut, cooked, and ready to eat. The whole process is quite comical. Ruth had to go get beans from a neighbor and left me to cook the cassava with her mother-in-law who really only speaks Kalenjin – the tribal language of this area. I barely know any Kalenjin, but do my best to communicate with her. She keeps pointing to things in the room and saying their name in Kalenjin. I try to repeat what she was saying and she just laughs and laughs because no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to pronounce them the way she does. Then just when I think my eyes can’t handle the smoke in the kitchen any longer, the cassava is finished and we eat together. It’s really good to my surprise!

1:00pm- Praise the Lord, I finally make it home and have a little free time to catch up on work and e-mail! The to-do-list on my computer keeps getting larger and larger and has definitely been stressing me out a bit. So I’m really thankful to have some time to cross a few things off.

2:00pm- Time to take a break from work to wash clothes with one of the interns. Seeing how we are both on our last pair of clean underwear (sorry if that’s too much information), we know this project can not be put off any longer. I have a great 30 minutes sitting out in the sun, washing clothes in a basin, hanging them on a clothesline, and chatting and laughing with a good friend.

2:30pm- Back to computer work.

4:30pm- I head to the Children’s Home for a Bible study I just started there with one of the house mom’s and a teacher at the school. Both ladies are going through some really hard times right now and I’ve been so blessed by the way they have opened their hearts up to me. Both jumped at the idea when I suggested getting together regularly to read the Bible, pray for one another, share our hearts, and encourage each other. Both are really hungering for friendship and support right now, and I’m so excited to see what God will do during our time together each day.

5:30pm- I should have known better. Even though our Bible study was supposed to start at 4:30, we didn’t actually start till 5:30- the ladies were definitely on Kenya time (at 4:30 I found one woman getting her hair re-braided, and the other was still at school). But by 5:30 we are reading John together and I am so blessed by their questions, insight, and application of the passages we read. I am going to learn so much from them during this time!

6:30pm- Maggie (the house mom) invites me to stay for dinner with their family. I gladly accept and crack up as I try to learn the nicknames for all the 24 kids around the dinner table (aren’t 24 first names and 24 Kalenjin names enough? Do we really need to add nicknames for me to memorize too? J). As soon as we finish eating (oh, by the way, dinner is always ugali – kind of like really thick cream of wheat- which I’ve really come to love!), the older kids go back to school for 2 hours of preps (kind of like tutorial/monitored homework time) and the little kids and I spend the evening dancing and singing together. Their favorite song tonight is “If you’re happy and you know it.”

7:30pm- It’s now family story and prayer time. As the kids sit on the floor of their parents’ hut, I get nominated to be the story teller tonight. I tell the story of Jehosephat (2 Chronicles 20:1-30) and get the kids to act it out as I share. If you haven’t read this story, you definitely need to- it’s one of my favorite stories in the whole Bible. It was so powerful to watch the kids act it out – especially the part where the Israelites start marching towards the enemy as they sing praises to God. As soon as they start singing, their enemies start killing one another. Their worship releases God’s power and He fights on their behalf so that by the time they reached the enemy, not a single person is left alive. There are a lot of big battles facing these children that they are powerless to fight against, but if there’s one thing they can do, it’s SING! It was so cool to watch them act out a true story where God gives the Israelites victory over a powerful enemy simply through their singing.

9:00pm- Back in my room. I work a bit more on my computer, read a little bit, and then give in to my closing eyelids. As I drift off to sleep, I smile as I thank God for another incredible day here and all that He did and showed me.

I hope that gives you a bit of a picture of life here and what kind of activities fill my days when teams aren’t here. When teams are here, I am really busy hosting them, plugging them in with the different parts of our ministry, debriefing and praying with them, etc. Our next team arrives today (Sunday) and I’m excited to see what God has in store for their two weeks with us!

Thanks again for walking this journey with me,
Kierra

A Jewel Dropped from Heaven

2007-06-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

“He knows my name. He knows my every thought. He sees each tear that falls and hears me when I call.” I woke up with this song on my heart. We were going to see the ELI Christian Academy in a couple of hours, and I had such a sense that truly, God knew each child’s and teacher’s name that I was going to see. I wanted to assure them that they were not forgotten.
With a message in my heart from the Lord for them, I felt prepared for the day. But nothing could have prepared me for the surge of emotions that overwhelmed me as we neared the school.
You can spot the school from miles away. Keredi slum is located in a valley, and in the school is in the heart of this slum. As we walked into the slum, the white school buildings shone brightly amidst the dirt and the sewage. It stood out from the poverty stretching for miles on every side. But this morning, it wasn’t just the buildings that shone brightly; it was the 500 students in their bright blue and white uniforms singing praises to God. Praises filled the valley and tears filled my eyes as I beheld this “jewel that has fallen from heaven,” as the community calls the school.

We were welcomed to the school by 500 children singing and dancing, while throwing gorgeous flower petals at us. As we walked through their neatly organized rows, I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks as I thought about how God knew each of their names and had not forgotten any of them. I thought of how I had persevered through the half marathon for these children, but knew this day that my perseverance was nothing compared to theirs. These children have persevered through war (their slum was right in the middle of the fighting), the death of their parents, sickness, hunger, coercion into child labor, and so much more. And here they were singing praises to God with radiant smiles.
After the singing and dancing, the children performed a powerful drama they had written. The drama told some of their stories. It started with the mother of a family getting raped by rebels in the forest and then dying while giving birth. The father then decided to remarry, but his new wife accused the children of being witches and kicked them out to the street. They found some other street children to live with and quickly learned the rules of the street: You do whatever it takes to survive: stealing, even killing. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you survive. But then one day the kids learn that there is a new school in the area offering free education, uniforms, and food. They excitedly run there to see if they might be permitted to join. As they come to register at the ELI school, the secretary asks them their names. They tell him their names: Anger, Cemetery, and 6000 Demons. He says that they will now get new names at the school because that is no longer who they are. They receive uniforms and greatly rejoice as they go to their first class. School isn’t easy at first. They still have street kid mindsets and attitudes, and they have never had any schooling before, so they don’t even know the answer to 1 + 1. But slowly they learn and begin to find new hope and life.
This is the type of story that each of these children have. I don’t know them all, but God does. And He chose to step in to bring healing, hope, and the assurance of His love through the ELI Christian Academy. What a joy to be part of His hands and feet bringing beauty from ashes in this forgotten slum.

Moments of Hope

2007-06-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

ELI is targeting 20,000 people in the village of Chihonga to receive goat and cassava loans, helping the people begin to rebuild their shattered dreams and community. What a joy to be welcomed by these extremely grateful villagers!

Villagers receiving high-yield cassava plants, the first hope of sustainable food since the destruction of their crops by the rebels.

ELI hosted a Cultural Festival of the Arts for the youth of Bukavu. Messages about AIDS and peace were shared through incredible music, dancing, and drama.

Not Forgotten

2007-06-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

As we took a two-hour boat ride to Bukavu, D.R. Congo, the Lord clearly placed Isaiah 49:14-16 on my heart. Though the people of this land have been ignored by most of the world, God has not forgotten them: He knows each of their names, stories and their pain.
We visited many people throughout the Bukavu area, and I was overwhelmed with emotion each time I shared this message.
The fighting throughout D.R. Congo has left the country with thousands of orphans, internally displaced people, rape victims and widows. Most of the people living in the Keredi slum (where ELI is working) fled there within the past two years after rebels burned down their villages and massacred their families. They fled to the slums for safety and now spend their days looking for food or a way to make as little as 30 cents a day.
Life in the slums is similar to that in a refugee camp; however, these people haven’t fled from another country—they’ve fled from places within their own country. Yet they cannot seem to get far enough away from the war. The area is still unstable and everyone knows that fighting could break out at anytime again.
It was such a blessing to sit with these people, to listen to their stories, and to assure them that they matter, that their stories matter, and that they’ve not been forgotten. I reminded them that God has engraved their names on His hands; they are ever before Him.
As I sat with six internally displaced women and their babies (see photo above), I asked them if it were possible for a mother to forget the baby at her breast.
“No!” they all responded emphatically.
“You’re right,” I responded. “It doesn’t seem possible. But even if it did happen, God has promised that He will never forget you. His love for you is even greater than what you feel for your child.”
As I shared with these women, God began stirring something in my heart for all the forgotten people of the world: refugees, discarded people in the slums, those still without the gospel in their language, and so many more.
God has not forgotten his children, and as His church, we cannot forget them either.

From Striving to Abiding

2007-05-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

As God leads me into the adventures of this summer, I know that He is leading me into a season of rest and intimacy with Himself. I’ve been a striver for as long as I can remember, and for most of my life I’ve felt stressed out and overwhelmed at the number and enormity of the tasks before me. This past month has felt especially overwhelming to me as I have learned about more and more desperate situations going on around the world and God’s desire to bring hope and life into them. In many ways, I feel like I’ve been carrying the weight and pain of the world on my shoulders and it’s felt like my responsibility to strive harder to bring God’s Kingdom into these places. But I’m learning that God is not calling me to strive or to carry this weight. Psalm 46:10 says, “Cease striving and know that I am God. I WILL be exalted among the nations.” I know that God wants to lead me to a place this summer of abiding rather than striving. He’s calling me into a deeper experience of His words in John 15: “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.” I’m excited to learn the practice of remaining in Him this summer: to rest in Him throughout the day, enter a deeper place of intimacy with Him, let my heart and mind abide in Him and His presence, and then watch HIM produce fruit through me. The secret to bearing much fruit isn’t striving. The secret is abiding, and I’m excited to dive into that secret and all its treasures this summer!

Heading to the Nations!

2007-05-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe the time has finally arrived! It’s now 7 days until I board a plane for my beloved Kenya once again. My heart is ready. Ready to hug my friends and family there, ready to dance and play with the kids at our Children’s Homes, ready to watch God work mightily in the lives of our teams and interns, ready to sit and pray with the sick, ready to be God’s hands, feet, voice, and ears, and ready to experience all that He has for me in the next four months. This summer is going to be big; I can feel it in my spirit. God has much in store and I have much to learn and follow Him through. He’s leading me into 7 countries this summer – can you believe it? He’s been expanding my heart for the nations this past year, and now begins the journey of Him actually taking me there. Here’s the tentative plan (tentative because I definitely never know what other detours or stops God may want to throw in along the way):
May 14: Depart for Kenya
May 28-30: Leadership Training Time in Rwanda with New Covenant Ministries International
May 30-June 7: Ministry at the ELI site in Bukavu, Congo with my parents and their team
Jun 7-Aug 30: Kipkaren, Kenya Hosting teams & interns and partnering with the ELI training center, children’s homes, health clinic, HIV program, and other ministries
Dates unkown: Travel to Kampala, Uganda to visit Watoto Childcare Ministries and the girl that I have sponsored through them for the past 5 years
Aug 30-Sept 3: Visiting missionaries and a church plant in Pattaya (red light district), Thailand
Sept 4-7: Visiting AIM 4 Asia in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; AIM is helping with the recovery and rehabilitation of women and children rescued from the human trafficking industry
Sept 7-15: New Zealand; visiting my good friend Annie Wright who is serving there for 2 years
Sept 15: Arrive back in the U.S.
It’s going to be an exciting journey and I can’t wait to see how God wants to teach and use me in each of these countries!

The Power of a Little Support and Encouragement

2007-03-27T16:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I’m hobbling around like a granny today (no offense grandma) with all my sore muscles, but I’m a really happy hobbling grandma. I did it! I did the half-marathon and I LOVED IT!!!! The whole event was an incredible experience with lots of lessons learned, but I’ll just share the highlights with you.

First of all, I got to RUN most of it! I decided to buy a knee brace on my drive up to Sacramento- and it was a miracle worker!!!! I put that sucker on, and vwalaa – I could run with no pain whatsoever in my knee. I was really shocked. I really didn’t have much faith that a little band of elastic material around my knee would enable me to run, but it totally did! And as I ran, God began to speak to me through that little band…

All I needed was a little support for me knee. That’s it… and I could RUN. I could do it! It didn’t take much- just a little support. And the same is true for the children in D.R. Congo. They too just need a little support. And they can do it! They can make it in life. They can finish school. They can become Christian leaders in their country to help bring God’s hope and restoration. A little support goes a long way. One malaria shot will go a long way. One text book will go a long way. One sponsorship will go a long way. And I love that this is what ELI is about. We’re about EMPOWERING people to run the race set before them. They don’t need us to do it for them. They can do it- they just need a little support. I’m so excited to be part of a group helping to provide that support. Helping to provide those knee braces so that these kids can RUN!

I also learned about the power of encouragement. This was a trail run, so that meant we were running along a trail way back in the woods and meadows, away from all the crowds. We didn’t have people cheering us on as we ran because they couldn’t get back there. Except for one lady. She was standing along the trail, about 6 miles in. And she was just there to encourage us. As I ran by, she yelled out enthusiastically, “Keep going! You’re doing great!” And it was so powerful. Those few words gave me such a boost of energy and I felt like I could conquer the world. Her words lingered in my head throughout the rest of the race – “Keep going.” And so I did; I kept going.

And now I am so excited to bring that same message of encouragement to the children of D.R. Congo! I so badly want to hug each of them, look them in the eyes, and say, “Keep going! You’re doing great!” I want to say it to the teachers who sacrifice every day to love and teach these 500 children. I want to say it to the Congolese ELI staff that lay down their lives every day to bring God’s hope to this country. They too are running this race in the back trails of the world where no one sees them; where no one comes along side them. But I am so excited to journey into those forgotten trails this June to remind them that they have not been forgotten. They DO matter, and they CAN keep going!

It doesn’t take much. A knee brace and some encouragement, and I ran a race I didn’t think was possible. The same is true in this world. Sometimes the problems and tragedies in the world seem so overwhelming that they seem impossible to tackle. What could someone like me really do? I’m telling you, it doesn’t take much. You CAN make a difference. A $10 knee brace and a word of encouragement- and you can touch lives, you can change futures.

So thanks for your support and prayers! For those of you wondering, yes, I did still walk some of the race. I really felt like I needed to walk some of it to identify with the brokenness of the children I was walking for. And I loved it! I loved praying for them as I walked. I read some of their stories on the way to race, so I had names and specifics to pray for as I walked. The story that touched me the most was a little girl named Furaja. Her dream is to become a prayer intercessor who intercedes in prayer on behalf of her suffering friends, family, and people. I prayed hard that God would raise up this little 10-year-old into a mighty intercessor! I believe she is going to be a powerful vessel that He uses to bring hope, freedom, and life to the people of D.R. Congo! I can’t wait to meet her June and encourage her as she runs this race marked out for her!

What a joy to walk this journey with all of you! Thank you so much for your constant support and encouragement.

Walking in Brokenness

2007-03-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

One of my dreams has always been to have a butterfly land on me. I LOVE butterflies and know that God is flirting with me whenever one flutters past. When I was in Africa last summer, my dream came true! I had been waiting for years for this moment, and though other butterflies had come close, they were always too busy fluttering around to actually land on me. But this one did. And I know that much of the reason was because it had a broken wing. I learned a lesson about brokenness that day that I will never forget. It’s often in brokenness that God uses us the most.

Today, I write to you hoping to be that broken butterfly. Only I write with a bum knee rather than a broken wing. A month ago I set out to run the 10 miles in my training schedule, but two miles into it, my knee suddenly gave out. I have no idea what happened, but I had to turn around and walk/limp home. But God was in it; I walked in the door at the exact moment a friend needed me to be there. God brought me home early so that one of His hurting children could encounter Him in a profound way and rediscover hope. As I went to bed that night, I thanked Him for my hurt knee; I thanked Him for using my brokenness to touch one of His children.

And now, four days before the race, the brokenness continues. I thought my knee would be better by now. I’ve been doing all my training on the elliptical trainer and bicycle at the gym to give my knee time to heal. It hasn’t been hurting at all when I run on the elliptical trainer, so I assumed it must be healing nicely. But alas, I attempted to run on the road today for the first time and was only half-way down my street when the same pain started shooting through my knee. There was no way I could keep running. I walked home totally bummed out. Even though I ran a half-marathon (13.7 miles) on the elliptical trainer last week, there is no way my body is going to be able to run the actual race this week.

“Lord, what are you up to in all of this?” I asked. And the answer became so clear. “I want you to bring my hope to the children of D.R. Congo through a place of brokenness, not strength. I want you to walk this race, not run it. I want you to identify with the people you are walking for. I am calling you not to run for them, but to walk with them. Not to run in strength to heal their weaknesses, but to enter suffering with them to bring hope from a place of shared weakness. For there is power in weakness and brokenness – My power.”

And so I will walk. I will walk in the footsteps of those who have been left behind in this unfair world. I will walk with those children who are left in last place, watching the rest of the world speed by. I will walk with those who limp forward in brokenness each day with a determination to fight for life despite the hundreds of people passing by every second, leaving them behind in the dust. I will walk with those children in Congo who walk 2 hours every day to get to the ELI school, and then 2 hours home. Some even walk from neighboring countries because it’s their only chance of ever receiving an education. They walk 2 hours for only a few hours of schooling because we don’t have enough classrooms for them to stay all day.

I will walk with those children who also cannot run. Not because of a bum knee, but because of hunger and malaria. But the malnutrition and diseases keep them from much more than running and playing as little kids ought to do. They keep them from being able to sit up in class, care for younger siblings left in their charge, and concentrate enough in class to hear the message that God loves them. The hunger in their bellies, the incessant sound of coughing, and the flashback noises of gunshots often drown out the message being spoken of God’s love and hope.

And so I walk. Walk to buy land for a health clinic to lower the fevers and stop the coughs. Land for more classrooms in which all the children can learn for the entire day and receive daily bread (both physical and spiritual). I walk so these children can know that God is good, that He loves them, and that He has not forgotten them. Walk so that they can meet the Lord walking this broken path with them.

For that is what He does. He doesn’t remove all the brokenness now (the day for that is still coming), but He does enter into our brokenness and walk those roads with us. That’s what He did when He came to Earth. He entered our suffering and walked alongside us in this broken world. And it was through His broken life - His broken body on the cross - that hope, healing, and life became available to us. And I pray that this Saturday, His hope once again comes through brokenness.
To see a video of these children or to help buy this land, go to http://www.empoweringlives.org/run.shtml

Marathon Time!

2007-02-15T15:20:00.000-08:00

Yep, it’s true - I’m running the Napa Valley half-marathon on March 24th. And I gotta tell you, I’m stoked! I am LOVING training right now (my last long run was 10 miles and this week it will be 11). I love the God-time I get as I run: time to pray, memorize scripture, and worship. It’s becoming one of my favorite parts of the day. And I love learning perseverance - persevering through discomfort and pain, finding my strength in God when I want to quit. That inner strength of will, and the ability to persevere no matter how tough the journey gets, are character qualities that I really want to develop now and take with me wherever God calls me to live and serve throughout the world.
I’m also running for the people of D.R. Congo. Three other friends and I are praying to raise $8,000 to purchase a piece of land in the Keredi slum where ELI is ministering. We currently have a school providing education, food, and the love of God to over 500 children, many of whom are orphans. The school is already a bright light of hope in a war-torn area but we have a great need to expand it.
We are praying for more land for two reasons. First, we want to build three more classrooms. Currently we only have facilities for grades 1st-6th to meet in the morning, and the older kids meet in the afternoon. Secondly, we dream of setting up a pharmacy/emergency medical clinic/Aids awareness center on the property. Currently, there is no medical care in the entire area and many of our children are falling over in class from malaria and other illnesses. The teachers have no medicine to give them and some families are desperately buying “medicine” off the street which is only making the sicknesses worse.
I would love to invite you to sponsor me as I run to buy this land and provide education and medical care to the children of D.R. Congo! Also, let me know if you are interested in running your own 1/2 or full marathon to join us in our fundraising efforts. We would love to have you join the team of runners! Go to http://empoweringlives.org/run.shtml to read more.

Speaking up for the children in the "hallway" of Sudan

2007-02-15T15:18:00.000-08:00

"David, we love you as we love the Lord,” 200 high schoolers chanted at the chapel where I was speaking. I had them say it again as I challenged them to look at his picture on the screen and to see Jesus in his face. “David, we love you as we love the Lord!” I shared some of the lessons from my summer: learning to see Jesus in the face of each person I passed, and then learning to respond to them the way I would respond to Jesus. I pray that as these students now raise money to help us feed, educate, and care for our orphans in Sudan, that they will truly give as if Jesus Himself was in need. For one day I know they will hear Him say, “Thank you Beloved. I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I needed text books, and you sacrificed so I could learn to read. For whatever you did for David, you did for me. Welcome to my Father’s Kingdom.”

An Empty Table

2007-02-15T15:12:00.000-08:00

An empty table - that's what I saw as I went to the eating area to pick up my lunch at the Short Term Missions conference I was attending. They were providing sack lunches for everyone, but by the time I made my way to the hallway, all that greeted me was a long empty table. No more lunches. "Sorry," the hotel worker told me, "we're all out of lunches. There's nothing we can do." It was a new experience for me. I was going to go hungry the rest of the conference until dinner. There was nowhere else for me to get food. In frustration, I looked into the cafeteria where everyone else from the conference was happily eating their lunches as they talked and laughed. It wasn't fair. Why did they get lunch and I didn't? I paid for the conference just like they did. Shouldn't I get to eat too? But lucky for me, one lady happened to be out in the hallway where I was standing at the empty table. She saw that I didn't get a lunch and graciously offered to share hers’ with me. She gave me half of her sandwich and her bottle of water. I gratefully accepted it and thanked God for providing.
As I sat and ate my half sandwich alone in another room, I began to pray through the experience. Is this what the rest of the world feels like who don't get food today? (And not just today, but every day?) By no fault of their own, they arrive to an empty table every day while getting glimpses of happy crowds eating their lunches in the room next door. But when they look at the crowds next door (us here in the States), they don't just see us with one sack lunch each. No, we sit around our tables with 500 sack lunches piled on the table in front of us. The reality of that hit me so hard. How can I sit comfortably in the cafeteria with 500 extra lunches on my table when there are people in the hallway longing for just half a sandwich? The main reason the lady shared her lunch with me was because she came out into the hallway where I was. She saw me in my situation and was moved with compassion to sacrifice so that I could eat a little also. The whole experience fueled my passion even more to bring teams and people into that "hallway". Yes, I can go into the cafeteria and announce to everyone, “There are people outside who didn't get lunch. Would anyone be willing to share with them?” But how much more powerful and effective to bring people into the hallway to meet those hungry people face to face? I want to continue to do both: to bring others into the hallway, and to announce the situation in the cafeteria to all those eating contentedly with no knowledge or concern for the people outside. O Lord, thank you so much for this job where I get to do just that! Use me God. Let me be a voice for your hungry children in the “hallways” of the world.

A Season of Enlargement

2006-12-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

As I look back on this past year and all that God has been doing in my heart, one word comes to mind: enlargement. He has been enlarging my heart for the nations; deepening my understanding of His global purpose to raise up worshippers from every tribe, tongue, and nation; intensifying His call on my life to bring His hope to the lost and suffering in this world; and expanding my vision for the teams and interns that I am leading.
It’s exciting! And also a little overwhelming. Though I’m not quite sure where this is all going, I do know that for now, God has me in a season of learning, growing, and maturing. I am excited to continue learning as God develops my heart, mind, and calling.
One main area of enlargement is with the teams and interns that I help lead. This past year I coordinated the trips for 17 teams and 14 interns to serve with our ministry in Africa (and I helped host 13 of them during their time in Kenya). I am already working on the trips for 11 teams, 4 interns, and more to come, for this next year.
Though it is often overwhelming and leaves me feeling inadequate at times, I LOVE being a part of these life-changing trips! I learned much this past year (often through my mistakes) and am excited to tackle the task again this next year.
God is enlarging my vision to see every team member gain a radical understanding of His passion for the world, His heart for the poor, and His call for them to live a life of abandoned devotion to Him. As I plan their trips, train them ahead of time, help prepare their hearts and minds, host them in Africa, and follow-up with them afterwards, I want to do so with this goal in mind. Through their trip, I long to see every team member eternally changed and to discover their role in God’s global purpose. Maybe they aren’t called to live overseas, but as a believer, they have a role to play in the Great Commission. And I want to challenge them to find it and live it!

Up Next: A Season Of Preparation

2006-12-15T10:43:00.000-08:00

The Teams! I am excited to prepare all the teams and interns for their trips next year! As I train them, pray for them, coordinate logistics, and prepare their hearts and minds with required readings and prayer requests from Africa, I pray that God moves in a mighty way in each heart. Lord, may you begin to break hearts now and may you prepare fully equipped vessels.
Perspectives!
I’m planning to take the Perspectives Course this spring! Perspectives is a 16-week course hosted at churches all over the U.S. on the World Christian Movement and the Biblical Basis for Missions. I can’t wait to continue to learn about God’s heart and purpose for the nations! Want to take it with me? (You can get collge credit.) Let me know! Or check it out on your own at www.perspectives.org.
Swahili! My new goal is to be fluent in Swahili by the time I head to Kenya in June. I’m asking for a home study course for Christmas and can’t wait to dive into it. I want to be able to help translate for the teams and minister to the Kenyans in their own language. Plus, I know that God has given me a gift for languages, and I want to be a good steward of that gift.

What's Next?

2006-10-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

I praise God because I left Kenya with such a peace that my season there was over and God had a new season waiting me for me in the States! I am excited for this new season and all that it will hold:

Being a voice in America for those suffering around the world.

Starting back to full-time work in the ELI office in So. Cal. I’m excited to support the Kenyans I’ve come to love so dearly by helping with the stateside part of our ministry.

Following-up with the teams and interns who served with us this summer, and starting to organize and plan for next year’s teams.

Hopefully doing some more speaking engagements as I share the stories of Kenya and challenge others to get involved in God’s global purpose.

Seeing Jesus

2006-09-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

Meet Kosgei. Mentally handicapped and usually pretty dirty, Kosgei is a regular visitor to our training center. He spends his days wandering through the village, following us around as we work. At the beginning of the summer, I would get so frustrated with him. He would wander into my meetings and interrupt the Bible studies I was leading. When I saw him approaching, my heart would sink and I would think, “Oh no, here comes Kosgei. Can someone please take him out of here?”
Until one day. One life changing day, Kosgei came up behind me and grabbed my hand. His hand was dirty and I had somewhere to be, and I just wanted him to go away. But then I heard the whisper of Jesus. “It’s me Kierra, Jesus. I just want to hold your hand.” Everything changed in that moment. My annoyance vanished and butterflies filled my stomach as I realized I was holding hands with Jesus. Suddenly Matthew 25 came alive to me: “Whatever you did to the least of these, you did to me.” This really was Jesus standing next to me wanting to hold my hand. So I walked with Jesus that day, hand in hand, and began to see Him not only in Kosgei, but in every person I passed . Thank you Kosgei for teaching me to see the face of Jesus in others!

Who am I, Lord?

2006-09-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

A huge part of my summer in Kenya was learning who I am. One day as I was heading back to my hut to do more work on my computer, one of Kenyan friends said, “Kierra, you are ever working. I don’t even think you know who you are. You don’t have time to know who you are– you only know your work.” Her words pierced me and I knew she was right. I didn’t know how to relax and stop working because I found my identity in what I did. I didn’t know who I was when I wasn’t working. So, I began to pray, “Lord, show me who I am.”
He gave me many answers to this question throughout the summer, but the loudest answer came through the Kenyans. Whenever a Kenyan would introduce themselves at church or a meeting, they would say, “I’m so and so, and I am saved. Jesus is my personal savior.” It was so simple, and yet so profound. For the Christians, their core identity was found in the fact that they were saved; they were a child of God.
So often in the States we introduce ourselves and say, “I’m so and so and I’m a teacher.” Or “I’m so and so and I’m a doctor.” It’s because we find our identity in what we do. But I learned this summer that first and foremost, I am Kierra Higgins and I am saved. I am a child of the King of Kings. I am a citizen of heaven. And that is more than enough.

Mourning Into Dancing

2006-09-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

"Susie receiving her loan!"

I have to update you on what God’s been doing in the lives of our Samaritan Women! They each received a loan on August 9th, and so far their businesses are going well. One is selling material, another ground nuts, another kerosene, and others chickens. I praise God for these businesses and the freedom they are bringing!
But more than the businesses, I praise God for the transformation He’s doing in these ladies’ hearts. He has truly set them free and has given them a new reason to live. They are growing in their relationship with Him and are reading and memorizing His word every week. For Rose with her bad eyes, this has meant asking a little girl next door to read a Bible verse to her and then saying it over and over again until she’s memorized it.
One week, some friends of mine brought dancing ribbons that we gave to the women. We put on worship music and danced for an hour together in worship to our King. Truly, God has turned their mourning into dancing! The women loved the morning and asked me to come dance with them in their homes before I left. I visited them the day before I left, and what a special morning we had! There wasn’t room to dance in their little shacks, so we took our ribbons and danced in the streets of the slum area, singing praise to God with all our hearts. Drunks staggered through the area, neighbors came to stare, but the women didn’t care. When people asked what we were doing, they just smiled and said, ‘We’re worshipping our God!”

Asate Sana! (Thank you so much!)

2006-09-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am - my first day back in the ELI office after four months in Kenya. We did it God! We did it friends! We traveled this journey with perfect health, divine joy and strength, and with the presence of God filling every moment. How do I begin to say thank you? Thank you Lord for your incredible faithfulness, protection, guidance, and miracles. And thank you friends and family for your support, prayers, and encouragement!
Truly, the miracles of this summer would not have been possible without you. Thank you for your sacrifice and for playing your part in the Body of Christ. Thank you for the finances you sacrificially gave — this journey wouldn’t have been possible without them. And thank you for going to battle for me in prayer. It was your prayers that sent the angels who protected my health, kept me safe amidst some crazy travel experiences, and fought for me in the spiritual realm against all other attacks of the enemy. It was your prayers that enabled God to speak, touch, and use me in the way He did.
Please know that you played a vital role in every story that you read about this summer. Your support, prayers, and encouragement were part of every life transformation. Every child we brought into the new Children’s Home, every prostitute set free, every HIV+ patient treated, every American’s life changed— you had a part in. Because I couldn’t do this job without you. Whether hugging a new orphan in our Children’s Home, or handling their sponsorship money in the states, I get to help change that little life forever. And it is your support that makes my service possible. So thank you!
On behalf of the people in Kenya whose lives have been forever changed, thank you!

Rejoice in the Lord Always!

2006-08-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

As I went on home visits with two of my close friends from California, “Rejoicing in the Lord” seemed to emerge as the theme of the day. But it was a theme that surfaced in the most unlikely places. The first stop on our long walk was at the home of a family with 5 children suffering from eye problems. None of the children can see well, and some are still half blind even after expensive surgeries. The children have to go to a special school, but right now they don’t have transportation money to return. School starts again next week and they are praying for God to provide money to transport the children there. But let me tell you, there was joy in this home. And I recognized it immediately as the joy of the Lord. The half blind kids smiled and laughed the entire time we were there. When I asked if we could sing a song, they immediately asked if we could sing, “This is the Day.” And so we did. For those of you who don’t know this song, it goes like this: “This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it.” We joyfully sang together and I was so blessed to watch this family truly rejoice in this day that the Lord has made. Yes, circumstances are tough, but they still rejoice in this day the Lord has given them and they choose to be glad in it.

After praying with them, we proceeded on to visit my friend Christine. Christine developed a muscle disease two years ago that has totally deteriorated her muscles. It has left her basically paralyzed, and in pain most of the time. She sits in a chair all long day and her six children (ages 3-13) take care of her, carrying her wherever she needs to go. But Christine knows the Lord and truly, the joy of the Lord is her strength. She greeted us with a radiant smile as we entered her home and was so excited to have visitors. As we talked, she shared that in the morning, she had read Philippians 4:4-7. It starts out by saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” She smiled and said that she was rejoicing today because God told her to. I asked her what her secret was in learning to rejoice even when life is hard. She just smiled and said, “I can rejoice today because I know that this earth is not my home. My home is in heaven and I am going to live there for eternity. When I arrive there, my suffering will be removed forever and there will be no more pain. I rejoice because I know that my suffering now is only temporary.”

We then began to sing the same song. “This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Only this time, Pastor Peter began to lead us in new verses. We sang,
“These are the people that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in them!”
“This is the family that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!”
“This is the lady that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in her!”
“These are the children that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in them!”
“This is the home that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it!”

My cheeks hurt from smiling so much as we sang together. Truly, we have so much to rejoice in. But how often we go through our days and never rejoice in the gifts God has given us. I hummed this song the rest of the day and was amazed at how much joy it brought me. Throughout the day I sang, “This is the meal that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” “This is the water that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” “This is the road that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” “This is the bed that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” It was so great to remember to truly rejoice in all these little gifts from God. I think if we sing this song throughout our days, it really is possible to “Rejoice in the Lord Always.”

So my challenge to you today is to try it! Try rejoicing in everything God gives you today. If you know the song I’m talking about, sing it! Sing it throughout your day and I think you’ll be amazed at the joy that begins to take over your heart. I want to keep rejoicing. I want to keep singing. I want to be glad in my God and in the gifts He gives. Even as I write this e-mail, I am thinking about you all and am singing about you- “These are the people that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in them!” I hope you’ll join me in this dance of rejoicing! Christine understands this dance. Rizpah with her blind eye understands this dance. Lord, help us learn how to join it as well!

Lessons in Love

2006-08-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

At church this morning, David Tarus (our director) told the congregation about a little boy named Hillary from a neighboring village who has club foot. His mom brought him to our training center in hopes that we could somehow help him. Without surgery, he will never walk, run, or dance, but his mom is a widow and cannot afford the costly surgery. David asked the church if we would give sacrificially so that Hillary might have the surgery and grow up able to do all the activities every child loves to do. Before we took the offering, he asked everyone in the church to say together, “Hillary, we love you as we love the Lord.” We declared it together as a body and then every person gave what they could. “Hillary, we love you as we love the Lord!”

Those words pierced me. What would my life look like if I truly loved each person in my life as I love the Lord? Have I ever loved someone as I claim to love the Lord? Truly loved them as I would if it were the Lord were standing in front of me? I don’t know that I have. But this is what God calls us to. Every story I hear about, every person I come across, I am to respond as I would to the living Christ. If Jesus didn’t have a meal tonight and it was in my power to provide food for him, wouldn’t I do it? If Jesus needed surgery so that He could walk, wouldn’t I do everything I could to help? If I heard that Jesus was sick, wouldn’t I go to visit Him? If Jesus walked by me on the road, wouldn’t I stop to greet Him? If Jesus wanted to share about His day with me, wouldn’t I take the time to listen? Wouldn’t I give Him my full attention? Yet these are not always my responses to others I pass during the day.

If Jesus were an orphan and needed $3 to eat today and go to school, would I give it to him? Or would I tell him sorry because I already gave my tithe at church and I’m really in the mood for a smoothie? If He was sick and dying without any money for malaria medicine, would I tell Him to try elsewhere because I really wanted to see a certain movie, and I believe that God blessed me with my job so that I could enjoy the money I make?

The truth is that it really is Jesus who is sick and in need of medicine. It is Jesus on the news who is starving and living without clean drinking water. In Matthew 25, Jesus says, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was sick and you visited me. I was naked and you clothed me.” This wasn’t just a nice thing Jesus said to try to get us to help the suffering in this world. He really is the sick, hungry, and naked person that we hear about and see each day. And every day I show Him how much I love Him by how I respond. For the extent that I love my neighbor is the extent that I love my God. Let me say it again, I only truly love God to the extent that I love my neighbor, to the extent that I love the suffering in this world. If I say I love God, and yet show no love or compassion to my neighbor in need, my actions prove me a liar. I don’t really love God. For whatever I do or don’t do for the least of these, I do or don’t do for Jesus. My love for Him is proved by my actions. 1 John 3:17-18 says that if I have material possessions and see my brother in need but have no pity on him, then the love of God cannot be in me. And if I do not actively love my neighbor who I can see, it is impossible for me to love God who I cannot see. I can declare my love for God all I want, but it’s only empty words until I live it out in actions of love towards my neighbor. Oh Lord, may my love for you and others not just be in words and with my tongue, but in actions and in truth!

Entering Cannan

2006-08-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

I told you last month about our “Samaritan Women” who gave their lives to God and are seeking to leave prostitution. Well, the journey and miracles are continuing. I told them last week that I believe they are like the Israelites that God led out of slavery.
Like the Isrealites, they have left Egypt, but are now in the wilderness waiting to enter the promised land. The women have left their line of work, but have not received the loans to start their new businesses yet. My prayer this month has been for God to supply manna from heaven each day to meet their needs during this time in the wilderness. Tears filled my eyes last week as they shared that in fact, God has been providing manna. They wake up not knowing where their food will come from, but it never fails that a neighbor or friends stops by to bring a bag of beans or other food. Thank you Jesus for these daily miracles of provision!

Pray for us as we enter Canaan together next week! The women will receive their loans and will begin their new businesses. I know there are giants lurking in Canaan, but I also know that our God is greater, and together we can take this land!

Meet Mama Sifuna

2006-08-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

My heart broke as I entered her hut for the first time. There was nothing. No mattress. No blanket. Not even a pot to cook in. Yet this empty hut is home to Mama Sifuna and her four children.

But though the furnishing are lacking in this home, the love and joy of the Lord are not. Though her husband abandoned them years ago, the Lord has been their refuge. HE has become the husband and father in this family.

I came to her hut for language lessons. She wanted to learn English and I wanted to learn Swahili. So, she pulled out her Bible as a tool for us to use. I had never seen a Bible like this before. It was a pile of loose, tattered pages in a plastic bag. None of the pages were bound, and none were in any type of order. I sat amazed as she told me that she tried to lead Bible studies for the women in the community by reading these tattered pages. She couldn’t read well, and could only read bits and pieces of stories.

On my next visit I bought her a Bible, a bound one.. The thought of that visit brings such a smile to my heart. As I pulled the Bible out of my bag for her, I wasn’t prepared for her reaction. You would have thought it was Christmas. Mama Sifuna screamed in delight, jumped to her feet, and began dancing around the hut. I have never seen a person celebrate like that. She continued dancing, singing, screaming for joy, and hugging me for quite a while.
Mama Sifuna, thank you for reminding me what gratitude and celebration looks like. Thank you for showing me the simple joy of the Lord!

Daily Bread

2006-08-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

It started at 5:45am, when God woke me up long before my alarm would go off. I felt Him beckoning me to go on a run with him. As I jogged past the home of my dear friend Betty, I decided to stop in to visit. Betty has AIDS, but continues to see this disease as a talent from God through which she can reach the lives of those dying in this country. I knew that the anti-retroviral drugs were making her very sick and that she hadn’t been able to keep any food down for four days.

Her radiant smile greeted me from her bed and I stepped around the three orphans sleeping on the dirt floor to greet her. Betty was in good spirits. She hadn’t vomited in 8 hours and for this, we praised God together. Our singing filled the small hut and I knew that the pleasing aroma of praise was touching the throne of heaven.

As Betty brought out her Bible to read together, she told me, “No matter how discouraged I get, every time I open the Bible, God speaks to me. Yesterday I read that Jesus didn’t come for the healthy, but for the sick. Imagine! I am the sick person that Jesus came for!” Yes Betty, He came for the sick, and He came for you.

Together, we ate our daily spiritual bread as we read God’s word and prayed together. But I knew Betty needed physical bread as well. She needed bread to take with her morning medication, but there was none in the home. So, I ran to find some bread, and upon returning with half a loaf, Betty joyfully ate it.

I smiled as I walked home that morning. My 5:45 wake-up call had been so that a child of God could receive her daily bread. God cares about our needs– both spiritual and physical. Thank you God for providing bread today, and thank you for allowing me to be part of how you provided for Betty

Simple Extravagance

2006-08-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

God, thank you for the simple extravagance I see in this place. Life is simple here. You are all and are in all. There are no T.V.’s, no shopping malls, no frantic schedules to distract us from you. And there’s no one to turn to besides you. No counselors, no self-help books, no welfare, no pain killers. In the simplicity, you are here. And you dwell here in breathtaking extravagance. In the rushing Kipkaren River, in the glowing fireflies, in the faith and love of the people, in their worship, and in their overwhelming hospitality.

Thank you for the simple extravagance I see every day: The widow’s egg placed in the offering plate. The accapella worship that fills the mud hut church. A soda in the lantern-lit hut of Peter and Ruth. The hug of a radiant ex-orphan who has received love and can now give it out. The celebration dance of a princess freed from the bonds of prostitution. The shrills and dancing of an abandoned single-mom receiving a Bible for the first time. The three meals you provided for me to eat today. Things that are so simple, and yet so extravagant.

Simplicity and extravagance. This is what Jesus offers us, and this is what He calls us to. It’s simple: He loves me. He loves me more than I will ever be able to comprehend. And He wants me - more than anything, He wants ME. He wants intimacy with me and to live in this intimacy for eternity. And for this love, for this intimacy, for this relationship, He gave His life. That’s the story. It’s not complicated. My God loves me and He gave His life so that our love could be. And yet the simplicity is wrapped up in extravagance. The truth is simple, but it is extravagant. What extravagant love that would go to any depth and any length to pursue me and to capture me. This love, this romance, this God, is more extravagant than I’ll ever fully realize. An extravagant God designs the sunset each evening, extravagant love held Jesus bleeding on the cross, and extravagant romance wakes me each morning as my risen Beloved beckons me to dance with Him.

My response must be equally simple and extravagant. It’s simple. I must give Him ME - all of me. He asks for my life. I’m His now; I belong to Him. Bought with a price, I’m no longer my own. Every right laid down, every dream surrendered, every plan submitted, and every moment given to the King of Kings. It’s not complicated. This God, must be my everything. He is to be my life. No other masters, no other lovers, no other idols, no other gods before Him. The simplicity of it is extravagant. Extravagantly, I am to pour everything I have into this love. I am to pour out my all at the feet of this King, just as he extravagantly poured out His all for me. As Mary broke her alabaster jar at the feet of Jesus, so I too must break my “jar.” Every dollar saved, every ambition, every dream, every talent, every moment is to be extravagantly emptied at the feet of Jesus. It means risk; it means sacrifice; it means suffering; it means laying down my life.

This is the road Jesus walked and this is the road He calls me to. Will I learn to live it? Will I learn to live in the extravagant love of my God? Will I see the extravagant romance surrounding me that should make my heart skip a beat and my countenance glow? Will I rest in the simplicity of God’s love for me, understanding that it’s forever and constant? God IS love. That’s all I need to know. As I rest in this extravagant and simple love, the complications of my life, of this world will fade. And then will I respond in simple extravagance towards Him? Will I give Him my all? Will I lavish my praise, worship, and love on Him with reckless abandon? I pray I will.

As I leave Africa this summer, I want my life to take on a new mark of simple extravagance. I want to learn to live simply. Simple in my abandoned devotion to God. Simple in my love for others. I want my lifestyle to be simple: the amount of clothes I own, the food I buy, the activities I do, the things I spend money on, what I find delight in, what brings a smile to my face, what I expect from others, what brings me contentment. May all of these things be simple. But may extravagance accompany the simplicity. As I simplify my wardrobe, may I extravagantly clothe the naked around the world. As I choose a peanut butter and jelly sandwich over an expensive meal out, may I use the extra money to feed those without food today. May I extravagantly love and give to others out of my commitment to simplicity. May I be extravagant in my hospitality, in my generosity, in my encouragement of others, in my servant hood, in my listening, and in my sacrifice. Above all, may I be extravagant in my love. Continue to lead me my God. Lead me in this dance of simple extravagance!

MIRALCES IN TANZANIA

2006-07-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

God asked me one day as he asked the blind beggar in Luke 18, "Kierra, what do you want me to do for you?" I responded that I wanted to see miracles here. I wanted to see God's power unleashed and to see lives changed forever. God granted my request that day- I saw miracles! But they didn't come in the form I was looking for. One of the teachers at our training center took us on a tour of the gardens where students are learning creative and effective ways to get the most crops out of their little land in order to feed their families. As we walked into the garden, he said, "And here are our miracles. These vegetables God is growing are miracles." Later he introduced us to the 17 students learning at the center right now so that they can be change agents in their churches and communities. He again said, "Here are our current students, they are 17 miracles."So I saw my miracles. Thank you Isaac for opening my eyes to them. Truly, the food that God is growing here, and the life-giving ideas in these gardens are miracles that are saving lives. And the students who are now teaching these ideas to 100 people in the surrounding community are miracles. God's power is being released in this place and lives are beingchanged forever!

DANCING BEFORE GOD!

2006-07-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

Boy do the Tanzanians know how to sing and dance! I have never seen anything like it. As soon as the worship started at church, everyone left their seats and came to the big space at the front to sing and dance together. What a joyful celebration! They danced before their God and worshipped Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. My heart and mouth couldn't stop smiling as I watched the joy of the Lord fill that room. And the smile stayed on my face as I then got to preach and watch 5 people give their lives to God for the first time and another 5 recommit their lives to Him.
(15 students at the school also came forward to give their lives to God, and joined a weekly Bible study to grow in this relationship!). But the fun and dancing weren't over after church. Later that afternoon we had a street crusade that around 600 people attended. Music and dancing filled the streets and I did my best to join the Tanzanian line dances. My rhythm and moves didn't quite match up to theirs, but hey, I did my best and definitely provided lots of laughter for everyone around.

TANZANIA TRIP

2006-07-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

I had a blast experiencing Tanzania the last five days with my Dad and three close friends from home. The action and God encounters were non-stop as we worked at the training center, taught at an elementary school, got whooped by the kids in soccer, visited and assessed the local health clinics, spoke at church, and put on a huge street crusade. The needs in Tanzania really broke our hearts. As we pulled up to a local elementary school, we found all 300 children playing outside. Only one teacher was found on the campus and he was locked in his office doing his own personal paperwork. There was definitely no teaching or learning happening at this school. Sadly, the ELI Director told us that this is typical for schools in Tanzania. Most teachers don't show up for work, and the children are lucky if they get even 40 minutes of instruction during one day. They want to learn. They show up to school every day hoping to glean some knowledge, but despite their effort and desires, this generation is quickly falling behind. Another huge problem is water. Lake Victoria serves as the main water source for people, but unfortunately contains a dangerous parasite. We found most people suffering from the effects of the parasite and did our best to provide treatment and prevention training. Sadly, the people don't have enough firewood to boil the water they way they need to, so for many, sickness will continue to be a way of life. Please pray with us as we ask God for ideas to bring hope and health to this area.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

2006-07-26T20:48:00.000-07:00

So far, we have received 25 of the 96 children who will live at this home. We have four sets of Kenyan house parents who are each adopting 12 girls and 12 boys. These are now their children - for life. Each family eats together as a family for meals and has their own devotions in the evenings. We are currently building a school that the children will begin attending in September, but for now they are being home-schooled by the parents. Throughout the next few months, we will continue to bring in more children every week until we reach our limit of 96. Please keep these children and their new parents in your prayers. Pray for their transition and for God to settle the kids into their new families.

QUOTES FROM THE KIDS

2006-07-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

The kids were amazed when they saw their beds for the first time. Most had never slept in a bed before; if they had, it was with 4 people in one single bed. Upon seeing their beds, the children exclaimed, "Mama, you mean I get to sleep in this big bed all by myself? I don't have to share with someone else?" They really couldn't believe it and asked multiple times. The next day when their new dad asked how they slept, one child answered, "I slept so well. Do you think I can sleep in that bed again tonight?" The dad happily replied it's HIS bed and he gets to sleep in it every night. "Every night?" the boy repeated in wonder. It seems that no matter how many times we tell them these things, they just can't wrap their minds around them. After bathing the first night, one girl tried to give her towel back to her new mom. Her mom told her it was her towel and she could keep it.. "You mean it's mine forever and I never had to give it back?" For children who have never owned a single possession before, the events of this first day were pretty mind-blowing.

THE WELCOME

2006-07-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

There was no question that there was cause to rejoice as three cars loaded with children arrived at the Children's Home. The cars were honking, the staff were singing and tears of joy flowing. One by one, the children piled out of the cars with eyes wide in wonder; they had no idea what to think of this huge celebration all in their honor. They had been abandoned and forgotten their whole lives and now here they were, the guests of honor at the celebration of a lifetime! They stood behind the rope we had tied with streamers until the singing finished, and then one little girl got the privilege of cutting the string! Immediately, their new parents and grandparents were brought forward and introduced to them. It will be a moment that I'm sure neither parent nor child will forget. In an instant, the course and future of each life was changed forever. 14 orphans are now blessed children with loving parents and families. Four childless couples are now proud parents of 14 children-and still expecting!
And we were blessed to witness the hope of a future captured in the first hug shared between parent and child.

PICKING UP THE KIDS

2006-07-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

I had the amazing opportunity to ride with the Kipkaren school head-master and pick up the children from their current homes. Together, we brought the children to their new home. What an experience! I expected the children to shed a few tears and show signs of fear as they left the familiar and headed to a new home. But that was far from the case. Instead, the children greeted us with huge smiles and tons of excitement. One small boy saw our car a long way off, came running towards us at full
speed and jumped into the car. He was ready to leave! My heart broke as many of the kids left their homes with no more than the tattered clothes on their backs. Barefoot and empty-handed, the children piled into the car, not knowing where they were going, but hoping that wherever it was, it was better than what they were leaving. If the children already had homes, why bring them to ours? All of the children are full orphans, which means that both parents have died. Most have been living with elderly grandparents, with relatives, or with neighbors. None of the guardians were able to meet the children's needs and were desperate for help.

Receiving Jesus

2006-07-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

History was made in Kenya and heaven and earth will never be the same. God's Kingdom was brought to earth and lives were forever changed. On July 7th, the Kipkaren Children's Home officially opened, and received its first
14 children. Tears glistened in our eyes as the Kipkaren parents welcomed the children into their new homes. In a matter of minutes, each child went from being a destitute orphan to being the son or daughter of a loving couple. The fatherheart of God touched these "fatherless," and we were left speechless and moved. The night before the children arrived, ELI Director David Tarus exhorted us, "Prepare to receive Jesus tomorrow. We are not receiving orphans. These children are no longer orphans; they are children who belong to a family. Jesus proclaimed that whenever we receive a little child in His name, we
receive Him. Prepare to receive Jesus tomorrow." With that encouragement, some of the staff went to the kids' rooms that
night to pray for each child, and to anoint each bed with perfume. I decided to visit the rooms early the next morning. I found myself singing over each bed. "Come, Lord Jesus, come . . ." Jesus was born in a manager because there was no room for him at the inn. Many of these children have been sleeping in 'mangers' their entire lives, and have never slept in a bed. "Oh Jesus," I prayed, "I know you've been rejected in the past, but there is room for you here. Come, Jesus, come, we're ready to receive you."

Please pray for...

2006-07-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I realized that I’ve been so busy updating you all on everything that’s been happening here, that I’ve forgotten to send you prayer requests. Here are some things I would love for you to cover in prayer and take before the throne of God.

For me:
1. That God would really set me free from the stress I live under, and the pressure I put on myself to “accomplish” a ton of things each day. I am living in a culture that places their value on “being” rather than ‘doing.” I am realizing that I don’t know how to “be” very well. I feel stress when I’m just sitting and not “accomplishing” something. I really want God to break this yoke that I carry. I want to learn from the Kenyans how to relax, how to just be, how to value relationships, and how to not be a slave to the clock. This is going to have to be a big God-thing. I’m just so programmed to feel guilty if I’m not being “productive” (whatever that word means).
2. That God would show me who I am. This goes along with the whole learning to “be” thing. A little bit ago, I was visiting the home of one of my Kenyan friends. After a while, I said that I needed to leave to go do some work on my computer. She looked at me and said, “Kierra, you are ever working. You don’t know how to relax do you?” I said no and asked if she could help me. She said, “Yes, I need to help you because I don’t even think you know who you are. You don’t have time to know who you are. All you know is your work.” Wow, she totally nailed it! Her words hit home so strongly and I realized that I don’t know who I am when I’m just sitting; just being. I find my identity in what I do, and so when I’m not “doing” anything, I’m not sure who I am. I know that my worth and identity do not come from what I do, but that’s where I’ve been finding it. I’m excited to embark on this journey of learning who I am in Christ apart from all my work and ministry. Please pray for me during this process.
3. That God would grant me a lot of wisdom as I host these teams. I have a lot of decisions to make each day and I’m realizing that I really don’t like making decisions. The responsibility of being in charge of their time here is a heavy one for me to carry and it’s a bit overwhelming at times. Pray for me as I learn to surrender the teams into God’s hands and let Him carry the responsibility instead of me. And pray for His peace, wisdom, and discernment to fill me as I lead these teams and plan their time here.
4. Continue to pray for my health! So far, God has been so faithful in this area!!! Please pray that the good health continues. I have begun drinking the filtered water here instead of bottled water because we just can’t always get to town to buy the bottled stuff. It makes me a bit nervous, but just keep praying for God’s protection over the water, and over all the food that I’ve been eating out in the community as I visit people’s homes. Also, continue to pray against malaria. Even though I’m taking an anti-biotic to fight it, it doesn’t provide complete protection.

For the village of Chepsaita: Pray against the bondage of alcohol. Chepsaita is a new village located about an hour from Kipkaren. Our Anti-Alcohol team, and Home Based Care Team started working in this village about 7 weeks ago. We are traveling there weekly to start programs and bring the hope of Christ. In Chepsaita, please:
1. Pray for Tom. On the AA team’s first visit to CHepsaita, they met Tom. Tom was an alcoholic, but after listening to their testimonies, he told them he wanted to quit drinking and to be free. He hasn’t taken a drink since that day and is exstatic to now be 7 weeks sober. Pray that God continues to give him the strength to stay sober. God is raising Tom up as a leader in Chepsaita, and as an amazing example to the rest of the community. Many others are looking at him and gaining hope that they too can become sober and free. Pray that God continues to use Tom in a mighty way to change his community.
2. Pray for John. I met John on Monday at the AA meeting in Chepsaita. At 60-years-old and a life-long alcoholic, John listened to our message and the testimonies, and decided to give up drinking. We counseled and prayed with him and are excited to follow-up with him next week to see how his first sober week went. Pray that God gives him the strength and will-power to resist alcohol each day this week. Pray that Holy Spirit takes control of his body and mind as he fights the urges.
3. Pray for Louise. Louise is John’s wife. When we visited her home, she was ecstatic that her husband committed to give up drinking. She told us that her husband is not a nice man when he is drunk. But the problem is that Louise brews alcohol. Their home is the village brewery and this is the method she has found to feed her children. She doesn’t want to brew alcohol. She doesn’t want drunk men hanging around her house and children, she doesn’t want more drunk men to rape her daughter, but she fears starvation if she were to quit. After talking and praying with her though, she’s ready to try. She’s ready to step out in faith, to try selling a few things in the market, and to quit brewing. Pray that God gives her the strength and courage to follow-though on this decision. Pray that He provides for her family in miraculous ways this week. Pray for healing and restoration for this broken family.
4. Pray for Solomon and Kennedy. These two young boys are addicted to alcohol and cigarettes. Both want our help to quit. Solomon burned his cigarettes while we were with him on Monday and both plan to meet with Tom throughout the week for accountability and Bible-study. Pray that God sets them free from this bondage and gives them the strength to resist their addictions.

“Our AA team burning Solomon’s cigarettes.”

Finding the Living Water!

2006-07-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

“If you had asked me, I would have given you living water… And the water I give takes away thirst altogether.” John 4:10,14. Jesus spoke these words to a Samaritan woman over 2000 years ago, and His offer still stands for all thirsty people today. Five present day “Samaritan” women found this living water at our training center this past week, and I am excited to tell you the story.

At an AIDS campaign that we put on a few months ago, the ELI staff met some women who were living as prostitutes. One of them grabbed our director’s arm and said, “Ok, I’ve been tested. I know that I have HIV, and I don’t want to spread it anymore, but I don’t have any other way to feed my children. I don’t know what else to do. You have to help me.” Thus began a relationship with six very special ladies. It started in some local bars. We wanted to start where they felt comfortable. Slowly, they began to share their stories with us, and our hearts broke. As trust developed, the meetings moved from the bars to our training center, where the women have been coming every Wednesday for a time of devotion, prayer, and business development skills. For the first time ever, these women have been encouraged to dream of a new life. We are helping them dream of new possibilities for feeding their children, and hope is sprouting. After a three-day training here, each woman came up with her own business proposal, and we are now praying and working through the endless barriers and logistics of them.

But even more important than business skills, these “Samaritan Women” as we call them, are feeling the love of Christ for the first time. They are hearing the Gospel and are finding dignity, acceptance, and value once again. I think that initially, the women continued to come to our center each week simply from intrigue. “Why are these people so committed to helping us?” “What is this love that I experience every time I’m around them?” “Why do they want to be friends with us when everyone else in society as rejected and labeled us?” Slowly, they have learned that the answer is simply Jesus. Jesus loves them, sees them, knows their past, understands their pain, and wants to offer them living water. What a blessing to walk this journey with them the past two months!

I have seen their tears of joy as we visited them in their homes (homes that no one else in the community would ever be caught dead visiting). I have loved sharing the Bible with them and watching them learn who God truly is. I rejoiced that day that shyly admitted that they didn’t have Bibles, but would like to own one so that they might continue to read about God on their own. And, my heart has danced as I watched new hope shine in their eyes as they began to believe that another life is possible! But nothing in this journey compares to last Saturday.

The day began as we welcomed the five ladies to our training center in the morning for a day of special fun. After singing and a devotion about the time that Jesus washed His disciples feet, we proceeded to wash the feet of each woman. I think that everyone in the room was near tears. The women kept saying, “No one has ever done anything like this for us before.” Each woman then get a foot massage and pedicure, along with one-on-one counseling and prayer, and business advice for their new proposals. AND, each woman heard the gospel message. At this point, they didn’t even need an invitation- all of them asked US if they could give their lives to God. All five women found the living water that day, and heaven and earth rejoiced. At the end of the day, I presented a Bible to each lady with verses already highlighted throughout. They kissed the Bibles and hugged me tightly. Each woman knew that she now had a mighty weapon to take with her as she entered the battle at home again. With their new swords in hand, the women bid us farewell and promised that they would see us in church the next day.

And sure enough, they came! They walked the 4 miles to church and greeted us excitedly as they arrived. What joy to sit with them in church and watch them raise their hands and worship their new found Savior with all their hearts. And what joy to meet with them this past Wednesday for our weekly meeting. This time during the devotion time, EVERYONE shared. Each woman shared a scripture that had touched her during the past five days. Though the days had been rough for many, and the battle raged strong at home, each woman had stayed strong and was finding strength and hope in God’s word. One said, “When I arrived at church on Sunday, I felt God’s Holy Spirit fill me, and as soon as I got home, I just started reading. I didn’t want to waste anytime.” Another said, “I’ve been so happy the past five days because I never had a sword before. I have been in a battle, but never had a sword to fight with. Now I do!”

The battle ahead is still a big one. The obstacles in the way of these new business proposals are many. It’s hard not to lose hope that they will ever be a reality. But I know that God did not lead them through the Red Sea to let them die in the wilderness. Yes, the giants in the way of entering the promised land are huge, but our God is greater. And we trust that he will lead us into that promised land, providing manna for today until we reach there. I often think, “Lord, we are still so far from getting these businesses started, so what are these women going to eat today?” But He reminds me again and again that He is the God who provided water from a rock, and manna in the wilderness to care for the children of Israel, and He will do the same for these women today. Please pray for us as we journey through this wilderness, seeking entrance to the promised land flowing with milk and honey. Pray for ideas from above, and for miraculous doors to open. We need a miracle. We need the walls of Jericho to come tumbling down. And the women need strength for today. They need food for their children today. They need protection from the attacks of the enemy today.

Thank you for your prayers! And thank you for walking this journey with me!

Amazed by Him,
Kierra

Together, we are Empowering Lives!

2006-06-15T04:56:00.000-07:00

“Together, we are Empowering Lives, and this is the month of fellowship and teamwork!” These were the words I chanted with our staff this morning at the end of our meeting. We huddled up, swung our arms together, yelled our chant, and then cheered as we each high fived everyone in the room. I sat amazed as I looked around at the incredible team God has placed me in. These thirty Kenyans and two Americans have become such a real family to me in 3 ½ short weeks. And what a team we make! Every person plays their role and serves with all their heart. Truly, there is no way we could keep up with all God is doing here without each team member serving with the passion and sacrifice that they do.

Let me tell you a bit about ministry here. It’s pretty out of control. I knew that God was doing great things through ELI before this summer, but I had no idea the magnitude of what goes on here each day and week.

First of all, there are the major trainings and retreats that we host. Last week we held a five day retreat for 40 of the alumni who have gone through our 6-month training program. The alumni came for a week of leadership training, follow-up, special skill training, fellowship, and spiritual development. The day after they left, 20 pastors in our Pastor Empowerment Program arrived for a similar 4 day conference. During all of this, we also had a short-term team from William Jessup University living and serving with us. The day after William Jessup and the pastors left, a team from Life Bible Fellowship Church arrived. They left this morning, and a few hours later, a group of 8 women caught up in the commercial sex industry arrived for their three-day retreat. This is a group of 8 women who would like to leave their jobs of prostitution, but don’t have any other way to feed their children right now. This is all they know. We have been meeting with them once a week to build relationships and to see how we can encourage and empower them to leave this line of work. We are excited to have them here for the next three days to share Christ with them, get them dreaming a bit, re-instill value into them, and give them some ideas and skills to find new work. Right after these women leave, we have a church coming for a week of Home-Based-Care and AIDS training. These church members will learn about AIDS, how to educate their community, how to bring testing and counseling to their village, and how to care for those who are infected in their area. These trainings are extremely powerful as we equip the church to move out to the front lines to fight this deadly disease, the fear and shame associated with it, and to care for those dying in their villages.

And the list goes on and on with these retreats and trainings. The Training Center is always full of people getting empowered, trained, and taught the word of God. But this is only a part of our ministry. While these trainings are going on, let me tell you what else is happening simultaneously.

First, there’s the Children’s Home that will soon be home to 96 orphans. Construction will be completed in two weeks and on June 20th, we will start bringing in our first children. Our social worker has been going through the cases of the children who have applied and has been making sure we have all the needed paperwork (death certificates for both parents, etc). Today the house parents are going out to meet their children for the first time. Even though the children won’t move in for another 2 weeks, the parents are meeting them and getting their pictures and stories so that we can begin to find sponsors in America for each child.

Then, there’s the Home-Based-Care ministry. Every day is packed for this team of 8 people. Mondays are providing AIDS education, testing, and counseling in a new village. Tuesdays are sharing at a school in the morning, and then training other communities and churches in Home-Based-Care in the afternoon. Wednesdays are educating in more schools. Thursdays are providing testing and counseling at a local church. Fridays are taking the positive patients to the clinic for their treatment, and then delivering food to all the patients’ homes. Saturdays and Sundays are often either AIDS Campaigns or follow-up at churches where we have done the training. And, free-time each day is spent visiting the sick in their homes and providing physical, emotional, and spiritual love and care to these “untouchables” rejected by their communities.

Then, there’s the unexpected ministry that God brings our way each day. Yesterday, it was a woman in labor who desperately needed a ride to the health clinic. A few days ago, it was a mom with her dying baby knocking on our doors at 2:00 am needing to get to the hospital. We drove her the hour to the hospital, but it was too late, and the baby died the next day (her fourth child to die). Today, a staff member went to pay the hospital fees that the mom couldn’t afford in order to bring home the baby’s body for a proper burial. As our main driver went to the hospital, that left me to go and pick up the women working as prostitutes and to bring them here for their retreat. As Pastor Peter and I drove to get them, we came across a woman waiting for us to give her and her son a ride to the doctor in town. Her 10-year-old son is crippled with a disease that I’m guessing is polio or cerebral palsey. She had already carried him 5 miles to get to us, and had no way to get the remaining 30 miles to the doctor. Unfortunately, we had to pick up the other women who were waiting for us, so the best we could do was pay for a taxi to bring the mom and her son to town.

I’m telling you, the action never stops around here. The needs are so great, but it’s amazing to see God meeting those needs through this ministry. It’s exciting to watch the church actually be the church. And to watch the body of Christ actually serve as the body of Christ. For truly, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a body imitate the actions of Christ so clearly. When I look at Christ, I see a man who healed the sick, fed the hungry, made disciples, preached the good news to the poor, ate with sinners, loved and re-directed prostitutes, touched the untouchables, cared for the orphans, and let the world truly experience the love of God. This is this Kingdom of God. And this is the Kingdom that I watch people experience each day in this village. Oh God, may your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! Continue to establish your Kingdom here.

Thanks for all your love and prayers!

Mungu Akubariki,
Kierra

p.s. I attached some pictures for you. The first is this incredible place that I am living. The second is some of our 6-month alumni working to put a puzzle together for the first time. They loved this!!! No one had ever seen a puzzle before, and then we debriefed about teamwork, leadership, and learning. The third picture is Pastor Peter and I. We are partners in crime together as we host these American teams that come. Together Peter and I coordinate their time, debrief with them each night, etc. I am so blessed to have this amazing disciple as my partner. I learn so much from him every day!

Some pictures

2006-06-03T22:18:00.000-07:00

Eating dinner at Pastor Peter's house. What a blessed night of fellowship, eating together, worship, dancing, and prayer. Oh how I love this family!

Eating in Pastor Peter's home. Little Vivian fell asleep in my arms. Lala salama Vivian.

Holding newborn Solomon on a home visit to a recovering alcoholic.

Holy Moments

2006-06-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Today was a holy day. I think that God intended all days to be holy days, but somehow I usually miss the holiness of them. I miss the sacredness of the moments that fill them. But not today. Today my heart was touched by all the divine moments that came my way. It started at 5:45am as God woke me up way before my alarm was to go off, and beckoned me to meet Him in His word. I then went for a 2 mile run with my friend Juli, and many other friends who joined us on the way. Our first “joinee” was Daniel, a professional runner in the community who was doing his “cool down” with us. As we ran, he had questions for us about the passage from last night’s bible-study. “What does Jesus mean when He says that man does not live by bread alone,” Daniel wanted to know. We discussed the passage and the fact that physical food does not fill all our hungers. We can have all the physical food we need, but our hearts and souls will still be hungry. Daniel got it. During the final leg of our run, we were accompanied by ten laughing children on their way to school. What a blessing.

Juli and I then proceeded to her hut for our morning time of prayer together. This morning was especially sweet as we sat in silence in the presence of the Almighty God. No words came to our mouths this morning- the Spirit simply led us into a time of listening and stillness before His throne. Truly it was a precious 45 minutes of “being still and knowing that He is God.” At breakfast, we had a special guest. Though his name is David Kibet, I know that truly, it was Jesus in our midst, dining at the table with us. David is a walking miracle; a testimony of God’s might and faithfulness. David should have died two years ago. He was dying in bed from AIDS when one of Juli found him. At 6 foot 2, and weighing only 100 pounds, he could not even lift his hand to greet someone. But as he explains, then Jesus came to him through his friend Juli. Jesus loved him, still believed there was hope for his life, took him in the car to a clinic, got him on treatment, and has restored his life. As we worshiped with David this morning and listened to his testimony, I knew I was looking into the eyes of Jesus. For this is what Jesus means in Matthew 25 where he says that when we visit the sick, we are really visiting Him. I sat blown away by the goodness of God as I looked at this man who has received his life back. He now is on the retroviral drugs and is feeling healthy and strong. He is able to work in his garden and provide for his family. He is currently helping with the construction of our new Children’s Home and is helping to give hope to children in need. But most of all, he now radiates the joy of the Lord. He continually speaks of the goodness of God, and I can see new hope shining out of his eyes.

After the morning devotion, I had the honor of visiting a woman named Esther in her home. The 3 mile walk led me to a tiny, musty hut with a frail, yet smiling woman inside. Esther couldn’t contain her joy at having visitors. HIV positive, abandoned by her husband, and rejected by society, it is a rare treat for Esther to have company. She shared her heartbreaking journey with us, as well as her hope and trust in God. He’s all she has- the only One who hasn’t forsaken her. She asked if we could sing her favorite song with her. One line in it says that though my father and mother may forsake me, my God will never leave me. She has felt the love of God first-hand through our Home-Based-Care Team, and she praises Him for His faithfulness to her. After sharing some scripture and praying for her, we continued on our journey to visit another family in need of love and prayer.

Returning to the training center for lunch, I again found myself eating in the presence of Christ as he dwells in the “least of these.” One visitor was Dina with her baby Daniel. Both mother and son are HIV positive, and today Daniel is also suffering from Malaria. They came for help and medicine today. To add to the complications, Dina is half blind, and her husband is an abusive alcoholic. Our other visitor was Timon. Timon is also dying of AIDS and is on his last stretch. We don’t know how long he has left. A stroke from 6 years ago has left him paralyzed on the right side of his body and unable to really communicate. For now, all we can do is to love him, pray for him, and stay at his side throughout this painful process of death. Today we brought him to the training center to provide a little company and joy in his week. Timon loves to hear singing and so after lunch, Juli decided to find some people to sing with him for a bit. I tell you, that was a holy hour. I watched as the body of Christ came together to truly be the body of Christ to this sick and dying man. All of the ELI staff dropped what they were doing to join the choir. Gardeners, cooks, pastors, the housecleaners, and teachers left their tasks to sing and bring the presence of God into that dining hall. Truly, what a sweet aroma went up to heaven during that time.

Tears filled my eyes later that afternoon as Betty shared her story with the team during our debrief time. Another HIV positive woman, Betty met God as she lay dying alone on her dirt floor. She knew that there must be a God out there, and she cried out to Him asking Him to restore her life if there was still work she could do for Him. He spared her and she has come to know Him and His love through our ministry. Shunned by everyone else in the world, Betty found acceptance for the first time among our staff, and actually began to feel like a human being again. Now she knows that God has a purpose for her and she spends her time visiting and encouraging the sick, speaking openly about her status to break the stigma that accompanies it, educating people about AIDS, and testing and counseling others. When I asked how we could pray for her, she answered, “I just want more of God. I want so much of Him in my heart. May there always be more and more room for Him in me. I don’t need anything else. I’ve had the things of this world, but they don’t mean anything to me anymore. Just pray for more and more of God in me.” Wow, thank you Jesus for examples like this lady. I knew at that moment that I was sitting in the presence of one the “greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” She may be the least on this earth- but this child of God is surely going to be among the greatest in Heaven.

The day ended with some holy moments of pure joy. After dinner, we got out the music, and had a blast laughing and dancing for an hour. We did the “picky picky” dance, learned the electric slide Kenyan style, and learned the jumping dance of the Dinka tribe from Sudan. Amidst the sadness and reality of life here, it’s a blessing to have these needed times of laughter and fun. I know God was laughing with us as we danced together.

But nothing from the day compared with the final hour of worship. We are having a Pastor’s Conference here for the next four days, and tonight was the first session. Wow, I have never heard worship like this. These 15 pastors sang with such passion and strength. Acapella worship and heartfelt prayers filled the room. What devotion, what love, what passion, what worship!. The King of Kings was seated on His throne and received the glory due His name.

Thank you Jesus for these moments. Continue to open my eyes to all the other sacred moments you want me to experience. Open the eyes of my heart Lord, I want to see you.

Only in Kenya...

2006-06-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

My goodness, I love this place. And I love all the daily experiences that cause me to think, “Wow, only in Kenya.” Let me share my two favorite examples of this from the past few days.

First of all, only in Kenya would the taxi seatbelt eat through your skirt. Let me explain. My friend Juli (another ELI staffer) and I took a matatu (Kenyan taxi) down to Nairobi on Monday to pick up the team that was arriving. We were chatting away during the drive when all of a sudden, I looked down at my brown skirt and realized that the top of it was turning bright pink. “Juli, my skirt is changing colors!” I exclaimed. We both started cracking up at the random occurrence. Neither of us could figure out why my skirt was turning pink. The other 12 people in the matatu found the whole situation quite amusing as well. We thought it might be from my seatbelt, but when we looked at it, there was nothing on it, and it definitely wasn’t pink. Juli decided to test it anyway. She rubbed the seatbelt on a lower part of my skirt that was still brown, and sure enough, that section turned pink. Now we were really laughing. She tried the seatbelt on her skirt (which was red), and to our delight, it turned BLUE! Both of us were crying because we were laughing so hard. Our skirts were already ruined, so we decided to decorate them all over so at least the bright pink and blue would be distributed evenly throughout them and look like part of the design. We became quite the fashion designers and created some very interesting tie-die skirts.

We arrived in Nairobi and began to attend to the errands we needed to run there. We had been walking around for about a half and hour when I realized that I needed to turn my skirt back around. (I had put the back in the front so that I could decorate the back of it). Now I realized that I had never switched it back to the right direction. As I turned the skirt around, to my horror, I found two huge holes in what I had been wearing as the “back” of my skirt. Whatever had dyed my skirt, had now completely eaten through it!!! And these weren’t small holes- this was like all of Nairobi had been seeing large sections of my underwear as I had been walking around for the past 30 minutes. “Julie, my skirt!” I yelled. When she saw the holes, she almost fell on the ground she was laughing so hard! Now neither of us could stop the tears because we were laughing so uncontrollably. The worst part was that her friend Bernanrd then arrived to greet us, and I had to cover myself with one hand, and try to greet him with the other hand, all while trying to suppress my laughter enough to actually be able to talk. Praise the Lord that Juli had an extra skirt with her and I was finally able to change out of my very inappropriate one. I don’t know what was on that seatbelt- it must have been some type of bleach or battery acid. But wow, did it provide for an eventful day!! I must say that I think this is one of the strangest and funniest things that has ever happened to me. Only in Kenya…

Second, only in Kenya would the lights go out in the middle of a seminar, resulting in spontaneous worship in the pitch dark. We were holding a night meeting for the 30 Kenyan alumni students from our 6-month training program. Our director, David Tarus, was speaking about AIDS and the testing that would be offered in the morning, when our solar energy ran out and the lights went out. The room was completely dark- much darker than the dark of America where there always seems to still be some type of light source shining some light into the room. The room erupted into the most beautiful, accapella worship ever. What a sacred time of heartfelt worship in the stillness and darkness of the night. The staff eventually got a generator started and the lights came back on, but I will forever treasure those 5-10 minutes of worship in the dark. When the lights resumed, David told us all, “You know, it’s no problem if the lights go off. This just gives us another opportunity to praise God. We get to be like Paul and Silas in the dark dungeon.” It’s moments and lessons like these that I praise God for every day. Only in Kenya… There’s nowhere I’d rather be right now.

“Karibu Nyumbani” (Welcome Home)

2006-05-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

These were the words I heard over and over again from my “family” as they welcomed me into the village of Kipkaren last Wednesday. My welcome was filled with lots of singing, hugs, smiles, flowers, and prayers. My cheeks were hurting from smiling and my eyes were blurring from tears as I entered my new home for the next four months. Wow, what a special place this little village is. My first few days here have been all about settling in, re-connecting with the staff, catching up on all the different aspects of our ministry, preparing for the teams and interns who will be coming this summer, and just adjusting to life in Kipkaren (which is somehow very busy with ministry, and yet also very slow paced and always unpredictable). Each day has been filled with new adventures. Here are a couple of them:

Driving in Kenya:
Yep, that’s right, I am now a Kenyan driver! It actually wasn’t as scary or hard as I anticipated. I was a bit nervous about learning to drive on the right side of the car and the left side of the road, but I quickly learned that those adjustments would not be my biggest concern. It’s the BUMPY, pot-hole-filled, dirt roads that pose as the biggest challenge (but, they also bring the fun and adventure of it all). I’m proud to say that I’m getting the hang of them though and am gaining courage to really tackle the bumps and dips. So, yes, ninaweza endesha gari (I can drive the car). Not to be confused with “I have diarrhea.” I learned quickly that the word for “drive” and “diarrhea” are the same. So, when you talk about driving, you have to make sure you add the part about a car. If you don’t say you are driving the car, you are saying that you have diarrhea. Good minor detail to remember when driving here and telling others about it.

Riding the Boda Bodas:
My first day here, I went to a nearby town with two members of ELI”s Home-Based-Care-Team to do AIDS testing and counseling (I didn’t do the testing or counseling, but went along to see the program and spend time with Betty and Pheobe, two of my closest Kenyan friends). We had a great day talking and laughing together as we waited for people to come by the church to get tested. Maru, our driver was supposed to pick us up around 4:00 to bring us home, but at 6:00, there was still no sign of him. We called him and found out he was still doing business in a town about an hour away. So, we decided to walk the 5 miles home. We were now on a race to beat the sun going down so that we wouldn’t be walking in complete darkness. But, we were slowed up a bit because we had to buy cabbage and meat in the market for dinner that night, and the load was a bit heavy to carry. But, God came to the rescue! After walking for about 10 minutes, we saw some ‘boda boda’ drivers. A boda boda is a bicycle with an extra seat on the back of it that is used as a kind of taxi. We hired three of the boda boda drivers to bring us home on their bikes, and wow, what a blast! I laughed most of the way home riding on the back of the bike. I think my driver laughed most of the way also- he had never carried a mzungu (white person) before. Both of us got quite a kick out of the whole situation. Not to mention Pheobe, Betty, and everyone we passed on the road. Definitely a memory to treasure!

Along with all the fun adventures going on, God has been teaching me and really working on my heart. A few days ago, I was driving with another staff member and saw a sign on a car saying “The Mighty Hand of the Lord.” It had a picture of a hand, but we started laughing because it wasn’t a very good drawing of a hand. It looked a bit small and shriveled. We laughed for a minute, but then I realized, “You know, I think that’s the picture I have of God’s hand a lot of the time. Sure, I say I believe in His might and power, and I declare that His hand is mighty, but, if I’m honest with myself, the picture I really hold of His hand is a small, somewhat weak one. How do I know this? I can tell by my prayer life. I can tell by my expectations of God. When I look at the prayers that I pray and the small expectations I often have, I can tell that my view of his hand is small. When I think about how much I stress and worry, it tells me that my view of His hand is small. Oh Lord, forgive me. Forgive me for limiting you. Forgive me for the small view I have of your mighty hand. Will you give this blind girl sight? Sight to see your hand as it really is- in all it’s might and power!!! Teach me to pray prayers worthy of your hand, prayers that proclaim your greatness in what they ask for and what they expect.

Prayer Requests:
We have our first team arriving on Tuesday the 23rd. I am really excited, but am also feeling a bit insecure. In so many ways, I still feel so unprepared for this job of hosting the teams. The more I’m here, the more I realized how much I don’t know. A lot of me feels really inadequate to be the person in charge of hosting these teams. But, the Lord spoke to me today that, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12). I am determined to cling to this promise and trust his power to made great in my weakness here. Praise the Lord that “when we are weak, then we are strong.” Please pray for His power to really rest on me and be made complete. Pray that HE equips me and does this job through me. I am going to need so much wisdom and discernment and help from Him. Pray that He fills me with His love, His words, His wisdom, and His power. And may He be my confidence and competence!

Please continue to pray for my health. Thank you so much for your prayers concerning this so far! I have felt completely healthy the entire time so far- praise the Lord! May this good health continue throughout the entire summer! Continue to pray against malaria, and that God continues to bless each meal to my body. Also, pray for energy and strength throughout these busy days ahead. Each day is going to be jam-packed from 6:00am till late into the evening. I am definitely going to need God’s strength!

Pray for my relationship with God. I long to grow so close to Him this summer. Pray for deeper intimacy each day. May the busyness not distract me from hearing His still small voice and may I dance with Him through every circumstance of the day. Oh, I long to get to know Him so much more.

Pray for my relationship with each team member and the Kenyans in this village. I really want for God’s love to shine out of me onto every person I come into contact with. As I interact with them, I long for them to feel the touch of God.

Lala Salama (Sleep Well)

2006-05-16T23:46:00.000-07:00

Lala Salama
Originally uploaded by Kierra Higgins.

Tonight I got to read to the children before they went to bed. I was so blessed by the entire experience and will never forget this night. I entered the first girls’ hut (home to 12 girls) and found a few small ones already asleep in their beds. The rest were working on their homework at the table. They were so excited to see me and showered me with hugs. I brought in some books that the American teams had sent and told them they could pick one for me to read. They picked “The Bernstein’s Bears and the Messy Room.”

I began to read to them, stopping to explain all the words they didn’t understand. At first, it was just words like basement – they have never heard of a basement before and thought it was so funny that you would have a room under the ground. But then I got a bit more concerned as I had to explain things like “model dinosaurs,” “race car collections,” and a bunch of other toys. These kids have never had toys before, and now maybe each have one “toy” to call their own. My heart began to hurt as I read them a story about this messy room with all these hundreds of toys cluttering the floor. At one point, Mama Bear opens the closet door and she gets covered in all the falling toys that were jammed into it. This isn’t right, I just kept thinking. Children in America shouldn’t have this many toys, and these orphans in Kenya shouldn’t be hearing this story. I skipped over much of the rest of the story, trying to finish it as fast as possible. The solution at the end was that Papa Bear built them a toy box to store all their toys in, and they had to organize all the toys in the closet (the closet was still full to the brim mind you, they were just organized in boxes now instead of falling all over the place). I suppose it had a good lesson for kids to keep their rooms clean, but these children already know this lesson well. They amaze me. They clean their room and the whole Children’s Home every day. They each have their own cleaning chores and they happily attend to them every day. I never hear any child complaining or arguing about any of it. I was embarrassed to read to them about Brother and Sister Bear fighting over who had to clean up and who’s mess it was. These children would never dream of creating a scene like that. I told them at the end that I think we need to write our own children’s book with them as the main characters and then I can take it to America and read it to the children there who do not know how to clean their rooms very well. The children laughed and said they would like to be in a book. Maybe I’ll write one someday.

After the story, they all kept telling me, “Thank you so much.” They all hugged me and told me they loved me so much. I told them, “Lala Salama” (sleep well), and they kept saying it back to me. They told me to sleep well and have sweet dreams. I wished them sweet dreams as well. One girl told me that she never used to have sweet dreams – she only had bad ones (which I’m sure are from her traumatic past). But now that she’s been at the Children’s Home for over a year, the bad dreams have left and she only has sweet ones. Praise God!

As I tucked the little ones into bed, they each told me they would be praying for me. I told them I would pray for them too. I asked them how I could pray for them, and their answers blew me away. Their first answer was for me to pray for their parents (their new parents who they received when they came to our Children’s Home). Next, they asked me to pray for the children who were sick in the Home. Third, they wanted me to pray for the children in Sudan. They looked at some pictures from Sudan earlier this week and saw that those children had no food or clothes, so they are really praying for them. Fourth, they asked me to pray for their sponsors in America. Fifth they said to pray for the teams and interns who will be coming to Kenya this summer. Finally, I asked them, “Yes, but how can I pray for YOU?” They said to pray for their education that they would continue to learn a lot and do well in school.

Wow, I couldn’t believe how many people they asked me to pray for before they even thought of themselves. More than ever, I am understanding Jesus’ words, “Unless you humble yourselves and become like a little child, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Lord, teach me to be like these little children! Thank you for the lessons they taught me tonight and the way they blessed me.

Asante Sana Jesu (Thank you Jesus)

2006-05-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

After lunch
Originally uploaded by Kierra Higgins.

As I sit at my computer trying to think of how to summarize my last day and a half, I’m at a loss for words. Let me just say that my cheeks really started hurting today from smiling so much. We arrived at the Ilula Children’s Home and Training Center last night around 7:00 to an amazing welcome of 96 singing children and 20 ELI staff members. As I walked down the line and greeted and hugged each kid, almost of all of them said to me, “Welcome Home Kierra.” And truly, I feel like I’ve come home. From that welcome on, my time here has been nothing but pure joy. Why, you might ask? Well, here’s a little taste of what I’ve been experiencing: catching up with all our Kenyan staff at meal time, worshipping with the kids at devotion time, learning Swahili with the kids while eating lunch together, playing soccer, hearing what God has been doing in the ministry here during the last few months, sleeping in a hut under my African Princess mosquito net, and enjoying the breathtaking African skies and butterflies!

Already, God is doing so much in my heart. I have so much to learn here; so much to learn from these people. Living life with them reveals to me how small so much of my heart is. I look at some of my friends here and think, “How do they love at such a deep level? How do they trust God at such a deep level? How do they experience joy so deeply?” I am praying for enlargement. I long for God to enlarge my heart and my capacity to feel and experience life at every level. And I am excited. I want Him to stretch me and take me to new levels of loving people, new levels of experiencing His joy, new levels of hope in Him, new levels of peace in Him, new levels of compassion for His people, new levels of trust in His power, new levels of enjoying each day and moment, and new levels of knowing Him.

Lessons from Today:
1. “Haraka Haraka, haina baraka.” I’m not sure if I spelled all that correctly, but this is what Laban (the director of our Children’s Home) told me today. It means, “If you hurry, hurry, you loose the blessing.” I love it! They really understand the blessing of taking your time and enjoying each minute and conversation during the day. They never miss the blessing of the day because they are hurrying through it too fast. I wonder how many blessings I’ve missed because I was too busy and too hurried. Thanks for the reminder Laban!
2. Sally, one of the assistant house parents at our Children’s Home told me, “We have to work hard because God has given us health today. There are others who are not well today, but we have been given health and strength, so we must use it for God and work hard, especially for those who are unable to. So, I am working very hard today and am really praising God for my health and the ability to work for Him.” Wow, I want to be praising God for my health today also. And I want to use every ounce of health that I have for Him and His Kingdom and glory.
3. The power of praying. I sat in on the evening devotions that the children were having tonight and was blown away by their prayers. When it was time to pray, these kids got so excited! And they wanted to pray about EVERYTHING! They prayed for their sponsors in the U.S. (they all know their sponsor’s names and pray for them every day), they prayed for the children who were sick, they prayed for the children in Sudan who are suffering (they saw pictures from the Sudan last week and are really moved to pray for that country now), and they prayed thanking God for all the blessings He’s given them now (food, shoes, parents, school, etc). Truly, “Out of the lips of children, you have ordained praise.”

Starting out on a journey...

2006-05-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

This is it, the awaited day has finally arrived!!! And I am so unbelievably excited! Thank you so much for all your prayers during the last two weeks. I have never felt so carried by the prayers of others before. God's peace has been surrounding my heart and I have been able to get everything checked off my to-do list with very few tension headaches. Bwana asi fiwe (Praise the Lord)!!!

You guys, I'm ready! My heart and mind feel so ready to step into this adventure. I woke up this morning with a song in my heart. It's the song from the movie Anastasia (and I'm sure from other places as well). It goes... "Life is a road and I wanna keep going. Love is a river I want to keep flowing. Life is a road now and forver. Beautiful journey. And at the end I want to be standing at the beginning with you." It's so true! This life with God is such a beautiful journey and I want to keep going down the road He has for me. I want His river of love to keep flowing out of me. I am truly standing at the beginning with Him...and I know four months from now as I return to the states, I will again be standing at the beginning with Him.

So, here we go Lord...starting out on this journey together. I'm standing at the beginning with you and there's no place I'd rather be and no one I'd rather be standing here with!

Twende (Let's Go!)

30 Days and Counting...

2006-04-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe that I will be boarding a plane for Kenya one month from today! Ahhh…I get giddy every time I think about it! What an exciting adventure this summer is going to be. My departure date of May 12th is rapidly approaching and I know the next 30 days are going to fly by. Here’s the schedule: I’ll be in Southern California for the next three weeks meeting with this summer’s teams and finishing all their final training and preparation. And, of course, I’ll be trying to get in one last hang out time with all my friends and “family” down here. So, for all my Southern California friends, give me a call or shoot me an e-mail if you want to schedule a lunch, coffee, etc. before I leave.

THEN…the plan is to drive up to Sacramento on May 5th and spend a week there enjoying my amazing family, seeing my Sacramento friends and supporters, and meeting with the four Northern California teams serving with ELI this summer. It’s going to be a packed week, but I’m looking forward to it! And then…on May 12th…I, Kierra Higgins, am boarding a plane with my amazing King of Kings for the land that has stolen my heart! And this time, I’m not just going for a few weeks. No, no, this time I’m going for four months! I’m not just visiting – I’m LIVING there! Whooohooo!

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace." Isaiah 55:12

Other fun updates…
Building Relationships: I’ve been able to start building some great relationships with this summer’s interns and teams, and I’ve been loving it! I love that amidst the logistics and checklists and flight details of these teams, I’m getting to know some of them and am developing some fun friendships. I’ve loved swapping prayer requests with the interns and praying for the struggles and fears they’re facing right now. And I’ve loved meeting the team leaders and teams as we eat together, laugh, share stories, and get ready for what God has in store for this summer. Suddenly the team members aren’t just names on my spreadsheet, but they are faces and friends who I will see again as I greet them at the airport in Nairobi. More and more, God is teaching me that this life is about relationships, about people. It’s not about to-do lists and tasks; it’s about relationship with Him and His people. It’s about touching people, loving people, and sharing life together. Kenyans “get” this and I can’t wait to spend my whole summer learning from them. I love that my summer is going to be all about relationships! Oh Lord, continue to mold my heart that it might love and value others as you do.

Speaking and Sharing: God has opened the door for me to speak at a couple of high school chapels and church groups the past two months and I’ve loved it! I love getting to be a voice for His people around the world who have no voice, and I love allowing God to use me as His voice: a vessel for him to speak to His people through. It’s been so fun to watch Him work through these times and speak to people’s hearts.

Prayer requests…
My one desire right now is that I would arrive in Kenya a fully prepared and equipped vessel, ready for God to use in any way He sees fit. Pray that God finishes any work He needs to do in my heart to get me to this place by May 12th. I know that I will never be completely equipped, and I’m glad because that means I have to fully rely on HIM instead of myself. But I want to allow Him to prepare my heart as much as possible before I go. I don’t fully know what this looks like, but God does, and that’s enough for me. Pray that He prepares my heart, mind, attitude, and relationship with Him.

Donations:People have been asking me how they can send donations or supplies for my trip. If you are interested in helping in this way, you can send everything to the ELI office at P.O. Box 67 Upland, CA 91785. If you want to send any letters or fun stuff for me throughout the summer, just mail them to this address and our office staff will send them over to me with the next team that goes. Thanks so much!

Look Who's Getting Techy!

2006-03-07T15:20:00.000-08:00

So, I decided it's high time I entered the world of technology and joined the rest of society. For those of you who know me well, you know that I am so not a techy/computer person- but hey, anyone can change right? I may not be into technology, but I am definitley into relationships. And relationships are the reason I'm making this site.

As I head to Kenya in 2 months, I want to take you all with me. I may not be able to physically bring you with me, but I hope to bring you to Kenya in some small way through this site. Throughout my time there, I'll be posting frequent updates and pictures of all God is doing. I pray that through the stories and pictures, you'll be able to experience a bit of Kenya and continue to walk by my side through this journey. As I bring you reports, stories, reflections, and prayer requests, please keep me in your prayers and hearts. I can't walk this journey without you. You have just as vital a role to play in this continuing adventure as I do.

I pray this site blesses you throughout the coming months as I record the amazing works of our faithful King of Kings! As He continues to write His story for my life and the people of Kenya, I will do my best to write it down so that world might know Him more and give Him the glory and praise He deserves!

Dancing in the New Year!

2006-02-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

Hanging with our incrdible staff at the ELI Walk-a-Thon.

Wow, it’s been a crazy start as God has led me into this new year, and in many ways I feel like I’ve been drinking from a fire hose this past month. From attending a short-term missions conference, to planning the ELI Walk-A-Thon, to sending out year-end tax stuff, to working on all the logistics for the teams and interns serving in Kenya this summer, I have been one extremely busy girl. And my body never quite knows whether to break out in a dance of praise for the amazing things God is doing, or have a complete stress breakdown. For now, it seems to be alternating between the two reactions. But I’m learning to dance and praise more and more instead of stressing out. I’ll share a few of those dancing moments with you now.

First, there’s the 3-day national short-term missions conference I attended in mid-January. Wow, was God’s Spirit ever moving in my heart! I found myself tearing up at the workshops, and kept thinking, “Kierra, what is wrong with you?” But over and over again, I heard God’s gentle whisper saying, “Kierra, those are my emotions that you’re feeling; it’s my heartbeat that I’ve placed in you. This is what I’ve wired you to do, and that’s why these passions and emotions are so deep in you.” The conference confirmed once again that I am most definitely where God wants me - doing what He created me to do. I’m dancing with Him and I love it!

I had another dancing moment at ELI’s Walk-A-Thon on Jan 28th. What a blast to walk around the APU track with 70 other people passionate about changing this world! Together, with other churches walking at their own locations, we raised around $23,000 to bring God’s hope to countless lives. Spending the day with our amazing staff, walking to African music, and sharing what God’s doing on the other side of the world, my spirit danced as I realized that this is what life is about; this is what we are about! It’s not about all the logistics in the office, all the stressful to-do-lists. It’s about walking together, touching lives, and living as the body of Christ. Thanks for that reminder Lord!

My Date to Kenya

2005-12-16T11:55:00.000-08:00

Wow, did God bless me beyond my wildest imagination during my recent 10 days in the land that’s stolen my heart! The whole time, I felt like I was on an incredible date with Him– I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so loved and romanced by God. My trip was filled with countless moments when my eyes filled with tears of joy at the extravagant, intimate love of our amazing God. The tears started as I arrived at KipKaren (hopefully my summer home next year) to the welcome of singing and hugs from the countless people I’ve come to love there. The tears continued as I learned upon arrival that I was going to get to stay there for five days instead of the originally planned one. And the tears of joy continued to grace my face as the 96 orphans in our Children’s Home attacked me with hugs and laughter saying how much they had missed me. The joyfilled tears formed as I woke up in my hut each morning and realized where I was, and as I worshipped and danced with my Kenyan friends.

What a treat my 5 days in the village were. For the first time, I got to live life in the village not as part of a team with a schedule to follow every day, but simply as a member of the community, as family. I helped cook with the kitchen staff, visited and prayed with people in their homes, worked in the gardens with the six-month students, assisted the home-based-care team at our huge AIDS campaign, and enjoyed fellowship as I helped with laundry and dishes.

Our team from Bayside (18 of us total) had a lot of other great experiences throughout the trip including worshipping at a Mossai Church and serving at a second-chance high-school, but my highlight and greatest gift was definitely the 5 days I spent with my “family” in KipKaren. Thank you for that date Jesus! I will forever treasure every moment of laughter, worship, dance, prayer, and life that you blessed me with there!

Meet Patrick

2005-12-15T12:11:00.000-08:00

I was so inspired and challenged by the students I met in ELI’s six-month training program. Patrick is one of them and I pray his story inspires you too.
Patrick comes from an extremely poor area 9 hours from our training center. He was praying and fasting for 3 days, asking God for a way to bring hope to the dying people in his community. The next day, a visitor to his village told him about our 6-month program. Patrick knew this was God’s answer. He started our program and is so eager to learn as many ideas as possible to bring back to his people. He is going home for Christmas break and told me, “There will be no time for resting during my break. I must share with as many people as possible to help them start feeding their families.”
One morning I asked Patrick how he had slept that night and found out that he hadn’t slept at all. Instead, he had been praying all night for each person in his community, that God would use him to bring hope to their lives. Wow!May I learn to love and pray like Patrick!

Memories to Treasure

2005-12-15T12:01:00.000-08:00

My Summer Home for 2006! I think I found out where the Garden of Eden was!
Dancing with the Home Based Care Team at the AIDS Campaign. So fun!

Meal Time: What a gift to eat all our meals in Pastor David Tarus’ home (the director of our training center) with his family and the other 25 people he has taken in. Some of them orphans, some relatives in need, others struggling community members—all are welcomed into his home as family. So as a family we cooked dinner, ate our meals, drank chai, sang worship songs, and prayed together. Living life as the body of Christ!

The AIDS campaign: ELI’s Home-based Care Team held a huge 2-day AIDS campaign in a highly infected and ignored village. Over 100 people were tested and counseled, and many people gave their lives to the Lord for the first time! Plus, everyone had a blast at the soccer and volleyball tournaments and 10K run. My favorite part though was getting pushed onto the “stage” with the Kenyan band to join the dancing and singing. them.

Cooking: One of my favorite parts of the day was going into the tiny, smoky kitchen to “help” Jen make dinner for everyone. I will forever treasure the memory of sitting in that dark room, smoke burning my eyes, listening to the Kenyan radio, watching Jen hold a whole chicken by its feet to roast it over the fire, and enjoying sweet fellowship and laughter. Such simplicity, such love, such joy, and such friendship graced that room.

Mungu Tu (Only God)

2005-07-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

"Mungu tu.” These two words will forever represent my recent three week trip to Kenya. As ELI’s administrative assistant in the states, I was so blessed to be able to revisit our staff and ministry in Africa, and see first hand again what God is doing there. And let me tell you, He is moving in mighty ways! Throughout my time there, my heart broke for the countless “hopeless” situations I saw, but each time, God would bring a smile of amazement to my broken heart as I saw Him speak hope and life into each situation. Only God could bring the hope, joy, and peace that I saw in the darkest, most hopeless conditions.

I first heard those words of hope, “Mungu tu,” from the half-paralyzed mouth of a man named Timon. Timon is an elderly man dying of AIDS and paralyzed on the right side of his body from a stroke he had six years ago. Unable to really talk or move, Timon sits in a chair at his home all day long. A hopeless and lonely situation? Yes. But against all odds, Timon has hope. Lucky for him, he is part of the ELI home-based care program and receives regular visits from the health care team. Though they can’t cure his disease, this dedicated team can ease his symptoms, share encouragement and scripture with him, hold his hand, and sing Kalenjin praise songs with him. It is amazing how much hope God can bring through those few acts of love. I was blessed to visit Timon with the health care team one day and see the tears of joy that filled his eyes as we approached. He had visitors! He was loved! He was remembered! Tears filled my eyes as we began to sing praises to God. Timon struggled to get the words out of his dysfunctional mouth, but I could see in his eyes that his heart was passionately enunciating every word. I was sitting in the presence of a true worshipper. As I left Timon that morning, he simply kept repeating the words, “Mungu tu.” And I understood. Only God could fill him with the hope and joy that he has. Only God would visit him through the ELI health care team. Only God could shine light into the darkness of his life. Only God could keep him smiling and singing each day.

Timon’s life wasn’t the only place I saw the truth of these words. As I participated in the different branches of ELI’s ministry in Kenya, I experienced constant moments of amazement at the transformation and hope God has brought to the darkest of places. I constantly found myself in situations that left me speechless except for the words, “Only God.” It happened watching 11-year-old Vincent, one of the orphans in the ELI Children’s Home, pray the most passionate, faith-filled prayer I had ever heard. It hit me watching John Mwange, one of ELI’s 6-month students, choosing to live in the slums to bring the gospel and hope to the desperate people there. It happened as I sat in Mary’s home, an AIDS victim with few months left to live, who sang her heart out to God with every last ounce of energy she had. “God is so good,” she sang with conviction, even though I doubt she can think of one personal example of His goodness in her life. She was a widow and about to leave her two kids orphans with no one to feed them, but she continued to trust that God was good. And she continued to praise Him with a smile. There is no explanation of stories like these aside from the words, “Mungu tu.”

The stories go on and on, and I want to thank you for being a part of them. God is using the ministry of Empowering Lives to bring light and hope to the desperate people of Africa. Only a God like ours could speak the life and hope that I saw into the most hopeless of situations. He is radically transforming lives and He is using you to do it as you partner with us. Thank you so much!

Dancing, Singing, and Laughter

2005-07-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite times of the day was dinner time. I loved sitting around the dinner table with the whole ELI family (about 15 staff) and my team, fellowshipping and laughing. But the real fun began when dinner was over, for that’s when the singing and dancing would begin. What a blast to dance around the dinner table with these fun-loving Kenyans. Our evenings were full of laughter as they taught us their tribal dances, along with some of their own made-up contemporary dance moves. The laughter and dancing would eventually fade into an amazing worship time as we sang both Swahili and English praise songs to our amazing King of Kings. I can’t describe the joy that filled my heart every time I found myself surrounded by Kenyan worship. After singing and praying together, the night either concluded with some fun team time, some incredible stargazing, or a hysterical game of spoons with the Kenyans. What fun!

Dancing around the dinner table!

Going to Church! There is praising today in the house of the Lord.

2005-07-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love Kenyan Church and one service in particular really touched my heart. It started during worship. As I looked at the dozen people leading worship from the front of the room, I spotted two special friends in the group. Betty and David were both AIDS patients who I had visited earlier in the week at their homes. My eyes filled with tears as I watched these two worshipers sing praises to their God. I knew that the 2 mile walk to church probably took more energy than they had to give, but here they were, leading their church in worship, singing with all their heart. “God is so good,” they sang with radiant smiles. Betty is a widow and worries about who will feed her kids once she dies, but she remains steadfast in her hope and trust in God. She will continue to praise Him until the day she dies. Wow!

My tears and amazement only increased as it came time to take the offering. I humbly watched shoeless, hungry Christians bring their last pennies to give to their God. The widow’s mite was given so joyfully. But the real blow hit when the pastor took a 2nd offering for a fellow church in the Sudan. The 20–year war in the Sudan has left the country completely devastated. The people have absolutely nothing to start over with. I cried as I watched these already struggling Kenyans commit to buy a couple plates, or a hoe to help their brothers and sisters in the Sudan who have it worse off than them. Talk about generosity. Talk about sacrifice. Talk about love! Lord, help me learn from them.

Our Trip in a Nut-Shell

2005-07-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

The Slums: 3 days in a slum called Mtumba (meaning second hand clothing) with Kenyans who have been labeled “second hand people.” 15,000 people living in 10 acres of sheet-metal shacks, human feces, typhoid, and AIDS, with no food, jobs, or hope. But God is bringing hope! We pray the resource center we built will be a vessel He can use to spread the gospel, job training, and vision. Shine Jesus amidst the darkness!

Ilula Village: A joyous time working at the ELI training center and Children’s Home. We built the all-time coolest playground for the 90 orphans there, and I fell in love with the children and staff. These children are being raised in the Lord and have the most incredible love, faith, joy, and trust in our God that I’ve ever seen. What moments of joy I experienced walking them to school, worshipping with them, and playing paddy-cake.

KipKaren Village: A heartbreaking week seeing the hopelessness and devastation caused by aids, hunger, and alcoholism. But God is bringing hope and healing through the ELI home-based care team. How blessed I was to sit in the homes of widows, orphans, and AIDS patients, singing “God is so Good.” With smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes, these people sing, give, and live for God with all their heart. They taught me what true worship is

Mungu Yu Mwema (God is Good!)

2005-07-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

Do you serve a big, big God?” one of the orphanage house parents sang. “Yes we serve a big, big God,” the 90 children joyfully sang back. And how true it is! What a mighty, big, and good God we serve. And what an incredible adventure He blessed me with during the last three weeks. Every moment that I spent in Kenya was a gift that I will forever treasure.

I have to admit it– I’m in love. I am head over heels in love with Kenya, the people there, this incredible ministry that I am blessed to be a part of, and the God who led me there and continues to know the plans He has for me.
Have you ever had one of those amazing moments where you just knew, “Wow, I was created to do this!” Well, welcome to my entire experience in Kenya. Whether it was speaking Swahili, sitting in the home of an AIDS victim, preaching at church, or dancing and worshipping with the ELI staff after dinner, I just knew that this is what God wired me to do.

From the moment I stepped off the plane in Nairobi, my heart continued to beat, “I’m home.” It amazes me how much that place feels like home, and how much it makes everything in me come alive. More than ever, I know that I am exactly where God has called me to be. And don’t worry, I’m not moving to Kenya, yet. My heart is definitely there and with the ministry that God’s doing there, but I know for now that I can have the biggest impact by being here in the states. But, I have a feeling I’m going to end up there sometime in the next couple years for a more extended period of time. For now, I am excited to be back at our office in California, serving the people of Kenya here with my rejuvenated passion for this ministry. I love where God has me right now, and am excited to see where He continues to lead me.

Going to Kenya!

2005-05-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

The day I have waited for and dreamed of for so long is finally almost here. It’s the day I return to the land that so deeply stole my heart! That’s right, on June 10th I board a plane with my family and four friends to once again step foot into the country that has forever changed my life. I can’t wait!!!!!
I can’t wait to hug my Kenyan friends from three years ago, and I can’t wait to be surrounded again by Kenyan accents and Swahili. I can’t wait to worship with the people, and to learn from their amazing faith and perspective on life again. I can’t wait to build a classroom in the slums of Nairobi, to build a playground for the orphanage, to play with the kids, to love on the people, to lead women’s bible studies, and to preach at church. I can’t wait to experience and see God in ways beyond my wildest imagination, and to see the ministry of ELI first hand again to revive my passion and feeling of purpose for when I’m working in our office in the states. And I can’t wait to do all of this with my family along side me.
I have no idea what God has in store for me and our team during these three weeks, but I am so excited to find out. What I do know is that it is going to be one crazy adventure led by one wild, unpredictable, extravagant, powerful, good, and loving God!
Wish you were coming? Yeah, I know, but don’t worry, I’ll bring back tons of pictures and stories to share!

Meet our Team! So here it is– the all-time coolest team ever! The eight of us built this fence during a weekend retreat we spent at a ranch for the mentally disabled. What an incredible bonding trip. We are now all official ranchers who are professional cow milkers, tractor drivers, horseback riders, skeet shooters, log choppers, and chainsawers. We had a blast spending time with the ranchers, and learning to laugh and work together as a team. Now we really can’t wait to serve together in Kenya and make even more fun memories.

Meeting New Friends!

2005-03-06T18:13:00.000-08:00

So what exactly does your organization do in Kenya?” Mbugua asked. As I embarked on explaining my typical answer to this question, a sudden fear began to rise in my gut. For though I have explained the ministry of ELI many times before, I have never done so to a Kenyan living in the U.S. who is not part of our staff. What would he think? Would he like what we’re doing in his country, or be critical of the way we are attempting to help?

This is this situation I found myself in the first night I attended my home group from church. Sitting in a living room and meeting all the loving families in the group, I was so excited to learn that one of them was from Kenya. Mbugua, his wife Ndinda, and their two beautiful girls moved from Kenya to the U.S. eight years ago. They warmly greeted me and we struck up a conversation that blessed me more than they will ever know.

After listening to my explanation of EIL’s ministry, Mbugua looked at me and lovingly said, “Thank you. This is exactly what my people need and I know very few organizations actually bringing help in this way.” This affirmation means a lot from someone who’s seen the damage some American missions organizations have done in his country, specifically in the life of his father who now wants nothing to do with the church. Hearing that I was returning to Kenya this summer, Mbugua embraced me with tears in his eyes and said, “Go. Go and love my people. I don’t know how to thank you enough.”

I was blessed more in that moment than I can ever explain. I am absolutely where God wants me to be, and this place that he has me in blows my mind. I praise Him for these new friendships and for the opportunity to work for an amazing organization like ELI that is truly changing lives!!

What's new with me:
My job’s expanding! I now have some new responsibilities which include helping coordinate the trips for all our teams heading over to Africa this summer. And I love it! I love corresponding with the teams, praying for them, and taking care of the details to make these life-changing trips happen.

Going to Kenya! Only three months till I leave again for the land that has stolen my heart! And this time I can’t wait to experience it with my family! Yep, my parents are leading our team of 8 for a three-week adventure serving in the ELI training centers, orphanage, and health clinic.

Speak through me Lord! I have been having a blast as God opens doors for me to speak in classes at APU, sharing the vision of ELI and inviting students to participate. I’m a bit nervous, but excited to allow Him to speak through me to 100 Jr. Highers on March 20th. Yikes Lord, give me words and give them attention spans!

Bringing Hope to the Congo!

2005-01-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

Aksanti Birindwa is 10 years old. She does not have a father, and her mother is jobless. Aksanti’s dream is to become a secretary. Her prayer is for the salvation of her family and for her family to have food.
With tears in my eyes, I sit in my office reading Aksanti’s story, along with the struggles of hundreds of other kids living in the slums of the Congo where we serve. My heart breaks for them, but I can also smile because of the difference our new school and sponsorship program will make in their lives. I know that as I make brochures for each of them, they will hopefully soon have an American sponsor to provide money for school and at least one meal each day. What an honor and joy to spend my day working to bring food, schooling, hope, and Christ to these precious children suffering from war and poverty.
I’ve been working full-time for two weeks now, and I LOVE MY JOB!!!! I actually get excited to wake up each morning to come into work. I know, it’s crazy! I just love spending my days working on projects that I’m passionate about, believe in, and know are impacting the world for Christ. There is nothing I would rather be doing right now. What an amazing gift from God! I am excited to serve Him with all my heart here at ELI.

What's new with me:
I am now an official college graduate! And boy do I love it!!!! I love coming home from work each day and being able to hang out without having to worry about homework. Praise God- no more papers!!!!

I moved! Yep, I had to move off campus, so now I live in a cute little house in Glendora with three other girls. I love our cute neighborhood and sitting in my rocking chair on our front porch. And I love the $275 rent!

I’m taking lindy-hop dance lessons! (It’s a form of swing) This is my new fun activity for the year. I love dancing and received lessons for Christmas. I can’t wait to tear it up on the dance floor and get my groove on.

The Journey Begins

2005-01-01T17:46:00.000-08:00

All I can say right now is Bwana asi fiwe! (Praise the Lord!) His faithfulness and goodness are mind-blowing to me. First of all, praise the Lord because I am now an official college graduate as of December 18th! Yes, it took me a semester longer than I originally planned, but oh how much better are God’s plans than my own! I am realizing more and more how perfect His timing and ways are (you’ll understand this more in a minute). My four years at Azusa Pacific University were absolutely amazing and I will forever treasure them. But I am definitely ready to move on. Move on to what, you may wonder. Well, let me tell you.

I entered college four and a half years ago as a business major, but 4 months into school, God radically broke my heart for the poor in this world and I felt a calling I couldn’t ignore. Wanting to learn as much as I could about poverty and its captives, I switched my major to Sociology and began to find ways to reach out. In the summer of 2002, I spent a month in Kenya with seven other people from my school, ministering with an organization called Empowering Lives International (ELI). My heart was hooked. I fell in love with the people, the culture, and the land; I knew as I left Kenya that I would leave a huge portion of my heart there.

Two summers later, one year ago, God clearly revealed and confirmed the calling He has placed on my life to help relieve poverty in Africa. Up till this point, I knew I was called to work with the poor, but had no idea what that would look like. Now I know with all my heart, after some amazing God confirmations, that my calling is to serve the people of Africa and to work with Empowering Lives International. Realizing this during the summer, I couldn’t sleep many nights because of my overwhelming giddiness and excitement! After talking with one of the directors of ELI who joyfully welcomed me on board, and realizing how perfectly God has worked this out, all I could do in my apartment was simultaneously cry and laugh for joy at God’s faithfulness. He has given me my dream job and fulfilled the deepest desires of my heart in ways that I could have never imagined. So here are the details:

ELI is a non-profit organization working among the impoverished in East Africa, providing training, resources and encouragement to break the cycle of poverty and help people recognize their importance in the eyes of God. Their mission is to empower the poor and oppressed that they may be able to know, worship, and serve God without hindrance, and to motivate and involve others worldwide to invest their lives and gifts in this same mission. I believe in this organization and the methods they use with all my heart and feel so honored to be able to join their team.

So what will I be doing? To start out this next year, I will be pretty much managing our office here in Southern California. I’ll be doing all sorts of tasks that need to be done in order for the ministry to continue running and our staff to be able to serve over in Kenya. Though it may not sound as adventuresome as actually serving in Kenya, it is absolutely essential for the ministry in Africa to happen. I’ll be helping coordinate our child sponsorship programs (In Kenya, we have an orphanage with kids who need to be sponsored, and we have about 20 children in an education sponsorship program. We also have 300 kids living in the slums of the Congo who need sponsors for their education), helping coordinate and prepare our short term teams that travel to Africa to partner with our ministry, overseeing our paper-making project, handling all the funds from sponsors and supporters, sending out our newsletters and prayer updates, handling correspondence between Kenya and the states, and attending to all the other office jobs like answering the phones and e-mails. Hopefully I’ll also being speaking some at churches, sharing our vision, raising awareness about the poverty going on in the world, and igniting a passion in God’s people to help the suffering in the world. Also, God-willing, I’ll be going to Kenya once a year to personally stay in contact with our ministry and the people there. My first visit will be this summer from June 10th– July 3rd on a short term team that my parents are leading. I cannot even tell you how excited I am to return and to experience Kenya with my family. What a blessing!

I can’t even begin to express my excitement and my amazement at how God has brought me here. ELI’s current office administrator had a baby in November and is now only working part-time out of her home. This was their greatest need as we began to talk about me coming on board, and I graduated at the perfect time to start full-time right as she cut back. Praise God for His perfect timing and for allowing me to be a semester behind in school! I worked part-time this fall getting trained, and started full-time January 3rd.

But the thing is, I need you guys! I can’t do this on my own. I need a team committed to supporting me in prayer. Most of you know the sickness I faced after going to Kenya, and I have no idea what other attacks Satan is going to try to use to discourage me and frustrate God’s plans. I also need people to support me financially. Because ELI is a small faith-based organization, all the staff members are required to raise a support base for their personal salaries and ministry funds. I am asking you with excitement to pray and see if this is something God is calling you to. I know that He has called me to this job, and so I also know the He has called others to support me. So, here is an exciting invitation for you to join the work of His kingdom and make a difference in empowering the lives of people in East Africa. I need to raise $2800 per month and would love for you to mail back the commitment card if you’re interested in helping. Even if it’s only $5 a month, know that it really will make a difference and I’d love to have you as part of my team! I would absolutely love to talk to you all individually or meet with you if you want to learn more about ELI or what I’ll be doing. Please feel free to call or e-mail me. You can also check out the ELI website at www.empoweringlives.org. I will also be trying to get in contact with you, so expect to hear from me. Thanks so much for being a blessing in my life!

In His Grip,
Kierra