Kenya Ministry 2006 Trip

Dear Friends and Family:

After needed rest from jet lag, Janice and I met with the National Director of our Kenya churches and his wife over dinner. We discussed several new approaches to our operation for 2007 in a very productive dialog.

The next day we met one of our pastors from Ghana that I have worked with for several years but known him only through the internet. Later I had lunch with Pst. Moses our Eastern District Director, and received an updated report on the project there in 2006(one plot and two buildings).
Sat. we left early for a 6 hr. bumpy road trip to the lake Victoria area for our first church visit, and to launch an outdoor crusade to be ed by Pst. Harrison from Ghana. Two thirds of the way there we developed a slow leak in a tire and fortunately made it to a station. Of course the spare was flat too, so we bought a new tube and got quickly on our way.

When we arrived in Kisumu the heavy rains the country has uncharacteristically been experiencing had knocked the power out in the entire city. Pst. Joseph of the host church was frantically searching for a generator along with every one else in this city of 800,000. At the last minute one was located and the crusade immediately began. It had not rained all day but dark clouds started forming all around with heavy lightning, but not over us! Janice started passing out rubber bracelets to the children and she was quickly swamped with children. When she would stretch out a bracelet for one of the children two other children would get a hand in it too! After powerful preaching 20 came forward for salvation, which included 10 young boys and 2 men! Then eight came forward for prayer for healing, and after three of the six instantly healed begin to testify over the PA system, the devil had had all he could take and a huge downpour began. We all had to rush across the street and take refuge in the church building with rain on the tin roof so loud you couldn't talk.

The Lord helped us overcome three obstacles-flat tire, power outage and rain, anyone of which could have cancelled the crusade and the souls saved. The devil must have known what victories were to happen and he tried his best to stop us, but the Lord delivered us from them all.

Sun. morning Janice and I left for Kakamega. We went straight to the church where I spoke on "How to Develop your Faith". The message was well received, but as soon as I began to speak here came the rains again. Fortunately, we had a roof and a PA system to allow us to continue. This was one of the first churches we built in Kenya and also the site of our first orphanage, so the people there are dear to us. After the service we gathered with the orphans (twenty) for pictures and then went on over to the Katie Ollie Orphanage for lunch. The Ollie family will be glad to know they are still fat and giggly and it was a joy to hear them each stand up and testify they are saved and then tell where they are in school.

That evening we met with the church Compassion Committee, which has two physical therapists, a nurse midwife, and two teachers, to discuss plans and budget for 2007. They told us they are now applying for final approval with the local health authorities for licensure. They then will be a temporary refuge for abandoned children as well. The nurse told us there are almost daily abandonment of babies in the hospital!!!! They have also added a bathroom with shower, septic tank, cistern and soon running water from a well and electricity, all courtesy of the Ollie family-thank you.

When we returned to the hotel we read a text message from Bro. Harrison back at the crusade. He said they baptized twelve of the new converts that Sun morning at the church. Then when Pst. Joseph dismissed them not one person left and they continued to pray and praise the Lord until the outdoor crusade started at 4:30!!!! He further reported more were saved and revival was breaking out! Their hunger for God and zeal is refreshing.

I've also started handing out copies of my newly published book, "The Pharisee In Us All". It hasn't been released in the US yet so they are getting the first review and the comments are encouraging. It is about church leadership and Bible character, so pray it does well commercially as all proceeds will go to Crio Minstries and possibly help with the overwhelming need and suffering here.

Kenya Ministry Day Three

With the sun shining again we headed out early to dedicate a new church at Burkura. Last year at this time they were meeting under a tree. So it was exciting to see and hear how the church has grown since the new building was finished. We were blessed to hear that every day they come to the church for some activity. This is third church in this area that Janice and her parents have built in this area, PTL!.

After a prayer of dedication we left for an unscheduled trip to see a newly planted church. In spite of a tight schedule we were pleasantly surprised by what we found. The roads were muddy and we had to be pushed out of two mud holes. Traveling the rural Okla. roads with my dad prepared me for this well! The church of 50 people have taken over a previously failed church building so they already have a place. The owner is in the congregation and he wants to sell us the building and land for only the price of the building, PTL! This would be the only church in this village, so this would make the church the social center as well. Reminds me of the pioneer days in Okla. and the Union Home Church for the Hesser family in Glencoe.

We then inspected a facility that some churches in Holland have built for our National Director and his wife to operate, but they have no operational funds. They have five buildings and only are using the property for lunch hour feedings, and study hall for students in the evenings as they have no light at home. So another need we believe the Lord will provide for a well.

After lunch we then headed to Ndalu to dedicate a new plot for our church of 75 there that presently meets at 8AM borrowed church. This is the current project for African Church Builders Club (see web site for more info) for the second half of 2006. Right now it is just a corn field but a nice location near the city center. We plan to have the building up by Christmas.

We then departed for Kitale to meet with three abandoned children being housed in the pastor's house there that Janice and I are personally supporting. It was a joy to meet them for the first time as we had known them only by a picture on our refrigerator (to remind me to skip the food and send the money to the orphans-it was a nice theory!). Anyway the pastor was so loving to them and they introduced themselves on our video camera which made them very embarrassed.

Pst. Harryson said they not only have improved in school since he took them in a yr. ago, but have emotionally healed as well with a history of abuse in their former home. The pastor himself was a former homeless alcoholic on the streets of Narobi until Bro. Winston got him saved in a street meeting. That is why he is so sensitive to the needs of others and it was a joy to hear him talk also about the nursery school they have in the church every day during the week with 72 children attending and their large youth group. Bekky & Juan they need you here!!!

Crio has provided electricity and clean running water (bad water is a big source of disease here) this past year, after having purchased a plot and put up a building three years ago. The church is in a slum area of the city (the pastor wanted it that way), so again the church is meeting the social needs of the area as well as saving souls.

Kenya Ministry Day Four

After sleeping in the most "primitive" hotel of the trip (no hot water-ugh!), we drove on muddy roads again back into our most isolated churches. The W. Pokot tribe is half nomadic, tending goats in the sub-Sahara drier region to the north. Crio recently purchased four plots for churches that previously only were "tree churches". Out of our fourteen churches there, we still have two meeting under trees we hope to change that in 2007. We arrived at the first building erected on one of the plots, which was financed by churches in Holland that we partner with. Actually it was quite nice with a brick base and metal studs/trusses (the Dutch want the best I guess!). In each of the pastors' villages or traveling group we are the only church again, so here we along with the Holland group have the potential to take a whole tribe for Christ!! In a way, I envy their life as God and church is everything and with such simplicity.

All fourteen pastors meet together twice weekly in addition to their own church activities and there is such unity. The pastors walk as far as 1-3 hours away each and one of them has a deformed leg and walks one hour with a cane!!!! Such hunger I have never seen. Seven of them are now Bible school graduates and when we started working with them ten years ago they couldn't read or write. Several now are taking my Ministry Training Course for a diploma from Crio.

The host pst. greeted us with the news that 3 men and 2 women were saved the first service they held in the new building. Crio's primary vision of planting churches to reach the lost is working!!!

The other pastors each then shared what the Lord was doing in their church and some of the reports were amazing. Not only do they hold joint outdoor crusades in new areas every quarter, some of the northern pastors want sound equipment to reach their neighboring tribe even further that goes up to the Sudan border, the Tukana tribe. They have been sworn enemies for centuries and now they want to bring peace and share what the Gospel has done for them. So people are not only being saved but their minds are being renewed (Rom 12), and now revival is coming to an entire people group. For those who have studied revival, this is very rare and a miracle of epic proportions.

After a prayer dedicating the land and building I left a copy of my book for the pastors, and Janice began to hand out her current craft project. The ladies' Bible study she hosts in our home constructed on wooden dowels colorful ribbon streamers for use in worship services, which were a huge hit.

As we closed they gave us colorful tinsel leis and a large jar of honey. We thought we would then start our nine hour journey back to Nariobi, but they said wait for one more surprise. The ladies and children then went outside and we soon heard loud drums and joyous singing. They approached the stage all in a tight bunch. Once in front of us they spread a revealed a goat under a red blanket! They picked up the goat and hand him to me to hold while they continued to sing. Later we found out this is greatest tribute they pay to visitors which was so touching. Kind of like the O.T. directives the Lord gave to the Children of Israel in the sacrifice of the unblemished lamb to Him and later His son to follow the same pattern.

Well , we had to tell them we couldn't keep the goat as it wouldn't clear security at the airport, ha. (Thank Heaven for that)! After getting everyone's picture in front of the church we departed but not without all eleven pastors in attendance cramming in our van for a ride to the nearest pavement (I guess they are tired of walking!).

The trip back saw delays due to a bus wreck in a mountain pass. The pot holes here could make the Guinness Book of Records. I moved to the middle seat in the second row of the van and about one hour down the road I began to wonder why this seat was so hard. I felt under my rear and I had been sitting on the seat belt buckle, but was so numb it took and hour to notice it. The new president has had a gas tax passed (gas already $4/gal.) to fix the roads. They have these huge trucks taking supplies from the coast into Uganda, Burundi, Congo and Sudan that just pulverize the asphalt. So each year the roads have worsened as no maintenance is noticeable since we started coming here 5 years ago. So pray the gov't gets going. We only saw about ten miles of the nearly 1,000 mile trip we took of new road. The warm shower when we arrived was a God-send! Well tomorrow the conference starts. We welcome two new acquaintances today-Emille, from Burkina Faso, and Ben from Botswana.

summary of our second week of activities in Kenya

We are in Amsterdam on our way home. This is a summary of our second
week of activities in Kenya. The day before the conference began, Janice
and I welcomed our three guests form the Africa nations of Botswana, Ghana and Burkina Faso. All three of them will play new key leadership roles for Crio this coming year. We had great visits and was fun to get to know about new nations.

The brother from Burkina F. is actually a deacon in the church of my good friend Pst. Alassane who is in Bible College in OKC at my daughter Hillary's church Victory Chr. Ctr. He speaks no English but the Kenya churches have three who know French which is their language of education there.

Pst. Harrison from Ghana went there in Sept. and started a city wide revival which at the conclusion saw 24 saved (7 of which were Muslims!), and now 50 churches wanting to work with us on more crusades in the future. Their nation is largely ignored by outside evangelists, so they are very hungry for God to move in the future. Ten of the 50 have applied for membership in Crio.

Pastor Ben from Francistown, Botswana, is just above S. Africa. They
have a new branch church started a few years ago in the nearby town of
Tonata. Janice's parents have been financing the construction of a permanent building for them as they meet in a tent now. It should be
completed early 2007.

We discussed some prospective member churches in neighboring S. Africa and Zimbabwe. His son Jerry is coming to CFNI in Dallas this Jan. He is the new Crio Regional Coordinator for Southern Africa, while Bro. Harrison is to serve in the same capacity for Western Africa (with our work already in East Africa we just about have the devil surrounded!).

Fri. AM the conference got into full swing and more miraculous reports
came in from the Kisumu earlier in the week. They ended up with 35
salvations and then went on to a town close by where a home church is
wanting to take the step to have their own building. They also further
clarified their text message about the service lasting all day. They said
they were ready to stay late anyway but that God had literally caused
everyone there with a watch for it to stop operating!!!! So evidently the
Holy Spirit wanted to give them a strong message to continue in prayer and
they would soon find out why.

As they left for the conference they loaded 14 people in a van (with
seats for 12) and took off for Narobi at 5AM for a normal six hour drive.
They only got 15 miles outside the city and had a flat tire. After putting
on the spare a few miles later a rear spring broke. They had it welded but
a few miles later it broke again, so this time they bought a new one (I told
you the roads were harsh). A few miles later smoke filled the passenger
compartment and the engine nearly caught fire. They stopped and quickly
exited. By this time dark was approaching and they had gone only 2 hrs. of
a 6 hr. trip. No gas station was in sight. They pushed the vehicle down
the hill to the nearest house where the pastor had decided to leave the van
and just go back home by bus. His wife objected and encouraged him to not give up.

When they arrived at the house the owner was a mechanic!!!!  He quickly found the problem and fixed it. Meanwhile Pst. Harrison had seen a nearby Baptist church and went over to see if anyone was there. The pastor and some of the members were there and invited them all in for sodas. He asked him to start speaking and he would round up some nearby members. Soon he was preaching to a big group! Now they want him to return later for a revival service!!! The extra prayer was surely needed for this breakthrough.

They went two hours further and stopped in a large city for rest and they all slept in the van! They ended up taking 26 hours to get to the conference as they arrived 7AM the second day. The devil was so angry with the crusade results he tried his best to discourage them but God's provision prevailed.

At the conference I got to share Fri.PM. I spoke on "Three Keys to Develop Individual Leadership" that was well received. My 20 copies of my
book went fast and 45 signed up for more to be sent later which was encouraging.  The speakers were very dynamic and it ended with Bro. Winston challenging us all to "reach the unreached".

On Sun. we attended one of the two Nairobi churches we have and it was exciting. Janice passed out her streamers to all the people and the praise service was colorful. A sad note was just outside the window were homeless people sleeping in the alley.  Some nearby were sniffing glue. Nairobi is a city of much wealth but deep poverty is mixed right in.

The remainder of Sun. was spent with Bro. Lynch and the Nat'l Director
of Kenya churches. I also met with Lynch and a brother from Congo. We
discussed starting new churches this spring in NE Congo, the site of the
worst genocide the world has seen. There is peace now and with it a hunger
for God and the Gospel. We will be one of the first church groups to get
into that area with plans also to reach Sudan and Uganda.

For Building the Kingdom, Bro. Ron and Sis. Janice