Kenya #13 Pastor Brad

Hello Everyone and greetings from Ohio, yea!It is so good to be home, cleaned up and ready to slip into my own bed after two weeks away. I must admit it was hard to leave, but once we were on our way I was excited to be home. Yesterday I was asked in Kenya if I was ready to go home and I said I had mixed feelings b/c there is so much that can be done in Kenya, but I miss my family, my youth group, my church and my friends. You all have become so important to me and being away on the other side of the world really has shown me your place in my heart. I found myself wondering what was going on back here, how was youth group going, what kind of trouble Matt was getting into now...haha just kidding Matt. But knowing you all were praying for me really helped me keep going.I think the transition home so far has been good, with the exception of the Airports and my stolen camera. To make a long story short, when we finally got back to the USA (which is supposed to be the most organized and efficient place to travel too) our first flight was canceled. Then the second flight we were put on wouldn't take us b/c NWA didn't do their jobs, then we were put on a third flight four hours later, but our luggage was sent on the earlier flight. Fortunately when we finally got to Cleveland our luggage was there, except Doriel's one piece (pray that it finds its way home). Then we had a run in with a over zealous uptight police officer who wouldn't let us wait a moment to load everybody up...he even wrote a ticket. With all this craziness it felt like our leaving the group was fragmented. I jumped in my parents van and we took off so fast b/c the police officer was watching everything so closely. But we made it home safely and hopefully we will get rested and transition back to our lives here quickly. I know that these trials of today are attacks by the enemy to get our focus off of what God has done in us and through us. Romans 8:18 "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us." These trials tested our patience when we were tired and our walls were down. But I know they are things that can preoccupy our thoughts and may cloud our memories if we let the enemy get a stronghold. It is always a good reminder to know that Satan is most concerned with believers who are serving God b/c he knows they are doing the most damage to his kingdom. I know that God did great things in Kenya through our team and the enemy tried to make us pay for it, but God is bigger then all this.

Upon arriving home I was greeted by loving arms from my family. What a great time to see all their faces again and to hug them and share with them. The only let down was that when I went to get my camera to show pictures it had been lifted from my bag. The case, battery and charger were in the bag along with the two stands, but the camera was gone. All I can say is thank the Lord for Dave Bell who had us back up all our pictures and videos on his computer. At least I know we can get what I lost as far as footage goes. I had a hard time getting upset b/c it was just a camera...to complain felt so selfish after seeing how much I have compared to what the children in Mathare have. I am still asking God to convict me of my own materialistic tendencies.

As I was sharing some of my stories I found myself close to tears a couple of times. It something else to know that God is trying to tell you something but you just haven't put your finger on it. I know those little ones touched my heart for a reason and i know God will reveal more of his plan for me and I can't wait to tell you more of what He has taught me through this trip. I know it created a greater dependence on Him and that always produces more fruit. "If you abide in me and my word abides in you, the same will produce much fruit." Well I must close now b/c my eyelids are heavy and I must take my malaria pills.

Praise God for His protection and guidance. Thanks for all your prayers and interest in our trip. If you haven't already done so, check out http://www.vesperlakemissions.blogspot.com/.

Its good to be home. God bless, Pastor Brad

Kenya #12 Pastor Brad

Good Morning Everyone!Greetings from the beautiful Kenya. Today is our last day in Kenya and it arrives with a bitter sweetness. I can't wait to see all of you again and be home to normal life, but there is apart of me that wishes I could continue the work we began here. Home seems a million miles away and I am afraid that I might forget what I have done and seen here. But I know that is just my own fears and that God is bigger than my fears. This trip has taught me a lot about myself, my team and this world. I have a renewed appreciation for my own country and wonder why so many Americans complain about the way things are when we have it so good. Not just that we are the most prosperous country in the world, but that we have Rights and Freedoms that the rest of the world couldn't even imagine. Its an amazing thing Freedom is! Speaking of Freedom, it was again such a wonderful lesson of Freedom taking the Gospel to so many people here and seeing God rescue them from the kingdom of darkness unto His Kingdom of Light! "So if the Son has set you free you are free indeed!" Again, there is an immediacy to the Gospel, for we do not know how long we have..."what is our life, it is even as a vapor that appeareth for a little while and then vanisheth away." I have been challenged and renewed in my desire to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to all I can. These last two weeks has taught me a lot about community and my team. There is a real sense of community among believers all around the world. There is nothing like meeting someone for the first time on the otherside of the world, from different cultures and languages and having something so intimate in common, that is Jesus Christ. I will never stop being amazed at the beauty of the "communion of the Saints." We who believe in Christ are never alone because Jesus is with us through the Holy Spirit and through other believers. Also community amongst our team has grown. We have seen each other in a different light and learned a love for each other that can only be described from Scriptures..."behold how good and blessed it is when the brethern dwell together in unity." We have already talked about wanted to get together at home and continue on our friendships. The part that saddens me is that I know normal life and schedule will have to be resumed and it is impossible for us to continue fellowshiping the way we have. But there is now a shared experience that will always unite us together, and we will always have that in common. Another thing I thank God for is that Jacob Kroslak and I had a lot of time together. Many of you know that Jacob is one of our Elders at Vesper Lake. We had time to discuss a lot of things from church business, to theology, to life struggles. I know that our friendship has been strengthened and deepened in so many ways. It is great seeing what good friends I have in Jacob and his wife Susan. The last two days we had time to unwind and reflect on our trip as we were on Safari seeking out all the wild animals of Africa. It was just nice seeing the fun and joy you can have with close friends. I am excited that as leaders of our church sharing a common experience, we will have a passion and zeal to continue great things back home as well. I also am thankful for all my team (Jess 1, Jess Also, Doriel, Rebecca, Jacob and Susan) and for the Bells as this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I am praying that the plan ride will be a good time of reflection that I can fully understand the direction God has for me and the lessons He wants me to gleen from this trip. However, I must remember the word of the Apostle Paul that says "forgetting what is behind, I press on toward the Mark of the high calling of God." Not that I will ever forget this trip, how could I? Not that I will ever forget the people here, for that is impossible. But understanding that this is just the beginning of Christ work in me and through me and He has so much more for me to do. "For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto GOOD WORKS which he has prepared in advance that we should walk in them." (Eph 2:10) I know He has a lot of great things ahead and I am ready to come home and prepare for them. Thanks so much for all your prayers and interest in our trip. I will be sure to send at least one final update as we arrive at home sometime after 3pm on May 29th. "For He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above anything we ask or think!" To God be all the glory and honor. In

His Service, Pastor Brad

Kenya #11 Jacob and Susan

Good Evening Friends and Family,As I'm typing this email the last of our group has just arrived backat the house from our 2 day safari. We had a really nice timereflecting on our time together and now comes the task of packing upto leave tomorrow. I would love to tell you all about what we saw,but you will have to wait until we get back. Please keep us in yourprayers for our flight check in to go smoothly. We had some problemsin Cleveland and we are a bit concerned that we may have difficultytrying to get home. Our flight comes into Cleveland around 2p.m. onThursday and it will be nice to be home. There are some things that wereally miss about America like Swenson's Galleyboys and Chipotle, butwe are sad to leave Kenya for so many reasons that we are excited toshare with everyone when we get back.Please don't forget that we have our wrap-up program on Sunday, June 8at 6:30 at Vesper Lake Bible Fellowship. Anyone and everyone that hasbeen receiving this email is welcome to come. We are hoping for afull house that night.We will see you all stateside.

Much Love in Christ,Susan (on behalf of the Africa Team)

Kenya #10 Pastor Brad

Greetings everyone!It is almost midnight here and we just finished playing an all important game...ultimate uno, haha. It was nice to have some down time with the team and relax together after a pretty intense day, and week. Sometimes the best things we can do is to just have fun together. Right before the game we had an amazing Bible study, centered in Ecclesisates 12. We were reminded that suffering weakens our grip on this life and turns our hearts toward heaven. For those who have a relationship with Christ, we know that this life is not the end but only the beginning of great things. We were reminded by Paul's words in Philippians that we should long to be home with the Lord Jesus in heaven, but be useful to Him here on earth. The suffering and pains we have seen here are only a catalyst for us to fully recogninze the urgency and immediacy of the Gospel message for all we know and meet. Today we got a very heavy report...many of you may remember a few days ago I wrote about a young lady, Eunice age 24, who has AIDS. Dave Bell, our missionary, told me he believed she had less then 2 weeks left based on her symptoms. Just as he said, today she passed away. It was hard for me to believe that just 4 days ago I stood in her house with her and now she is gone. I know the enemy wanted us to beat ourselves up for not doing more, but we trust the Holy Spirit led the meeting with her. We are unsure of Eunice's spiritual decisions, but we trust that God's Word does not "return void." I know that Dave shared the Gospel with her and I was able to pray for her (she did not accept Christ at that time) and then we entrusted her to God's hands. It was hard reality for us to accept, but the Bell's and the Community Transformers deal with this on a weekly if not daily basis. It would be good for us to remember them in our prayers, that God would give them strength of heart to continue on in this good work.Today we got to work with the CTs by teaching the children at the CT centre. It was great to have 95 children 11 and under for one session and 45 children 12 and up. The lessons went well and the Gospel was preached. I can tell you that there is nothing more exciting then hearing 95 children shouting out Bible verses with excitement as we taught the memory verses. They are so hungry for the truth and we were able to partake in a great work. I don't have time to tell you about Happiness (yes that is his real name! and it fits him too), Bryan, Lillian, Jimmy and the list goes on. But I will tell you about Melissa. Well honestly I don't have much to say about her other than her name and her beautiful face. She must be about 6yrs old and she captured my heart in just a moment. After the lesson time I was walking to the back of the room to play with the kids and this sweet little angel just grabbed my hand with both of hers and pretty much hugged my leg. I sat down and put my arm around her and she just laid her head on my shoulder for the longest time. She didn't speak much English and so all i got out of her was her name. But she didn't have to say much. I could tell that she was starved for attention and genuine love. I know it doesn't seem like much to us, i know that i get to cuddle with my nieces and nephews all the time and they get so much love and affection from their parents and grandparents. But these kids get very little if any. It was the hardest thing to do to say good bye, knowing I may never see her again in this life time, and I know I won't see her again this trip. But I picked her up, gave her a big hug and told her I love her, that she is special in God's eyes and she has Value! It was all i could do not to cry as I left those children today. But as the old saying goes, "If i don't see you here, i will see you in the air!"Well I must head off to bed to get ready for church tomorrow. After church we are heading out on safari for relaxation and debriefing. It is a fun time, but also a time to reflect and let the lessons we have learned and the people we met sink in. We are praying that God will allow this time to let us examine our hearts and see how the Holy Spirit will change our lives. We are all in agreement that we have changed and that we cannot come home and just return to the norm. Please be in prayer that God will give us specific understandings of His will for our lives as we know He has plans for us...Ephesians 2:10 "for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained that we should walk in them!" It isn't by accident or coincidence that we are here. God has a plan and purpose for us all. Let me close by encouraging you with this, if God has spoken to you or challenged your heart in anyway from the emails about this trip, ask Him to reveal to you what you need to do about it. Write it down and pray about it. I would love to hear in what ways God has challenged you b/c we are the body of Christ and we are all part of each other. I know God is going to do great and mighty things, both on this trip and in our teams lives as well as in yours. May God bless you greatly!

p.s. check out http://www.vesperlakemissions.blogspot.org/ for all the previous emails and other team members posts

In His Service, Pastor Brad

Kenya #9 Susan and Jacob

Good Afternoon Family and Friends!It is about 5:30pm here and we are getting ready for a dinner out at a Kenyan 5-star restaurant. Don't be too impressed. We have been told it should be about like eating at Outback. We are tired from all the work we have been doing the past 2 days. I'm sorry I didn't write yesterday. The internet was in and out and I just didn't make it to the computer when the internet was working.Yesterday we spent the morning bargaining at the Maasi market in downtown Nairobi. Some of us liked it more than others. I fall into the others... Jacob fell into one that likes it. It must be the Slovak blood that is so thick in his veins because I would much rather find a sale at a regular store than bargain someone down from $50 for a piece of cloth to $5. We ate a Nairobi food court before going to a city school in Nairobi to teach the Choose to Wait program to a bunch of anxious teenage students. I think this class was the most fun for us since the kids were older and could interact in English more. The teenagers at this school are much like American students at that age... wanting to be older than they really are and not wanting you to see just how excited they were to have us at their school. We were singing the song "Father Abraham" and teaching them the motions. One young man was standing still, not singing or participating. I started dancing and singing right in front of him and he broke out in the biggest smile. The kids just want to know that you care about them and that we are there teaching them something we really believe in. I think by their participation and inquisitiveness afterward they could see that we are there because of just that.Today we spent our time with the Community Transformers in the Mathare slum. On our way there, we saw a group of "glue sniffers". We have been told that, in order to cope with their situation, people will get a bit of money and buy glue for shoes. They will have a cup of it that they hold in their teeth so they can constantly sniff the glue. It kills brain cells so after a long time of sniffing, they are totally burned out. There were a few young men (about 18-22) that were totally naked in this group. They were so burned out, they had no idea they didn't have on any clothes. Jen says she gets the most disturbed by these kind of sights. Thankfully, I didn't see the naked men, but the look of absence in the other men's eyes was erie at the very least. To see someone so overtaken by a substance and begging for money for more without any knowledge of what it's doing to them chills me to my soul. God is still there, though. Even though it's hard to find Him, He promises that He sees those things and still desires a relationship with those men. Our task for today was a Choose to Wait seminar for several age groups. When we walked into the meeting room, 130 children started screaming like we were celebrities. They were excited because we were there and also because of the food we brought for them. We were told afterward that they were going to have a "chicken party" after our teaching was done. They have had "rice parties" and "bean parties" but never before had they had a "chicken party". For these kids, to get meat, it's better than a "Gotta Have It" portion at Cold Stone for us. During our teaching the children in the front row had their Bibles that we had given them earlier in the week. They had written their names on the front covers and were eagerly listening for references so they could look up the passages and follow along. We handed out certificates that Jessica Tomic had created called "Certificates of Value". We will show you all when we get back, but the seal of the certificate was their hand print. It was so special to see the children waving their certificates in the air. Many of them folded them and put them in their Bibles. It's so special to see them recognize their value because of Who created them. As we prepared to say our goodbyes, we heard from so many of the children to send their greetings to you, our family and friends. They want us to bring you back so they can meet you and you can all be their friends too. As we said goodbye to those with the Community Transformers that we served with, I said to one young woman named Lillian that if I don't see her here on earth again, I will look for her in the air when God calls us home. She said, with the confidence of a prophetess, I know I will see you in Kenya again. She is right. How can we not come back to a place that has changed our lives in such a powerful way? We all want to continue to be involved with what God is doing in Kenya. This is a country full of beautiful, genuine individuals. The believers we met here are making such a huge difference and we are honored to be able to serve with them.Tomorrow, after a good Kenyan church service, we are heading out to safari and I'm not sure when I will be in front of email again. I will try to write when we can. It will be good for us all to be together and reflect on our time here. I can't believe we are leaving on Wednesday night.

Much love in Christ,Susan (on behalf of the Africa Team)

Kenya #8 Pastor Brad

Hello Everyone!I am sitting here after a long but fun day here in Kenya. We are nearing the end of our trip and it seems like we just got here. God has given us all a love for the people and ministry here, and yet i miss everyone at home so much. There is nothing like experiencing the Will of God in your life and understanding how He has created us to serve Him and by doing it we Enjoy Him so much more. The pages of Scriptures we read and teach seem to be jumping with life as we see them lived out. I know that recently in our Quiet Times we have been reading through the Exodus story and I have also been reading through the beginning of Acts. I thought it was neat how Steven's sermon was over the Exodus as I was also studying the book. I thought God must be giving me a message, and in Truth He has been. The things we have been seeing and doing here has truly opened my eyes to the depravity of man (the utter sinfulness and lack of hope). And God wants us to be delivered from this death and decay and unto new life in Christ. It is so exciting to be proclaiming this Truth to these people, for it is truly "the Road Out" for them, which is what Exodus means.Today we had a nice relaxing beginning to our day, well maybe not relaxing haha. It was souvenir shopping morning at the Masai Market. This market is one that you have to barter for everything you want, no written prices on anything. They start off very high and you have to haggle for everything. For us it is a custom we are no longer used to in America and i found myself feeling bad, or cheap and then just buying stuff, which isn't how you do it haha. I did get a few really good deals, but quite before i got worn out. After that experience we headed out to a school to teach the Choose To Wait to High Schoolers. What an amazing time! There were 175 teens crammed into a room about twice the size of our youth room at Vesper Lake. it was way crowded but i loved it. Up to this point we have been teaching preschool and elementary aged kids. Man it was fantastic to teach teenagers again. In times like it was a reminder that God has called me to youth and I love it so much. Anyway, I got to intro our lesson which is The Voice of Truth. We wanted to get a few points across from the Word of God found in Gen 1:1; 1:27,28; 2:7. The first point is God the Almighty is our Maker! and because of this we have Value. He has given us a Manual in the Bible that tells us how to live life abundantly. We also taught lesson 2 which is based on the truth that God created us for a purpose, therefore I have Value, you have Value and Sex has Value when we honor the Marriage Relationship. We also had a great opportunity to share the Good News that God loves us so much He sent His only Son to die for us, and He was buried and rose again conquering sin and death. It is amazing to share with a people that God will forgive anything, no matter what, if we just choose to believe on Jesus Christ alone. What a rewarding experience.Well I must quite hogging the computer now, but i thank you for reading this. I really miss all of you and hope to see you all soon. Please pray for us as tomorrow is our last full day of ministry. We will be teaching children as young as 4 yrs old up to 18 yrs old tomorrow in two different sessions. Tomorrow is back in Mathare Slums and is tough on one hand, but a place of amazing ministry.

Thanks for your prayers.In His Service,Pastor Brad

Kenya #7 Pastor Brad

Hello Everyone!

I am sitting here after a long but fun day here in Kenya. We are nearing the end of our trip and it seems like we just got here. God has given us all a love for the people and ministry here, and yet I miss everyone at home so much. There is nothing like experiencing the Will of God in your life and understanding how He has created us to serve Him and by doing it we Enjoy Him so much more. The pages of Scriptures we read and teach seem to be jumping with life as we see them lived out. I know that recently in our Quiet Times we have been reading through the Exodus story and I have also been reading through the beginning of Acts. I thought it was neat how Steven's sermon was over the Exodus as I was also studying the book. I thought God must be giving me a message, and in Truth He has been. The things we have been seeing and doing here has truly opened my eyes to the depravity of man (the utter sinfulness and lack of hope). And God wants us to be delievered from this death and decay and unto new life in Christ. It is so exciting to be proclaiming this Truth to these people, for it is truly "the Road Out" for them, which is what Exodus means.

Today we had a nice relaxing beginning to our day, well maybe not relaxing haha. It was suvenior shopping morning at the Masai Market. This market is one that you have to barter for everything you want, no written prices on anything. They start off very high and you have to haggle for everything. For us it is a custom we are no longer used to in America and i found myself feeling bad, or cheap and then just buying stuff, which isn't how you do it haha. I did get a few really good deals, but quite before i got worn out.

After that experience we headed out to a school to teach the Choose To Wait to High Schoolers. What an amazing time! There were 175 teens crammed into a room about twice the size of our youth room at Vesper Lake. it was way crowded but i loved it. Up to this point we have been teaching preschool and elementary aged kids. Man it was fantastic to teach teenagers again. In times like it was a reminder that God has called me to youth and I love it so much. Anyway, I got to intro our lesson which is The Voice of Truth. We wanted to get a few points across from the Word of God found in Gen 1:1; 1:27,28; 2:7. The first point is God the Almighty is our Maker! and because of this we have Value. He has given us a Manual in the Bible that tells us how to live life abundantly. We also taugh lesson 2 which is based on the truth that God created us for a purpose, therefore I have Value, you have Value and Sex has Value when we honor the Marriage Relationship. We also had a great opportunity to share the Good News that God loves us so much He sent His only Son to die for us, and He was buried and rose again conquering sin and death. It is amazing to share with a people tha God will forgive anything, no matter what, if we just choose to believe on Jesus Christ alone. What a rewarding experience.

Well I must quite hogging the computer now, but i thank you for reading this. I really miss all of you and hope to see you all soon. Please pray for us as tomorrow is our last full day of ministry. We will be teaching children as young as 4 yrs old up to 18 yrs old tomorrow in two different sessions. Tomorrow is back in Mathare Slums and is tough on one hand, but a place of amazing ministry. Thanks for your prayers.

In His Service, Pastor Brad Horner

Kenya #6 Susan and Jacob

Good Evening. We all just finished a great meal of cheeseburgers, guacamole and fruit smoothies and are getting ready for evening devotions. It's about 7pm and we are looking forward to an evening relaxing and taking in the thoughts from today.We went back to see the children at the daycare this morning. It's a long drive to the Ngong slums where the children center is and the countryside here is so pretty. It's so much different from the leafy trees and green grass we have at home. The weather here is very arid and dry. Jessica Tomic mentioned that she wishes she could fill up the river beds with water, as if she had a huge hose. The land here has been so exploited for all it's resources and it's apparent when we take our long drives to do ministry.We made it to the children's center and the children remembered us. They welcomed us with their little voices yelling out in excitement. Again, it's amazing how they enjoy just being with us, being held by us and the little bits of candy we pass out. Jacob did a teaching with them today with using the wordless book colors on bracelets. The group of us put the bracelets together in the car on the way over and we passed out probably 60 bracelets to the children and workers. What was encouraging was the teacher pulled out a Child Evangelism Wordless Book teaching guide where she had been teaching the children the stories. We know the children are consistently hearing the Word of God through stories. Jacob asked them "Who made you? Where did you come from?". The children responded while pointed to the sky, "Mungo" which means God. Then Jacob asked them (all this through a translator since they all speak Swahili), "Where you made by accident?". They yelled at the top of their lungs "NO!". It was beautiful to hear them be so confident of these foundational truths. I hope that they never, ever forget these things.On Tuesday, Jacob and I were touched by a little girl named Mercy. She is obviously neglected and malnourished. Even as I am typing this to you, my heart is heavy for her situation. Tuesday, she was clinging to us like glue. I don't think she knew we were married, but as Jacob held her in his arms and I hugged them both at the same time, she put her little head on our shoulders and wouldn't let go. She has stolen our hearts. Today when we went back, she remembered us and climbed up into my lap and wouldn't let her feet touch the ground during our entire visit. She was the only child there with no shoes and her clothing under her school uniform was filthy and torn. When I asked about her situation to the workers, they told me that she is most likely in the worst situation of all the children. She is one of 5 children. She has an older sister, Doris, an older brother, Kevin and two small twin sisters named Sylvia and Carol. Their mother is mentally ill and her grandmother takes care of them when she can. When asked if she could take us to her home, she led us with her brother to a tiny shack where her older sister was sitting outside with the twins. Their mother had left and locked them out of the house. They had no food or clean water and it was very hot outside today. Jacob and I were scurrying for cereal bars and water to give them. The sister is too old to go to the daycare/preschool and there is no money for her school fees so she stays home to care for the little ones. I really hope that we can make school and daily meals a reality for each of these little ones. That's the great thing about being here and meeting these children, if God put it on our hearts, we can do something to make their lives a little bit better. The frustrating (helpless, heartbreaking) thing is that we have to leave them here. Jacob and I took a picture with all 5 children. We can't wait for you to see the picture. God works in such ways that the child with the greatest need found us and God touched us to help her... how can we say no? Again, we had to peel ourselves from the arms of these little children. I think all of us felt better about it knowing that if we wanted to, we can help them even when we get back and we know that they are hearing the gospel and they know that they are special because God made them and they are not an accident.We did get to some touristy stuff today. We went to the Nairobi Giraffe Centre where we got to closer to these amazing animals than anyone in the states (without being a zoologist) could get. Let's just say that we all got a kiss from these beautiful animals... don't worry... we all wiped off with antibacterial wipes afterward! We are starting to get excited for our Safari that is coming up on Sunday afternoon. The wildlife here is nothing like we have at home and the thought of seeing elephant, lion and zebra is about to be a reality for us.Tomorrow we will be teaching again at the school down the road from our house. It will be fun morning of teaching the middle school students and hanging out with them. Then we'll be going into Nairobi to see some more sights of the city. Saturday we will be teaching Choose to Wait in the Mathare slums all day to teenage kids. It's so great how Dave and Jen push us, but not too much that we can't step back reflect on what God is trying to teach us while we are here. We are all growing so much in the way we look at the American life and it will be interesting when we get back in one week how we will adjust. Kenya is a place that has gotten into our hearts and we are already talking about preparing for a trip in 2009. We are all healthy and doing very well. Thankfully, we have had great sleep, even better food and wonderful fellowship with each other. Our hosts, Dave and Jen will be in the States this summer and I hope that you will get to meet these people with tremendous faith. They have sold out of the American Dream and have dedicated themselves to the Kenyan people. Their lives are such great examples of what could happen when we step out in faith when God calls us. We are all impacted as much by our experiences here as by the choices they have made to be here and let us serve with them in Kenya.Thank you for your emails back to us. It's so great to hear from home and know that all is well. We do miss you very much.

Much Love in Christ, Susan (on behalf of the Africa Team)

Kenya #5 Pastor Brad

Jumbo! Hello Everyone and greetings from Kenya! (Sorry you have to go back and start from the beginning in an African accent, haha) Habari? How are you? I hope all is well back in the states. One thing you should be thankful for is your computer and internet access. Their fastest (called ASL) is very slow and yester day I typed a very long update, which i won't be able to remember, and sent it out. But the internet froze up and all my information was lost. So sorry this will be shorter then I wanted, but it is time for breakfast and I don't want to keep the team waiting.To go back a few days, we met with a group called "Community Transformers" (CT). CT is a group of young adults who decided they had enough of the poor conditions and sinful activities going on in Mathare Slums. I know that Nick (26), Charles (27) and Joseph (25) were founding members. They formed CT to take meds and foods into the HIV/AIDS victims, teach Choose To Wait to the Children, started a Drug prevention program and are the ones who are watching over the 29 children we told you about earlier. What an amazing group. Please ask me about them and I will tell you more.The breakfast bell has been rung, so I must close with this, Tuesday we went into Mathare slums and went to the houses of the HIV/AIDS victims. I was able to meet three people but I can only tell you about one. Eunice was 24 and was in the last stages of AIDS. Unfortunately she either started the ARV drugs too late or was not able to get them during the riots. ARV allows someone with AIDS to live a normal life up to 20 years longer. We were able to give Eunice the Gospel and I had the privilege of praying for her. We left her mother (who is a believer) a new Bible to read to Eunice. For us Americans it felt like we barged into the houses with a large group of people, then we say a few words, pray and leave. Questions like, did I really accomplish anything? or do they feel ackward with all of us there? But in truth we never want to question the power of the Gospel preached! That has a promise by God Himself "My Word will not return unto me void!" Also, the African culture is that any time someone visits you in your own home, it is a great privilege and honor. Again this is a reminder that we should not just act on what we know or our fears, but be obedient to God's call and share the Gospel with others.Jesus said "Whatever you do unto the least of these you have done unto Me!" Thanks for your prayers they are much needed. We are having a truly amazing time. In

His Service, Brad Horner - Youth Pastor

Kenya #4 Jacob and Susan

I am writing the night before as we are preparing for a long day in Mathare slums. I have found that sharing with everyone is so theraputic as we make our way through this challenge. Some are writing in journals, some are talking it out in evening devotions, but I (Susan) am able to process these things by sharing with all of you, our friends and family, what we are experiencing. Anyway, back to tomorrow. We are going to Mathare slums. I encourage you to "google" this particular slum and see pictures to get an idea of where we are going. This will give you a taste of what we are seeing. We are looking forward to meeting with two groups that have formed in this slum, both doing wonderful works in the name of Jesus. The first is called "Living Positive". It's a group of women who have admitted that they are HIV positive (which is a huge thing for their culture to even get tested, let alone to make it known that they have HIV). It is a support group of sorts where they rely on each other and they make little trinkets to sell for money for food to feed each other and their children. They do all this instead of prostitution, which is a common way for women to make their way in the slums. They have decided to take a stand and it is not easy. They have run out of food and we are taking some to them tomorrow and ministering to them tomorrow for the entire morning. I can't even imagine running out of food... like, I mean, no welfare agency to take care of them, no family to ask for money... run out of food. My little sister, Jessica, is going to do a teaching for them and I am so excited about how God is teaching the younger people on this trip and moving them to do things they would never do at home.The second group we are working with is in the afternoon. I spoke of this group earlier in my last email. They are called "Community Transformers". They are a group of 20-somethings who have bonded together to help children orphaned by violence, AIDS and poverty. They teach the "Choose to Wait" program in workshop format to so many children in the slums. They also work with those with full blown AIDS in the slums. We will be doing home visits with them. They are taking us deep into the the heart of this slum. We have been warned that the smells will be so strong that it will be necessary to put something good smelling on a rag for us to retain composure. We were all somber tonight in evening devotions as we were told what we were up against tomorrow. But we are thrilled and challenged at where God is taking us and how Dave and Jen are allowing us to see a place that is so abandoned by human kind, but where God is still working and moving in amazing ways. We all feel so unworthy of this privilage for a peek into where God has purposefully placed such joyful and unselfish workers in His kingdom. We are confident that we will be serving these young people around the banquet table in Heaven someday. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We are thinking and praying for you often. Thank you for the emails back to us. We all hope that this is something many of you will experience for yourselves. We were warned before coming here that we would never look at our faith the same way, that we would never look at the face of Jesus in the same way. We were excited at this thought, to be pushed forward to something more for our lives, but now we are experiencing it. It is more than life changing. It is rocking our worlds. Thank you for supporting us in this amazing opportunity... and it's only our 4th day of serving.

Much love in Christ,Susan... and the rest of the Africa team

Kenya #3 Pastor Brad

We were in the Mathare slums, in an apartment building where 29 children and 3 adults share two rooms that are about 10X10. The conditions are just horrible, but so much better then the refugee camp and slums they were in. I did the Gospel bracelets with them twice through an interpreter, and that was quite the experience. The kids paid good attention and made bracelets with us. Afterward I quizzed them and they could tell me the different beads. It appears that many of them are already saved, but are in an environment where they are being taught the Gospel often! When I gave them the ball with the same colors they were so very excited, jumping, dancing and shouting. I have a little of it on video of them saying "thank you" which will touch your heart. One child I met yesterday is named Brian. Brian is 12 years old and has been twice abandoned by his family. Once during the riots he was left in the refugee camps and after several months they were able to find his parents so they took him back to them. They would not take him back and they sent his little sister back with them. One day he leaned up against Dave Bell (our missionary) and asked, "Why does nobody want me?" I made special effort to reach out to Brian, to play with him and hug him. And he is only one of 29 kids who all have stories that would break your heart. We are also praying specifically today for George, who is 6. His mom just died 2 weeks ago and he still hasn't accepted that fact. He hasn't even changed his clothes since. What deep deep struggles these kids face. As Nick, the 26 year old Kenyan man who is one of the caretakers of these children, his prayer is that God will help these kids forget the things they have seen and understand His love for them.

Well, I guess you can see that this is an amazing trip. We are being stretched and our hearts are being broken for these children everyday. Today we will be doing a Choose To Wait training with the 11 new teachers, many of whom we will be teaching with on Friday back in the Mathare slums. There is a media/camera crew here from the University of Michigan that has been sponsored by Proctor and Gamble to get footage on this amazing new water purification powder called PUR. It is revolutionizing the conditions that many of the HIV and AIDs victoms are facing by allowing clean water in the dirtiest of places. Anyway, Dave and Jen Bell have been using it for that last 2 years with their work and the camera crew wants to go into the slums with us and make a documentary on it. We met up with them at lunch yesterday and they came to the children's rooms with us. I am praying for them b/c they were all touched. Like us they have never seen conditions so bad and heard such horrible stories, yet the children were so joyful. Many of them heard us sharing the Gospel with the kids. One of the camera guys almost broke down while we were there. The journalist with them, Amber, said, "I want to stay with you guys and share the Gospel bracelet with kids!" They did not bring their video equipment b/c the kids don't use the PUR, but they are going with us into the slums tomorrow as we will be doing home visits with AIDs victims who use it. We are hoping that we might be able to reach this team with the Gospel.Prayer Requests:-Brian and George, and the other 29 children-Today's training-Camera CrewWhat an amazing experience.

I am so excited to share with you more. Pastor Brad

Kenya #2 Pastor Brad

Jumo! Hello Everyone and greetings from Kenya!

Praise the Lord for His protection and safety in travels. We arrived here in Kenya a little after 8pm and made it through customs with no problems. We had a drive to where we are staying, but have made it safely. Thanks so much for your prayers! We had a few interesting parts of the trip, like something in the computers didn't have Jessica K tickets in it and took awhile, but it all worked out. I knew it was a spiritual attack to try to get us off track, but God is faithful and worked it all out. The team is doing great and are excited about a good nights rest and ministry tomorrow. We get to go to a public school and teach the kids tomorrow, which is going to be so exciting. I hope to keep you update on the great things God has done. In Isaiah 55:5-11 it talks about God calling the nations to Him who do not know Him that they might repent and turn to the Lord and they will obtain mercy for His "Word does not return empty it will do what it was sent to accomplish!" This is my prayer for this trip. Thanks again for praying for our travels.

God bless, Pastor Brad

Kenya #1 Jacob and Susan

Good Morning Everyone!

We made it to Kenya last evening around 8:30. Our flight was delayed out of Amsterdam, but other than that we had no other flight delays. After experiencing some problems at check-in in Cleveland that continued on through boarding in Amsterdam, we were so relieved to finally be in Africa. Getting through customs was so easy due to tourism being down 60% in recent months and the Kenyans want to make it as easy for tourists as possible. We didn't have to open one of our 14 bags for them to check. Just a few questions and we were on our way. All this was such a huge answer to prayers.

As we walked off the plane into the airport it was obvious that we were in a different world. All of us who had been so chatty on the flights were completely silent while we walked through the airport. We met our hosts, Dave and Jennifer, at the airport. They picked us up in the coolest safari truck... one you'd never see in the States. Jacob was totally impressed. We needed a vehicle like that because just driving down the road is like off roading on some of the most trecherous 4-wheeling paths. The worst pot holes in Akron have nothing on these roads. We drive on the other side of the road here which is a bit to get used to also. New Yorkers are supposed to be the craziest drivers... Kenyans are totally nuts.

The house we are staying in is in what could best be described as a suburb of Nairobi. Our community is walled with all the homes having seperate walls around the property. This morning, as Jacob and I stood outside on the porch outside our room, we got a good view of the neighborhood. The landscape here is so much different, but they have so many interesting plants. We thought of my father-in-law because of all the plants. They have this tree called the "African Flaming Tree" that has the most beautiful orange flowers. When it's in full bloom, we can see how it got it's name.

Today we have orientation, and then we are going to teach at a children's home. Most of the children there have been displaced from the unrest earlier in the year. Many of the girls have experienced rape. There is one baby there that's 3 months old that was born in a refugee camp.

Dave and Jennifer are great hosts... even as I'm typing I smell pancakes and bacon. Please don't worry about us as we are staying in the lap of luxury, Kenyan style. We all have our own bathrooms (Jacob's and mine is attached to our room). In mentally planning for our trip, I was expecting the worst of situations, but we have been given the best.

Today, as you are praying for us, please pray that our teaching will be effective and that the children will be eager to hear what we have to teach. Also, if you could pray for some of us whose legs are still very swollen from the long plane ride. I'm a bit nervous about it and hoping that after a day of walking will get the swelling to go down.

We love all of you and covet your prayers for us. Right now, it's raining outside. To Kenyans, if it rains and there are visitors here, that means they will be an extra blessing during their stay. I know that God is going to bless our trip, He already has. We just continue to pray that God will work in us and through us to make us a blessing to people here as they are such a hurting people, especially after all that has happened this year.

I will email again soon. Much Love, Susan and Jacob