David’s Kenya Cross-Cultural Missions Training ADVENTURE 
7/13/2009
• Indianapolis to Atlanta (5:00 pm Monday, 13th)
o The flight was smooth and comfortable. There was an empty seat between myself and fellow passenger, and I was at the window.
o There were a couple of children who had never flown before on this flight. I love flying, especially the takeoff, and hearing these kids “ooh” and “ah” only made my joy in the awesome innovation that human beings flying through the air is only greater.
• Atlanta to Johannesburg (Monday, 13th, 8:30 pm)
o This flight was long (15 hours). I sat in the furthest back region of the plane, in the middle section, on the right aisle side, one row from last.
o The seat was comfortable as I had a middle school girl and her brother (probably a high school freshman) sitting to my left.
o Some Christian group filled this region of the plane. They were all looking for their bishop, who apparently took a first class seat or something…they joked about it a lot.
o Delta offered a ton of different movies to choose from along with TV programs, games, and my favorite, the in-flight tracker…I took pictures of the screen to help you see what route we took to Johannesburg.
o They served dinner and lunch (at strange times…they didn’t even correspond to our destination)
o I finished reading Cross-Cultural ministry book and a couple chapters in Unity of the Bible; listened to Part I of Francis Chan’s “Crazy Love” and Part I of St. Augustine’s Confessions.
7/14/2009
• Johannesburg Airport (6pm Tuesday, 14th)
o When I arrived in South Africa, I needed to get to the international transfers section of the airport. Not one of those who flew with me on Delta was headed there. As I tried to figure where it was located, I noticed the kiosk stands labeled “iHelp,” And the gentleman did! He was very helpful and courteous, informing me that the reason I could not find the Kenya Airways ticket counter was that the Employees of Kenya Airways had not shown up, and they would not show up for another 2-3 hours. Until then I was to wait. I could go into the departure section, going through the security check and passport scans, but I didn’t really want to do that three times (there, back, there).
o SIM card situation BREAKTHROUGH
 At this point, I had two SIM cards. One was Pastor Bob’s which went along with the phone he lent me. The other was a card I purchased online last week. The one I purchased online required that I have Pastor Bob’s phone unlocked, a process extremely easy and cheap (about $10…unlocked from a specific network carrier – i.e. T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, etc.) NOTE: If you would like to unlock your phone or want more information, let me know. Because of my involvement with the unlocking company, they gave me some discount codes and should be sending me some vouchers for free unlocks also. Well, after leaving the Atlanta airport, I would not be able to use my sprint phone, as it’s not international compatible (most phones in the US aren’t, even with unlocking). I tried unlocking Pastor Bob’s phone while at home on Sunday night/Monday morning before I left to no avail. And, so when I arrived in Johannesburg, I though I would try again, though I didn’t expect a change (but oh did I hope). The effort was fruitless, and so I put Pastor Bob’s SIM card in, because at least I knew it would work even if minutes were 8x’s more expensive with his. Wait!?! His didn’t work either. This was a little concerning. I realized that I would just have to get to Nairobi and wait for Dr. Lewis, because I wouldn’t be able to let anyone know any differently until then. I sat back and decided to read my book “Unity of the Bible: Unfolding God’s Plan for Humanity” (an incredible book you should read as soon as you can). After a bit of reading I grew tired and put the book down. I believe the Lord then heard my prayers because I pulled out my instruction sheet for the SIM card (I had read them 6-10 times already), and I saw that I had missed a number in the sequences you have to type to prepare the phone for unlocking and calling. I couldn’t believe I had missed this. Praise be to God that he opened my eyes to see that the directions indicated something I hadn’t seen, though repeatedly read. At that point I was able to call my brother and speak with him and my dad.
o I also saw the Botswana futbol team while I waited
o About a half hour later while I was sitting on a bench, I heard a guy behind me say something a few times, and it appeared he was talking to me. I had been repeatedly warned by wise travelers about dangers from such interactions, but I also knew that Pastor Bob had prayed Joshua 1:9 over me before I left, and so I was not fearful or anxious, though I was cautious. The gentleman (with crew of three others) asked if I was going to Nairobi. I said yes, and he asked for what? I responded about going to Kitale, Kenya to stay at the International Christian Ministries campus for training in cross-cultural missions with some Kenyan and Sudanese pastoral students. He then came over and sat next to me, introducing himself and proceeding to ask me about my home church. Then after we spoke about me for a little, he began to tell me about his faith in Jesus Christ and his work on a ship off the coast, in the Indian Ocean for four months, before coming home to see his family in Ghana for 6 weeks. He’d been dong this for awhile. He attends an AoG church and had one of their magazines to read and “encourage” himself. He told me that on the ship he doesn’t have many “encouragements.” He gave me his name, phone number, and e-mail, and asked for mine. I gave him my email and name (not phone because I don’t pay the bills in my house). He asked if I could e-mail him some encouragements which I said that I would. He also wondered if I could maybe send him some Christian songs. The other three men were coworkers though not from Ghana. I let him borrow my phone to call his wife and leave a message about when to be picked up from the Nairobi airport the next day (I though he was in his late twenties, but it turns out that he is 46. His name is Samuel and here are some prayer requests he has
• For perseverant faith (that he is faithful to God for all his life, till death)
• That he does not stop growing in faith (moves forward and beyond current spiritual stage)
• That God would help him to lead his family to love the Lord (wife, two boys and two girls)
 I had a lot of snacks with me, and so I offered some to him, and then realized I should offer his friends as well, pretty much emptying my stash (which was okay because I wasn’t hungry). They men were extremely thankful and their countenances brightened.
 From that point they always let me know where they were going in the airport and told me that I could come and sit with them if I wanted to sit down and not walk around
 Samuel said that he wanted to keep in touch and that I could stay with him in Ghana sometime if I returned.
o After finally getting my boarding pass, which took me less than 5 minutes, I was on my way through security. It seems as though Americans have much less trouble in airports than everyone else. Thus, if you want to move through line quickly, you need to be in the front. Other nationalities took up to 30 min. Likewise, when I went through security checkpoints, it was as if the security personnel were not worried from the beginning. I had no searches at all. Though later I realized I had some banned items in my carry on which were metal and should have shown up in their scanners.
o After I was through the checkpoint, I saw a great number of shops, like “out of Africa” along with cafes, restaurants, and duty-free shops. I went to a café to purchase a water, as I was not going to drink from their fountains (I don't think I saw any anyway) because of possible water supply issues. Their currency is in Ran, and so my water which was about 13.95 in Ran was a little over $2. I brought back some of the currency. This was an experience of their being “no lines” outside of America, as people felt free to order ahead of others who had been waiting to order longer than they had waited.
7/15/2009
• Johannesburg to Nairobi (12:40 am, Wednesday, 15th)
o I flew Kenyan Airways to Nairobi. I sat near the back in a window seat. (NOTE: I had carry-on luggage and a laptop case so that I could take everything with me on every flight.) A very large woman sat in the aisle seat, and so there was one seat between us, until another moderately-sized woman arrived. It was going to be a little tight. Nevertheless, I felt more comfortable considering I had the window to lean against. Then the woman in the middle of our row asked a steward if she could move to another open seat she had spotted. He allowed it, and we were all very thankful. Kenyan Airways played a movie and provided a “snack.” This snack was more like a dinner, consisting of beef kabobs (green peppers and onions), curry rice, eggplant, coconut custard cake, coffee, a soft drink, and a roll with butter. It was much better than any of the dinners I had had on the Delta flights (spinach pizza and spicy beef meals). The woman I sat next to was very kind and told me about her travel plans after asking me about mine (though some of this might have to do with the fact that she drank a couple small bottles of wine on the flight).
o I slept after the movie and food. I had read a little under a chapter in Unity of the Bible before that.
• Nairobi airport 5:40am (Wednesday, 15th)
o When we arrived, we got out of the plane and walked the tarmac to another set of steps into the terminal. Those of us who had Kenya as their final destination had to find the Immigration area and apply for Visas. The form for the visa was very short and I didn’t even fill out every question. When I went to the counter to have it approved the woman helping me told me that she was from Kitale and proceeded to joke with me a bit about having me pay double and then keeping the rest. I just kept laughing the whole time, showing no anxiety and trying to show her that I did not believe her to be serious and wouldn’t accept that anyway. She was glad that I laughed and said it keeps us going. The price of visas was half of what I expected it to be (even their website says it’s double what I paid). Then I went to exchange some currency, and finally met my driver. He told me that he was sent by Christians. I asked him how much the taxi would be and he said a price about $5 more than I expected (consider that families who are lower than middle-class (Kenyan) and higher than poor in Kenya might make less than $150/month. I decided not to haggle, as if he is a Christian, then the Lord bless him. If he’s not a Christian, then he’s got nothing else greater ahead anyway, and so why not give him something for which to be thankful, or at least help his children (this was only a one-time transaction, and so this isn’t a full philosophy).
o I don’t think I’ve ever been so close to crashing so many times in less than 5 minutes, and this went on for over an hour and a half. It was rush hour. People were walking the streets en masse to get to work, often in factories. Interestingly, many were dressed in fine dresses and suits. We drove fast. I have a video of some of the driving, and some pictures from along the way.
o Harrison, my driver, shared with me the names of different locations and roads, and the meanings of words. Several times he told me about historical landmarks and explained why people were doing certain things. I saw a Hindu temple on one road. Hundreds if not thousands of school children were walking to school.
o He showed me some slums areas and it was a pretty incredible sight.
o We finally arrived at the home at which I was to stay about an hour and a half later.
• Meeting Benerd (8:30 am on Wednesday, 15th)
o Benerd was the keeper of the missionary’s home while they were away. He was a very kind gentleman, providing me with some tea (boiled as I can’t drink their water because I don’t have certain immunities). He hadn’t expected me until later, arriving around the same time as Dr. Lewis. He went about preparing my room and the hot water so that I could shower. This time afforded me a chance to call home (I forgot it was 2am at home….sorry mom), as well as make a short video clip, pray, and sing some praise songs.
o I went after Benerd to speak with him about the compound (it has a huge gate, and it walled in with barbed-wire). He told me a bit about it, and especially about Kenya, the government and the youth. Having boys of his own, he is anxious about the economic situation, especially unemployment in the younger generations who have finished all of their schooling, but are unable to find jobs. This stasis encourages many of them into lives of crime and immorality. Likewise, the corruption in the government does not allow for the rule of law and fosters the tribal warfare that had begun to diminish.
o I took a shower after awhile, and then did some typing, reading, and slept.
• Dr. Lewis arrives (8 or 9pm Wednesday, 15th)
o He came with friend Jeff Osburn (sp?, he works with United World Missions (UWM), who had picked him up from he airport. I was woken up by their arrival, and came out of my room half-asleep as Dr. Lewis came down the hall. He told me to come out and have something to eat, as I hadn’t eaten except on the flight and had a few bites of my dried-fruit upon arrival. We had a little pizza and water and “Coke light” (diet). They asked a bit about my travel and then I listened as they discussed the current state of affairs of the Kenyan churches and missions agencies/organizations.
o After Mr. Osburn left, we briefly spoke about the next day, quickly approaching, and our flight on the following day.
o Then I went to my room, and finished this travel account.

7/16/09
• Plans for 7/16/09
• Dr. Lewis has told me that because only morning flights were offered upcountry to Kitale today, he decided we would fly out Friday (he arrived later than I and hadn’t had the rest that I had, and I would like to see a bit of Nairobi’s down town anyway. We’re going to be going to a marketplace where I can do some buying if I would like (we are going to return to this house on our way back from Kitale too, and so I could leave purchases here). He also wants to go to an internet café where he can spend some time communicating back home with family to let everyone know we’re safe, in good health, and things are moving forward. In regard to the market and buying, he told me that I will be receiving a decent “skin tax” (for being white), and so he offered me the following advice: that if I am charged 1000 Kenyan shillings (a little over $13), that he would offer 200 (about $2.70) so to provide himself some wiggle room in negotiating prices. He said that even if I ended up paying 400 KSh, that would still probably be too high a price, but that’s the way things are done. In the mall we’re going to visit (it has the internet café), he said that prices are fixed, and so I don’t have to worry about bartering. I am going to talk with him again today about what sort of items are nice souvenirs and what people generally find the most interesting/neatest back in the states. I’ll also be getting on the internet to send this first installment out to you all. I pray it works and that the day isn’t too expensive, though I would like to bring something back (but finding out what’s worth bringing back when everything is on the internet these days is sometimes difficult). Maybe there will be some unique spice or weaving or music (Samuel from Ghana said he’d e-mail me some of their music) Travel space is at a premium, and so gifts have to be good and space-effective to some extent, even if I left some of my own goods here in return. We’ll be heading about a mile or so from the mall (I think) to eat dinner at a restaurant – owned by an American interestingly enough – called the Java Hut or Jaba Hut (I’ll let you know in the next “publication”). Dr. Lewis says the food is great.

It’s 6:54 AM here in Nairobi, about midnight back in Fort Wayne, IN. I’ve slept a lot, but in small chunks, waking up a couple times during the night (about every 2 hours), as Dr. Lewis said I would. The animals are out – dogs barking, birds chirping, roosters crowing, etc. – and I don’t seem myself falling asleep again until I get tired, and so I’m going to read some of Judges (go figure I would be in Kenya, where tribal disputes are high these days – Obama skipped Kenya, a country to which he has blood allegiance, in his recent African addresses…some of the people are quite angry… - when I was reading through the book of Israel’s tribal days). Also, I’m nearing the end of Unity of the Bible, and I’m excited to move on to some other books before our studies narrow.

A hard step of faith

I want to address a question I’ve been asked a few times: “Traveling through all these places, having never traveled internationally before, this must be a real step of faith you’re taking?” (It’s a statement addressed as a question).

1. The most obvious answer, correct in some degree is, “No, because I’m too naïve to know better at this point in time.”

There is, however, another reason which expresses why it’s not unwise.

2. First, this decision to leave for Kenya and participate in this training wasn’t something done spur of the moment. It was a decision that came from much prayer and fasting in December and January of 2008-2009. Then, after seeking new information on the project, I waited two and a half months without word on whether or not the program was even going to be offered this year, and if I would be eligible. During those periods of time, and also up through June (as my tickets were cancelled 4 times), I asked the Lord a lot about this, but mainly to make a way for it. It definitely is not the same step of faith that is required in seeking the Lord’s will. Spending weeks in prayer and fasting is where the step of faith took place…trusting God to answer those calls. That was the difficult part. Going, at least for me is much less difficult than answering the question “to where should I go, Lord?” Thus, after God answered that question for me, the question every Christian wants an answer to, the rest came more easily. Surely there have been difficult times, like when I was decided to empty my bank account to go, and would have, but the Lord provided in His timing, and so that wasn’t required, or when my tickets were cancelled for the fourth time, and not so much money had come in that I could have cancelled the whole trip, or planned for another time. These weren’t even really questions in my mind. I knew the Lord was making a way, and I was supposed to be perseverant and “Go.”

In all honesty, trusting to “go” isn’t hard. The Lord proves Himself true and good time and time again. He has never been untrustworthy, and so the more we trust God, the less difficult doing what He says to do becomes. In fact, as He changes my heart, it’s not a contest or struggle to follow. Obedience is a joy. I’m not saying that I’m super-faithful, because I’m far from that. It seems that in order to trust God you have to realize how utterly unfaithful and helpless you are. Thus, as the Lord has answered my prayers to shine a light on the darkness in my own heart, I see more easily how I have no other hope but Him. Likewise, as this truth takes hold in my life through the working of His Holy Spirit, He produces fruit in me of faithfulness

He shows me how bad I am à I realize I have no hope in self (repent) à He shows me that I can hope in Him as He is good and desires me good à I see my hope only in Him and trust in (depend on) Him à He opens my heart to His commands that do me good à I do the Lord’s commands because I know all the good that He has done and promised for me, not to earn them, but out of joy that He has already intended such if I’m in relationship with Him through the faithful work of His Son Jesus Christ to justify me and give me His Holy Spirit which He shares with His Father.

The following are prayer requests for my duration in Kenya.

• For financial support for fellow students (Kenyan and Sudanese pastoral students),

• For the Holy Spirit’s leading as Dr. Lewis helps us grow into more effective disciples,

• For smooth transitions between times and cultures,

• That I would be an encouragement to our brothers,

• Safety in travel, and
  

• A bold witness for Christ (taking into account wisdom of the serpent and gentleness of the dove)
  

Using cellular phones internationally

As I'm preparing to leave, I've come upon the problem of communicating internationally. It's quite expensive. That is, it's expensive if you don't have an unlocked phone and some good domestic SIM cards to help reduce your costs of making calls.

Thus, I present to you UniquePhones™. They have been in business for awhile, helping out people like us find those unlock codes for our phones. It's possible to get such codes from the manufacturers, but their service offers the convenience of not spending the 10+ hours that might take. When you think about your time, as the scarcest resource you have....perhaps a $10 unlock code won't seem that big of a deal (versus 10 hours x the value of having 10 hours for other uses). I know that I personally have things to do which I value more, and that's why I value their services, because their work helps me preserve my time so that I can increase the overall value of my day.

Bravo UniquePhones™, keep up the good work of providing a service which serves, increasing the value of society.




Happy unlocking!

Looking Back

I just finished reading the Book of Joshua the other day and was reminded how serving the Lord is definitely not something possible by "putting our noses to the grindstone," for Joshua set up a rock as a witness against the people for exclaiming as much. Interestingly enough, by reading about the acts of God's power in history, we engage in the process by which God's people do keep service to the Him, by remembering His good work, what He does on behalf of His people (Rom. 8). Knowledge of and acknowledgment of God's promise-keeping power engenders the obedience of faith, evidence of God's regenerative work in His own. God gave commands to the "out-of-exile" Israelites to set aside times for remembrance so that they would not harm themselves by trusting in false gods, displeasing the LORD. For them, and as it should also be with us, remembrance was made ceremonial. Likewise, it was often accompanied by celebration. Joy in increases where faith abounds. For remembering God's power to do what He promises is what we believers need so that we increase in faith. To know what He's done and that not a single of His promises has ever failed ought to amplify our faith. How can you trust the Lord for salvation? BECAUSE HE'S NEVER FAILED IN ANYTHING. He cannot lie; He's steadfast in love. With this understanding can we serve Him as he deserves to be honored and lifted up in our hearts and minds for all that he has done and all that He will do. This service is not some type of work for God as if to earn something from Him. It's the service of trust. It's the service which says we will rely upon Him and not ourselves, a commandment in the same vein as that of a shepherd who directs his sheep for their health and safety; He know's better. It's faith, the evidence of the justification, sanctification, and glorification we hope for, the substance of our future resurrection and eternal life (Jn17:3). As noted after the covenant renewal at Shechem in Joshua 24:31, "Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the LORD did for Israel." Israel served because Israel knew, "all the work that the LORD did for Israel." People perish for a lack of such knowledge. But for us, we can look backward to the great evidence of God's work in Christ, making all promises yes, and look forward in faith to the consequences of His glory for us.