Man, I have been incredibly remiss about updating my blog since I’ve returned from Kenya, and I’ve been back for two months!!  Well, things at the school have kept me busy, along with spending time praying over CTM and figuring out what to do next and where to go next.  And as that comes about, I will most certainly share it all with everyone who is supporting, following, and praying for CTM.  Before I share where I’m at and what I’m doing though, I would like to give you the opportunity to see the video that I made when I returned home that I’ve shared with my church in Montana and posted on Facebook and YouTube.  In this video, you’ll have the opportunity to see the faces of the children that Pastor David cares for one by one, not only that, but you’ll also get the opportunity to hear from Pastor David’s own lips how thankful he is for the generous support that people have been giving to CTM.  I hope that it encourages and challenges you, just as it has done for me.  Enjoy!

Well, this will be my last post from the field this year, but what I want to share is what God has been revealing to me since I’ve been here this year. Last week we traveled eight and half grueling hours up to northern Kenya to a town called Lodwar in the Turkana region of Kenya. The next day we traveled still farther to be able to visit a small village and encourage a couple fo pastors who are serving the the ruralest of areas. I was blessed to say the least with the opportunity to see what most people will only see in National Geographic. The people of Turkana are exactly what most people imagine when they think of Africa, dressed in blankets with loads of beads around their necks, carrying sticks and herding cattle. People who literally live in grass huts and can go without food or water for days simply because they have to. Yet their generosity to me even in the short time that I was there was greater than I’ve seen in many of the places that I’ve traveled to. And it was simply an expression of thanks for coming, visiting with them, and sharing the Word with them. Along with orphaned children, these rural indigenous tribes like the Turkana, Masai, Pokot, and Sambura are the people Pastor David most desires to minister to, consequently, they are the people that I am ministering to. It always amazes me how God brings people together for His purpose, and how through the support given to CTM, the gospel is being preached even in the most rural of areas. Continue to pray for the people we ministered to and the people who are continuing the work in that area.
As I celebrate Christmas over here again ths year, I’ve been reflecting on the work that has begun here and the impact and reach that it has. There are numerous children who are recieving an education and proper meals each day, which is slowly transforming the community around the children’s home, and Pastor David is being blessed and liberated more and more to minister to many people all over Kenya. Now as I prepare to head back home in a few days, I’m askng myself again how best to show love to the people that I’ve met, and the answer is simply to continue standing with them, supporting them, and ministering to them. I pray that those of you who have been supporting me in this work would continue in the same vein and stand with us. Be blessed this Christmas and have a wonderful New Year!

You know, giving money to an ideal is one thing, actually getting the opportunity to see their faces and touch them is another one entirely. And as I’ve been thinking about it, it feels as though I’ve simply been working toward an ideal up ’til now. But yesterday, I was blessed to be able to see the faces of those who are being blessed by this ministry, directly and indirectly. Pastor David invited the children that are attending our school to come and visit for the day and we put on a little bit of a program for them. Along with those children, some of the orphans who stay here regularly were able to come back from visiting relatives so that I could meet them as well. Man….I don’t even know what to say…my throat swells even as I think about the fact that I got to see them face to face and the fact that it was so short…But, I tell you honestly, it gave me even more of a fervor for this work, even more of a passion and desire to see it through. Please continue to pray for the children that live here, and for all the members of the community that are being impacted by our ministry here.

Last weekend, I was blessed with the opportunity to cross the border and visit Uganda. My intention in going there was to meet with a pastor who is running a similar children’s home, to develop a relationship and learn from his experience. He runs an orphanage called Canaan Children’s Home (canaanchildrenshome.com) on the outskirts of Jinja, Uganda. Pastor Isaac Wagaba and his wife Rebecca are wonderful people with a wealth of information, knowledge, and advice. I am blessed now to call him my brother and to know that I am welcome at Canaan’s anytime I come to Uganda.
The other reason that I went to Uganda was to visit with a young woman named Katie Davis who, in addition to creating several feeding programs that benefit the poorer communities around Jinja, is raising 13 little girls. She has adopted all of them out of their poverty and given them a home. When I first heard about her a year ago, I was challenged by the strength she showed for the work she is doing and I prayed for an opportunity to meet with her the next time I came to Africa. That just happened to be last weekend. It was a blessing to talk with her and to hear her story firsthand, I was privileged to meet some of her girls and to see the work that she has been doing in and around Jinja. My hope is that I will have more opportunities to visit with her, seeing as our work isn’t too far apart and also opportunities to get to know this sister in Christ better. If you’re curious about the work that she’s been doing and the challenges that she faces raising so many young girls by herself, please visit her blog kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com. Until next time!

Well, it’s November 30 and I’ve made it here to Kenya safely. I’ve decided this year that I’ll write a few updates while I’m actually on the field to give you an idea what I’m doing and what’s going on here on the ground.
This year, it is a blessing to be able to see the changes that have taken place since the last time I saw it. The building is amazing, looking very nice, however there is still quite a bit of work that needs to be done before it is finished. Our cows are looking good. Montana just gave birth to another calf which is also a female, putting us at a total of three cows. We have nine sheep and quite a few chickens, which are laying eggs each day as well. I ate some this morning. The children are looking healthy and were thoroughly excited to see me. God has been good. I am continuing to pray for this trip, that He would use me and that His will would be done in this place. Your prayers are appreciated as well, I know that He’s going to do some great things during my month here. I’ll let you know more of what happens around here as it occurs. Until then, be blessed!

 Well, I received my visa for access into Kenya, I have my plane ticket, and my plans mostly figured out, I am heading to Kenya.  The question has been asked by a few people here and there: Why?  Why are you doing this work?  And I don’t know that I have a solid answer for anyone, but I do have a few random thoughts on the subject.

1)  When I first went to Kenya, it was simply from a desire to see the gospel become more manifest in my life, call it "practical theology" if you will.  Basically, I wanted to live the things that I claimed to believe, rather than just spouting off theological niceties or rhetoric.  And that desire led me into a friendship with a lady in Alaska, which in turn led me into fellowship with a Kenyan pastor named David.  I visited him in December of 2008, on my own, self-funded, without a plan, just a desire to experience life alongside him and the children he cares for.  And God gave me many opportunities to do that and more, by providing them with a dairy cow and calf, purchasing the land that they were renting, and opening up several opportunities to preach the gospel.  It was one thing for me to say, "Yes, I believe that God is with me wherever I go." and just continue my average American life, and wholly another thing to actually be sitting in the Chicago airport realizing that I have no one to lean on or trust in except God.

2)  Secondly, during that first trip, I spent much time contemplating Scripture and the implications of it, and ended up spending quite a bit of time reflecting on 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 which states "If I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  And if I give all my possessions to fee the poor, an if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing." (NASB)  I realized that going to Kenya on my own, without a plan, and just seeing what God would do through me in the lives of Pastor David and the children was a good place to start, but I couldn’t leave it there.  This portion of Scripture (which is consistent with the rest) states that I can do all kinds of things like that, but if I don’t do it with love, it is meaningless.  I began asking myself the question, "What does it look like to show love to these people?"  And God prompted me to begin fundraising to build and establish a proper children’s home for the kids.  So I did.  Eventually the building process started in September of 2009 and I was able to assist and be a part of it in December of 2009 as well.

3)  Thirdly, I am doing this work because I want to know more about what it means to truly show love.  Now, I’m not married, nor do I have any prospects to become so, but what I understand from talking to many married people, reading books on the subject, and being taught by some very godly people here at MWSB, is that love, real love, means commitment.  In Hollywood, the consensus is that everyone "falls in love" or "falls out of love" kinda like they were walking along and didn’t see that huge hole in front of them and  just stepped in it.  But what I understand from experience and from Scripture more importantly, is that we make a choice to love.  Sometimes continuing in that choice is easy, and other times it is much more difficult, but continuing in it is always worthwhile.  Having grown up with more of a "Hollywood mindset" it has been a challenge for me to grow in my understanding of the biblical mindset, ultimately though it comes back to saying, I want what I say I believe to match up with what I live.  So I continue in this work in order to learn more about what it means to truly love.

4)  Fourthly, I am pursuing this work, doing this work, and continuing this work because I’ve felt compelled to be involved in missions-type work since I was seventeen and I don’t feel compelled to stop yet.  I am forming CTM for the purpose of pursuing this work more whole heartedly and for building up that same passion in others who feel similarly called.  To provide opportunities to serve, to go, to grow, and to be transformed through practical theology.

5)  Lastly, and most importantly, I am doing this work for this reason: "…the love of Christ controls us,, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might now longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."  2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NASB  I do this because of what Christ did for me, it’s not an effort to earn His love or to pay Him back for it, it is simply an outpouring of thankfulness on my part toward Him.  "I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but He lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me."  Galatians 2:20

 Well, it has yet again been a large chunk of time since I’ve posted anything on here, however, that does not mean that I haven’t been busy or that God hasn’t been doing work either.  In fact I know He has and this short video is proof of that fact.  When I went over to Kenya in December of 2008, I had no idea what God had planned for me to do, I was just willing and open for whatever He wanted to teach me.  He gave me a desire to begin serving Pastor David and the children in his care by raising money to build an orphanage building.  Throughout the past couple years, I have been privileged to see this building take shape, little by little, and this video is a tribute to what He’s doing and a testimony to what He can do with an open and willing heart.

 I think that I’m starting to understand a little more why I can’t find good blogs from young, gospel-minded men…it’s hard.  And it’s a little time consuming if you are a bit of a word smith like myself.  See, because you don’t want to just put up anything, you want it to have impact and true meaning.  You want it to carry weight and strike hearts.  And if like me, that’s really your desire, then you have to give it more than just a few minutes.  But often, it’s not the things that we put the most effort and energy into that make the biggest impact, it’s the little things that simply flow out of what is in our hearts that challenge and change people.  So maybe I don’t need to wait until I have something profoundly insightful to share on my blog to put up a new post.  Maybe I just need to share what He is doing in and around me within the context of CTM.  Maybe in doing so, that will draw out what is really important to my heart.

Anyhow, that said, I haven’t put up any new posts since Easter because I’ve been so busy with summer camps at MWSB/C Bar N Camp.  But it has still been an enjoyable and productive summer.  All of our new camps went off well.  I learned a lot about the importance of organization and administrative skill in the context of leading an organization.  I learned quite a bit even in my first week of camp about how to deal with people whose expectations aren’t met and end up losing their cool because of it.  And most importantly, I learned more about how to love and rely on Jesus more within the context of ministry (which is something I have been learning for several years now).  So it’s been a great summer, although I haven’t taken time to sit down and write about it all.

CTM is continuing to take shape as well.  At the beginning of the summer, we became incorporated as an organization by the state of Montana, and a little while later received our non-profit status from the state.  And as the summer progressed we’ve been working on filling out the 26-page application for federal non-profit status, and as expected it is rather time-consuming, especially as we’ve been going about our other duties within MWSB, which, for now, is our primary ministry.  As soon as that is filed and we know more about what to expect from that process I will share our capabilities and limitations.  Continue to keep it in your prayers when you think of it!

 "When you were dead in you transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him having forgiven us ALL our transgressions, having taken the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."  Colossians 2:14 NASB

It’s evening now, and we’ve just finished our Good Friday service here at the school.  We spent some time worshipping God in song, I shared briefly, and we watched The Passion of the Christ.  All relatively usual for Good Friday, but what really struck me tonight was the fact that we need to be living in light of the cross.  Too often people go to church just to hear the same thing that they usually hear, get their spiritual high, and then they go on with their life the way that they want to, and I am certainly no exception, I used to be an ETC. Christian myself (Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas).  I got my spiritual high/duties out of the way and I was ready to live how I wanted to live the rest of the time, doing what I wanted to do and not giving it another thought.  But tonight as we sang songs like "The Old Rugged Cross", "Sweetly Broken", and "What A Savior", I was struck by how the words we sing in worship are not just about the fact of the cross (which is the focal point to be sure) but also about living our lives in light of that fact…and i desperately want to do that with my life.  And as I think about the work that is going on in Kenya with Pastor David and the children there, I know that God is granting me opportunities to do just that.  When I support the work of a fellow missionary, God is giving me the opportunity to do just that.  When I serve others without expectation of repayment, God is giving me the opportunity to do just that.  The opportunities are everywhere, everyday, if we would only see them.

As i shared tonight, I read a short story written based upon the afore-mentioned verse.  And as I put myself in the story, it made me think about how I would live in light of the sacrifice given at the end of it.  I pray that as you read it, you will be challenged similarly.  It goes like this:

"I stared, dumbfounded at the paper I held in my hand.  I couldn’t believe it.  Half of the things that were on there I didn’t even remember doing.  What was on the paper?  All my sins.  And I mean ALL of them.  The ones that I knew as I committed them that I was sinning against God, and the ones that I didn’t really even think about when it happened.  They were all added up, and at the bottom of the paper, I saw what was due, I saw what needed to be paid, and it wasn’t just an arm and a leg.  No, it was all of me.  It was my life.  Because of my sins, I owed a lot.  And I couldn’t pay it.  There was no way I could pay my debt to God.  I sat down on the ground, buried my face in my hands and began to weep, crying to myself because of what I had done and what was required of me now, which I couldn’t do.

Through my tears, I saw a sandaled foot come into view.  I looked up and I saw Him.  He didn’t say anything, but I knew who He was.  His eyes pierced me to the core, and I knew that He was looking into my heart.  I wanted to apologize for everything.  I wanted to beg for forgiveness.  I wanted to grovel at His feet.  But I was unable.  I just looked back at Him, tears streaming down my face and clutching the paper in my hand.  My certificate of debt.  He smiled a sad sort of half smile and held out His hand.  I knew He wanted my paper, but I held it tighter, refusing to give it up.  He continued to stand there for a long time, hand outstreched, eyes looking deep into my soul.  I knew what He was offering, He wanted to pay my debt, but I couldn’t let Him do it. The cost was simply too high and I couldn’t let Him pay it for me, I was an unworthy sinner.  And yet, there was something in His eyes, something in His smile, something in His countanence that said, "I want to pay it for you."  Slowly, I reached up to hand Him my debt.  He gently grasped it and took it out of my hand.

Turning around, He placed my certificate of debt on the cross behind Him.  Picking up a hammer and three nails, He put one in the top corner of my debt and began to hammer it in.  He grimaced as though in pain as He pounded in the first nail, then I saw the blood running down His arm from the wound in His hand.  Finishing with the first, He placed the second nail in the other corner of my debt and began to hammer it in.  A new wound appeared in His other hand as He did this, and yet, He did not cry out, but continued.  Finally, He put the last nail in the bottom of the paper and pounded it in.  I looked down and saw the blood now running down His feet.  Being finished, He dropped the hammer and held out His hands so that I could see the wounds which marred His body.  I continued to cry, though not for myself as I had before, but for Him, because I realized that what He had done.  He paid the debt that I owed to God, with His life, His very own blood.  I fell onto my knees and began to worship Him, thanking Him profusely without words.  Again, He reached out His hand, with no sign of blood, but with fresh scars, this time, reaching out to me, asking me to join HIm.  Taking His hand, I stood up, and looking again into my eyes, He said softly, "It is finished."  And I knew it was.  My debt had been paid with His life.  The least I could do in return was give Him mine.  And so I did."  ~ACG

As you celebrate this Easter, I challenge you to live in light of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.  Give Him your life in return for Him giving His.  Happy Easter.

 First of all, it’s been a little while since I’ve written anything, for two reasons: one, I spent our spring break in Denver, Colorado with Imago Dei our outreach team working with homeless and low-income ministries and projects around the city (that was two weeks ago); and two, I spent a lot of time last week working on a short video for our upcoming youth retreat which was somewhat time consuming but altogether worth it.  That video will be available on YouTube after this weekend so you can check it out if you want, it’s about going through the motions of Christianity, something that I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about lately and have been challenged to leave behind.  So, God willing, I will have a couple new posts here in the near future with regards to going through the motions and some of the thoughts that i had while working in Denver a couple weeks ago, I’m still trying to take time to process through all that we did and all that we experienced.  But for now, I wanted to give you a heads up about what is going on with Pastor David and our brothers and sisters in Kenya.

The hardest part about the work that I’m doing is the fact that I’m here in Montana and the work is going on thousands of miles away in Kenya, and I can’t always see what is going on, but I know that God is doing work and I simply trust and follow His leading.  However, thanks tot he modern miracle (or curse) of technology, I can email quickly and get an update about the progress of the work.  The last time that I emailed Pastor David he let me know that the work on the children’s home is progressing rather rapidly.  The windows and doors have been put in and they are in the process of doing all the finishing which includes plastering the walls inside and out, and putting in the concrete floor.  After those things are complete, we’ll be able to furnish the building with bunk beds, tables, chairs and the like.  The teachers are doing well, we have three of them, two standard one (first grade) and one nursery school teacher.  Along with the teachers, we also have a man who is our security person, keeping watch at night and such.  God has truly blessed this work abundantly.  Pastor David has been using the food money that we collect here in the states sparingly in order to pay the teachers’ and security’s monthly salary ($100 for the first grade teachers, $50 for the nursery teacher and security).  So we have been praying that God continues to provide their salary, but not at the expense of the children’s nutrition.  Additionally, it is important that we begin to pay off the debt of our farming land which at the moment stands at $8000.  But I know that God is doing this work, it is not by my efforts or the efforts of Pastor David in any way.

So, things are going well back home in Kenya.  Here in the states I am gearing up for the summer, it will be my first summer as the camp director so I’m getting into my feet wet soon.  I love working here at the school, but I also long to be able to be in Kenya as well.  However, I know that God is at work here just as much as He is at work there, in fact He’s been laying a passage of Scripture on my heart that I’ve been dwelling on for the past week or so, it’s 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 it says, "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."  The questions that I’ve been asking myself lately are "What does it mean to let the love of Christ control you?" and "Am I living for myself or for Him who died and rose again for me?"  I feel that it is important for me to wrestle with these questions because their answers have a great impact on the work that I am doing, both here in Montana and in Kenya.  As I continue to meditate on the implications of this verse, I pray that you will also and that you will let God’s Word richly dwell within you so that it might change your hearts and challenge you to grow as it has me.  Be blessed.

P.S.  As soon as I get some picture sent to me from Kenya, I’ll post some of the orphanage progress.