Wildlife and the Garden

By Sara:

We had some interesting reptiles visit our yard recently (on the same day, in fact, just minutes apart).  I was doing some worked and all of a sudden looked up to see this snake in the tree next to me.  Anthony assures me that it is harmless (he did read the entire "Reptiles of East Africa" book).

Is it not crazy that a snake can climb a tree?  Maybe a little creepy too?

Then, I found an even better reptile a few minutes later - this chameleon.  I was willing to put my face up next to it to get a good picture.

Then, I want to give you a picture of some of the changes in my garden since we moved here.  First, you can see on the left of the picture below how there used to be grass growing on that side of the house.

Then, I put up a fence and dug up all the grass and weeds:

And now, it is all mulched and has plants growing in it!

So far, we've been eating chard, amaranth (leaves), cilantro, and basil from the garden.  Sugar snap peas, radishes, and zucchini just started too!

Monitoring and Evaluation

By Sara:

Part of my work (both in Uganda and) here in Kenya, is to work alongside local partner organizations on the projects they're doing. Like I've talked about before, here I'm working with the Anglican Development Services (ADS) of Nakuru in a nearby area called Solai. They're participating in a project on Conservation Agriculture that is funded by the Canadian Food Grains Bank (CFGB) and which includes many different organizations throughout Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.

CFGB put on a training for the organizations in Kenya who are part of this project to help them do better work in monitoring and evaluating the work that is going on. In order for me to become more informed about this project so I can support ADS better, I went along for the training.

I learned a lot about the outcomes that this project is working toward and the way that these outcomes are going to be measured.  They also talked about the baseline survey that was done in each of these areas - they went around with a long questionnaire and talked to people to see what their situation is like before participating in this project.  In five years, when they project is over, they'll go back and ask those questions again to find out if there has been any change.  We did a fair amount of work where each organization's participants in the training sat together and looked over the data they got from the baseline survey.  Then, we figured out how, specifically, we will be able to tell if peoples' lives have improved after learning about and using conservation agriculture.

Here is the group of people from ADS that I was working with:

This isn't my favorite part of my work, but I do enjoy the people I get to work with and it is important to know how we keep accountability in project work and determine whether it is successful or not.

At one point in the week, there was a demonstration of how we often think that there is a barrier keeping us from doing something, but it is not really there, it's just in our head.   They blindfolded some people, put up this rope, and told them to step over it without touching it, then go under it without touching it.

The first time they went over and under the rope, it was there.

The second time, the rope was gone, but they didn't know.  Everyone who wasn't blindfolded was very entertained!

Our God is a living God

By Anthony:

You meet all kinds of interesting people when you travel in other countries.  And if you pay attention, they can build you up in your faith.  One person we met said something that I won't forget.

This man used to be a pastor, but is not right now.  In fact he was a church planter, but after he started a church, his bishop took the church away from him and he doesn't know why.  That was some years back and he has been working at normal jobs since.  We asked him if he would like to church plant or pastor again and he said, "When God calls me back into it, I will do it."  

He then told us that his current church he is attending wants him to get back into church planting or pastoring.  I responded, "maybe that is the sign that God is calling you back into that ministry."

He responded with a smile and a slight chuckle, and gave us a statement, a firm but gentle statement, in love, not in criticism.  "No.  I will know when God wants me to go back to it.  My God talks to me.  He is a living God."

Is this the God you serve?  Do you pray to a living God? While I was looking for clues in his life experiences and the voices of other people in his life (I do still believe God works that way in calling sometimes), this man just goes to the source, to God himself.  His relationship with God is real, a real relationship with the living God who actually talks to us.  His statement convicted me.  Too often we settle for a weak relationship with God.  When we don't hear his voice clearly, we blame God for his distance, rather than blaming ourselves for all the distractions in our lives, and the paltry few minutes we give to prayer each day.  

We need to learn about prayer from this man and other African Christians.  We need to dedicate more time to prayer and learn to listen.  We don't enjoy setting aside an hour a day just for prayer, as so many African Christians I know do.  But this could explain why they more often experience such joyful intimacy with God.   Am I willing to trade time watching my favorite television shows for that kind of intimacy in prayer?  I pray that God will give me this kind of intimacy with Him, that I would be able to listen to the Holy Spirit and have a more vibrant relationship with my living God.

Student Video messages and Campus Videos

By Anthony:

I have interesting students from all over Kenya.  One student has three mothers because his father is polygamous, and as a Christian he treats them all with love and respect.  Another student, William, is from South Sudan (we mentioned him and his family's challenges in the South Sudan post).  William told me that when he was younger (he is now 67), that he used to regularly hunt antelope for food.  He would chase them down and kill them with his spear.  He must have had some pretty awesome skills.  He also used to be an evangelist in Khartoum before Sudan was divided.  It is evident that the other students respect him a lot, and not only because of his age.  The other day he woke up early and picked up litter all over around the student dorm area, setting a great example for the younger students.  Here is William preaching in chapel, courageously willing to speak in English:

Here is a video tour of part of the college:

Here are some more fun videos, both of showing you the college campus, and also, on the spur of the moment during a quick class break, I asked the students if they wanted to share any messages of encouragement to the American churches who sent us.  Enjoy.

Some random fun photos:

Sometimes Sara can't afford the time to go change clothes before working in the garden.  You can see her passion!

This is her "seriously? you're taking a photo?" look.

October 2016 Prayer Letter

You can download our newest prayer letter at this link - October Prayer Letter.  Thank you for praying for us!

Interesting Class Discussions

By Anthony:

We just started our new semester of teaching.  These students will be here for 3 months and then take exams.  The second semester starts in January.  Right now, I am teaching Mission and Evangelism, Church history 1, Introduction to New Testament, and Systematic Theology 1. Here is a photo of the current students - all of them, from first year to third year students.  I teach at least one class for every year of students.  Only three women students this term.  The mzungu (white person) was a pastor from the UK visiting the college for a day.

Teaching has continued to be fulfilling and enjoyable, and also has been keeping me working very hard as I am teaching these classes for the first time.  My biggest prayer request is that you pray I have enough time to get all of my work done.  It's been so tiring, even though so good at the same time.  Anyway, I wanted to continue to share with you interesting insights from teaching and from discussions with students.  So in no particular order:

• In theology class, we had a very interesting discussion about God's omniscience (if God knows everything, including the future).  Several of the students could not believe that God knows even the future.  They especially couldn't imagine God creating the world yet knowing Adam and Eve would sin.  Practically, this meant for them that events in our life can take God by surprise.  It turned into quite a debate, but a very helpful one.  We were looking all throughout the Bible.  It was a privilege to be able to teach them about God's providence and control over this world, how he is working for good, and that even before God created the world, he knew he was going to glorify himself and show the full extent of his love through the incarnation and the work of Christ on the cross and the resurrection.


• In church history we looked at the Christians, during the time of the Roman Empire, who were eager for martyrdom, for the privilege of dying because of trusting in Jesus.  I asked the students what they thought of that.  They thought those people were a bit crazy, and I found out most of the students feared death.  But after all of our class discussions on persecution, and after they read about the martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas, they came back to class and proclaimed that they no longer fear death.  They are not going to seek out martyrdom, but now they feel they are ready for it.  True teaching should change the heart, and I thank God for using my class in this way. 


• In theology we talked about the creation of the universe.  I was explaining that God created us, not because he needs us, but purely out of love.  This brought about a 20 minute discussion I was not expecting.  They said they always preach to people that "God needs you."  He needs to use us because he can't do everything himself.  (It was like they hadn't thought before how this goes against the idea of God being all-powerful).  One of the students said that true love is only when you both need each other and you are both getting a benefit.  You don't love someone who doesn't benefit you in some way.  After much discussion, looking up Bible passages, and a little sermon on my part, they were finally able to understand that God's agape love is purely out of compassion and grace for us, and not because we benefit God in some way.  He doesn't even need humans to give him glory; the creation itself is still able to give him glory without us.  God wants relationship with us, but he doesn't need us.  And we should follow his example in loving people even who don't benefit us.


• Like any school anywhere, there are challenges with students falling asleep in class, or coming late, or trying to check their phones while in class.  But generally they are very alert, and this new group of students has been doing very well in keeping time.  I also warned them that if I catch anyone on the phone, that I will start collecting their phones before class.  So far, they've done very well.


• The new students made a special point to tell me how much they enjoy my teaching and how much they are understanding.  They told me they had to go tell the principal how much they appreciated it.


• I have not had any students yet who have ever read the whole Bible.  I keep encouraging them to do so.  In some classes, I'm making them do so for their assignments.  I am making one class read the whole New Testament during this term.  For comparison, I only ever met a few pastors in Uganda who had read the whole Bible.  Most East African pastors have not, from my general surveys.


• I was also disappointed to hear that only one of my students in mission and evangelism class has ever shared their faith with a non-Christian.  But through the class they are developing a passion to reach the lost.

Video from chapel:

• In the mission class, we practiced sharing our faith to each other.  At one point we had a lot of fun and laughs as I had them try to witness to me, an atheist ornery mzungu.  They had a difficult time responding to my questions!  But it was a good learning experience.


• Generally I thought that people are well aware of what is going on outside their countries in Africa.  But during the August term, I was surprised to find out none of them knew about Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) that had plagued Uganda for years.  But sadly, really it can be hard to keep track of all the instability and security issues and problems these East African countries have faced over the years.


• In August we had some really tough discussions about the Crusades in Church History and about relationships to Muslims today.  Similarly to most Americans, Kenyan Christians treat Kenyan Muslims well, but also fear them somewhat.  They have had to deal with so many terrorist attacks recently from Muslims (terrorists coming from Somalia).  Yet for the most part, Christians and Muslims live peacefully together in Kenya.  We all agreed to keep going forward in forgiveness and showing grace even to those who might hate us.


• On the topic of Islam, I found out that it is a common practice in Kenya for Muslims to pay people money or goods to convert to Islam, or to come to the mosque.  I had heard previously about this happening in other countries as well.


• Last, we talked about what happens to those who die without ever having heard the Gospel. Some of the students figured, "well they are innocent, so they will be in Heaven."  This led to a good teaching moment about how God judges us primarily for our sins, our sins are what send us to Hell.  Whether we accept Christ or not does not change the fact that we deserve to be punished for our sins.  Otherwise sharing the Gospel with people would be a liability rather than being good news. If everyone would go to Heaven if they haven't heard about Christ, then we should stop preaching the Gospel!  For those who have not heard the Gospel, perhaps they will be judged less strictly, but they still are guilty before God.  The hope we have is in God's amazing grace and his power to elect whomever he will for salvation.

 For fun, a picture of the donkey chariots we see all the time - 

Christian Music Recommendations Part 2

By Anthony:

Here is part 2 of my Christian music recommendations.  See my previous post for explanation:
Christian Music Recommendations Part 1

• Harding University Concert Choir - Precious Lord Take My Hand.  This song might make you weep.  It is sung a lot at funerals.  But I love it.  This is just a random version of it, but it's a great hymn.
      
• Jars of Clay - This Road.
   
• Johnny Cash - Ain't No Grave.
    
• Joy Williams - By Surprise.  Another great song about Jesus coming back, which I am really looking forward to!
    
• Michael W. Smith - Missing Person.  This song resonated with me, especially during college, when I wished I had the simple but strong faith I used to have in high school.
    
• Mighty Clouds of Joy - He's Able.
   
• Newsboys - I Love your Ways.    I broke my rule.  I have to give two songs because they are                         one of my favorite groups.  This first song is a beautiful song of adoration,                                   and loving God's ways reminds me of Psalm 119.
                    - He Reigns.  It's fitting that as a missionary I love this song, about people of all                               nations worshiping God together.
    
• Nicole C. Mullen - Call on Jesus.  Wonderful song of hope about trusting in God even in difficult circumstances.
    
• The Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama - I've been born again.
    
• Passion - You Are My King.
     
• Paul Baloche - Praise Adonai.
    
• Paul Coleman Trio - The One Thing.
    
• Petra - The Coloring Song.
    
• Phil Joel - The Man You Want Me to Be.
   
• Phil Keaggy - And on that Day.