Mission summary.

After around three weeks and ministering in around a dozen churches I have seen 25 people give their lives to the Lord and 20 testify of healing {There may be many others healed that I don't yet know about.} God has done much in my life and certain things that were on my mind for a long time have been clarified. We we've seen God do many good things during our time here and I am determined to return {God willing}. Not only have people in many churches told me they have been greatly encouraged but I myself have been encouraged and emboldened by what I've seen.

I want to thank all of you who have been faithful to stand with me in prayer. Your efforts have made a great difference to peoples lives here. Only eternity will tell just how much.

God bless you...Steve

Final two days.

We had two seminars on Saturday with many of the leaders staying for the weekend. Everything is going so well and the word of God seems to be hitting the target every time. Two or three more people came forward for prayer for healing and said that all pain had gone.
Please remember one particular man in prayer. He came forward saying his whole family was sick.


On Sunday we went to Bungoma prison but because of a delay in sending the relevant paperwork we could not get in to minister to the prisoners. We went instead to the prison staff church where I spoke on how to overcome discouragement and condemnation. It was designed with the prisoners in mind but was very well received by the church and the chaplain. We had a final service in the Bungoma church which went very well. It has only been three days but it has been three days I have seen much. I prayed for a man in the prison serving who has been in two vehicle accidents in the past in which he survived but others died. He struggles under a sense of fear and of condemnation. Please remember him in your prayers.


God bless you...Steve

Leaders meeting in Bungoma.

The leaders meeting in Bungoma went very well indeed. We arrived as the previous minister was summing up. It turned out that the message I had followed on from the passage he was preaching on {1st Samuel ch16}. I spoke about David being a man after God's own heart and the kind of man God looks for when choosing a leader. The response was very positive indeed and many came forward for prayer afterwards for miscellaneous needs. I led most of them in a mass prayer and prayed specifically for individuals who needed healing. I think their were about 6 or 8. Every one who said they came with physical pain testified that the pain had gone after prayer. I'm told that this is very common in this particular church. The church has developed with much prayer and fasting and they are seeing great favour and power of God here.
Please pray for one woman who told me that everyone of her children were sick and she did not know what was wrong with them. Pray that God would completely heal all of them and keep them well {If he hasn't already done so}

It is hard to know in these stuations just how many people have recieved healing as I can only count those who can testify of immediate healing there and then but I believe there are many more cases than I have counted.

I felt such a liberty in praying for people there. There is such a sense of God's presence and it seemed harder not to believe that God was going to do something when we prayed.

regards...Steve

Storms,Sickness and souls saved

Tuesday evening in Kisumu threatened to be a washout. We got near the end of the open air song service and the heavens opened. The rains continued unabated until we decided to carry on anyway, sheltering under someones porch. The Wednesday morning event was put off until evening as something I ate had a bad effect on me {I won't go into any more details on that one!}.

By the evening however I was feeling fine, the sun was out and we had one last meeting. It went superbly. A good crowd gathered to hear the singing and by the end of the sermon when I asked for people to come forward for prayer a group of people came forward including many small children that had gathered when they heard the music. The group of children must have been aged around 4 to 8 and I didn't want to disregard them so at the end we prayed for them first. We asked them how many of them believed in Jesus and most of them put their hand up. {I'm hoping there has been a good seed sown for the future in their lives. One young boy couldn't have been more than five and was unwell and in pain so we prayed for him in the presence of all the other children who gathered round closely to see what would happen. All the pain went straight away and my interpreter questioned the boy to make sure he was healed. He was completely serious. He felt no pain at all and he had been unwell for some time.

We saw four more people come to the Lord making a total of eight in Kisumu and 24 during the mission in total so far. Please pray for everyone that has made a decision for Christ that they would follow through with that commitment. We also visited the neighbour of the Kisumu church pastor to pray for her after the event. She wants to see her husband come to the Lord. She is also without work and needs employment and her mother and sister are unwell. {Her mother is still in hospital}

Today is a free day as we travel back to Eldoret. Then on Friday I am involved in a leaders seminar in Bungoma {You really need to pray for that one because I have never done anything like this!} followed by an evening revival service. Saturday will be an all day seminar followed by an evening revival service and Sunday will be the prisons ministry in Bungoma.

God bless you....Steve

God's favour in Kisumu.

Last night we saw two decisions for Christ and two healings after prayer. This morning we visited some people in the church. One of the main problems here for christians is condemnation and discouragement. It's seems that the oppressive spirit caused by the high level of witchcraft and cult activity here works against the churches {I've seen and heard of the same kind of thing before}. I have a message which I haven't finished yet on overcoming condemnation and discouragement. Pray for the final day where I hope it will help many people.

We saw unusual favour this morning. Sometimes when the church does door to door people are very resistant and are even angry at the very mention of Jesus. Today couldn't be more different. We kept being invited into the homes of non christian neighbours and in two separate homes a person gave their life to Jesus {That's four so far and we haven't even been here 24 hours! There are some other prayer needs I want to share with you.

One woman has a sick child and her husband is showing signs of unfaithfulness. Another woman has been suffering from a stomach illness for the last two weeks. We also prayed with a woman who has been struggling under a sense of discouragement and a couple who are going though the same thing. As I type this it is 3:30 in the afternoon and we were going to start our open air event in a hour and a half but another thunderstorm has started. This morning in prayer however I sensed that God wanted me to understand that he is in control and I was to trust him. Having seen what he has done in this short time I'm very much encouraged to believe so.

God bless you...Steve

Rough ride to Kisumu

On monday {yesterday} we travelled to the city of Kisumu in a 'motutu' which is a small minibus. We went over very rough roads and potholes for the best part of four hours along with intermittant thunderstorms and flooded roads. When we finally got there I was taken to a piece of land in the middle of a village where a stage was erected and a song service was already underway. The sermon I had prepared was not really appropriate for an open air meeting so I preached an old sermon I've never written down but was formed in the back of my mind. I call it 'the wedding garment' and it's based on the story told by Jesus of the wedding feast where a man was found without a wedding garment and the main point being that it is only by the blood of Jesus that we have access to heaven and our own righteousness {our own garments} won't be accepted.

We concluded in the dark {We did have one lightbulb lighting up the stage} and I gave a call for any who had needs to come forward for prayer. About eight came forward and two gave their lives to Jesus. Two more people were healed. Another man came forward saying he wanted to be a preacher but he wasn't even saved!

Kisumu is a city where much of the so called christian testimony is compromised by cults and the occult. It is a city traditionally known for it's rioting, looting and violence though it has been very calm while we have been here. We managed to find a half decent hotel at the last minute without being ripped off by the price {It even has hot water!} so God has helped us and answered our prayers yet again. The children either keep shouting out 'musungo' {white man} or 'Rooney' {I'm told I look like the England footballer though I insist that because I was born before him he looks like me! LOL}

The next two days we will go door to door visiting members of the church and praying for needs and each evening we will have another open air event with a main seminar on the final afternoon. I very much appreciate your prayer support. This area has some resistance to the gospel so prayer is even more important here.

God bless you...Steve

1st day in Eldoret

Today we visited several members of the Gospel Fire church in Eldoret to pray for them including a woman who is having marital problems. Her husband is not a christian and he has a drink problem. Pray for a turnaround in her situation.

The service today stared very badly. We had no power and the heavy rains kept most of the people away and we had to cancel our afternoon street crusade. We started the evening service with a total of five of us in the building! Soon things picked up though and others came making a total of thirteen.The sermon was well received and most of the people came forward for prayer. Some with regard to what was preached {'overcoming fear'}. I didn't realise this until shortly before the service but the dirt street where this church is situated {it's actually a main road} was a focal point of the violence a few months ago. Dozens of bodies lay strewn along the road as gangs attacked anyone they could. Again it seems like this was a word in season.

The church was greatly affected as the congregation were almost all from the Kikuyu tribe. Many of them fled the area leaving very few members of the congregation left. Despite this however the church has grown significantly in the last few months with between 50 and100 coming to a sunday service. On one occasion 20 new people came into the church in one morning!

Last night we prayed with people with issues related to fear and one woman was healed of a stomach complaint which kept her in pain. {the pain disappeared immediately}. Another woman came forward for prayer because she was worried about doing things in the church and whether God would accept her. I had hardly started talking to her and tears came down her face. By the end her face had changed into a look of joy. This is the kind of thing that encourages me as well. Despite a slow start it would seem that the same God who met with us in Nairobi is here with us in Eldoret too.

Please pray for the saturday and sunday meetings, for good dry weather and for God to touch the hearts of the congregation and for myself also that God would give me the right words to say.

regards...Steve

Last day in Nairobi - Gospel fire church

What a wonderful day we had. Four of those who gave their lives to Christ in the meetings so far came to the afternoon seminar and one of them came into the pastors office and put numerous drugs she had been taking on the table and told him she wasn't taking them any more. She had been addicted to pain killers but had not taken them since she was saved in the sreet crusade the previous evening. She has felt no pain since.

A scripture came to mind which says "A bruised reed he shall not break and a smoking flax he shall not quench" In the afternoon I ministered on the bruised reed which I take to mean those christians who have been hurt or damaged and was entitled 'But David encouraged himself in the Lord" In the midst of pain and discouragement when others spoke of killing him David had learned to find encouragement in God and this turned things round for him.

In the evening street crusade I preached on the smoking flax, those believers whose fire for God had almost gone out but there was still something there. Eight people came to the Lord that night and one man was healed of a kidney complaint and testified over the microphone to the crowd. Another man gave his life to Christ and is infected with typhoid and malaria. He is no longer working and hadn't eaten for two days so we took him to the church afterwards and he ate with us.

Four of the converts from the previous meetings came to the afternoon seminar which was really encouraging. Another woman came for prayer in the evening and told us that she had been oppressed by frightening demonic dreams. She believed it had something to do with relatives who were in to the occult and were trying to get her into it too. She is a christian but very scared. Another woman came forward to give her life to Christ after telling me she felt the message was specifically for her. She followed Jesus many years ago but had put her life into her business and had drifted from God. She could hear the crusade from her shop and left it to recommit her life to the Lord. She was in tears as we prayed with her.

I wish we could continue here a few more days. There seems to be a momentum building up. One man in the last light was healed of kidney pain and we had him testify to the crowd of what God had just done. Please pray for this church that the momentum will continue and that the converts will become productive members of the church and grow in Christ.

Bwana Asifiwe {Praise the Lord}...........Steve

Eldoret and Kisumu

I have a three day mission in the eastern city of Eldoret covering friday, saturday and sunday with host pastor Joseph Karanja and then moday through to Wednesday will be in the city of Kisumu for three more days of meetings. We've already seen God do some wonderful things, people healed, delivered and saved. I would love to see this continue so keep praying.

Looking forward to giving another good report soon....Steve

'Gospel Fire- Nairobi'

On Monday Erwin and Timothy set off for ministry in the church of the Lord Mombasa. I am now working with gospel fire ministries and am with their church in Nairobi. Hopefully Timothy will update you on events in Mombasa in the next few days.

Things have accelerated here. The response by the people in the church is excellent and I am finding that God is continuing to give the right words at the right time. The Swahili praise and worship is passionate and you can get so easily enveloped in it all.

On Tuesday the pastor added a street crusade to the end of our afternoon revival service. {I looked through all my sermon noted but found no peace about any of it.} The music equipment we had set up on the main street kept going wrong and as I took the stage with my notes I had chosen something said to me 'Just preach the gospel'. At the end of it many people came forward for prayer and 4 people committed their lives to Jesus. This is the first time this church has done a street event and the pastor told me it is very hard to win souls here but we are now seeing breakthroughs. As a result I have a number of prayer requests.

A Tanzanian lady is raising her children on her own with not enough money to support her family. She asks for a financial breakthrough.

Another lady is in a similar situation after her marriage ended and has no job at all. She came forward saying she wanted to give her life to Jesus. Pray for her to continue in the decision she has made and for a job to support her family.

A young lady from a Catholic background came to recommit her life to the Lord. She has become born again in the past but told us she keeps falling away. We found out that it was the influence of non christian friends that was drawing her away. Pray that she would be given divine strength to stand for Jesus, for the courage to break off ungodly ties and for the establishment of godly relationships in the church which would support her.

In the fist night of the revival services a man came into the church and answered the altar call to give his life to Jesus. Pray that he would continue in that decision for Christ.

A man came forward on crutches with one leg amputated at the knee and told us he wanted to come back to the Lord. He was once a keen christian and student of the bible but got into an adulterous relationship and went his own way. He was wealthy with two cars. Now his life has hit rock bottom. He has nothing. A car accident took one of his legs and he has no job, no wife and no home. He has been put up with his child in a shack and has an alcohol problem. He is overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness. I hope to see him again this afternoon at the service.

God bless you...Steve

Kenya Calvary Chapel.

Sunday was the 21st anniversary of the main church we have been with in Dandora, Nairobi. People came from Mombasa and even Tanzania to be at the event. I was sent to another church that day and it proved to be the right thing at the right time.
The church is run by bishop Moses who also does mission work in South Africa. He has been driving us round the city all week and I looked forward to visiting the church. Moses is an exuberant pentecostal preacher/evangelist and the church song service was lively.
I didn't even start writing the notes for this sermon until late the previous evening but felt very inspired. I preached on the power of unity, how we are to look after others in the church and a number of other things. It must have gone well because I carried on a long time and the people were still very attentive. I looked at bishop Moses and asked if he wanted me to wrap things up. He was intent on me continuing as long as it took. {The sermon lasted nearly two hours!}

The response afterwards was great. I offered to pray with those who wanted to see prodigals come back to the church and many were touched by the message and requested prayer for loved ones and so the post service prayer ministry went on for a long time as well. Moses told me that the people usually start leaving of their own accord if the service goes beyond One O clock but they all staying. He told me that the message related to the main issue of the church and many were deeply moved. This certainly wasn't down to any talent on my part but was down to the message God gave me.

This seems to be the norm here. I've come with prepared messages but am preparing sermons at the last minute which turns out to deal with the main issue of the church I preach at next. We eventually got to Dandora at around 5:00pm. The event was in it's last hour. It didn't matter as we had such a good service at Calvary Chapel.

There are too many prayer requests to mention but generally I would like you to pray for all who requested prayer at that church and that they would see loved ones come back to the Lord.

God bless you...Steve

Recent services and God's favour.

Erwin and myself are now preaching in different places. The church have sent me to one of their daughter churches in the poorest area of Nairobi which is called 'Soweto' named after the poverty stricken area of South Africa.

The night before last I preached on how God can help us overcome fear. The response was overwhelmingly positive. It turns out that fear is one of the main challenges in the area and this word helped people a lot.

Yesterday we all went to another church in Jopka, Nairobi where there is a small but very vibrant church which has faced stiff opposition from some local people. {especially christians}. Some are angry that the pastor is a woman and have told her that God does not anoint women. Despite this she has a wonderful worship service going and the church loves to sing and praise. I knew nothing of these things when I started preaching but I ministered on Davicd overcoming Goliath and the things he overcame beforehand. His elder brother Eliab made nasty accuisations about him that were unfounded yet Davids response to it is very important. I told the church that God is always looking for a man or woman like David and that if we would have his attitude God will fight for us and help us to defeat the Goliaths in our lives. Several things I said related to things that were happening in the church and the word was very well recieved.

Tonight we will be back at Soweto. Pray that God would give us the right words to speak and for a miraculous healing for a young girl by the name of 'Peris' who after a stick went into her eye is now blind in that eye, suffered headackes and blackouts. Her family simply cannot afford to get hospital treatment but we are believing God for a miracle.

God bless you...steve

Prayer requests

On tuesday evening after a service I was asked to pray for a young girl by the name of 'Peris' {Not Paris in case you were wondering}. She had a stick hither in her left eye and the stick actualy went into her eye. It has now gone white and she cannot see through it. She is suffering from headaches and occassionaly faints.

She lives in the porest part of Nairobi called 'Soweto' named after the poverty stricken area of South Africa. There is no way her mother can afford hospital treatment and so we are praying for a miraculous recovery. Please pray for ht efainting to stop and for the headaches to go and for her eye to be healed.

Alos one of the pastors in the fellowship I am ministering for is called Steve. He has been married for 13 years but his wife cannot have children because a tube is blocked. They cannot afford the money it would take for an operation to correct this so please pray for his wife also.

God bless you...Steve

Thankyou....Steve

First services in Nairobi.

We've started our mission in Nairobi at 'The church of the Lord - Faith healing ministries' hosted by Bishop Abednego. Our first service was monday night. Tonight will be the first night of the churches schedued revival services. So far we have held seminars and we have taken turns in preaching.

What has been a real encouragement is when we have seen that one persons message is directly related to the others on the same night. I sat there on monday night and listened as Erwin was summing up and found that the start of my message followed on and relate to what he finished on. Last night I got to hear Timothy preach and he spoke on 'Integrity in Worship' using Job as an example. It was a really good message. I had a sermon prepared but after hearing him preach decided to put it aside and preach the one that I had felt so stirred to write that day. I ministered on loving God or loving the world. The context of the sermon tied in very well with what Timothy was preaching.

The situation here is very different to England. In English churches we have many teachers but not many evangelists. In Kenya there is an abundance of evangelists but few teachers. What I have found is if you preach very directly and with an evangelistic emphasis the people respond very well to that. Also they responded well when I shared one important verse and spoke it in their own language. {Even though I didn't pronounce it very clearly!}. I think the people are beginning to warm to us.

The praise and worship is very vibrant which is another thing I like. Please continue to pray for us as we are only just beginning. The numbers tend to increase night by night as the event spreads by word of mouth so pray that those who are sick will come and be healed and that those who don't know the Lord would come also.

During the day we will be split up and go to various churches that Bishop Abednego has planted out. Despite having written out a umber of sermons I find myself busy making more noted day by day {On the plane, in the departure lounge, even in Dubai airport overlooking a mosque}. God is giving us the words to speak. Continue to pray that God's word would be spoken and that it would bear much fruit in peoples lives.

shalom...Steve

Church of the Lord.

Our mission will start at the 'Church of the Lord' in the city of Nairobi with Bishop Abednego Maundu Nthiwa. The mission will continue there until the 14th July. {Although I will be moving on to minister in other places on the 7th}. Bishop Abednego has planted out a number of churches in the region and we may have the opportunity to visit some of them and minister there.

On the 6th of July there is a special celebration for the church. The church celebrates it's 21st anniversary. Today around 1,000 people attend 'Church of the Lord' with people being trained to pastor and going as far afield as Mombasa on the coast to start a new work.

Our theme for the mission will be 'defeating the giants' and is something I felt God speak to me about and was confirmed by another in a prayer meeting. We will be looking at Daniel chapter 7 as well as how David defeated Goliath. {Not just a children's story! There is a wealth of spiritual truth buried in that passage}. I will also be looking at the 7 tribes of Canaan which the children of Israel has to defeat to enter the promised land. Each of those 7 tribes represent a stronghold in peoples lives which by the power of God and His word we can overcome.

One of those tribes are called 'Perizzites'. They lived in unwalled cities and were known for their violent attacks on the weak and vulnerable. Another tribe are the Jebusites who were the inhabitants of what is now called Jerusalem. They are associated with condemnation and discouragement.

No doubt I will share more when we are over there. I am looking forward to seeing all that the Lord will do.

God bless you...Steve

Flying out today. {at Last!}

At long last time time has come and the three of us {Myself along with Erwin and his son Timothy} will be flying out to Nairobi. We will be stopping off in the United Arab Emirites in the middle east for several hours and will arrive in Kenya on sunday.

I took my first malaria prevention tablet today and made a mistake. The instructions stated that one tablet should be taken after eating food. I got up yesterday morning thinking 'I ate last night. That should be O.K' only to find myself feeling like throwing up. Once I got into town and bought myself a greesy burger I felt much better. {Who said greesy food is bad for you?} I think the tablets are designed to release what they contain into your system gradually and it happens much faster if there is nothing to line your stomach.

I'm also looking forward to seing the middle eastern city of Dubai. Apparently one in four of the worlds cranes are in operation in that city, such is the building work going on there. The city has been built on the proceeds of it's vast oil wealth.

At Last! A confirmation.

Well at last I finally have a confirmed series of dates for the trip. They are as follows.

Nairobi mission at the church of Bishop Abednego : Starting sunday June 29th through to sunday July 6th.

The city of Eldoret at the church of Pastor Joseph Karanja {Gospel Fire ministries} : Starting monday July 7th through to thursday July 17th.

Bungoma : Seminars at the church of brother Moses Nyongesa : From friday July 18th to saturday July 19th.

Bungoma prison ministry : Sunday July 20th.


Erwin and myself are meeting regularly for prayer for this mission and I would like to encourage you to pray for us as well that God would give us favour in all we do and that we would be guided by Him. I will start posting prayer details relevant to the trip soon.

God bless you...steve

The Church in Bungoma.

Bungoma will be the third and final place I will be visiting. Here are a few details on the church I will be ministering at which have been forwarded to me by brother Moses Nyongesa.

Church History.

As I quote the precious prayer of brother Rudy Lack when he said "any significant move of God must be birthed in prayer." We must travail for us to prevail. This ministry began in the year 2002, before that God had spoken to me several years ago and which was confirmed by seasoned and anointed men and women of God concerning God's burden and call upon my life. At that time I was in MEIF ministries and I thought I was making an impact for God, but strangely God laid a heavy conviction in my heart to be seperate, stand out, to deliver His people and usher them into His prepared place for them to posses their possession. His still small voice always urged me to move forward and never settle for anything less than His divine agenda and assignment. God wanted me to trail blaze, to track down un-trodden territory for Christ.

I lionked with the various men of God from different ministries to pray as a team and seek God in detail concerning His purpose. Our prayer meeting was punctuated with mighty visitations of God's power which were evidenced in signs, wonders and tangible manifestations of His power. We sought to hear God in detail. We forsook the older traps of prioritising activity over prayer and we had round the clock prayer meetings. God started to speak to my brethrn emphasising the urgency of fulfilling His assignment. Our unconnected revelations dovetailed together and these jigsaw pieces fell into place to create a clear picture of God's agenda for us in intercession and final confirmation of God's leading.

We finaly began the ministry as a house fellowship, which was vibrant and effective. God started connecting us to other brethren in the rural regions to whom I gave my pattern for church growth through house fellowships which by now have translated into dynamic churches in all our regions. The pattern of church planting we deployed first of all is....

1/ Effective prayer.
2/ Evangelism
3/ Church planting {via house fellowship}
4/ Nurturing and discipleship

his has proved to be an effective and practical pattern for church planting, church growth and raising other churches. God brought my way men and women oozing withpotential to advance this vision. God's stamp was so clearly on this venture that despite the overwhelming odds I felt quietly assured. I have seen His dismantle seemingly insurmountable barriers and give us victory in every task.

Bungoma jail opens up?

Only yesterday I received news that an opportunity to minister may have come up in a prison at a place called Bungoma. A minister who is an acquaintance of mine ministered there several months ago and saw many hundreds confess Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Now he has told me he may be able to get me permission to go into that same prison to minister while I am in Kenya.
Bungoma is close to the Ugandan border and within an hours drive of Eldoret. This is a fantastic opportunity if it comes to pass. Please pray for me regarding the situation, for God's leading and purposes to come to pass. God is able to open doors no man can shut, even prison doors.

The church in Eldoret.

Initially the trip to Kenya was for a church in Nairobi {more about that soon} but later I received an invitation to minister at a pentecostal church in the eastern city of Eldoret in the Rift valley. The church is called 'Gospel Fire' and has been there for several years and is pastored by Joseph Karanja. Joseph has battled against incredible odds to keep the church going. He was once part of a small pentecostal denomination and was planted out in Eldoret to start a new church. Because of political divisions within the movement he and his church lost their building but continued to meet in the open air.
Around 400 people until recently made up the congregation but because of the violence after the elections many of them have had to flee for their lives. The church was also ransacked along with Pastor Karanja's home. Despite this Joseph's ministry continues unabated and he has also managed to plant out a few other churches in the last few years in Kenya.
Despite setbacks which would have seen some give up in despair, the church continues and reaches out to the people of Eldoret seeing people come to salvation and others miraculously healed. The gospel fire church really is a story of triumph over adversity.
{The picture is of the lake on the outskirts of Eldoret}

Knowing God as Jehovah Jireh

In the book of Genesis Abraham was commanded by God to take his only son, Isaac, and give him to God as a sacrifice. Amazingly Abraham obeyed believing that God was able to raise Isaac up from the dead if need be.

Isaac was the child promised by God and Abraham is commended for his holding to God's promises. He believed that even if his son died, God was able to raise him from the dead and thus keep his promise that Abraham would have descendant too numerous to count. I think God tests us in a similar {albeit smaller}way. Sometimes God will ask us to give up to him that which he provided us and is connected with his promise and purpose and we have to trust that he will still bring the promise to pass.

One small way I have experienced this recently was with regard to the financial provision that I believe God has given me in order to travel to Kenya. Some time after the troubles began I began to feel a deep conviction about doing something more than praying for those who had suffered loss in the country. But what could I do?

My mind went to the money God had provided and at first I questioned whether such a thing would be right. After all hadn't God blessed me for a specific reason and surely it wouldn't be right to use that money for something else. Nevertheless I couldn't shake the conviction that to use that money to help those in immediate need was the right thing to do. There were a few of things that came to mind.

1 - It was given by God anyway and he can decide to channel it somewhere else if he so desires.

2 - A preaching trip is all well and good but practically what people need right now is financial help.

3 - If this trip was of God then the same God who made provision for it in the first place will do so again.

4 - God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. This is a small thing with him. Don't look at the size of the problem, look at the size of God.

5 - He who gives to the poor lends to the Lord. You are guaranteed not to lose anything. In other words I couldn't give it away if I tried!

6 - Jesus said that insomuch as you've done this to the least of these my children you have done it to me. {How could I say no after that!}

Anyway, to cut a long story short I began to sent money by Western Union money transfer and I asked God to meet my needs. One Wednesday I opened my payslip to find I had been given an 11% pay rise for no apparent reason. I wondered if it was a mistake but the next payslip was the same and the supervisor confirmed it. {I've worked there since the early 90's and never had more than the statutory pay rise just like everyone else. I never asked anyone for this and my job hasn't changed in any way. The only one who knew about this request was God.}

Through his experience on Mount Moriah, Abraham has a revelation of God as Jehovah Jireh. {Meaning 'In the mount of the Lord it will be provided'}. As Abraham was in the process of obeyed God, the Lord showed him a ram caught in the thickets nearby which was God's provision for the sacrifice. Isaac lived and the promise of God that Abraham's descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky was fulfilled.

When I asked God to provide for me I had a sense that this was the prayer God wanted me to pray and it was the one he intended to answer but before that I had to take what God had given to fulfill his purpose and sacrifice it.

I believe God delights to show Himself strong to those who trust Him. I believe He especially likes to answer those who come to Him as a God of grace. {That is, a God who freely gives.} God is no man's debtor and is obligated to no-one yet for those who come to Him acknowledging Him for who he is, God seems to take a special delight. He delights to show Himself strong on behalf of those who trust Him and take Him at his word.

New date pencilled in.

After our initial plans to travel during February were hindred we have been looking at the situation and it looks like we are going at the end of June and staying there into July. This isn't confirmed yet but things are calming down over there following the post election violence.

I just want to get out there. As a child I tried to ignore christmas until a week before the 25th for the simple reason that it was easier to wait that way. I'd go tommorow if I could. {Still, only four months to go....four..long..boring...months!!!}.

I will post a message as soon as the dates are confirmed as well as giving you all an idea of what we will be doing over there. I'm planning to get to an internet cafe during the mission so while in Nairobi I can give people back home a daily report on what is happening.

God bless you...steve

God uses all things for good?

It was just after christmas and I had been laid low with a cold. Normally I just shrug these things off but this took me out. I was in bed nearly all day {I'm pretty stubborn and hate conceding defeat!}. During that day Erwin phoned me to arrange to meet to book the tickets to Kenya. I put him off for the time being. Later that evening I got out of bed and put the radio on to the news that violence had erupted in Kenya. We were due to go out in February. That was now rendered impossible. Typical of me I would have gone right ahead and booked that ticket even if God was trying to prompt me to do otherwise. While at the time I was feeling pretty miserable I look back at it now and wonder if it was divine providence. Without that cold I could have lost the money.

God's provision

It was a number of months ago now that Erwin approached me in church and asked if I would accompany him and his wife to Kenya to minister in a church there. After initially saying I would pray about it I said yes {I jumped at the chance}. Nevertheless I needed to know for sure that this is what God was calling me to. I didn't have the money for the flight and so I asked God to either open the door for me or clearly close it. I aksed God to make a way financially for me to go or make it impossible. That was on the friday evening. The following monday I recieved a phone call which resulted in the money being put into my account by friday of that week.

To be honest I didn't expect God to answer that quickly but he knows what we have need of before we even ask. This has been a great assurance and encouragement to me. If God can do this then what else does he have in store for us when we are there?