It was way back in September last year that I planned this years mission work [or at least the dates for them.} I decided to try to combine statutory holidays and holiday entitlements to give me a full six weeks to use for missions in 2011. That made the Easter period vital so I put in for time off during this period. However, there was a problem.
No matter how I tried to calculate it I was left a day short of six weeks for 2011. It just didn't work yet I had a sense that this was what God wanted me to do. I put in an application for two weeks off during Easter and another week off at the end of may to coincide with the bank holiday. The rest would be used at the latter end of 2011.
I felt quite urgently to put the application in at the time although no applications at my work place for 2011 would be considered until the start of January. Again this didn't seem to make sense but I just did what I felt God wanted me to do regarding the Easter application.
GOD SEES THE ROAD AHEAD : Later on in the year the date of the royal wedding was announced. It would be during the time I was due to be away in Kenya! This means that day would count as another statutory holiday leaving me with another day of holiday entitlement spare making my total time I can take for missions add up to six whole weeks!
Now bear in mind my maths is pretty good yet even I can't take into account future changes. Yet God knows all about those and factored them in. Sometimes the things God asks us to do don't 'add up' at the time yet God sees the whole picture whereas we are looking at it from one point in time. God's view is an ETERNAL ONE. That was not the only evidence of God's hand on this though.
Several days into the new year many of us were called into a meeting with our supervisor who told us that all holiday applications for the Easter period would not be considered except for those already accepted! I turns out that many people were trying to take advantage of the numerous statutory holidays of that period to book extended holidays. Had the company accepted all those requests they would have been hopelessly short staffed. Now it all began to make sense. I am notoriously late doing things and am very much a 'late minute man'. To book this time off so early was very unusual for me and I did it only because I felt so stirred in my heart with a sense of urgency to do it. Again I can only thank God who knew and saw the whole picture. God knows what He is doing and I have no doubt that he wants me back in Kenya at this time.
God bless you...Steve
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Saturday, 19 March 2011
I will be flying out to Kenya in less than a month now and will be preaching and ministering at a series of gospel crusades in and around the coastal city of Mombasa.
A gospel crusade is where a group of christians have a meeting together with the specific purpose of inviting others especially non christians. There is singing and an invited speaker gives an address with an evangelistic emphasis. There is usually a time for prayer at the end especially for those who are sick or ill in some way.
Gospel crusades are usually quite exciting times as the church prepares and prays expectantly in anticipation of God doing something special. Often these meetings are marked by people coming to faith in Christ, reaffirming a commitment they made to Christ in the past and miraculous answers to prayer especially in the area of healing.
I will be working with Bishop Samuel Kazungu who leads Jubilation Ministries in Mombasa and will be working in a few of his churches in Mariakani, Makeni and Ukunda.
The last time I was in Mombasa we saw many wonderful things happen. The people are so hungry for spiritual things and are very open and sincerely responsive to the gospel. This is true regardless of background, whether Christian, muslim or traditional African religious belief. They often have a great faith for miracles of healing. We saw many on our last trip to Kenya. During the five week mission last year only one week was spent in Mombasa but that is where we saw most of the conversions and testimonies of healing. One young girl had a serious heart condition which stopped her from running around with other children. Her family wanted to take her to the capital, Nairobi, for heart surgery. We prayed for her and when I got back to England I received an email letting me know she had been given the all clear and the condition had completely disappeared. An older woman we met in her home in the slum areas had suffered from what appeared to be arthritis for years yet was healed as we prayed for her.
Mombasa is an open door for the gospel and God is clearly doing something remarkable in that city, even by Kenyan standards. One of the things that impressed me was the commitment of the churches to work together. This is something I believe has in part contributed to the favour God has shown them. Tommorow a number of people in our church are meeting together before the service to pray for the mission trip. I am starting to get very excited. Wish I was going sooner.
regards...steve
A gospel crusade is where a group of christians have a meeting together with the specific purpose of inviting others especially non christians. There is singing and an invited speaker gives an address with an evangelistic emphasis. There is usually a time for prayer at the end especially for those who are sick or ill in some way.
Gospel crusades are usually quite exciting times as the church prepares and prays expectantly in anticipation of God doing something special. Often these meetings are marked by people coming to faith in Christ, reaffirming a commitment they made to Christ in the past and miraculous answers to prayer especially in the area of healing.
I will be working with Bishop Samuel Kazungu who leads Jubilation Ministries in Mombasa and will be working in a few of his churches in Mariakani, Makeni and Ukunda.
The last time I was in Mombasa we saw many wonderful things happen. The people are so hungry for spiritual things and are very open and sincerely responsive to the gospel. This is true regardless of background, whether Christian, muslim or traditional African religious belief. They often have a great faith for miracles of healing. We saw many on our last trip to Kenya. During the five week mission last year only one week was spent in Mombasa but that is where we saw most of the conversions and testimonies of healing. One young girl had a serious heart condition which stopped her from running around with other children. Her family wanted to take her to the capital, Nairobi, for heart surgery. We prayed for her and when I got back to England I received an email letting me know she had been given the all clear and the condition had completely disappeared. An older woman we met in her home in the slum areas had suffered from what appeared to be arthritis for years yet was healed as we prayed for her.
Mombasa is an open door for the gospel and God is clearly doing something remarkable in that city, even by Kenyan standards. One of the things that impressed me was the commitment of the churches to work together. This is something I believe has in part contributed to the favour God has shown them. Tommorow a number of people in our church are meeting together before the service to pray for the mission trip. I am starting to get very excited. Wish I was going sooner.
regards...steve
Sunday, 13 March 2011
Here we go again - Mombasa 2011
Yes!!!! I'm going back again!
This time it will be Mombasa for three weeks ministering with Bishop Samuel Kazungu of Jubilation ministries. He is organising a series of Gospel Crusade meetings with lunchtime meetings thrown in. Each week I will be at a different church in the Mombasa area. Hopefully I will see some of the other people I became friends with during my last time in the city. I will be flying over there in April. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. I can't wait to see what God will do.
I will be back on here every several days with more news ect and every couple of days or so during the mission which starts on Sunday April 17th.
God bless you...steve
This time it will be Mombasa for three weeks ministering with Bishop Samuel Kazungu of Jubilation ministries. He is organising a series of Gospel Crusade meetings with lunchtime meetings thrown in. Each week I will be at a different church in the Mombasa area. Hopefully I will see some of the other people I became friends with during my last time in the city. I will be flying over there in April. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. I can't wait to see what God will do.
I will be back on here every several days with more news ect and every couple of days or so during the mission which starts on Sunday April 17th.
God bless you...steve
Monday, 22 March 2010
presentation evening.
Well it has now been a month since my return to England and I'm finaly starting to come down from the high I was on from the wonderful experiences of mission work.{as well as no longer having to take the anti malaria tablets.}
This Saturday {27th March at 6:00pm} I will be hosting a presentation evening at Mount Pleasant Baptist church to share with others the many amazing things that God has done over those weeks. I'm looking forward to reliving some memories and also looking forward to seeing the faith of others stirred as to the possibilities before us in nations such as Kenya.
The provisional date for my next trip to Kenya will be sometime next February but that's a long time in the future yet and there is much to focus on in the meantime.
Here's to a great evening.
This Saturday {27th March at 6:00pm} I will be hosting a presentation evening at Mount Pleasant Baptist church to share with others the many amazing things that God has done over those weeks. I'm looking forward to reliving some memories and also looking forward to seeing the faith of others stirred as to the possibilities before us in nations such as Kenya.
The provisional date for my next trip to Kenya will be sometime next February but that's a long time in the future yet and there is much to focus on in the meantime.
Here's to a great evening.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Last two days - Many more come to Christ.
Wednesday...
After a lunchtime meeting at the church I visited first in Mombasa we went to a small open air meeting at the Exodus church in Port Reitz. The meeting overlooked the Indian Ocean. {Or at least I did. Everybody else had to make do with looking at me!} The meeting ended with a call for prayer which several people responded to and we saw three people experience immediate healings. Please pray for a young girl of about 5 or 6 years old we prayed for. She has mental health problems and we are hoping God will bring healing to her life also.
The evening ended with a visit to Salem Church nearby which ended up being a superb meeting. They are a young but quickly growing church and over 30 turned up for this midweek meeting. We saw 5 people recieve healing.
Thursday...
This is the last day of ministry and it proved to be a very fruitful one. We spent the morning going form house to house through the slums and three people gave their lives to the Lord. We also had the chance to visit some of the local pastors and their families in their homes and pray for them, their families and ministries. In the afternoon we headed to the co-operative crafts area of Mombasa where we saw hundreds of workers hand crafting traditional items. It is a huge area and we spent the next few hours going from shed to shed spending some minutes in each and preaching the gospel. We prayed for a woman who had suffered from head pains and stomach ulcers for three years and was immediately healed and also another woman who had been suffering from headaches for the last two days who was also healed. Some of the groups of workers we preached to asked me to pray for God's blessing on their business {times are tough at the moment} and we saw a total of 26 people give their lives to Christ {in front of their co-workers as well}
It has been a wonderful 5 weeks and we have seen many great things. God has been faithful. When I planned this trip it seemed impossible but God has helped greatly, even [and especially} when their were unexpected setbacks before I left England. I estimate that there have been well over 100 people put their faith in Jesus and others rededicate their lives to Him as well as the many who have expressed their appreciation and said these meetings were a great source of spiritual strength to them. There were also aroun 100 miraculous healings {not including the ones I haven't even heard of yet} and even a deliverance from demon possession. I feel preached out, prayed out and tired out but it was more than worth it. Tommorrow I fly back to Nairobi and then late on Friday evening my flight for the U.K via Dubai takes off. I should be back in the the midlands by Saturday afternoon.
Please keep those people I've mentioned in your prayers and thankyou to all of you who have supported this mission with your prayers and financial support. You will undoubtedly hear from me again soon.
Thankyou and God bless you....Steve
After a lunchtime meeting at the church I visited first in Mombasa we went to a small open air meeting at the Exodus church in Port Reitz. The meeting overlooked the Indian Ocean. {Or at least I did. Everybody else had to make do with looking at me!} The meeting ended with a call for prayer which several people responded to and we saw three people experience immediate healings. Please pray for a young girl of about 5 or 6 years old we prayed for. She has mental health problems and we are hoping God will bring healing to her life also.
The evening ended with a visit to Salem Church nearby which ended up being a superb meeting. They are a young but quickly growing church and over 30 turned up for this midweek meeting. We saw 5 people recieve healing.
Thursday...
This is the last day of ministry and it proved to be a very fruitful one. We spent the morning going form house to house through the slums and three people gave their lives to the Lord. We also had the chance to visit some of the local pastors and their families in their homes and pray for them, their families and ministries. In the afternoon we headed to the co-operative crafts area of Mombasa where we saw hundreds of workers hand crafting traditional items. It is a huge area and we spent the next few hours going from shed to shed spending some minutes in each and preaching the gospel. We prayed for a woman who had suffered from head pains and stomach ulcers for three years and was immediately healed and also another woman who had been suffering from headaches for the last two days who was also healed. Some of the groups of workers we preached to asked me to pray for God's blessing on their business {times are tough at the moment} and we saw a total of 26 people give their lives to Christ {in front of their co-workers as well}
It has been a wonderful 5 weeks and we have seen many great things. God has been faithful. When I planned this trip it seemed impossible but God has helped greatly, even [and especially} when their were unexpected setbacks before I left England. I estimate that there have been well over 100 people put their faith in Jesus and others rededicate their lives to Him as well as the many who have expressed their appreciation and said these meetings were a great source of spiritual strength to them. There were also aroun 100 miraculous healings {not including the ones I haven't even heard of yet} and even a deliverance from demon possession. I feel preached out, prayed out and tired out but it was more than worth it. Tommorrow I fly back to Nairobi and then late on Friday evening my flight for the U.K via Dubai takes off. I should be back in the the midlands by Saturday afternoon.
Please keep those people I've mentioned in your prayers and thankyou to all of you who have supported this mission with your prayers and financial support. You will undoubtedly hear from me again soon.
Thankyou and God bless you....Steve
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Mombasa slums and Rabai village.
What an awesome day!
Firstly we spent the morning going door to door in a slum area of Mombasa and over the course of that outreach we saw three people give their lives to the Lord which included one person who decided to rededicate her life to Jesus. She was an older woman who has suffered for the last 10 years with pains throughout her body which limited her mobility and especially joint pains. When we prayed for her the pain went instantly and as she strode up and down and stretched herself to test the healing she found the pain in her joints had completely gone also. Her name is Rose Kelana. Please pray that she and the young boy she is looking after {who also committed his life to Jesus today} would continue to faithfully serve Jesus.
We also led a woman called Margaret to faith in Jesus and prayed for her healing. She is partially blind and struggles to walk. Pray that God would fully restore her health.
We also visited the Elim church in Mombasa that I'm told holds 7,000 people. It's more like an arena than a church. I imagined having a church like that one day {I wonder how many ministers have walked through there wishing the same thing. lol}
We then came to the main part of the day which I was not expecting. {I think sometimes they make their mind up about the itintery at the last minute!} The local pastor I am working with led me through the slums out of Mombasa and up a hill until we were looking down into a large valley through which flowed a large river a few hundred metres wide. {There were no houses around so by this time I was wondering where on earth he was taking me!} We then made our way to the river bank. {It turns out this is actually an inlet for the Indian Ocean that goes inland for several miles!} We took off our shoes and socks and waded out to a small boat that cost us the grand total of 8 pence to ride in and the oarsman took us over to the other side and up a stream between the mangrove trees until the stream was too narrow and shallow to continue. We then waded through the last few hundred metres and across an arid looking plain. The ground was extremely hot. {A good point to but our shoes back on} and then he led me over another hill and acorss country for the best part of an hour on foot. {There's me in a smart shirt trousers and shoes going over hill country where the ground is rock hard in the 95 degree farenheit sun having no idea when we'd reach our destination.} Eventually we came to a clearing where there was a village and over 100 people waiting for us. They sat us down at a table as guests of honour and proceded to go through a fantastic traditional welcome involving singing and dancing, using instruments I've never seen before. At one point we had to get up and dance with them {Praise God his camera wasn't working properly! lol}
I was told that this was a predominantly Muslim village and the pastors friend had begun a congregation here that met in the shade of the trees where we were now seated. The village elders sat there also so everyone came out to see us.
By the time I was invited up to speak I just preached a straightforward gospel message. {I think the only way to preach to Muslims is to be straight with them and tell them honestly what the bible says so I explained why the bible says that Jesus is the only one who can save us and take us to heaven.} At the end we called people forward for prayer and 32 people came forward to commit their lives to Jesus Christ. {The vast majority of them were Muslims}
We also had a time for prayer for those who were sick or unwell in any way. In these areas the infirmity and death rate is very high as they cannot afford medical treatment and their is no NHS. There were too many to pray for {We still prayed for many individually} so we led people in a mass prayer and asked them to put their hand on the part of their body they felt pain in. A total of 27 people reported being healed and all pain going from their body. Afterwards when my friend spoke to the chief elder {a muslim} he said "Your God has got all my 4 sons now and I am the only one left in family. Next time a preacher comes I will become a christian} Please pray that he stands by his word and God brings him into the faith. Pray also for all those who have become christians and for those who were in the faith beforehand that they with encourage and support the new believers.}
I also had the chance to sample their homegrown fresh coconut juice. One of the men broke it open before me. {That's about as fresh as it gets!} and I was also given a watermelon. There welcome and their warmth was very touching. {They even wanted us to stay in the village overnight which unfortunately wasn't possible} It was a day I will never forget. The trip back was interesting too.
We got to what I thought was the river and it had already got dark. We waded out to the boat where the boatman was waiting and it was only after I was in the boat that I found out we were travelling over the same dry rocky flats that I warmed my feet onn early in the day. Much of the water was very shallow and now I found out why alongside one part of the flats a ditch or channel had been dug. I was to give the boat somewhere deep enough to navigate during high tide. It was a fantastic experience to go through the mangrove at night looking up at the hundreds of stars you can see in this part of the world. Eventually we came to the main 'river' we had crossed earlier in the day and I was told how we has to travel near to the bank before making our way across as the tide was strong and could carry us away. The waves were a lot more vibrant than when we went across the first time. It felt quite daring. {Not quite sure how safe it actually is but it all adds to the experience}. By the time we got back to where we were staying in Mombasa it was sometime between 8 and 9p.m.
What a day!
Firstly we spent the morning going door to door in a slum area of Mombasa and over the course of that outreach we saw three people give their lives to the Lord which included one person who decided to rededicate her life to Jesus. She was an older woman who has suffered for the last 10 years with pains throughout her body which limited her mobility and especially joint pains. When we prayed for her the pain went instantly and as she strode up and down and stretched herself to test the healing she found the pain in her joints had completely gone also. Her name is Rose Kelana. Please pray that she and the young boy she is looking after {who also committed his life to Jesus today} would continue to faithfully serve Jesus.
We also led a woman called Margaret to faith in Jesus and prayed for her healing. She is partially blind and struggles to walk. Pray that God would fully restore her health.
We also visited the Elim church in Mombasa that I'm told holds 7,000 people. It's more like an arena than a church. I imagined having a church like that one day {I wonder how many ministers have walked through there wishing the same thing. lol}
We then came to the main part of the day which I was not expecting. {I think sometimes they make their mind up about the itintery at the last minute!} The local pastor I am working with led me through the slums out of Mombasa and up a hill until we were looking down into a large valley through which flowed a large river a few hundred metres wide. {There were no houses around so by this time I was wondering where on earth he was taking me!} We then made our way to the river bank. {It turns out this is actually an inlet for the Indian Ocean that goes inland for several miles!} We took off our shoes and socks and waded out to a small boat that cost us the grand total of 8 pence to ride in and the oarsman took us over to the other side and up a stream between the mangrove trees until the stream was too narrow and shallow to continue. We then waded through the last few hundred metres and across an arid looking plain. The ground was extremely hot. {A good point to but our shoes back on} and then he led me over another hill and acorss country for the best part of an hour on foot. {There's me in a smart shirt trousers and shoes going over hill country where the ground is rock hard in the 95 degree farenheit sun having no idea when we'd reach our destination.} Eventually we came to a clearing where there was a village and over 100 people waiting for us. They sat us down at a table as guests of honour and proceded to go through a fantastic traditional welcome involving singing and dancing, using instruments I've never seen before. At one point we had to get up and dance with them {Praise God his camera wasn't working properly! lol}
I was told that this was a predominantly Muslim village and the pastors friend had begun a congregation here that met in the shade of the trees where we were now seated. The village elders sat there also so everyone came out to see us.
By the time I was invited up to speak I just preached a straightforward gospel message. {I think the only way to preach to Muslims is to be straight with them and tell them honestly what the bible says so I explained why the bible says that Jesus is the only one who can save us and take us to heaven.} At the end we called people forward for prayer and 32 people came forward to commit their lives to Jesus Christ. {The vast majority of them were Muslims}
We also had a time for prayer for those who were sick or unwell in any way. In these areas the infirmity and death rate is very high as they cannot afford medical treatment and their is no NHS. There were too many to pray for {We still prayed for many individually} so we led people in a mass prayer and asked them to put their hand on the part of their body they felt pain in. A total of 27 people reported being healed and all pain going from their body. Afterwards when my friend spoke to the chief elder {a muslim} he said "Your God has got all my 4 sons now and I am the only one left in family. Next time a preacher comes I will become a christian} Please pray that he stands by his word and God brings him into the faith. Pray also for all those who have become christians and for those who were in the faith beforehand that they with encourage and support the new believers.}
I also had the chance to sample their homegrown fresh coconut juice. One of the men broke it open before me. {That's about as fresh as it gets!} and I was also given a watermelon. There welcome and their warmth was very touching. {They even wanted us to stay in the village overnight which unfortunately wasn't possible} It was a day I will never forget. The trip back was interesting too.
We got to what I thought was the river and it had already got dark. We waded out to the boat where the boatman was waiting and it was only after I was in the boat that I found out we were travelling over the same dry rocky flats that I warmed my feet onn early in the day. Much of the water was very shallow and now I found out why alongside one part of the flats a ditch or channel had been dug. I was to give the boat somewhere deep enough to navigate during high tide. It was a fantastic experience to go through the mangrove at night looking up at the hundreds of stars you can see in this part of the world. Eventually we came to the main 'river' we had crossed earlier in the day and I was told how we has to travel near to the bank before making our way across as the tide was strong and could carry us away. The waves were a lot more vibrant than when we went across the first time. It felt quite daring. {Not quite sure how safe it actually is but it all adds to the experience}. By the time we got back to where we were staying in Mombasa it was sometime between 8 and 9p.m.
What a day!
Monday, 15 February 2010
Kanamai - Many healings and conversions.
Today we went to Kanamai which is just outside the Mombasa region to a village church which meets in the shade of the trees. {They don't have their own building} There is a ministry there which tends to many widows and orphans.
When we drove into the area we saw around 300 people around waiting for us to arrive and they had put on a special service for us, making us feel especially welcome with singing, dancing and also a drama presentation. It was really good.
When I had the chance to preach I chose as my subject 'The wonderful Jesus' basing it on the name that the prophet Isaiah gave him {Isaiah ch 9 v 6} and explaining why Jesus was called wonderful. I was unaware at the time that there were also muslims present as I shared with the crowd a time when a young muslim man came to our church and debated the pastor at the end and the pastor challenged him by saying 'What has Allah EVER done for you PERSONALLY?' I made the point that the young man had no response to this which was the case with so many muslims but Jesus is truly wonderful. I could spend all day speaking of the wonderful things he has personally done in my life. At the end of the preaching section I gave people an opportunity to come forward for prayer and 7 muslims came forward for prayer to give their lives to Jesus. There were just so many people who wanted prayer it was impossible to pray with people individualy as I usually do so we led those who wanted to give their lives to Christ through a mass prayer. {I counted a total of 22 people who made that commitment today although there were probably more.
We still prayed individually for many people who requested it but we also had a mass prayer for all who were sick and asked for those who could feel physical pain at the start but after prayer had no pain to lift their hands. {The interpreter reiterated the request insisting that only those who wetre genuinely healed should raise their hands} He counted a total of 46 people who had recieved a supernatural healing. {There were numerous muslims among this groups also}
Today has been unprecidented in terms of results for which we give thanks to God. We also prayed for a young girl who is due to be taken to the captial Nairobi for a heart operation but we are believing God that she has been healed. Please remember also another young girl who has athma and tuberculosis. We prayed specifically for this girl but no obvious results {as yet}. The local minister will bring a report to the minister I am working with which hopefully he will pass onto me so I'm hoping for many confirmed testimonies of what God has done here.
Tommorrow we will be in Salem church which is close to where I am staying.
God bless you...Steve
When we drove into the area we saw around 300 people around waiting for us to arrive and they had put on a special service for us, making us feel especially welcome with singing, dancing and also a drama presentation. It was really good.
When I had the chance to preach I chose as my subject 'The wonderful Jesus' basing it on the name that the prophet Isaiah gave him {Isaiah ch 9 v 6} and explaining why Jesus was called wonderful. I was unaware at the time that there were also muslims present as I shared with the crowd a time when a young muslim man came to our church and debated the pastor at the end and the pastor challenged him by saying 'What has Allah EVER done for you PERSONALLY?' I made the point that the young man had no response to this which was the case with so many muslims but Jesus is truly wonderful. I could spend all day speaking of the wonderful things he has personally done in my life. At the end of the preaching section I gave people an opportunity to come forward for prayer and 7 muslims came forward for prayer to give their lives to Jesus. There were just so many people who wanted prayer it was impossible to pray with people individualy as I usually do so we led those who wanted to give their lives to Christ through a mass prayer. {I counted a total of 22 people who made that commitment today although there were probably more.
We still prayed individually for many people who requested it but we also had a mass prayer for all who were sick and asked for those who could feel physical pain at the start but after prayer had no pain to lift their hands. {The interpreter reiterated the request insisting that only those who wetre genuinely healed should raise their hands} He counted a total of 46 people who had recieved a supernatural healing. {There were numerous muslims among this groups also}
Today has been unprecidented in terms of results for which we give thanks to God. We also prayed for a young girl who is due to be taken to the captial Nairobi for a heart operation but we are believing God that she has been healed. Please remember also another young girl who has athma and tuberculosis. We prayed specifically for this girl but no obvious results {as yet}. The local minister will bring a report to the minister I am working with which hopefully he will pass onto me so I'm hoping for many confirmed testimonies of what God has done here.
Tommorrow we will be in Salem church which is close to where I am staying.
God bless you...Steve
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