About Us Vision | Perspective Meet the Team Advisory Board Prayer Requests Links News Photos FAQ

We could not minister with such an impact without the prayers and support of so many! Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. This page outlines specifically WHAT you can partner with us in pray for. Check back frequently as this page will continually be updated.

31 December 2008 - Praises and Prayer Requests

We had a great Christmas as we pray all of you did. Earlier in the week I got some work done in spite of the extra shopping and cooking. We spent a quiet Christmas Eve at home watching “A Christmas Carol” and opening our gifts. On Christmas Day we had ten people here for Christmas dinner, playing the White Elephant Gift Exchange, swimming, and watching “The Ultimate Gift”. Earlier in the day I had gone to the window to look down on the neighbor’s property where a bleating goat had caught my attention. Although goats are plentiful along roads and everywhere, our neighbor’s hadn’t had one. Also, goats freely roam whereas this one was tethered with a rope. Sure enough, as I had expected, the goat became strangely quiet closer to Christmas dinner!

The following day was Les’ 57th Birthday. We relaxed, walked to Adams Arcade for a cappuccino, watched a video, and I cooked him a special birthday dinner (cabbage soup, scalloped potatoes, broccoli, roll, lamb chop on a bed of rice with spinach and Coconut Meringue Pie) by candlelight.

On Sunday Les preached at the DOVE Kianda church in Kibera. We rode a matatu from our apartment down Ngong Road to Prestige Mall, then switched matatus to wind along the border of the million persons slum until we got to the Kianda section. It’s impossible to describe the filth, smells of sewage, the garbage lying everywhere, the children begging, animals of all kind wandering around (goats, chickens, dogs, cats, ducks), and the flies (I try to not breathe through my mouth the whole time I’m in Kibera for fear of swallowing a fly). Fortunately, it is a very short distance from the road down the dirt path and turn that leads to the church. However, it requires stepping across open sewage ditches, dodging mud holes, and ducking under ragged tin roofs as the narrow path winds between mud adobe buildings. I couldn’t believe how much progress they made on their building just since we were there before Christmas! If you don’t have much money, but you have cheap labor, no building codes, and are building out of sticks, mud, some boards, and tin, how quickly you can build! Pastor Charles Bible Study before the service was awesome. Les preached a powerful prophetic sermon about the priority of allegiance to tribes in Kenya above belonging to the Family of God that contributed to the post election violence earlier in the year. It seemed that more than the people inside the church heard the sermon since the loud speaker can be heard for quite some distance in the neighborhood. It was a great service in spite of the large rat that walked along the front wall until disappearing behind the sound speaker! We were surprised that the church was urged to take up a collection in appreciation for our ministry. It is very humbling for such poor people to give out of their poverty. However, we graciously accepted it since God is really dealing with the African Christians about looking to mazungus (whites) to give them money, a poverty mentality, thinking they are too poor to give to others, etc. Afterwards, we went to Charles’ & Roses’ home just a short distance from the church to enjoy a delicious meal of rice, beef stew, cokes, and chapatis. One our home we stopped at Prestige to get a few things and strolled through the usual African market spread out on the ground. What caught my eye this time for the first time was a display of basket and woven items, including the lamp shades I need for the new apartment in January. I had seen the same ones at a lighting store for $50 each (DOLLARS!!!!), but here they were less than $10 each. Praise the Lord! I didn’t get them yet but at least I know where I can! Once we returned home, now mid afternoon on Sunday, Theresa came over to have dinner with us, so we could pray over her, and say our goodbyes before she moved to India on Monday. We will miss her! She has been so helpful to us settling here and we always were blessed by her laughter and cheerfulness.

The closing days of 2008 were spent taking care of end of the year business issues, preparing for our SCMI Board Meeting in early January, cleaning up after Christmas, getting additional potting soil and plants for our new apartment downstairs, and I even went to shop for vegetables in the African Market (Toi) that’s within walking distance of here by myself. I had always gone with Janine & Julianne to the market in Kawangware which is much bigger, busier, scarier, and further away. However, I decided that I must go closer to home so I can go more often, get there & back quicker, and do it by myself. And I did! Now Sophie & I are preparing to cook for tonight as well as for the next few days. She won’t be back until next Monday so I’ll be on my own again for a while. We’re having the Waldrops, Precious & her sister, and maybe Kellee & Killian over tonight for homemade pizzas and playing games to welcome the New Year and celebrate my birthday. Janine is baking me a birthday cake. By the way, in case you didn’t the correction to my Christmas Letter, my mother tells me that I will be 57, not 58 as I erroneously reported. Yeah! I just gained another year! Happy New Year to you all!

23 December 2008 - Praises and Prayer Requests

Thanks so much for your prayer support last week:

1. Last week went well as I finished up my work for RCC.
2. Les got back to editing my book.
3. We had a wonderful visit with Pastor Charles and his wife Rose at the DOVE Kibera church in Kiandi.
4. Most Skype appts were loud & clear…the night skypes (our time) are better due to better internet connection but sometimes we must do daytime appts that are not so good.
5. We didn’t get much done last week on the cell seminar prep but did THIS week.
6. We had the most fun we’ve had here at our friends, the Waldrops, last Thursday night. We didn’t plan on staying there 6 ½ hrs but it was too much fun to leave without finishing the game!
7. BIG PRAISE…the Waldrops got their work visa after six months of trying!!! They are downtown right now finalizing paperwork.
8. We had a GREAT Sunday visiting Lighthouse Nairobi Church (Ronnie Matheny’s brother Don is the pastor) followed by eating & shopping at a fancy “western world” mall. It was like being in America for the day!
9. I got a little live tree to be our Christmas tree and will plant it in a big pot on our balcony after Christmas. Having a few wrapped gifts under it, some fresh homemade Christmas cookies, watching “The Nativity”, and beginning to prep the food for Christmas dinner makes it seem a little more like Christmas.

The focus is shifting to Christmas here, as I am sure everything is where you live, so I’ll keep my prayer requests brief:

1. Still need the work visa so we can get our belongings shipped over here!!! They keep saying, “wait…call back…that person isn’t here…”
2. A good birthday for Les on the 26th
3. Les as he preaches Sunday at the DOVE Kiandi church in Kibera

15 December 2008 - Praises and Prayer Requests

Please pray as we work on:

1. Work for RCC
2. Skype ministry appts.
3. Work on Cell Seminars for 2009
4. Approval of Work Permit!!!!!!!!!!!
5. Meetings with local leaders
6. Les will again be editing my book
7. Last full week of work before Christmas!

We are also looking forward to Faustin joining us Thursday night at the Waldrops’ for a Game Night!

14 December 2008 - Sunday Prayer Update

Thanks for the prayers for Sunday’s sermon & ministry. Although we didn’t know that Pastor Tobias wanted one of us to preach until 9 PM Saturday night, The Lord led. After praying together, Les felt that I was the one who needed to preach. Almost immediately the Lord also showed me what to share. It focused on the Jesus being God’s Christmas gift to us, and my own testimony of how I had received that gift.

It was a full day! We left the house at 9 AM, walked to the corner where we took a matatu to Prestige Plaza, met Theresa, took another matatu into the one million person Kibera slum, walked quite a ways through the slum, and entered the church’s compound which includes a concrete building used for a school besides the concrete, wood & tin church building (very nice). The service included worship and testimonies for 1.5 hours, followed by my one hour sermon, and concluding with the 45 minutes of altar ministry, announcements, and special prayer over a couple going to plant a cell in Tanzania. We also spent another hour getting to know Pastor Tobias & his wife Judith better over some soft drinks and cookies. What a WONDERFUL couple! Then it was time to hike out of Kibera, get 2 more matatus back, arriving home at 3:30 PM. Les visited with Theresa while I fixed lunch. Deborah Munayanya also came over to use the computer. Both women departed by 6 PM so they wouldn’t be riding matatus after dark. I was ready to wash away the Kibera dirt that seemed to coat all of me and get in my jammies! Our thoughts about Kibera?

1. Dirt streets winding through a slum as far as the eye could see
2. Small shops, kiosks, stands, or goods spread on the ground
3. A knife grinder sharpening tools, a man sifting maize to separate the chaff, a maize mill grinding the maize, & a man sewing on an old treadle machine
4. Garbage everywhere…on the side of the road, in the road, packed into the dirt, floating in the ditches
5. A stream of dirty water flowing with garbage
6. The pervasive smell of animal and human waste amidst rotting garbage
7. People lining up with yellow plastic jugs to get fresh water from a public spigot
8. A woman unsuccessfully shooing flies off the swarm fish she was selling • A small boy guiding a small tire as it rolls along the street with a wire
9. Another child squatting in the middle of the street where he “plays” by sticking sharp pieces of broken glass into an old potato
10. Small toddlers left in the care of older siblings about five years of age
11. A small boy wearing a red & green Christmas hat
12. Extreme poverty
13. Many people, especially children greeting us in English with, “How are you??
14. WE are blessed, well fed, drinking clean water, and healthy, besides “rich”.

13 December 2008 - Karen Prayer Update

Thanks for your prayers for this past week. We always want to get back to you with a report of how the Lord answered, so here goes!

1. Editing PPTs & making 12 teaching outlines took most of my time this past week, but went well. They will help Pastors we worked with in the past & will in the future.
   
   
2. Les attended the training in Karen everyday so he could hear what the others were teaching and connect with the Pastors. That proved to be very important.
   
   
3. Wednesday evening had a last minute privilege of having Pastor William & his wife Joina Munyanya from Kitale, along with their 18 yr old daughter Deborah over for dinner. They were in town for the training which we hadn’t expected. It was great getting several hours to really get to know them better than we had
   done in spite of our two trips there.
   
   
4. Our whole day of training Thursday in Karen seemed to make real impact. Both of our sessions, the questions, and interaction were profitable and satisfying. Faustin even stayed all day so he could hear us teach so that made it special, too.
   
   
5. Friday I even got out for a while to go grocery shopping and take Julianne Waldrop with me so she could Christmas shop without her parents.
   
   
6. On Saturday Faustin & a friend picked up furniture we had bought from a lady moving to England. God’s timing was perfect as the apartment was available on that very day! Although we won’t be in the apartment until February, the apartment can be readied, we can continue to find stuff we need, and we can keep waiting for our belongings from the States.

Challenges

1. I lost most of one day going downtown to the Post Office to get a piece of mail. HOW?! A notice came to the DOVE office that we had a special delivery letter at the main post office. Thinking it was our work permit (because what else could it be?!), Les called me & told me to get Faustin to take me down there with Angela from the office. After calls to find Faustin & secure Angela, we picked her up, drove downtown, fought traffic, walked across the street overpass, found the right window, stood in line…only to find out that since Les’ name was also on the letter, I had to have his signature & passport, too. I confess that I didn’t have a good attitude at that point! So we spent an hour driving to Karen, but by that point it was after 2 PM & I hadn’t had any food (I don’t do well when the blood sugar drops!) so we stopped for fast food. Actually, the term “fast food” is a misnomer in Kenya…there’s no such thing. So after an hour to get a hamburger, we picked Les up. However, by then, we realized, there was no way we could get downtown & get the letter before P.O. closed, plus we’d be stuck in rush hour traffic. I was worn out! Sad to say, the next morning after sending Faustin downtown to get the letter with both of our passports, both signatures on the card AND a letter authorizing him to pick it up, it turned out to be Les’ checkbook he had not picked up at the bank. (Keep praying!)
   
   
2. Our housekeeper/cook Sophie attended a funeral Tuesday of her son’s 24 yr old best friend who was senselessly crushed by a matatu. The “conductor” had pushed him out while it was still moving causing him to fall beneath & be run over by it. Five riders saw what had happened so they ordered the conductor to call for help & take the young man to the hospital, as well as report it to the police…or they would kill him on the spot. (This is common vigilante justice in Kenya…certainly cuts down on crime!) All five went along to ensure it was all done. Despite their efforts, the friend died a few hours later. At least the “conductor” won’t be pushing anyone else.

07 December 2008 - Praises and Prayer Requests

We were blessed today not only at church, but by also enjoying Handel’s Messiah, performed by the Nairobi Music Society. It was also very interesting that this incredible orchestration of instruments and voices, singing the Biblical verses about our sinful condition, the prophecies of the coming Messiah, Jesus’ life, ministry, sacrificial death, resurrection, and coming Kingdom…was performed in a Hindu Temple! Since it is a huge and beautiful edifice here in Nairobi in the very upscale neighborhood where the Indian population lives, it hosts many cultural events.

Well, this week we’re back in the saddle working here at home. It seems that the work is really ramping up now. Les will spend almost all of this week out at the Omondi’s in Karen attending a one week training for regional DOVE trainers so he can observe the other teachers, as well as get to know the guys better. Of course, he will be sandwiching emails, business, skype appointments, and editing of PPTs around the training. On Thursday, we will team teach all day long on the subject of healing. I will stay home until Thursday so I can work on writing up a basic proposal for on-going training in Nairobi, edit our PPTs, create outlines for some of our previous teachings for which Uganda is still waiting, and finish brochures for RCC. Even though it’s close to Christmas, we have a lot to do, and not really anything to do concerning the holidays. So, we’re working. Please pray for us! We especially need wisdom in preparing teachings, discernment of His will for the future, and anointing as we teach.

06 December 2008 - Praises and Prayer Requests

Thanks so much for your prayers for us this past week as we traveled to Kitale in western Kenya near the Ugandan border. We had a safe trip and praise the Lord for...Download the rest of our report

30 November 2008 - Praises and Prayer Requests

We can't believe its already December. Tomorrow we fly from Nairobi to Kitale, Kenya for the annual DOVE Africa Conference. Please pray for:

1. Safety in flying Tuesday, while in Kitale, and flying back on Saturday night.
   
   
2. Anointing as Les teaches a 2-hr workshop on Wednesday about Cell Evangelism at the same time that I minister in a 2-hr. workshop to the Pastor's Wives.
   
   
3. Anointing for me as I teach the second part of the Cell Evangelism in a 2 hr workshop on Thursday.
   
   
4. For us as we relationally connect and re-connect with leaders from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and other parts of Africa, as well as with Larry Kreider, the founder and leader of DCFI, who is flying in from the States.
   
   
5. For additional finances to help pay for the trip.
   
   
6. Continued process of getting our work visas approved SUPERNATURALLY FAST so we can get our belongings shipped over here.

29 November 2008 - Praises and Prayer Requests

1. Yes, it's Les' 39th (!) Re-birthday.
   
   
2. It was 39 years ago tonight...about 11:30 PM MST that Les met Jesus and his life was forever changed.
   
   
3. If NOT, Les & I wouldn't be here where we are today! Our kids would have never been here at all! (Remember the disappearing photo in Back to the Future?!)
   
   
4. Praise the Lord...we are all here and have been blessed all these years! It's amazing to look back on ALL that God HAS done in our lives...and to ponder ALL that would have NOT happened...all the people touched...all the changed lives...all the ministry done...all the churches...all the teaching...all the coaching...It's a Wonderful Life! (another movie with meaning!)

27 November 2008 - Praises and Prayer Requests

1. We had a very nice Thanksgiving day with our friends the Waldrops (we've known them for 22 years from our church in ND & now they are missionaries here in Nairobi and live only a 10 minute walk from us!), plus Sarah's friend Theresa, and a Kenyan Pastor & his family.
   
   
2. I am learning to make EVERYTHING from scratch since that's the only way to make it. Thus I made mashed potatoes, candied yams, green bean casserole, whipped cream, 2 pumpkin pies and pumpkin cake...all from scratch even cooked the pumpkin to make the pies & cake!
   
   
3. I am most thankful today for two HUGE answers to pray today...Simba got to TX fine and we got a new internet provider!!! Yeah!!!!

Here is our schedule for the coming week so you can keep us in your prayers.

DAILY SEMINARS