Today has been a very good day so far. We made it to Iquitos right on schedule - no problems with luggage. Once we arrived, we were greeted by many dear friends. The day has been busy gathering up necessary supplies including jugs of water that hopefully will not be needed in the future. We gathered for lunch at one of our favorite places - Yellow Rose of Texas Restaurant. It is owned by Gerald, a TU graduate and a Texas fanatic. Always have a great time with him as we poke fun at each other over our team preferences. We are have a few minutes to rest before we meet a couple of gentlemen that are interested in our drilling technique which we brought them a couple of pumps to evaluate and consider using in their drilling efforts. Then it is off to the PeQue PeQue (slow boat) down to Peva which will take about 12 hours. We are exhausted but thrilled to be here.
Hopefully I'll be able to post some things in a couple of days. Until then, keep the prayers coming.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Now on to Peru
Greetings Friends, What a joy it is to be going back to Peru again. This is my second trip this year and we are continuing the work on water wells. The team this trip includes a couple of really great guys that have accompanied me on previous trips down to Peru - Barry Adams (my brother on his 4th trip down with me) and Buddy Eischen from my church, 1st Baptist, Newcastle Oklahoma. Our mission this trip is two fold - first is to work on the two existing wells drilled earlier with the need to drill them deeper now that it is the dry season in the Amazon plus to start a new well. The villagers have really started taking ownership of the process which is encouraging and really what we want them to do. Second, we will be traveling up the Napo River for the first time to visit the Witoto village of Negro Urco where Paco has been ministering in for several years. I am really excited to be going to this village.
We arrived in Lima last night at 10:25pm, right on schedule and with a 6:20am flight scheduled for Iquitos, we decided to just hang out at the airport. With a slight problem with too much luggage at the Oklahoma City airport that required us to consolidate baggage, everything has gone just great. We flew to Houston an had a 2 1/2 hour wait before we boarded a United flight to Lima. We will fly to Iquitos, spend the day gathering supplies and then board our river boat cruise for the 12 hour trip down to Pevas where we will be met by people from the village of Puca Urquillo that will transport us up to Estiron where we will work to complete the well there and then up to Cuzco to dig it deeper, as well. I am so looking forward to see my Witoto friends.
I ask your prayers as we will have opportunities to be a light for Christ to the Witotos. Pray that lives will be touched and people will hear the calling of Christ on their lives.
I will try and update as frequently as possible. We so appreciate your prayers for safety and good health.
Look for pictures coming soon.
God Bless.
We arrived in Lima last night at 10:25pm, right on schedule and with a 6:20am flight scheduled for Iquitos, we decided to just hang out at the airport. With a slight problem with too much luggage at the Oklahoma City airport that required us to consolidate baggage, everything has gone just great. We flew to Houston an had a 2 1/2 hour wait before we boarded a United flight to Lima. We will fly to Iquitos, spend the day gathering supplies and then board our river boat cruise for the 12 hour trip down to Pevas where we will be met by people from the village of Puca Urquillo that will transport us up to Estiron where we will work to complete the well there and then up to Cuzco to dig it deeper, as well. I am so looking forward to see my Witoto friends.
I ask your prayers as we will have opportunities to be a light for Christ to the Witotos. Pray that lives will be touched and people will hear the calling of Christ on their lives.
I will try and update as frequently as possible. We so appreciate your prayers for safety and good health.
Look for pictures coming soon.
God Bless.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
ON OUR WAY HOME
Hello Friends,
My it has been a busy week with so much happening and so little time to stop and blog. So, now that we are on our way home and sitting in Accra, Ghana airport right now with an 11 hour lay-over, I thought it would be a good time to catch everyone up on the events of the week. Since my last blog, we have traveled from Eldoret to Nairobi to Mombasa and back to Nairobi before catching a flight early this morning to come home. We experienced some amazing highs this week but a very tough Tuesday with some discouragement attacking me and the team. But, I can clear see why we had to go through that day now. As I mentioned in my previous blog, we started the well at Glory Baptist Church on Monday and worked until Wednesday morning trying to get through a very difficult layer of rock that caused us to break 3 pieces of our equipment just trying to get through. But God supplied us with a welder who was a member of the church that was able to fix the broken pieces and get us back up and operational. But, unfortunately, we just couldn't get through that layer of rock even though the young men had hand dug down 10-12 feet trying to work through it. So, Wednesday morning we made a decision to move about 30 yards from the original site and started a new well. IT WAS AMAZING!!! Within about 2 1/2 hours, we were able to get past the point we were with the first borehole. Unfortunately, we had to leave that afternoon before we were able to reach the water table. But, we are rejoicing this afternoon as we received a text saying they had reached the water today and it looks to be a great well!!! Praise the Lord!!! Pastor Martin there at Glory Baptist Church did a wonderful ceremony at the close of the day on Wednesday and we rejoiced just knowing that God was going to see to it that we got water. Beautiful time with some amazing church members. We couldn't not have been more received by anyone that we were by that fellowship of believers. It was just the best!!
Thursday morning, we took a flight from Eldoret through Nairobi to Mombasa to meet with some pastors and to be in the village of one of our board member's, Jimmy Chinando. The village was called Vipingo and it was the worst case of water need that I have seen so far. The villages in the area incompasses about 3000 people and the only two water sources there are one pond that is absolutely the nastiest pool of water you can imagine and a small spring fed stream. The pond is located about a half a mile from the closest huts and down a very steep 45 degree incline that the women have to go down at least once a day to draw water and carry a 20 liter (5 gallon) bucket of water up this hill. Our team was completely out of breath just walking down to it and back up the hill. It breaks my heart to see what they have to go through just to get water. The need for a well is so great there. There is not a well for miles and miles. The people are constantly sick with typhoid and other sicknesses. Folks, you just can't imagine until you have actually seen it.
We then gathered together in the church of the village for a time of worship and it was beautiful to see these people that have nothing worship God and thankful for what they do have. They truly know how to worship.
We spent Friday morning visiting another church in the town of MTWAPA where we had a chance to share with about 100 children that were in their school they have in the church during the week. Many of them are orphan children and all I wanted to do was pick them up and bring them home. Such beautiful little faces. I was blessed by their excitement to see us white guys.
Last night back in Mombasa, I had a chance to meet with the General Secretary for the Baptist Convention of Kenya, Shem Okello for a few minutes. He and I had communicated many times in the last couple of years but had not had a chance to meet him in person. It was a great time of sharing for both of us.
We did finally take an evening out for some enjoyment by going to dinner at a must see restaurant in Nairobi called Carnivore which is much like one of those Brazilian restaurants where they bring the meats to you. Well, we ate camel, crocodile, ox privates, lamb, and others. Some was good, some not so good. But, we sure had a great time.
So, very early this morning, we headed to the Nairobi airport for our flights home. We have made it to Accra Ghana and just waiting for our flight to Washington DC at 11:15 this evening. Keep us in your prayers a little longer if you will.
There is so much more to tell and to share with you about what God has done on this trip. I am so thankful for just the opportunity to be a part of something special like this. We met with so many pastors that are anxious for our team to come to their area and drill for water. People have been praying for years for someone to come and bring them water. I can only imagine how God is going to allow us to do all that is being asked of us. Financing is, of course, the biggest need for us to continue. I would ask your prayers for sufficient funds to come for us to accomplish what we know is God calling us to do. Thank you for your continued support.
I will send more pictures soon so be sure and check back in a few days for more details.
May God richly bless you this day.
My it has been a busy week with so much happening and so little time to stop and blog. So, now that we are on our way home and sitting in Accra, Ghana airport right now with an 11 hour lay-over, I thought it would be a good time to catch everyone up on the events of the week. Since my last blog, we have traveled from Eldoret to Nairobi to Mombasa and back to Nairobi before catching a flight early this morning to come home. We experienced some amazing highs this week but a very tough Tuesday with some discouragement attacking me and the team. But, I can clear see why we had to go through that day now. As I mentioned in my previous blog, we started the well at Glory Baptist Church on Monday and worked until Wednesday morning trying to get through a very difficult layer of rock that caused us to break 3 pieces of our equipment just trying to get through. But God supplied us with a welder who was a member of the church that was able to fix the broken pieces and get us back up and operational. But, unfortunately, we just couldn't get through that layer of rock even though the young men had hand dug down 10-12 feet trying to work through it. So, Wednesday morning we made a decision to move about 30 yards from the original site and started a new well. IT WAS AMAZING!!! Within about 2 1/2 hours, we were able to get past the point we were with the first borehole. Unfortunately, we had to leave that afternoon before we were able to reach the water table. But, we are rejoicing this afternoon as we received a text saying they had reached the water today and it looks to be a great well!!! Praise the Lord!!! Pastor Martin there at Glory Baptist Church did a wonderful ceremony at the close of the day on Wednesday and we rejoiced just knowing that God was going to see to it that we got water. Beautiful time with some amazing church members. We couldn't not have been more received by anyone that we were by that fellowship of believers. It was just the best!!
Thursday morning, we took a flight from Eldoret through Nairobi to Mombasa to meet with some pastors and to be in the village of one of our board member's, Jimmy Chinando. The village was called Vipingo and it was the worst case of water need that I have seen so far. The villages in the area incompasses about 3000 people and the only two water sources there are one pond that is absolutely the nastiest pool of water you can imagine and a small spring fed stream. The pond is located about a half a mile from the closest huts and down a very steep 45 degree incline that the women have to go down at least once a day to draw water and carry a 20 liter (5 gallon) bucket of water up this hill. Our team was completely out of breath just walking down to it and back up the hill. It breaks my heart to see what they have to go through just to get water. The need for a well is so great there. There is not a well for miles and miles. The people are constantly sick with typhoid and other sicknesses. Folks, you just can't imagine until you have actually seen it.
We then gathered together in the church of the village for a time of worship and it was beautiful to see these people that have nothing worship God and thankful for what they do have. They truly know how to worship.
We spent Friday morning visiting another church in the town of MTWAPA where we had a chance to share with about 100 children that were in their school they have in the church during the week. Many of them are orphan children and all I wanted to do was pick them up and bring them home. Such beautiful little faces. I was blessed by their excitement to see us white guys.
Last night back in Mombasa, I had a chance to meet with the General Secretary for the Baptist Convention of Kenya, Shem Okello for a few minutes. He and I had communicated many times in the last couple of years but had not had a chance to meet him in person. It was a great time of sharing for both of us.
We did finally take an evening out for some enjoyment by going to dinner at a must see restaurant in Nairobi called Carnivore which is much like one of those Brazilian restaurants where they bring the meats to you. Well, we ate camel, crocodile, ox privates, lamb, and others. Some was good, some not so good. But, we sure had a great time.
So, very early this morning, we headed to the Nairobi airport for our flights home. We have made it to Accra Ghana and just waiting for our flight to Washington DC at 11:15 this evening. Keep us in your prayers a little longer if you will.
There is so much more to tell and to share with you about what God has done on this trip. I am so thankful for just the opportunity to be a part of something special like this. We met with so many pastors that are anxious for our team to come to their area and drill for water. People have been praying for years for someone to come and bring them water. I can only imagine how God is going to allow us to do all that is being asked of us. Financing is, of course, the biggest need for us to continue. I would ask your prayers for sufficient funds to come for us to accomplish what we know is God calling us to do. Thank you for your continued support.
I will send more pictures soon so be sure and check back in a few days for more details.
May God richly bless you this day.
Monday, July 4, 2011
4th of July in Eldoret Kenya
Well, I best update my blog tonight as I haven't been able to up until this evening. It has been just an unbelievable trip this year. We have had soaring highs and tough low moments but all in all, it has been an extremely blessed time. Since my last blog, much has happened. We did complete the well at Pastor Christopher Juma's location but not without some tough challenges because we were not able to find some of the standard parts needed and had to substitute different components. But, we were able to get the well in place and fresh water now available to his community. We were so blessed by the people. They had been praying for over a year for us to come and drill and they sure did acknowledge their appreciation with their love and provisions. We are so thankful for their kindness.
Because of our troubles with the first well, we were delayed in leaving until after 5:30pm on Thursday afternoon and was suppose to be into Migori that evening as the community was preparing a meal for us. It was over a 6 hour drive to go there and we just decided it would be best to stop for the night outside of Kisumu because the roads are very dangerous at night, let alone in the daytime. We did make a short stop in Kisumu to meet a pastor that I had been trying to catch up since Tuesday, Pastor Naaman Odera and his family including little Brad, my namesake, who is now 6 months old. He is a beautiful little boy.
We finally stopped in the town of Ahero where we had drilled a well last year and slept for about 4 hours before hitting the road again at 4am as we had to be into Migori by 8:30 in order to meet the District Commissioner for the Migori area. It was one of those amazing days as we with the D. C. and then road over to the church where we started the 2nd well with him as he had been invited to see what we were doing for the church there. We had an official ribbon cutting ceremony with dancing, prayers, tree planting and singing. It was an awesome experience. We were not planning on starting this well because of the tough schedule but we did go ahead and get it started with our team going back after we return to the US. They were able to drill down to about 15 feet before breaking one of the drill bits used to break up rock. They haven't been able to retrieve the broken piece yet. So, we ended up having to leave it undone for now.
While in Migori, we had a board meeting of the new Non-profit ministry that we have started in the the country which is called Christian Community Action for Development and Evangelism (C-CADE) and had all 7 board members present which I serve as the International Director for. The board includes 4 pastors, 1 deacon, one elder and myself. We had just received official notice of the Kenyan Government approval of our NPO a week before we arrived so it was an exciting time as we talked about the plans for the ministry including wells, orphans, single mothers, medical missions, and evangelism. We have a great vision for the ministry and looking forward to what God has planned for it.
Sunday morning, the team was responsible for the morning worship service at one of the churches in Migori and it was a wonderful experience. Todd Robeson from Blanchard is on the team with me and he taught on financial responsibility while I had a chance to teach/preach on the parable of the sower. Ms. Tera Perkins spent the morning with probably 75-100 children that were so excited to have her teach them. Tera has been so amazing with the children everywhere we've been. She truly has a ministry that is developing into something very special. Tera is from Bridgeport Texas and had been with me when we were first in Kenya in 2009 with Reaching Souls International.
We finally got out of town Sunday afternoon for another 5 1/2 hour trip to Eldoret through some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen. As we traveled through the Rift Valley and up into the mountains, it was breathtaking!! We did arrive in to Eldoret around 8:30pm so ended up being another very late night before going to bed.
So, today, we started our third well and ended up breaking 3 pieces of our equipment on the rock down about 6 feet but fortunately, the Glory Baptist Church has a church member that is a welder and he was able to get us back up and operational before the end of the day. We have dug down to the rock layer and will be tackling the rocks in the morning but very optimistic we will break through the rock layer tomorrow and do anticipate getting it done by Wednesday afternoon as we fly to Mombasa on Thursday morning to meet with pastors and churches in that area on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning before returning to Nairobi and on home on Saturday.
That pretty well catches me up with the highlights but there is much more to the story to share with you later. Thank you for your prayers and support. We have been truly blessed while here and can't tell you what a blessing these people have been to have been praying and fasting for us for more than a year. It is been an awesome experience.
OK, I'm signing off now since it is 12:45am and we have a long day tomorrow.
God Bless.
Because of our troubles with the first well, we were delayed in leaving until after 5:30pm on Thursday afternoon and was suppose to be into Migori that evening as the community was preparing a meal for us. It was over a 6 hour drive to go there and we just decided it would be best to stop for the night outside of Kisumu because the roads are very dangerous at night, let alone in the daytime. We did make a short stop in Kisumu to meet a pastor that I had been trying to catch up since Tuesday, Pastor Naaman Odera and his family including little Brad, my namesake, who is now 6 months old. He is a beautiful little boy.
We finally stopped in the town of Ahero where we had drilled a well last year and slept for about 4 hours before hitting the road again at 4am as we had to be into Migori by 8:30 in order to meet the District Commissioner for the Migori area. It was one of those amazing days as we with the D. C. and then road over to the church where we started the 2nd well with him as he had been invited to see what we were doing for the church there. We had an official ribbon cutting ceremony with dancing, prayers, tree planting and singing. It was an awesome experience. We were not planning on starting this well because of the tough schedule but we did go ahead and get it started with our team going back after we return to the US. They were able to drill down to about 15 feet before breaking one of the drill bits used to break up rock. They haven't been able to retrieve the broken piece yet. So, we ended up having to leave it undone for now.
While in Migori, we had a board meeting of the new Non-profit ministry that we have started in the the country which is called Christian Community Action for Development and Evangelism (C-CADE) and had all 7 board members present which I serve as the International Director for. The board includes 4 pastors, 1 deacon, one elder and myself. We had just received official notice of the Kenyan Government approval of our NPO a week before we arrived so it was an exciting time as we talked about the plans for the ministry including wells, orphans, single mothers, medical missions, and evangelism. We have a great vision for the ministry and looking forward to what God has planned for it.
Sunday morning, the team was responsible for the morning worship service at one of the churches in Migori and it was a wonderful experience. Todd Robeson from Blanchard is on the team with me and he taught on financial responsibility while I had a chance to teach/preach on the parable of the sower. Ms. Tera Perkins spent the morning with probably 75-100 children that were so excited to have her teach them. Tera has been so amazing with the children everywhere we've been. She truly has a ministry that is developing into something very special. Tera is from Bridgeport Texas and had been with me when we were first in Kenya in 2009 with Reaching Souls International.
We finally got out of town Sunday afternoon for another 5 1/2 hour trip to Eldoret through some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen. As we traveled through the Rift Valley and up into the mountains, it was breathtaking!! We did arrive in to Eldoret around 8:30pm so ended up being another very late night before going to bed.
So, today, we started our third well and ended up breaking 3 pieces of our equipment on the rock down about 6 feet but fortunately, the Glory Baptist Church has a church member that is a welder and he was able to get us back up and operational before the end of the day. We have dug down to the rock layer and will be tackling the rocks in the morning but very optimistic we will break through the rock layer tomorrow and do anticipate getting it done by Wednesday afternoon as we fly to Mombasa on Thursday morning to meet with pastors and churches in that area on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning before returning to Nairobi and on home on Saturday.
That pretty well catches me up with the highlights but there is much more to the story to share with you later. Thank you for your prayers and support. We have been truly blessed while here and can't tell you what a blessing these people have been to have been praying and fasting for us for more than a year. It is been an awesome experience.
OK, I'm signing off now since it is 12:45am and we have a long day tomorrow.
God Bless.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Wednesday, June 29th Update
Glorious day to all. It is very late here in Bumala Kenya, about 2 hours northwest of Kisumu, where we began drilling on Monday and I'm very happy to share with you that we have had real success with minor issues in getting water today. We didn't finish as hoped today but will be able to in the morning before we depart for Migori at noon. It has been an amazing trip so far with many positive things that have happened even since my last blog. On Tuesday, while much of the team was busy drilling the well or teaching the women and children of the community, 4 of us traveled into Kisumu to pick up well supplies and to visit Maisha Orphanage. I'm attaching a couple of pictures of the orphanage which some of you will be familar with. Bea was so pleased that we were able to come visit and they have done a lot since I last visited them last year. She is currently feeding 350 children each day with many of them being orphans and many with HIV. We were surrounded by the most precious kids while there. You will see a picture of two little boys that would not let go of me the whole time. It was a thrill for me to be with them for even a few minutes. Praise God for people like Beatrice Williamson who had a vision for her people.
It was a very long day and we did not get back to the community until 7:30pm and we came in the back way down dirt roads that none of us were familiar with and we were questioning whether we would actually make it back or not. You just can't imagine the trails we took with a van to get to the community. It is such an awesome experience.
Today started off with an opportunity to go see a school here in Bumala that a genteman by the name of Todd Lorentz has been involved in starting a couple of years back and has a team with him and staying in the same hotel as we are. Once he heard what we were here doing, he was extremely interested and wanted to know if we could come out and see his facility and look at the possibility of drilling some waterwells on the school property. His team is from Canada which includes a neurologist. We are excited because this looks like it will be our first well(s) where our Non-Profit Ministry (C-CADE) will actually be able to make some money for the ministry versus having to fund the wells ourselves.
We also had a pastor from northern Kenya that had heard we were coming and came to see just how we drill. He had been in the US last year and had a chance to come to the Water4 office last summer and was interested in buying a unit then but it was recommended he wait and come see how it is done while my team was drilling. Again, I can't be any more excited because he is going to buy a drilling unit himself and our team will be able to come up to his area and train the men on just how to drill. The pastor is Justice Ochuro and currently has 43 churches he is leading and planting new churches all of the time. I love his plan because it goes right along with our plan - drill a well close to churches (especially new ones) in order to draw people to the church to get water.
We were celebrating today as we hit the water table. So, a little out of character for me, we were dancing around the well site and celebrating arrival of water. I am so pleased with the response we have received from the men, women and children of the community. It is so far off the beaten path that many of the kids have never seen a white person. Some are scared but most are very curious and you can here them say (in Swahili) "White Man" "White Man". So cute.
Well, I'm exhausted and have to be up and ready to go by 6am. I would ask for your continued prayers for the team. We are all in great spirits but extremely tired. We have felt the prayers from the very beginning. Every community we will be visiting while here have been praying for us now for over a year and very excited to have a chance for a water well. You just can't fully understand the need for water unless you see it with your own eyes.
OK, until next time, may you be blessed as you have read this blog. Be praying for those lost souls that we are trying to reach through our efforts with the well. As I posted earlier, we have seen lives changed greatly because of what God has done. We honestly are having a hard time stopping to rest because of the joy of serving God in this way. Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you for your continued prayers.
God's blessings on each of you this day.
It was a very long day and we did not get back to the community until 7:30pm and we came in the back way down dirt roads that none of us were familiar with and we were questioning whether we would actually make it back or not. You just can't imagine the trails we took with a van to get to the community. It is such an awesome experience.
Today started off with an opportunity to go see a school here in Bumala that a genteman by the name of Todd Lorentz has been involved in starting a couple of years back and has a team with him and staying in the same hotel as we are. Once he heard what we were here doing, he was extremely interested and wanted to know if we could come out and see his facility and look at the possibility of drilling some waterwells on the school property. His team is from Canada which includes a neurologist. We are excited because this looks like it will be our first well(s) where our Non-Profit Ministry (C-CADE) will actually be able to make some money for the ministry versus having to fund the wells ourselves.
We also had a pastor from northern Kenya that had heard we were coming and came to see just how we drill. He had been in the US last year and had a chance to come to the Water4 office last summer and was interested in buying a unit then but it was recommended he wait and come see how it is done while my team was drilling. Again, I can't be any more excited because he is going to buy a drilling unit himself and our team will be able to come up to his area and train the men on just how to drill. The pastor is Justice Ochuro and currently has 43 churches he is leading and planting new churches all of the time. I love his plan because it goes right along with our plan - drill a well close to churches (especially new ones) in order to draw people to the church to get water.
We were celebrating today as we hit the water table. So, a little out of character for me, we were dancing around the well site and celebrating arrival of water. I am so pleased with the response we have received from the men, women and children of the community. It is so far off the beaten path that many of the kids have never seen a white person. Some are scared but most are very curious and you can here them say (in Swahili) "White Man" "White Man". So cute.
Well, I'm exhausted and have to be up and ready to go by 6am. I would ask for your continued prayers for the team. We are all in great spirits but extremely tired. We have felt the prayers from the very beginning. Every community we will be visiting while here have been praying for us now for over a year and very excited to have a chance for a water well. You just can't fully understand the need for water unless you see it with your own eyes.
OK, until next time, may you be blessed as you have read this blog. Be praying for those lost souls that we are trying to reach through our efforts with the well. As I posted earlier, we have seen lives changed greatly because of what God has done. We honestly are having a hard time stopping to rest because of the joy of serving God in this way. Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you for your continued prayers.
God's blessings on each of you this day.
Monday, June 27, 2011
GREETINGS FROM KENYA
Hello Friends,
Well, I am finally able to get on the internet this evening and able to post an update. It has been an AWESOME trip so far and anxious to share with you what God is doing so far. We were very blessed to have great travel to Kenya and arrived pretty close to on-time Saturday evening around 6:20pm with all of our luggage arriving at the same time. We were greeted by 3 of our pastors and had a wonderful reunion with them before heading to the Marble Arch Hotel for the night.
We departed very early the next morning for the long drive to the Kisumu area in SW Kenya which turned into a total of 9 hours on the road. We did make a stop to attend church outside of Narok where we worshipped with one of the 300+ churches that are part of the Maasai Evangelistic Association led by Rev. David Kereto. Our team of pastors that we trained last year to drill wells had been in the Maasai area a couple of months ago to drill two wells for Pastor David and it was a great time to meet him and hear about his work among the Maasai. We had a great visit and what an amazing story he had to share about his work. I'll write more about that in a later blog.
We finally made it to our first location around 10pm and we were totally exhausted but excited at the same time. We were up pretty early this morning for breakfast and raring to go. But first, we had our second great God Orchestrated connection made. Staying at the same hotel we are, we met a team from Canada that is here and have a school that they started a couple of years ago that is working with about 350 orphans as well as do HIV training. Well, if that didn't get me going. We had a great conversation with plans to go see their school and the real possibility of drilling a well for them in the near future. And it very possible we will be able to help them out with some HIV testing kits, as well. Again, it is so amazing to see how our great God brings people together to help fulfill His plans. Be praying for the ministry of "One Child's Village (www.OneChildsVillage.org) as they really are having a huge, positive impact on many children's lives here in Kenya.
We made it out to the drill site of Christopher Juma's village and received such a warm welcome and a lot of enthusiasm for our coming. Christopher had arranged for about 10 men to be there to be trained on the drilling process and it didn't take long for them to get the hang of it and they were off and running with about 10 feet drilled just this afternoon. We did hit a layer of rock that we are having to hammer through but we made good progress the first day. We estimate this first well will be need to be only about 35 - 40 feet and expect we can finish it by Wednesday afternoon. Pray with us about that if you would.
Tera Perkins, the young lady on the team, spent all day with the women and children of the area and probably had close to 100 women and equal children totally engulfed in what she had to say. It was really neat to see. She is truly a blessing to this team because of her heart for missions and more specifically for the people of Kenya.
The really BIG NEWS of the day happened at the drill site. Before we even started the training and drilling, Pastor Joseph shared Christ with about 20 men and we saw about 14 of them accept Christ as their personal Savior. Now, if that doesn't excite a person, then nothing will. It was powerful to see God work today.
I think I best close for now since it is 12:30am and we have a very early start this morning. While the men are drilling today, I am going to go visit Maisha International Orphanage and Beatrice Williamson who is from the Kisumu area but lives in Oklahoma City now and has a wonderful ministry through her Orphanage she started in her home village. Check out her website (http://www.maishainternational.org/).
OK, more tomorrow hopeful. Thank you for your prayers. We can feel them!!
Well, I am finally able to get on the internet this evening and able to post an update. It has been an AWESOME trip so far and anxious to share with you what God is doing so far. We were very blessed to have great travel to Kenya and arrived pretty close to on-time Saturday evening around 6:20pm with all of our luggage arriving at the same time. We were greeted by 3 of our pastors and had a wonderful reunion with them before heading to the Marble Arch Hotel for the night.
We departed very early the next morning for the long drive to the Kisumu area in SW Kenya which turned into a total of 9 hours on the road. We did make a stop to attend church outside of Narok where we worshipped with one of the 300+ churches that are part of the Maasai Evangelistic Association led by Rev. David Kereto. Our team of pastors that we trained last year to drill wells had been in the Maasai area a couple of months ago to drill two wells for Pastor David and it was a great time to meet him and hear about his work among the Maasai. We had a great visit and what an amazing story he had to share about his work. I'll write more about that in a later blog.
We finally made it to our first location around 10pm and we were totally exhausted but excited at the same time. We were up pretty early this morning for breakfast and raring to go. But first, we had our second great God Orchestrated connection made. Staying at the same hotel we are, we met a team from Canada that is here and have a school that they started a couple of years ago that is working with about 350 orphans as well as do HIV training. Well, if that didn't get me going. We had a great conversation with plans to go see their school and the real possibility of drilling a well for them in the near future. And it very possible we will be able to help them out with some HIV testing kits, as well. Again, it is so amazing to see how our great God brings people together to help fulfill His plans. Be praying for the ministry of "One Child's Village (www.OneChildsVillage.org) as they really are having a huge, positive impact on many children's lives here in Kenya.
We made it out to the drill site of Christopher Juma's village and received such a warm welcome and a lot of enthusiasm for our coming. Christopher had arranged for about 10 men to be there to be trained on the drilling process and it didn't take long for them to get the hang of it and they were off and running with about 10 feet drilled just this afternoon. We did hit a layer of rock that we are having to hammer through but we made good progress the first day. We estimate this first well will be need to be only about 35 - 40 feet and expect we can finish it by Wednesday afternoon. Pray with us about that if you would.
Tera Perkins, the young lady on the team, spent all day with the women and children of the area and probably had close to 100 women and equal children totally engulfed in what she had to say. It was really neat to see. She is truly a blessing to this team because of her heart for missions and more specifically for the people of Kenya.
The really BIG NEWS of the day happened at the drill site. Before we even started the training and drilling, Pastor Joseph shared Christ with about 20 men and we saw about 14 of them accept Christ as their personal Savior. Now, if that doesn't excite a person, then nothing will. It was powerful to see God work today.
I think I best close for now since it is 12:30am and we have a very early start this morning. While the men are drilling today, I am going to go visit Maisha International Orphanage and Beatrice Williamson who is from the Kisumu area but lives in Oklahoma City now and has a wonderful ministry through her Orphanage she started in her home village. Check out her website (http://www.maishainternational.org/).
OK, more tomorrow hopeful. Thank you for your prayers. We can feel them!!
Friday, March 25, 2011
LIMA PERU
Greetings Friends and Family,
Well, after an interesting ordeal in Oklahoma City with our orginal Delta flight to Atlanta, we were able to get a Continental flight to Houston and then on to Lima. Because of the change, we were not able to bring two of our large bags. You should have seen us trying to remove and consolidate into one bag a piece for Mike and myself with 2 bags for water well equipment. But, all worked out just fine as we arrived in Lima at the same time the others did. We are now waiting at the airport for a 6:20am flight that will take us to Iquitos. We will spend much of the day buying supplies for our time in the villages and then board the slow boat that will take us to Pevas where we will then load up in canoes for the trip up the the tributary to the villages.
I have been able to rent a USB card that hopefully will allows me to blog frequently. So, check in daily for updates.
Thank you for your prayers. We feel them.
Well, after an interesting ordeal in Oklahoma City with our orginal Delta flight to Atlanta, we were able to get a Continental flight to Houston and then on to Lima. Because of the change, we were not able to bring two of our large bags. You should have seen us trying to remove and consolidate into one bag a piece for Mike and myself with 2 bags for water well equipment. But, all worked out just fine as we arrived in Lima at the same time the others did. We are now waiting at the airport for a 6:20am flight that will take us to Iquitos. We will spend much of the day buying supplies for our time in the villages and then board the slow boat that will take us to Pevas where we will then load up in canoes for the trip up the the tributary to the villages.
I have been able to rent a USB card that hopefully will allows me to blog frequently. So, check in daily for updates.
Thank you for your prayers. We feel them.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Kids for God's Kingdom Orphanage
One of our main objectives on this trip was to visit the orphanage that Wendi and Kim O'Dwyer have started. We had the most wonderful time there as we had a chance to play, feed and enjoy each of their 7 kids they currently have in the orphanage. We were very surprised by the accommodations as the place where they are is a nice home that has been provided them to use for the orphanage. The home is enclosed within a 8 foot walled area that has lots of space. The home has 3 large bedrooms, large kitchen, dining area and a large living room area inside with a large open area outside. God truly has blessed them with this facility and it gives them plenty of space to care for the children. And I believe it is rent free. It's a wonderful story of how God provided the home which is owned by a man that is currently in prison. When he found out what they wanted to use the home for, he was excited to have them move in. He has been in prison for 5 years of a 25 year sentence but was saved within the prison and is thrilled that his home is being used to help children. As I mentioned, there are 7 children living there now and each one of them has an amazing story and in many cases, miraculous stories of how God has delivered them from certain death because of the calling Wendi and Kim have for the children of Haiti. I'm certain I can't remember all of the circumstance of each child but they are truly miracles from God and each one of them will now have an opportunity to make something of their lives because of what Wendi and Kim are doing for them.
The country of Haiti is such a sad situation with what appears as little hope for most of the population. But God is doing some amazing things through different people that have been called there. Both Wendi and Kim are such inspirations and have devoted their lives to serve God in this way. If you haven't connected with them on Facebook, I would encourage you to as they do a great job of updating us on the events in their lives.
Be sure and check back in a day or so as I continue to post different things about the trip. There is so much to share in spite of the fact we were only there for a short 48 hours or so. Thanks again for your prayers and support. The doors are open for us to be even more involved there and we are beginning to lay groundwork for a return trip sometime this year.
The country of Haiti is such a sad situation with what appears as little hope for most of the population. But God is doing some amazing things through different people that have been called there. Both Wendi and Kim are such inspirations and have devoted their lives to serve God in this way. If you haven't connected with them on Facebook, I would encourage you to as they do a great job of updating us on the events in their lives.
Be sure and check back in a day or so as I continue to post different things about the trip. There is so much to share in spite of the fact we were only there for a short 48 hours or so. Thanks again for your prayers and support. The doors are open for us to be even more involved there and we are beginning to lay groundwork for a return trip sometime this year.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Haiti Trip Review
Greetings Friends,
I must apologize for the delay in posting anything on this blog but it honestly has been a whirlwind week with little time to stop and breath. We actually arrived home very early Friday morning of last week but it has been non-stop since returning and I'm just now getting an opportunity to post some of the details of the trip.
To start off, everything you have seen or heard about Haiti is probably true but to see it first hand is still a rude awakening. There is evidence of the earthquake immediately upon arriving at the airport. Then, as you leave the airport, you quickly see the results of the devastation; tent cities all over the place. And when I say tents, that is really more glamorous than reality. Basically, what you see is large areas where there are literally thousands of people living in tarp covered wooden or cardboard structures that in most cases in no larger that 8' x 8' that may have as many as 8-10 people living in that space. The streets are what we could classify as impassable but they manage to travel over them anyway. You find old abandoned cars, trucks, motorcycles everywhere. You see buildings that have crumbled from the earthquake with what appeared as little effort to tear them down and remove the debris. Literally thousands of people moving from place to place without any indication of purpose. I have had many opportunities to see areas of the world that are considered improvished areas but I do believe this is the most extreme I have ever encountered. My heart ached for the people there in Port-Au-Prince.
We arrived around 3pm on Tuesday and our host, Wendi Bryant was there to greet us. Wendi is an amazing Godly lady that God has called her to a very special task and as I record our trip here on the blog, I think you will begin to get a sense of who Wendi is. I have heard many stories of just how awesome our God is and how he provides, protects, and delivers proof of His greatness. One of the big blessings she has received is a truck for their use. Since her arrival in Haiti early last year, she had be reliate upon others to transport her to the various places she need to go. So, she, along with many others, began praying about their need for transportation. Kim O'Dwyer, who is working with Wendi at the orphanage (I'll share more about Kim later) was going to return to the states back last fall and had several opportunities to share with friends and family about the need for transportation. And you can guess what happened: Someone stepped forward with $20,000 for them to buy a truck. Well, normally you would expect to pay $25-30,000 for the type of vehicle they needed. But, again, God provided and they were able to purchase a new 1 ton truck and have a cage put on the back of it for the $20,000!!! An amazing example of how God provides when the need is great. Here is a picture of the truck. It is perfect to meet their needs. I must say, though, that the ride from Port-Au-Prince to Plaisance du sud was 7 hours in the back of the truck on some of the worst roads I have ever been on and it still was an experience of a lifetime. The last 2 hours were up a very steep mountain road to the community/village/area of 26,000 people. ABSOLUTELY one of the prettiest places I have ever been.
Check back over the next few days as I post more details about the trip and what God has revealed to me as far as a role we might play in Haiti.
Thank you for your prayers during our trip. They were felt by us all and we are so thankful to have such wonderful prayer warriors lifting us up.
God Bless.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Ft, Lauderdale
We finally made it to Ft. Lauderdale and will only get a couple of hours of sleep before departing for Haiti at 6:45am. We would appreciate your continued prayers for us as there is concern in the country of possible unrest due to the announcement about the presidential elections.
Here is the team!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Departure Day
It is a COLD day here in Oklahoma this morning as we are preparing to depart later on today. The team was blessed last night as our pastor along with the congregation prayed over us for safe travels, good health, and success in what we are to do on this trip. I told my wife this morning that for some reason, I'm very emotional about this trip and so looking forward to what God has in store for us. Last night on NBC's Dateline, there was a special about a team doing work in Haiti that really emphasized the needs there. I know we are in for a powerful display of need in the country and it will be hard not to be overwhelmed by it.
Buddy, Jay and I will be departing this afternoon at 4:15 and will arrive in Port-Au-Prince in the morning at 8:40. Wendi will be there to meet us and then we will travel 7 hours to Plaisance where we will spend a couple of days seeing the area, looking at the possibility of a water well, visiting the hospital and determining the needs there for a laboratory, and spending time in Wendi's orphanage. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some pictures while there.
We covet your prayers for our trip. We ask that you pray along with us that God will be glorified and magnified on this trip, that we will be able to see the needs and respond to those needs accordingly.
Special thank you to those that have provided funds, medical supplies, and crafts for us to take to them. I know that will be used to help the ophanage and hospital.
Check back occasionally over the next few days for update.
Thank you and May God Bless You today beyond measure.
Buddy, Jay and I will be departing this afternoon at 4:15 and will arrive in Port-Au-Prince in the morning at 8:40. Wendi will be there to meet us and then we will travel 7 hours to Plaisance where we will spend a couple of days seeing the area, looking at the possibility of a water well, visiting the hospital and determining the needs there for a laboratory, and spending time in Wendi's orphanage. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some pictures while there.
We covet your prayers for our trip. We ask that you pray along with us that God will be glorified and magnified on this trip, that we will be able to see the needs and respond to those needs accordingly.
Special thank you to those that have provided funds, medical supplies, and crafts for us to take to them. I know that will be used to help the ophanage and hospital.
Check back occasionally over the next few days for update.
Thank you and May God Bless You today beyond measure.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
HAITI
Hello Everyone,
Well, it's time to make another trip. I'm very excited to be going to Haiti along with two others from our home church, First Baptist Church, Newcastle Oklahoma. Buddy Eischen and his son Jay will be accompanying me on this trip. I continue to be in awe at how God puts people in our lives that lead to opportunities of service for Him. To make a rather long story short, I had a chance to meet a lady by the name of Wendi Bryant through a business connection which started early part of 2010. Wendi is a registered nurse that God has called for a special job. Wendi surrendered her life completely over to serving God in Haiti. She has started an orphange which is now located in the mountainous region of Haiti called Plaisance. She has also been involved in establishing a hospital in the area. God has opened the door for our team to go next week to do a vision trip to help understand what her needs are and to see what we might be able to do to help. There are two main objectives for this trip; to determine whether we can come in with a team to drill a much needed well for her orphanage as well as evaluating their need for a laboratory in the hospital. I've very excited about the possibility of putting in a laboratory since much of my career has been in the laboratory field, both in working in labs as well as selling to labs.
I'll provide more details in the days to come. I would ask your prayers for us as we leave Monday and will be in Haiti on Tuesday morning.
God Bless You!
Well, it's time to make another trip. I'm very excited to be going to Haiti along with two others from our home church, First Baptist Church, Newcastle Oklahoma. Buddy Eischen and his son Jay will be accompanying me on this trip. I continue to be in awe at how God puts people in our lives that lead to opportunities of service for Him. To make a rather long story short, I had a chance to meet a lady by the name of Wendi Bryant through a business connection which started early part of 2010. Wendi is a registered nurse that God has called for a special job. Wendi surrendered her life completely over to serving God in Haiti. She has started an orphange which is now located in the mountainous region of Haiti called Plaisance. She has also been involved in establishing a hospital in the area. God has opened the door for our team to go next week to do a vision trip to help understand what her needs are and to see what we might be able to do to help. There are two main objectives for this trip; to determine whether we can come in with a team to drill a much needed well for her orphanage as well as evaluating their need for a laboratory in the hospital. I've very excited about the possibility of putting in a laboratory since much of my career has been in the laboratory field, both in working in labs as well as selling to labs.
I'll provide more details in the days to come. I would ask your prayers for us as we leave Monday and will be in Haiti on Tuesday morning.
God Bless You!
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