Matthew 10:31-33, English Standard Version

“Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

I would like to start with a thank you for the tremendous efforts that many people, churches, and communities have worked together to do God's mission work in Kenya. While there were four people that went on this trip, there were easily over four hundred people (probably closer to thousand) that worked on-mission to make this trip happen. I'm thankful and humbled for the prayers and provisions provided by so many.

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For me, the biggest sacrifice is time away from my three children. While they are my number one priority after my personal relationship with God, it's a hard decision to put mission work above time with them. With any sacrifice we make, we need to seek God's will. I felt God's will was to go on this trip and I was very blessed because of it.

I want to share just a few of the many ways that I saw God working on this trip. I am grateful I made the sacrifice of time, and I am thankful that others made the sacrifice of prayer and provisions to make this happen. Thank you.

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We had a three and half hour drive to the Mara Conservancy, which is the north tip of the Serengeti National Park. From the entrance of the park, we saw wild monkeys, elephants, giraffes, and zebras in the distance. We also saw umbrella trees and many different types of vegetation.

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I am truly amazed at the imagination of God, the beauty, and the balance of his masterpiece creation. I was humbled to think that God loves his creation, but he loves us even more than the animals.

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“Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:31-33, ESV)

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The symbol of dying to self and raising up to a new life (to accept the salvation that our Lord and Savior Jesus offers us for free) is a wonderful experience to witness. It is a miracle every time someone is forgiven of sin and receives God's Holy Spirit. There's a story behind each person, and for that person, it's the greatest day of their life.

I was blessed to witness and serve so many people that made that decision on this trip. It's a great pulse of God's church growing and moving forward.

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“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” (1 Peter 3:18-22, ESV)

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A cool God moment was that we were able to bless each church with some funds. At one church, Coria felt that the church was to receive 20,000 shillings (about $150), but she didn't know what it was to be used for. While we were at the church, I didn't see any members with a Bible, so I brought it up to the team.

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We spoke with Pastor Thomas and asked how many Bibles the church would need. He answered, "twenty." We then asked how much a Bible costs. He answered, "About 1,000 shillings." When we did the math, they would need 20,000 shillings for each member to have a Bible! Thank you, God, for the confirmation!

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It became apparent that there were some schemes to extort money from our team by some people outside of the ministry. Once we were made aware of this, I felt vulnerable and my sense of security was gone. We took necessary precautions, such as not leaving our hotel compound except to visit churches. This meant no shopping (sadly the day before we just found a great grocery store with doughnuts) and no more dining away from our hotel.

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We asked for prayer, and the prayers were certainly answered. We were well protected physically. The reality is that we need spiritual protection every day, every hour, every minute. It doesn't matter if you are in Kenya, the United States, or the North Pole; we have to be seeking God's divine protection. Jesus taught us to pray for God to deliver us from evil.

My biggest takeaway and my post-trip action item is to seek God's spiritual protection for me and my family the same way I wanted physical protection on the trip.

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In closing, thank you for the prayers, provisions, and Love. I think the best way to pray for God's church in Kenya is for them to have a hunger for God's word, to be transformed by God's truth, and to trust in God’s provision.

More details: https://www.lifewithchristministries.org/missions