Matthew 28:18-20
This page contains regular updates of the February - March 2006 mission trip. March 17, 2006 What a trip it has been! My mother and I are now home in Colorado and California respectively, world-wiser and much more cultured! I am touched by the sense of rightness that this trip has had in and through it from when it was an idea birthed 1 1/2 years ago, all the way to the team dynamic of just my super-strong, flexible, culturally sensitive mom and me. Imagine, in preparation I thought it would be 8-10 people. God had it planned out, and I am so grateful that he is in charge, not me. Here's some stuff I came away with:
Thank you all for following me and my mother on our trip to Kenya and back. I pray that God would have his way in fulfilling these dreams that the JGM has for the ministry. If you feel a heart tug to keep hearing about the JGM endeavors, I am planning to put together a quarterly update as well as putting together fundraisers for the above ministry activities: orphan support, youth AIDs awareness team, helping purchase self-sustaining investments, and buying land for the ministry. Blessings to you all, Joshua Crocker March 9, 2006 We have left the rural lands! What an adventure and a new exposure to a world of primitive living, beautiful land, and beautiful people. I'm definitely a funny boy because I forgot to emphasize to my mom that there in the rural land of Nymira, there is no running water, no electricity, and mainly dirt floors. For these reasons and others, I am so grateful that God designed it so that I wasn't hosting a number of people. Instead, I have been scheming how I would lead an American team out to the rural lands of Kenya while my mom bends and flexes our adaptive muscles. Honestly, it is a breath of fresh civilization air to be back in the city. None-the-less God has touched us very much in the viewing of another culture and in how God is working in a whole other part of the world. A huge joy in my past week was introducing the youth (approximately 15 of them) to frisbee and hacky-sack. Watching them run around and yell each others' names while sending the frisbee anyway they could imagine throwing it was a hoot! The major elements that stand out with the ministry at this time are:
I miss ya'll in Colorado, and I'm excited to return there and be with the family facing the Rocky Mountains that God has blessed me with! Lastly, I feel overwhelmed at the realization that I feel covered and lifted up in prayer by ya'll. It's a funny, mixed sense of protection and the sense that I'm in the place God has designed me to be in. I encourage all of you with the words Paul shares in Acts "(about us humans)...he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being." Acts 17:26-28 Blessings from across the world. Guys, I'm in Africa right now. What a trip! In Love, Joshua McLeod Crocker March 6, 2006 Hello everyone back in the states! "Mama Hannah" and I ("Joswa") are having the time of our lives in our rural haven where we are treated like a king and queen. Unfortunately, for the king and queen, we are dealing with the reality of no electricity and no running water. What an adventure! The reason I took so long to write is first because there is no nearby Internet access. Second, because we are so busy, and third, because on Friday I wrote out a long email that I was so proud of, I pressed send, and it was lost. The Internet "cafe" we were using was closing in five minutes so this is the quickest I could get back to you! Poli Sana (very sorry)! I am in awe at the work the Jesus Gospel Ministry is doing. The five pastors have given their lives to the ministry and to the vision of helping the most needy in the area. They are very well organized, much better even than I thought they were. Upon arrival I learned that they already have a brother who has access to a video camera and materials for editing! Wow! All their pastors plus some youth being trained are translators to English, Swahili, and the Kisii language. I have now visited the three different church plants that they have started in the nearby towns. All of the churches are made up of dirt floors and wood pieces for benches. It's beautiful. These people are prayer warriors as they meet daily at 5:00 a.m. for intercessory prayer before they start the day. I have found them to be firm in the word, taking messages from the old testament stories of Elija and Noah to present the gospel to the people at the marketplace for their open air meetings. A few highlights of our time with the ministry include:
Please continue to pray for our safety and our last words of vision for the future with the JGM leaders. This whole trip feels so right! The people here have given much with faith to the work of the gospel of love and outreach to the needy. The visioneer and pastor never ceases to amaze me in his commitment to and passion for the needy in the community! He doesn't waste a cent of his money... Much love! Una penda sana, which means I love you much! Joshua Crocker February 27, 2006 Jambo from Kenya, which means "Hi" in a tourist kind of way! My mother and I are doing very well here in the city of Nairobi. We have done some great connecting with organizations and JGM representatives here in the city. We will leave for the rural land tomorrow Wednesday, February 28. Here in Nairobi we were very warmly welcomed by a handful of friends at the airport where they said and keep saying, "Karibu Sana," which means very welcome. We hear this about 100 times per day. The people here are more than you can ever imagine--hospitable and so happy to share life! On the side of learning for the ministry my mother and I were able to tour an orphanage yesterday of 48 kids, who had been abandon or left in different places of Nairobi. It was powerful and a blessing to see how they do things. We have been visiting with George Sibwori, who is hosting us around Nairobi. We visited a building that he sees as a model for what can become of the Jesus Gospel Ministry in time to come. The building was amazing and could facilitate many, many great services to people in need (orphanage, counseling center, school, clinic). We were in awe and prayed for God to do great things from this time until it happens. We agreed that we would plan to buy rural standards materials for the building instead of the expensive building we saw before us. We don't want to be flashy, but practical! It's fun to dream! I have been speaking with different pastors and informed Kenyans about assistance from Americans, and this has been very informative and formative as well. A few things that I have learned are the following:
So things are going very well, and it seems so good to be seeing all these things afresh with my mother's perspective. She is a great person to shoot ideas by about hospital clinics and basic social service ideas. Things in Kenya are exotic from fun foods to being the white minority. We see many needs but know that our focus is just one--the Jesus Gospel Ministry in the rural area! I have had time to connect with a few friends I knew from my schooling here, two of which my mother and I are staying with. Also, today I got to show my mother where I went to school! Wow, it was so fun. I'll keep ya'll updated, ya hear! Mzuri Sana (very good!) Much love and blessings, Joshua McLeod Crocker |