My Passport Arrived!

A little while ago I shared a post about God answering prayer and as a very small part of the post I mentioned how God answered one of my prayers recently.  I want to to recount the story with a little more detail here and share with you what is to come so you can pray for me and what God is working out according to His will.

A few months ago I received a denomination newsletter in the mail.  One thing particularly in the newsletter caught my attention.  The newsletter spoke of what is called Global Studies Intensive (or GSI for short).  Every few years the Free Methodist denomination organizes a mission trip to a part of the world.  But this is not just a mission trip, it is also a hands-on mission class.  The point is to connect pastors and lay-people from all over the world with one another to build relationships with one another in the context of cross-cultural missions.  For two weeks GSI intersperses class time with hands on ministry time.  You learn about cross cultural missions by participating in cross cultural missions.  This year GSI is happening in Kenya.  When I read about this I thought that this would be a great opportunity, but I knew I didn't have the money to pay for it.  So I said a prayer about it and laid the newsletter on the side of my desk. 

About a week later I was hanging out and chatting with people between our two Sunday morning gatherings and a man came up to me and handed me a copy of the newsletter.  The section about GSI-Kenya was circled.  He proceeded to say to me, "My wife and I prayed about this and if you want to go we will cover your expenses."  My heart lept!  I couldn't believe it!  I have heard stories of God working like this but have not been on the receiving end of any of them.  I spoke to my wife about it and we both had the sense the God wants me to go to Kenya for something. 

Adding to this, our church recently had a visit from some missionaries that we support.  They spent the last 6 years ministering in Mexico City but now it turns out they are moving to Kenya.  When I found this out I couldn't help but to ask God, "O.K., God, what are you up to here?" 

I share this with you because I think I would be remiss if I did not share with others the work of God's hands.  In the Psalms it says repeatedly that we are to tell others of what God has done.  For example, in Psalm 66:5 is declares, "Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf!"  Also, I'm asking you to join me in prayer for this trip.  I want to be used by God and I hope this trip changes the life of someone I meet as well as my own life.

One of the places we will visit is the Kibara Slum of Nairobi.  It is one of the largest slums on the world.  Approximately 1.2 million people live in an area that is about 3.5 miles long and .5 miles wide.  Here is a satellite picture form the internet of the Kibara Slum:

Here is a picture of some garbage men in Kibara trying to remove some of the trash from the slum, which is like trying to shovel during a blizzard:

And here is another shot of the slum in which you can also see the garbage:

Again, please pray for the people of Kenya and for those from all over the world who will participate in GSI-Kenya later this year.