Hope in East Africa

This is a post from my other blog site (http://www.edensdust.blogspot.com), and I apologize if you read both. However, I felt this was newsworthy enough to be posted in both places:

I'd like to introduce you to a very special person today. His name is Paul Mutendwa, pictured here recently with Stanley Mutunga, founder of Tumaini International Ministries (Paul is on the left). Tumaini (Swahili for hope), as many of you know, is an organization based in Kenya that provides for the sponsorship of AIDS orphans. Our church partners with them, and we currently sponsor more than 300 kids. Stanley and his wife Rose began this work not so many years ago, hoping to be responsible for 200 children. But, as is often said, we plan and God laughs. Now with more than 800 children being helped more than a THOUSAND on a waiting list (and yes, you read that right), Tumaini is impacting Kenya in a significant fashion.

Back to Paul. Stanley realized that as the work began to burgeon, someone was needed to supervise and oversee the in-country operations. He contacted Paul, who was successful in the business world, and challenged him to use his abilities and skills for the Kingdom in a specific manner. Paul responded to that challenge, left his secular position, and accepted the post of Country Director for Tumaini. For nearly three years, he has worked with and fashioned this outreach so it might expand according the the ever-growing needs around it.

Paul and his family are making a significant impact for the work of the Lord in east Africa. He is currently in the US this month, visiting supporting churches and working with the US board as they continue to consider Tumaini's role. He will be at Knott Avenue this Sunday (November 2), so if you are able, come meet him and discover another reason we believe so much in this vital work.

Arizona GO! Team Preparing

November 6-9 are the dates for our next Global Outreach (GO!) Team to be in service, this time in eastern Arizona. The 21 of us (a big group!) will partner with Arizona Reservation Ministries (http://www.azrez.org), a group serving the needs of the San Carlos Apache Reservation, just outside the city of Globe (2 hours east of Phoenix). Our four days there will be spent working with kids on the reservation, assisting with construction projects, and doing whatever else will benefit either ARM or the Apache people.

I cannot overstate the great needs that exist in this place. Not only are there physical and material needs (as much as 85% unemployment, over 50% of homes with no running water or electricity), but there are tremendous emotional, psychological and spiritual issues as well. Perhaps no other place I've visited needs hope more than here. So please pray for us as we attempt to demonstrate the hope of Jesus in all we do and say during this time.

Taking a Walk

I'm currently reading through the OT book of Proverbs as part of my daily devotional time with the Lord. I'm reading a chapter daily, concurrent with the day of the month (today I read chapter 10, since it's Oct 10). Makes it easier for me to remember where I left off, and that's a nice help as I get older! I try to find at least one verse that jumps out and speaks to me for the day, and use it as a guide, since it is God's wisdom given to me.

Today there were a few verses and principles that spoke loudly to my heart and life circumstances, but I wanted to simply share one of them with you- Proverbs 10:9:

The man of integrity walks securely,
But he who takes crooked paths will be found out.

Integrity is a crucial issue for us, whether in the Church or in the world. Just look at the integrity issues being thrown back and forth in the presidential race. Someone said that integrity is what you do when no one is looking at you. It's how you conduct yourself at every twist and turn, whether or not anyone else knows it. The very word speaks to a wholeness in our being (remember the term integer in math class?), in which what we claim to be matches how we live out that claim.

Solomon reminds us that those who walk in integrity don't have to worry about being found out. They are secure because they walk their talk. They won't face the kind of destructive issues that plague so many others because their conduct keeps them away from involvement in things that come back to bite them. Conversely, the person who takes crooked paths (a picture of walking in sin and deception) will eventually be caught. Sooner or later his (or her) sin will catch up and responsibility will have to be taken. It usually happens in this life, since it's hard to keep our secret sins and paths secret very long. But even if we make it through our lives here with no one finding us out, we will stand before the One who sees it all- and there will be no way out of that one.

The challenge for me, then, is to walk in integrity, so there is nothing to be "found out" that would damage me or those around me. Keep my paths straight, keep my eyes straight ahead, keep my feet walking where they should and keep my destination firmly in focus. Not always easy in a world of crooked paths- but doable, with the help of God and my brothers and sisters.

Walk well this week!

Atascadero Update 2

I wanted you to see a photo (click to enlarge) of the Atascadero Team the morning they left (it was 4:45 a.m. and they were all awake!). The team is complete, sans Hans and Lara Linneman, who met them in Atascadero:

This team did a tremendous job working, sharing, serving and giving of themselves to residents and staff alike. They arrived home safely and wish to thank all of you who supported them through prayer, finances, encouragement or in any other manner. They were another great example of what God can do through His people when they focus on giving themselves away and giving Him the glory.

Atascadero Update

The Atascadero GO! Team is hard at work there on the the California central coast, blessing the lives of the residents of the Christian Home there. Scott Graham, one of the team, sent the following update and pictures (click on photos to enlarge):

The Atascadero mission team dove into assignments Thursday afternoon upon our safe arrival. Members are working on projects at the Home and also at Country Care hospital. Some are on the roof painting fascia, others are digging areas for four (4) cement pads to be poured soon. We have women on the team who have trimmed "thousands" of rose stems. Others have planted flowers to beautify the entrance. More importantly, the team has met, talked, and prayed with residents and staff at both locations. They have shared in devotions, visited with residents at each meal, and joined in singing at a Hymn sing-along. We have dealt with sore backs and muscles (especially the cement preparers!). Some have sacrificed by sleeping on a mattress on the floor - more stars in their crowns. We all praise God for His love and care.

Please continue to pray for this great team as they work, share and travel home Sunday afternoon. Ask the Lord to not only keep them healthy and safe, but to provide those kinds of "God-moments" with others who might need to know more about what it means to have a growing relationship with Him.

Atascadero GO! Team Heading North

It was 4:30 this morning as I stood with our Atascadero GO! (Global Outreach) Team and prayed with them in the church's parking lot. They then quickly loaded themselves into the various vehicles and began their jaunt northward toward the city of Atascadero, and the opportunities waiting there for them at the Atascadero Christian Home and Country Care Facility.

The team will spend their time combining projects around the grounds with time spent with residents there. I was reminded of the importance of this kind of time when I was there once. I was talking with an elderly lady who was staring off into the distance as we sat on a porch. She told me that we were the only ones who had come to see her. That her son had not been visited even once since he had placed her in the home over a year earlier. I asked where he lived, certain it was a far distance. I was surprised and heartbroken for her when she sadly replied, "Atascadero."

Many fail to appreciate the great need our elderly have for connection and relationship, and how they have been too often failed by those in their lives. The great thing about this kind of outreach is that we don't have to look far to find ways to reach out and make a difference for those of the "Builder Generation."

Please keep the team in your prayers as they travel, work hard, and share their lives. Pray for their unity as a team, and for open doors as they share the hope of the Gospel with those yet to know it, both residents and staff.