Stop thinking and give

In the last few years, it seems that there has been a lot written and spoken about “sustainable giving” and “when helping hurts”. So much so, I feel, that any “responsible” giver reading and listening to these things almost becomes paralyzed with fear, and instead of giving freely, they become so worried about how their gift is being used that they do not give. It is true that individuals do need to be responsible and mindful with their giving; and be careful not to create any long term or unhealthy dependencies. But I think all the sustainable giving talk can be summed up with those two words: Be mindful. Do not get me wrong. I am a huge proponent of giving sustainably, however over the past few years I have become a larger supporter of giving freely. I think that our sentence should not just end with being mindful, but should read: Be mindful, but most of all give freely/joyfully.

So often the things we do or do not do are governed by fear. Fear of what people will think, fear of how people will use what we give, fear of creating more complications. And while some fear can be healthy, too much can paralyze. If we are giving in accordance to what we see in scripture, I see nothing to indicate that there should be any fear or worry connected to our giving. Give cheerfully, give generously, give to everyone who asks. (This applies not only to monetary gifts, but also giving our time, and those things that “belong” to us.) Now, I know some will have some objections and concerns with this but ultimately my point is this: All in all which heart do you feel God would have us give with? A light, worry free, cheerful heart? Or a heart that is bogged down and calculating every eventuality that could incur? 

Now I know I am taking this to its maxim and there should be some responsibility involved (that is why: be mindful), but ultimately I believe less thinking should go into this exercise than you would think. I am learning more and more that giving should not be a practice of the mind only, but ultimately a larger practice of the heart (which is sometimes quite hard for the INTP thinker that I am). I fear, when we try to be responsible or calculating we lose a part of cheerful giving we lose some freeness with the gift, and some of the joy, the heart that goes with and into giving. 

When I was in college some friends and I went on a camping trip.  While there a couple of us thought it would be a good idea to try to climb a pine tree using only hatchets.  As the first of us got about 20 feet up in the air, only secured to the tree by the blade of the hatchets, the honor student asked, "How are you going to get back down?"  Now if you are the person 20 feet in the air with hatchets in your hand, that is not necessarily the question you want to hear. But it led us to a great answer, that we still use till this day, "One step at a time." Now my point in this is not to promote foolish thinking, or utter lack of thinking, but to point out that this among many of my other memories are fond memories, full of joy that came from lack of thinking. Now granted, that is only so because no one got hurt, and we do need to exercise some caution, admittedly probable more than being in the air 20 feet up with hatchets... But the more we think and examine things from every angle the more likely we are to stay on the ground and not move, rather than create a joyous memory. If we live our lives mindfully, and move one step at a time, responding to the hiccups and challenges that come along the way rather than avoiding them altogether, we keep our motion, and can live a little more freely.

In summary: of course there are areas, over our time working in a developing country, that we have seen giving more beneficial than others. (I am partial to short-term relief aid, trainings, and sustainable economic projects myself). But who can say how God can use any gift. Even a cup of chai to some street boys, (that by all calculations could create a cycle of begging) can be used by God to do things we cannot even imagine. And do not underestimate the effect that cheerful giving has on the giver as well. To be concise: Give freely. It is not for us to control how each gift is used as that defeats the purpose and joy of a gift. Give to the needs that pass in front of you. Give where your heart feels a tug. Give joyfully and freely. But ultimately: Give.

It’s all God’s: Realizations of Missions Part 2: The Money

There once was a landowner who hired workers early in the morning, agreeing to pay them a set wage for their work. And again, in the afternoon, he hired more workers, to help complete the task.  Later that day, when the time came to be paid, he paid them all the same set wage for their work.  The ones hired first began to grumble, saying, “You have made them equal to us, though we worked longer and harder”.  But he answered them, ‘Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?’

            Working overseas as a missionary one has to face a hard reality, nothing in this world is our own.  When Audrey and I first embarked on this journey we quit our current jobs, gave up our apartment, sold many of our things, put the rest into storage, and “left” our family behind.  We either gave up or left behind pretty much everything we considered our own, save for what we could fit into our suitcases and embarked on a new journey that we felt God was leading us to.  I do not say that to boast or to brag, just to illustrate the view that all we had was temporary.  But given all of that, this was still a hard thing for us to learn; and as creatures of habit, as soon as we arrived we quickly started making ourselves at home again, collecting and hunting down items to make our stays here more convenient and comfortable.  However, there is always the looming feeling that it is all temporary.  We do not know when or where the Lord will call us next, so we try to live life with palms held open. 

            Living here we have partly come to the realization that nothing we have is really ours to cling to.  It can be here one moment and gone the next.  In the same way being individuals that are supported financially by friends, family, and churches it takes it to an even deeper level that we are not even “earning” our own income.  Everything we have is a gift. It is not ours, and ultimately it is all God’s, unearned gift. This means we have the need to be accountable and transparent for every penny of it. Now as I say this, I am so very thankful for all the friends, family, and churches that support us, and all of their hard work and giving that makes every day possible, and I hope we are doing the work you have commissioned us for well.  But I want to raise a question.  Is not all money God’s anyway?  And if this is true, does it not then mean those same two big things are true for you as well?  Do you not also have a responsibility for how you are spending God’s money?  Is it not also a gift from God? 

            As Americans across the board we all deal with entitlement to some extent.  And I am sad to say this is not only applicable to the “millennial” generation as we so often point out.   It is evident in every generation, just because we have put in the sweat, does that really mean we are owed something?  If it is all truly God’s money, then even if we “earned” it, can we truly spend it any way we please?  I think if we view “our” money as God’s money, this changes how we use and manage it.  No longer does it become as easy to borrow money for something that may be unnecessary or to put things on credit that do not really matter.  For after all, where are we storing our treasures, and with Whose money are we purchasing them?  To push the item even further, is it okay to spend money on things to make our lives more "comfortable" because isn't comfortable sometimes just another word for distracted?  As we become more comfortable are we becoming like the rich young ruler who was "comfortable" with his good deeds?  

            I do not say any of this to elevate ourselves here, or pretend like I have the answers. We are struggling with the very same things.  It is hard to be accountable to a level where everyone can look at your finances and say you are using God’s money correctly.  There are always things we, and our flesh want, that may or may not be wise uses of the resources we have been given.  It becomes even harder when you are trying to please both God and others who have given to you as well.  But I do want to challenge each of you today to live like all the money given to you is a gift from God, that you are accountable for and wanting to honor him with.  It is not your own, whether you have worked hard for it or not, it is all a gift.  

It’s all God’s: Realizations of Missions Part 1: The Work

            Let’s ask a question. “Why missions?” or I guess let me go even broader with that question, “Why professional ministry in general?” How have we gotten to a point where there are an estimated 2.2 million “Christians” on earth, roughly 31%, and we have to hire people to spread the gospel?  Now I must admit, this must sound very strange coming from the mouth of one of those fully supported ministry staffers, who is receiving income from sharing God’s word.  But I want to look at why this is a need.  Is ministry something for a select few paid professionals to engage in, or is it a collective community oriented call of God?

To give a very generic, Sunday school answer to start, I would say we must first look at the great commission.  “Go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Okay, so it seems pretty evident there if we believe what Christ said, we have a mission to make disciples, it is a job of everyone who believes.  Most people stop the argument there.  But let’s continue, lets look deeply and honestly at this.  Why in the world with 31% of the population of the entire world “serving” God in this mission, can we not get the job done without paying people for full time work to complete it?  The only answer I think we can conclude is that we, as the 31%, are not following our commission. 

            Now, Chase, listen, I work hard, 60+ hours a week, so that I can support my family and our lifestyle.  And then I go to church and fellowship on Sunday, and I even gave some money to the homeless guy on the corner.  Are you saying I am not following God’s commission?  Yes, bluntly, that is exactly what I am saying.  Unless we are purposefully engaging in the work of making disciples, growing up other leaders to join in the work of making more disciples and growing the kingdom of God, and being discipled ourselves, we are not following His commission. Now I do not know each of your lives personally and I cannot begin to judge anyone but myself.  But being honest and looking at my life, I cannot honestly say that even though I grew up in a Christian home and have professed Christianity for over 23 years now, that I have truly lived up to the commission that Christ has invited me to.  All I know is that by looking at the world today, looking at the state of our own country today, that we as a body of believers, we as a Church, have failed at living out the great commission daily in our lives. 

Maybe this does not apply to you personally, maybe it does, but the truth is it most certainly applies to the church at large.  We have failed in the great commission.  It is because of this, because we as individuals and as a larger collective have failed at our objective, that we have to outsource our personal jobs to a paid professional.  And the sad thing on top of it, I hate to admit, is that many times the paid professionals are not much better at their work.  Yes, they may be more intentional, but they are still bogged down by their own sins, failures, and desires that they still often cause just as much hurt as joy sometimes. 

            I believe it is because the world is broken, because our church is broken, because we are broken, and failing at our objective, that we need paid professionals to take the intentional time to carry out this work.  It should not have to be this way, yet it is because we have failed.  We are now reliant on these professionals to do the work that was entrusted to us.  My prayer is that this is not always the case. Yes, we may still need some missionaries to travel to remote places where the gospel has not yet reached.  But anywhere a well established church is planted, and the word has taken hold of believers lives, and the Holy Spirit is moving mightily, the church should be able to do its work from that point forward.  Let's awake church, awake, rise up individuals, believers, Christians, and do the work that we were called to do.  Let's love radically, make disciples, do it in the every day, as a part of living and breathing, so that one day we might not need the paid professionals of ministry today.  Let us engage in our call of community work, that flows naturally as an outpouring of being in communion with our Heavenly Father. 

Finding Sabbath Rest

            Recently I was listening to a podcast sermon from Tim Keller, Work and Rest.  In it Tim points out that so often we, and even the Pharisees of the Bible, think of Sabbath as a physical rest. In doing so we neglect noticing the deep rest the inner rest Sabbath may actually be searching for. Keller looks at some instances of Sabbath, and I am going to focus on the first one in Genesis 1-3. 

            In Genesis 1:31-2:2, we see God finishing creation and calling it all very good.  Then upon completion on the seventh day He rests. He sets that day apart and calls it holy.  Why does God rest?  Surely it is not because He was tired.  If God was a God who could tire, then surely He is not God.  So if He was not tired then why rest?  It seems this rest points not towards a rest of recuperation, or of recharging ones batteries physically, but rather a rest of accomplishment.  God had finished, He had accomplished, He had finished, and it was very good, so He rested.  He was completely satisfied by what had been done, now He could rest in that fact.

            So often we are striving for something, to prove something either to ourselves, to others, or even maybe to God.   But in reading Scripture it does not seem to me that this is what God requires or desires.  When man was created, we were made in God’s image, filled with His breath, the spirit of God, and pronounced “very good”.  Then God was finished, completely satisfied with His work.  Man lived in perfect communion with God, our “church” was walking in perfect harmony with God in the garden, perfect communication, not afraid and not ashamed.  It is not until Genesis 3 where we see the serpent entering the scene breaking that trust, that communion with God, and man begins striving for more.

            Because of pride, because of wanting one’s own way instead of God’s man tries to become his own God and begins the process of striving and proving himself that will continue until he is one day completely redeemed.  Man rejects God’s authority, God’s supremeness, and who God says man is, and begins to try to prove to himself and others that he is something of worth.  It is my theory that in knowing “good and evil” man develops a constant desire to measure and weigh himself, to count his imperfections, to try to counteract his guilt, to try to become more, to do more, to no avail.  Because of that fruit we now know how much more we can be, how short we fall of God, and we desire, we strive to bridge that gap, to become gods ourselves.

            Before tasting the fruit we were content, listening only to who God said we were, what God said we were, and who God was in us.  We were very good, and God was God, supreme and sovereign, there was no need for us to be anything more, to do anything more than rest in Him, in that fact.  We saw ourselves as God intended fulfilled in Him, in His image, radiating His glory.  In eating the fruit becoming “knowledgeable” we stopped resting in that fact and started striving for ourselves.  Psalm 46 says (paraphrased), “God is our refuge and strength, a help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change/fall apart -Selah.”  If God is truly our strength, our refuge, we should not be afraid, regardless of the state of the world and what is going on around us, we will not fear.

            I love the word Selah, and although there is some debate on its exact meaning I love the idea that it means pause and reflect.  Stop and listen, think!  Meditate on that fact, that God is truly God, and if that is true, then we are not gods.  That means He is in control of it all, there is nothing dependant on us, we are not responsible for making the world run, it is in His hands.  If we believe that fact, why do we fear, why are we striving to do it of our own accord?  It can only mean we do not truly believe, we do not truly trust that God is God.  We do not truly believe He is in control, in some small or large way we are guilty of the same pride of Adam in the garden, the desire to be in control, to have the knowledge, to do it on our own.  This is not rest, this is not Sabbath.

            Bringing us to the next section of Psalms 46 and what it means to rest in the Lord. Psalm 46:4 (again paraphrased) “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her. The Lord of hosts is with us; He is our stronghold. Come, behold the works of the Lord, Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord of hosts is with us; He is our stronghold. Selah.”  It seems this is most likely referring to Jerusalem but I believe now also applies to us.  How I wish for our lives we could all be rivers of peace, rivers of rest.  Not striving for anything but to give God control of our lives. If God is in us, if we are at peace, we will not be moved, and in this peace it seems God delights.  We rest because we have God at the wheel; from the prior verses we have yielded control to God because He has it all in his hands. 

            We no longer have to struggle to be someone, to do something.  We are to acknowledge who God is, and His power, and look at all the things He has done and know it is enough, that it is very good!  In looking at that we ourselves begin to trust in who He is and what He has done and we cease striving to become our own gods in ourselves.  We rest in the fact that this life is all about what God has done not what we have, can, or will do!  We are nothing but dust, and from Genesis 3 we see that is exactly what we will return to.  It is only what God does that matters, His life, His breath in us is what gives us value.  We exist only to be in communion with Him, to be His image bearers, to work, yes, but not to let that work or striving overwhelm or define us.  We are defined by nothing but God, and to be as the river in Psalm 46, at peace with God in our midst.

            How then can we find this now that we are plagued by sin?  Praise be to God, He came Himself and died for us, covering our sin, our shame, our striving with His own blood.  Our debt has been paid, not of anything we have or could have done.  But according to his mercy we are made clean.  Again we have no reason to strive for ourselves, it is finished.  We are at peace.  So while the world and our sinful nature tell us constantly to strive, to be more, to be better, to work harder, we must find our Sabbath (our deep inner rest), in trusting who God is and what He has done.  Letting our fears and failures go, because ultimately this world is not dependant on us.  This does not mean that we should be lazy and not work at all.  In fact, at the beginning of Genesis we see that man was put in the garden to work, to take care of creation.  So yes, we should work, yes we should act, yes we should love, but only as God leads, resting in His lead, trusting that it is in His hands.  God is in control of it all, not us.  We must only walk in communion with Him.  We must cease our striving and find Sabbath rest, Selah, the Lord is with us. 

Scholarships

Greetings Family and Friends,

Some of this post is similar to the farming project post, in case some one only reads one of them, so please bear with me.  Here is a more detailed look at the upcoming scholarship project as an extension of the farm project.

A large and rampant problem, or rather need, we have seen here in Kenya over the last year has to do with the high cost of children's school fees in comparison to families' monthly income.  Most schools here in Kenya cost about an average of 500-600 USD per year.  This may not sound like much, but when the average monthly income of many families ranges between $30-150 per month it begins to be difficult.  Coming up with funding is especially challenging for many of the families coming from a polygamous culture with multiple wives and about 10-20 children per family.  It is also challenging for widowed women and orphans.  When a child is short on school fees many, if not all the time, they are sent home to look for the lacking fees until they can come up with something to bring back to the school.  This causes students who are already struggling to become even further behind academically, and their moral and motivation is lowered.  It is hard to be motivated to succeed in school when you do not know whether you will ever be allowed to attend or have the chance to finish due to school fees.

Our goal is to provide income for families in need with part of that income being specifically earmarked for school fees for these families children with a farm project.  We also hope to provide some scholarships to help subsidize school fees for about 5-10 children a year, depending on profits from our bean farm (see earlier post).

Most schools we work with are around the 600 USD range per year.  Our hope was to provide scholarships for about 4-5 girls to start with to pay about two-thirds of these fees.  In this way it would bring the cost down to a manageable amount for families with many children, widows, and orphans.  At the same time it would still give them something to work toward for their children's and their own education.   Students pay by term here so they would be left with a flat amount of $70 every four months to pay.  We will also be assisting with jobs for families on the bean farm, or some "work study" positions for orphans during the breaks and waiting periods.  This not only will assist with those fees but also help keep students busy when they would be otherwise idle.  This would provide an opportunity for them to give back to their local community too.

We have started the interview process by getting students to fill out a questionnaire, acquire a recommendation letter from teachers/principle, writing a letter about themselves, and sitting for an interview.  The top candidates will be visited at their homes by a committee of ourselves and some local Kenyans to discuss the most effective and sustainable way to be connected and helping with their families.  This will come in the form of either scholarship only, a small home business, or perhaps working on the bean farm.  We anticipate needing initial funds to pay for this first term as the bean project gets started this week and has yet to have time to generate profit yet.  But our hope is that after this initial term, the bean farm will sustain the scholarships initially granted as well as open opportunities for more scholarships in the days ahead.  If you would like to be part of this shoot me an email and I can go into further detail.

We welcome any ideas and support any of you may have in regards to the project as we are both new to this, and without any business degrees or training, we are in new territory.  However, we have seen a very real need that we believe we may be able to help with and God has given us a vision of how we can help support the local community.  We pray that this will be a venue to make His glory known even from the sowing of some simple seeds.  Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, comments or ideas!  Also be in prayer for us as we start to break ground this week! To God be the glory!

Chasevarndt@gmail.com

Farming Project

Greetings Family and Friends,  Here is a more detailed look at the upcoming community farm project.

A large and rampant problem, or rather need, we have seen here in Kenya over the last year has to do with the high cost of children's school fees in comparison to families' monthly income.  Most schools here in Kenya cost about an average of 500-600 USD per year.  This may not sound like much, but when the average monthly income of many families ranges between $30-150 per month it begins to be difficult.  Coming up with funding is especially challenging for many of the families coming from a polygamous culture with multiple wives and about 10-20 children per family.  It is also challenging for widowed women and orphans.  When a child is short on school fees many times, if not all the time, they are sent home to look for the lacking fees, until they can come up with something to bring back to the school.  This causes students who are already struggling to become even further behind academically, and their morale is lowered.  It is hard to be motivated to succeed in school when you do not know whether you will ever be allowed to attend or have the chance to finish due to school fees.

Our goal is to provide income for families in need, with part of that income being specifically earmarked for school fees for these families children.

Our vision is to start a small farm.  From running all the numbers and figures on paper, it seems to be viable and sustainable project.  At this point, it looks like the best vegetable for us to farm is French beans.  We have started by renting two acres of land for the next year.  This first year will start as a test run to see how sustainable the farm can be, and whether it can generate enough funds to be considered viable and support 5-10 families and students.  If it is a success, we would like to consider buying 2-5 acres and making a community organization to run and upkeep the farm, thus continuing to support the community long after our time here is over.

We hope to hire families who are out of work or only work part time.  This farm would be an opportunity for those women to have at least a part time job paying a fair wage.  Our hope is to pay a fair and slightly higher wage than they may get else where but to only payout half of the earnings per week to the working individual, while the other half goes directly to their children's school fees.  In this way we can help guarantee that these children are not sent home from school due to lacking school fees.

Any profits that are generated beyond the costs incurred: ie. rental fees, seeds, water, labor, ect... will be put back into the community in some way.  This will either take the shape of partial scholarships for students (which we talk about in another blog post), other community projects (such as home farms, milking goats/cows, chickens, ect.), or small business loans.  Our hope is that after initial start up cost, the project will maintain itself and generate income for similar projects in the future without any reoccurring support from outside.

We welcome any ideas and support any of you may have in regards to the project as we are both new to this, and without any business degrees or training, we are in new territory.  However, we have seen a very real need that we believe we may be able to help with and God has given us a vision of how we can help support the local community.  We pray that this will be a venue to make His glory known even from the sowing of some simple seeds.  Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, comments or ideas!  Also be in prayer for us as we start to break ground this week! To God be the glory!

Chasevarndt@gmail.com

Wise ole Mango Tree

As I lie in my tent looking out on the setting sun and a very large mango tree, I reflect on what God has been doing in my life over the past year. I think, as Christians, and maybe even as humans, we all want to be wise old oaks (or in my Kenyan case, Mango trees). We wish to be large, substantial, noticeable, firm, steadfast, admirable, producing fruit, and giving shade. I think we view our success as Christians and humans as how well we are doing and how grandiose we have become. We see our purpose to be efficient and effective and can only be successful if we accomplish these things on a large scale.

However, I feel this is contrary to the purpose and plan of God. While we yearn to be large and to leave our mark, God only wants us to find the small part of ourselves that reflects His glory. The piece He has instilled in us from the beginning. Our mission is to reflect his grandeur not become anything in and of ourselves. I believe anything that speaks contrary to this is pride. We want to make a name for ourselves, we want to be successful, and we want to give largely and without expectation because that reflects well upon us. I think this is only natural and part of the human self and psyche, we want to like ourselves, and so we do things to enhance our image. Yet, in doing so, I believe we are obscuring the Son. If I am that large mango tree and God is the sun, the larger I become, the more of Him I block others from seeing.

I believe we all want to be old, large, wise oaks (or mango trees) when all God really wants from us is to be toothpicks. God has a special plan for each of us, and a unique design for our lives, but it requires very little, if almost nothing of who we are. All He desires is for us to reflect His glory. So as we continue to try to grow into those large oaks, He is constantly chopping (sometimes it feels like hacking) down our limbs. We are trying to grow to be something of stature yet we keep getting knocked down. Often I think we wonder, why would God do such a thing, why am I not progressing, why would God allow this to happen to me? We have a different vision than His; we desire to prosper in ourselves when all He wants is our surrender and for us to submit to His pruning. So He chops, we resist. We grow new branches (some which might be very nice and even produce fruit) but He cuts them down, so we try once more, but again it happens, sometimes over and over again until we are broken. Beautifully broken.

I feel it is in this brokenness where we truly find God, where we accept grace, where we submit to “not my will but Thine” where we can let go of our pride and our identity and grasp solely to Him. We allow the pruning, the chopping, the sanding, the shaping until we are whittled down to nothing more than a toothpick. A tiny, insignificant toothpick that is easily overlooked, small, and sometimes brittle. Yet, its function is completely tied to the Creator, to reflect the purpose of His grand design. It leaves no doubt who is at work, for its identity is tied up in Christ. So my prayer tonight for myself and for each of you is to “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.” Psalms 46

For Such a Time as This

“The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places, But there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater.” 

- J.R.R. Tolkien

It’s early morning. The sun is not quite up, but yet I feel called to write. Many times, I believe, we write to clarify our own thoughts, to process things that are going on in our own lives, or that God is teaching us. This note is no different, although writings take many guises; they all help us come to grips with ourselves, regardless of who they are written to. I write this letter to the church at large, to acknowledge where we, as a body of believers are, and to help myself process where we should be heading.

Dear Church,
I have nothing but love towards you, for you are a deep part of me. My heart has been torn for us, and the struggles we are having. I pray for us daily. I know we are hurting. I know we are broken and torn in two. I know there is turmoil and that battles wage within. Differing opinions and strong words have left us battered and confused. From loving sinners, accepting outcasts, supporting the downtrodden, and determining the authority of Scripture and the character of God, we are and have been left divided and broken. Issues of faith and our worldview are often the dearest to us, the hardest to let go, and the easiest to get hurt over.

In this time of mourning and of brokenness, I urge you not to give up and not to circle the wagons. I know you are struggling to follow the steps of the Savior amidst differing opinions and strong points on either side of the line. In disagreement and hurt, the easiest thing is to round up our defenses and focus inwardly and lick at our own wounds. It is exactly what the enemy wants and exactly what we must avoid. When we stop at no cost to not to lose what we have gained, we cease being the very thing we were created to be. In focusing inward, we lose our outlook on the world at large. We lose our effectiveness for we are no longer going to the world we were so called to serve. We are too busy maintaining what we have for fear of any further loss.

Following Him is not easy. We will most certainly see loss. It is dangerous and we will most certainly be uncomfortable, oppressed, among sordid of people, and possibly even in fear for our lives. Yet, it will all be worth it. I urge you church do not become so inwardly focused on the trials at hand that you lose the vision that Christ has given you as the church. We must be focused outwardly if we are to remain the church at all. We must be active in our communities, and in the global church, if we are going to say we are following the vision He has laid before us.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is in Esther 4, verse 14. “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” “For such a time as this” is one of my favorite phrases in scripture. Everything that has led up to this point in Esther’s life, in my life, in your life, in the life of the Church, could be for such a time as this. What then if we circle the wagons, if we call it quits, if we focus so much on our inward dilemmas that we neglect our people, our tribe, or the ones we came to serve?

Will this stop God from accomplishing His purpose? Of course not! May it never be! God will accomplish His will with or without us, despite and sometimes if we are stubborn in spite of us. As it says in Esther, if you remain silent, deliverance will arise from another place. The question is: will you revel in joy in being part of God’s plan, or just watch it happen from the sidelines? We must be active. We must be willing to lose it all. We must give freely, because who knows if this is not why we have been put in this position, been given everything we have been given, if this is our moment. If we stop reaching out, what have we become as a church? We will then be nothing but a club, an inward focused organization that is of no good to anyone. One might say, “Yes, but we are rallying the troops for later”. What later? Do you not know the time is drawing near? Behold He comes quickly! Who knows if everything you are is for such a time as this?

“Sigh. Let's be blunt. We're a little distracted. What do you want? Once we could follow, now we cannot. You would not fit our image, so we lost the plot. Once we could hear you, now our senses are shot. We've forgotten our first love. We have lost the plot. When you'd come back again. We'll be waiting for you. When you comin' back again? We'll be ready for you. Maybe we'll wake up when... You come back again. Lies. Let's be blunt. We're a little unfaithful. What do you want? Are you still listening? 'Cause we're obviously not We've forgotten our first love. We have lost the plot. And why are you still calling? You forgave, we forgot. We're such experts at stalling, that we've lost the plot.”

-Newsboys, Going Public, Lost the Plot

If we remain silent, if we cannot perform our mission as a body of believers, if we cannot sort our differences, and learn to work together, God will bring it up from somewhere else. It is only whether we want to be a part of His good work, or not. I encourage you, be a part of the work He has called us to do.  We need to come along side others in our community and in the world at large and give the shirt off our backs, to walk the extra mile, regardless of the cost.  There are many ways and many places. But as a church we need to be involved somewhere, in His great plan. For we are His body, His hands, His feet, for such a time as this.

Palms open, held upward

“Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment “as to the Lord”. It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received. –C.S. Lewis

Kenya and the African way of life have taught me many things, much of which I have not began to process or fully understand myself. However, Kenya has taught me to give generously, and to hold nothing with a closed fist, to hold this life and all that is in it with open hands, palms held upward. One’s palms being up shows a submission, openness and honesty. They also indicate humility and uncertainty. I believe that is exactly what God desires from us, not the closed fists with which we hold things so often. Over our time here we have had money, possessions, and plans all taken from us. We have been stripped down to nothing but each other and God, and it was enough. Teaching me that nothing in this life is truly ours: not land, not a building, not money, not a plan, nothing is ours. It has all been given from the Father of lights, so why should we flinch when it is taken away? We (and I include myself) as westerners, as a culture, have entitlement engrained into us. We are self-made, hardworking, and do not quit. It is because of such that we believe we are owed something for our efforts. Not a bad way to be. Our tenacity is admirable, however, we must get over the fact we are owed something.

I think we justify most of this through comparisons. We work hard, harder than them, therefore we deserve this and they do not. Yet, when we flip that comparison against God, we are the ones left completely undeserving. Yet, that is not a comparison that many of us are willing or able to fully make. We are not willing to admit that in comparison to our Lord, our efforts are nothing and we are deserving of nothing.

In Kenya, there is not much that is actually yours. Living in a communal society anything you have is open to be taken from someone you have a relationship with that needs it more. If you hold to anything too tightly you are viewed as selfish and unloving. This is not so in the west, and at first, and to be honest even still, this frustrated me. Not only could I not hold on to my stuff, I saw Kenyans as having no concept of saving, or future planning. Yet, lately I have begun to wonder what are future plans truly? Who can truly plan ahead, especially when the present is hurting so? It is easy to trick yourself into a comfortable future when your needs are met in the present. One has to ignore those who are suffering because to acknowledge them causes your walls to crash to the floor, makes all of your planning for naught. We as westerners can save for the future because we are individualistic. One might say we are selfish, only looking out for ourselves. That is all we are truly responsible for in this life, right? Communal societies in many countries in Africa, in Kenya, and among the Maasai would disagree. They might say we are in this together, they, as the church should, see the suffering around them and take it upon themselves to meet it. They do not hold large grants or savings, they rarely have more than to get them through the week ahead, yet they give it more willingly out of their little than we give from our surplus.

There are many differing thoughts on this. Some might say not to give because it causes dependence. Some say only give to emergencies, to sustainable causes. True, some giving creates problems, but I feel ultimately that problem is one of the recipients making, not a large responsibility of the giver. I think so often we use the possibility of people misusing money as an excuse not to give; rather than giving freely to needs and letting the Holy Spirit be at work through the gift and convicting the recipients where there is misuse. This is not to say not to be wise stewards of the money you have been entrusted with or not to be involved personally with those you give it to, for indeed it has been entrusted to us. However, at the same time we must remember it has only been entrusted to us, it is not our own, we are merely the stewards. So why do we grasp it so tightly? We would rather bury it in a hole where we may never touch it again, than sooner let a cent pass through our fingers.

This is quite the opposite in Kenya. Kenyans never have money, and never are able to save, in part because soon as anything comes in, it is spent or given away. At first I saw this as irresponsible. However, one day I went out to the bush with a friend. This man has a job, makes a reasonable salary for Kenya, and I watched him visit his mom, his dad, his uncle, aunts, and community members, and he gave his months salary away to them for groceries and transport. It was at this moment, along with an accumulation of many others that something began to change. Again, I speak as someone grasping at truth he can see, but does not yet comprehend. I am not claiming to have all the answers. Yet, I do know that as a church we are called to give all that we hold: be that time, money, efforts, plans, world-views, biases, possessions, what have you, and follow Him.

Following him is never easy, and will most certainly leave us with many questions and concerns for the future. Yet, we must stay focused on the present, doing the work He has called us to do, holding on loosely to all that we have and entrusting the rest to Him.

Re-crafting the Vision: Chronological Bible Storytelling

Entasopa Pookin! Greetings from Kenya! We wanted tell all of our loved ones, supporters, and church friends back home about what God has done in the last year. We also wanted to share how God is using us in Kenya now through your support to further His good news!

Before we moved to Kenya, we met with many of you and presented the vision of developing a pastoral training center for pastors who would not have the opportunity or means to attend a Bible training school. At the same time, we tried remain open to how God would move in the years ahead. Knowing our Lord, and knowing Kenya (things often move very slowly), and knowing our plans were shortsighted and human, we began our year of language learning with open hearts.  Our prayers continued (and still continue!) for the development of the training center and for the needs in our community among the Maasai and other local Kenyans. During this time we attended trainings and visited other missionaries in remote areas of the country to see what has worked and what had not for them over the years. We also began meeting with community members to see what was desired and what they needed while discerning what exactly God was calling us to. We are excited to share that although some of our plans and means have shifted through this searching in the last year, we are still pursuing that original vision. God has blessed us in pursuit of some new areas as well.

One of the missions we saw working well, that fit with our vision, and excited us most was sharing the Gospel through stories known as Chronological Bible Storytelling. We have been piloting this method out with many groups: pastors and pastoral trainings teaching them how to do CBS with their congregations and leading CBS in various schools ourselves and training leaders. Along with that, we are hoping to start a few community groups with people we interact with on a regular basis in our area.

What is CBS you ask? In the mid-1970’s an Australian New Tribes missionary in the Philippines attempted to correct a situation where a people had been semi-evangelized but had no real concept of sin and Christ as Savior. He found that he had to go back to Genesis and teach chronologically through the Old Testament to the story of Christ before his listeners really understood their lostness and were open to a Savior and the great story of redemption. Storying was used early on as a culturally appropriate and field reproducible method of reaching and training nonliterates. It was soon found that where those who were nominally resistant and even hostile to traditional presentations of the Gospel were attracted to storying sessions and began to respond.

-CBS is chronological. It teaches the stories of the Bible in chronological order, beginning with creation and continuing to the stories of Jesus. By doing this we lay a firm foundation of who God is, who man is, and how God wants to relate with humanity.

-It is the Bible. It is not simply using stories from our lives to illustrate the message of our sermons. It is not even simply using Bible stories for illustration only, which are both common issues in the local church. It involves telling the Bible stories accurately and teaching the main principles of redemption found in these stories.

-It is storytelling. Stories help isolated truths make sense because they give context, are more interesting to listen to, and are far easier for people to repeat to their friends and family than are three point sermons! Therefore they can more easily share the message with others.

We tell the story as a story while only telling what is in Scripture. For many people that we teach, this will be their main form of knowing Scripture. After telling the story multiple times, we ask observation and interpretation questions to test listener’s comprehension (such as what does this story teach us about God and His character?) We then move on to deeper application questions to have our listeners relate the story to their lives and their own personal stories and lead them in a memory verse related to the story we have learned. We finish by praying, fellowshipping, and worshipping together.

In the short time in sharing this method, we have received great response. Our students have been excited to be interacting with a story instead of merely being read to or listening to a sermon. The pastors seem to desire deeper training on preparing their sermons from Scripture and exegete Scripture, which is something that training them to craft their own stories from Scripture will help with immensely. Recently, we have started sharing with a group of Maasai ladies at the market in Maasai. Although I admit, they are having to help me along a little bit!

We want to thank you for your support as we continue working with pastors in how to teach Scripture and craft stories based off of Scripture to their congregations in the days ahead. We ask for your continued prayers as we work to tell the stories ourselves in the schools and start to find new groups of the unreached in our community wherever we go. It is easy to take and share a story on the road. We are so thankful for each of you and your continued support in this venture. We would like to leave you with part of a story, some sample questions, a clip of us sharing the story, and some of our girls acting out the Christmas story for you (although we apologize for the quiet audio). May God richly bless each and every one of your families as we participate in this work together!

Year One: The Recap

For many months, I’ve had thoughts running in my head about ways to sum up this first year. Although I’m sure Chase’s experience is different, I can certainly say that I have never been more challenged or more sure of God’s abundant grace. I’ll first start with a little (or…long) year recap for this blog entry:

From our first steps on this soil, God’s grace was present. I remember being surprised and saddened by how culture shocked I was. After all, I thought, this was my third time being here. I remember feeling unsure and maybe just a bit afraid of all the unknowns ahead. As Wendell Berry writes, “You are undertaking the first experience, not of the place, but of yourself in that place.” I was uncovering myself in this place and it was strange.

As soon as we hit the ground in Nairobi we checked in with our friends Mwita and Monica who had been living the past six months in East Africa. To my surprise and to my heart’s thankfulness, they happened to be IN Nairobi on the day we arrived! I remember thanking God over and over for the blessing of catching up with them and hearing their stories from past months. One entire day overlapped for me to spend time with Monica and I remember us talking together thinking how many similar struggles we were dealing with at the time. We kept on saying “me too!” and I think God knew that familiar feelings would provide my spirit with the comfort to move ahead. The next few days were when we met George Mixon who helped us get to know some Maasai people not far from Narok near where he and his family had served in years past. I distinctly remember asking him if his kids went to Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe (not knowing about local missionary kid schools or Rosslyn Academy in Nairobi) and him saying, “No, no. They are rivals.” Those funny thoughts and questions seem so long ago! The Mixon family has been a tremendous source of Christ’s strength, hospitality, and love to our family over these many months.

The first two weeks of our being in Kenya, we stayed with two of our friends in the Ngong Hills area. Jeremy and Becky welcomed us into their home to stay for two weeks while we sorted plans for where we would venture to next. I was so excited to meet their new (at the time 3 month old) baby Natasha "Tash". She was so small in this photo!

Time with Jeremy, Becky, and Tash

The month in Olepishet was an experience to be sure and a good one at that. It’s certainly one we won’t soon forget. We spent time in language learning for a month with two bunk beds squished together and enjoyed our trek every few days in Fred Foy’s Landcruiser out to a place with Safaricom internet connection to call our parents and MAYBE only maybe check our emails, post a blog, and checking facebook messages. It was like hitting a homerun every time we saw another one load.  It was also at this spot, where we would have loads of visitors come and stare at us through our car windows, and I don’t mean just casually glance at us through the glass, we are talking faces pushed up against the glass, tapping on the windows trying to talk to us or see what we are doing as we are trying to communicate with our parents on the phone. For the entire forty-five minutes we were there. I can’t blame them. I would too.

We experienced the kindness of that community and it excited us as we looked forward to our work in Kimana. I remember eagerly waiting for the news of the Strang’s arrival. I can remember where I was sitting in that same Safaricom (our internet/phone provider here in Kenya) spot when we called Fred Foy and found out the success of their fundraising. We were overjoyed!

Language and Maasai culture learning in Olepishet

This same rock is where we were invited (by phone) by American missionaries we’d never met to attend Thanksgiving in Bomet at Tenwek Hospital. Those few days blessed us deeply as we got to witness firsthand the impact the Espy family had made on their community in two years serving there. I mostly remember boxes, pizza, tears, and deep conversations. AND, GENEROSITY at its finest! They unloaded tons of spices and useful things for our home to take with us! It was like Christmas morning. During this period, we also found out about (and were in awe of) God's provision as we needed extra funds for a sturdy car. December was another month of displacement where God completely met our needs and exceedingly blessed us. Another dear missionary friend extended her apartment to us for three weeks and we loved getting to know more about her life and ministry, as she also worked with the Maasai. She even had a small Christmas tree set up which did something for this sentimental heart. Rhonda’s encouragement and love to us has been so good for our hearts. And, did I mention she has the best couches ever?!

Mudding a house with folks from Tenwek in Bomet, Kenya

The Strangs arrived a couple of days after Christmas and it was so amazing to see them after months of anticipation and prayer about where this journey would take all of us. We rented an apartment for the month of January and began using it as a base to look for more permanent housing in our area of ministry near Kimana (about 4.5 hrs from Nairobi). We looked at many places, but the prices were much too high. Like eyes popping out of our heads too high. We just had to trust that we would find a place somewhere. Then two of our friends brought us to a house in Loitokitok (the town south of Kimana). Upon opening up the gate, I think Cecily and I both were overcome by the "homeyness" factor.  It was a sweet little place that, with some adjustments, could work for us. And it has! It has been a sweet, sweet place of growth and surrender as the four of us studied language and discerned about where the days would land us all. Nine months in, when we finally were able to put our bags away, I think my spirit breathed a sigh of relief.

Fixin' up the place!

Not too long after our move was Chase’s birthday and unfortunately, gift giving is not usually my forte. However, I think I scored big this year. Chase has wanted a pup ever since we got married. While I am a big dog lover, the thought of having to leave one back in the US was just plain too much. As we neared time in Kenya, Chase kept dropping the hint that he wanted a pup soon. And Mozzie joined our family on May 9^th of this year at nearly three months old! He’s brought some extra laughter and snuggles and has taught us much. He’s a great little guy.

Then: our first meeting on April 17th (Chase's birthday)!

Now: Still loves giving kisses at seven months!

As we look back into a season of transition and unknowns, I see that God was preparing us for something (but that's for another blog). ;) His faithfulness in providing friendships with American missionaries and Kenyans alike has overflowed our hearts with joy.  The love and communication and support between our supporters have uplifted our spirits. It is a great blessing to be on this journey with you.

Be on the lookout for "Year One: The Reflection"

Goat Roast

A couple of weeks ago we were able to host a couple of our friends from our small group in Virginia for a few weeks. Just before they left, we were able to have a traditional goat roast. The first step was a trip down to the local Maasai animal market on Tuesday to pick out our dinner. This was a fun experience, learning what to look for to pick out a healthy goat and then bargaining with the Maasai for the best price. There we were able to practice many of our language skills and got to see a few friends in the process.

After collecting our goat and stuffing it into the back of our car, and praying it did not use the bathroom or attack anyone on the drive back home, we brought it back to the guesthouse until we could prepare dinner. The next day we arrived around 2pm dressed in our Maasai garbs to start our meal. I tried to introduce our dog Mozzie to the goat, but neither seemed to care much about the other.

To see a video of the traditional goat slaughtering and roast click here!

We had a couple of good Maasai friends come over and they taught us the traditional way to slaughter the goat and clean it. Ben was given the pleasure of eating part of the kidneys raw along with the other Maasai men. We then roasted the ribs over a fire, and fried the rest of the meat with some vegetables. Once dinner was ready, we had a few different couples come and join us as we had a Kenyan style goat roast, pot luck dinner. It seemed to be a hit, and has recently been suggested that we have another one soon!

Loitokitok

Loitokitok sits at just over a mile high right on the slopes of Kilamanjaro and the border of Kenya and Tanzania.  There are probably 30-50 cinder block shops, a vegetable and clothes market on Tuesdays and Saturdays, a hospital and three or four schools.  I would guess the population to be about 3,000 or so people, widely spread out among the town area. 

To see a drive around our town on market day click here!

Loitokitok is one of the 2 bigger towns in about a 2 hour radius and has a newly paved (about 5yr old) road from the main highway to the town.  Most of the roads off of this road are  just dirt.  It is pretty easy getting around town, just a 20 minute drive down to Kimana where there are a few restaurants and another market place, as well as where many of our Maasai friends live. 

A lot of times we will walk from our home to the town center which is only about a mile or so away and do most of our grocery shopping for the week.  We enjoy taking walks with Mozzie around the neighborhood and try to visit with neighbors as we do so a couple of times a week.  It has been fun to hear the children call to us as they are learning our names, lately I have heard a lot of Cheese! and Chess! Although they have Mozzies name down pat.  Right now we have been in a cloudy and cold season, but hopefully things will start to warm up soon.  To see a bit of our town and a market set up watch the video included here.

Making our Beds

           Over our months here in Oloitokitok Audrey and I have had the great pleasure of visiting many local Maasai villages of friends and acquaintances.  While doing so, we have been able to ask cultural questions, practice our language, and even observe some exciting and interesting cultural practices and rituals.  We have seen everything from cows giving birth, local warrior villages, and recently got to observe the creation of a traditional Maasai bed.

            I always knew that the Maasai were creative and thrifty in using every single part of an animal they had slaughtered as they distrubute different cuts of meat and organs for different members of the family and community.  They boil the head and other left over bones with meat for soup.  They use the tails for fly swatters and such.  I knew that they use the skins for things, but I had never really observed what for.  In our recent talks we learned that often the Maasai use the smaller skins (enchoni, such as goat) for shoes, and the larger ones (olchoni, from the cow) for making their mats for beds. 

            My mother always used to tell me to me to make my bed, little did I know the cultural context this would take as we entered the village to observe and help out.  Now, I am being awfully plural in this because Fred Foy and my role in this was very minimal, but of course very important. We sat as the rest of the men did on the outside of the circle and “supervised”.  Audrey & Cecily had the opportunity to roll out the skin, cut small holes around the perimeter of the skin, then make wooden stakes and drive them through the outer holes to stretch the skin out flat along the stony dirt ground, so that it could dry for a couple of days in the sun. 

To watch a video of Audrey and her hard work on the bed click here!

            They then, along side and with the help of their Maasai tutors worked on scraping of the ruminants of meat, muscle and tissue off of the skin so that it could properly dry and cure.  After the skin sat in the hot sun a couple of days it would then be ready to use as a new bed mat.