Dylan and Kaleb

Today was an amazing day! A group of friends are still here from my church. We did an outreach at a school near by. Last year the school only had 30 students. Most of them were orphans and street kids. The school found funding and has expanded a lot! There are now 80 children there! We got to spend time with them all day today doing a Super Saturday event!

After the event we walked the village to meet children from our school in Vipingo. It was interesting to see the houses the children live in. They are small and made of mud. When we got to the children’s homes, they were so happy to see us there and showed us around the village.

We also went to an orphanage today. I was able to give gifts from my nephews to the kids. My nephew, Kaleb, felt bad that the children don’t have good shoes so he ran upstairs (before I left), grabbed a pair of shoes and asked me to take them here. Today, my friend Paul found a child at the orphanage that the shoes fit perfectly. He was really happy to wear them!!! My other nephew, Dylan, wanted to give away some of his books. I took them to the orphanage, too. I could not believe how much the kids LOVED the books. So many children kept reading them and looking at the pictures the entire time we were there!!

The two pictures above are from the orphanage. The books and shoes from my nephews!! Thanks to you both!

Mohommad needs our Prayers

This little boy is at great risk. Please take the time to read about his story from a missionary family I work with here in Kenya. He needs prayer for his life to be saved. Thank you.

"Dear Praying Friends,

If you heard me speak last year or read our prayer letters you know the story of Mohammed. He is the little boy whose Mom came to the gate of our school crying for us to save her child and even offered for us to adopt her little three year old son if we would help save his life. What you don't know is that Mohammed's whole family had AIDS. For the past five years, his family has battled the disease. We were happy that his father and mother both received Christ as their Savior. While we were in the states this year, Mohammed's father and other died of AIDS. All of his brothers and sisters have also died of AIDS. When she brought him to us, he could not eat and could barely move because he was so weak from malnutrition. His hair was falling out, his eyes were yellow, and his stomach was distended.

We have made sure that Mohammed was under medical care since he came to us at three and the doctors told us that with proper medicine he could live a good life and possibly even have a family of his own.

When his parents died, Mohammed moved into the home of his grandmother. She is a kind lady and loves her grandson very much but the problem is that she is illiterate and does not understand the importance of medicine. For the past month, our teachers have noticed that Mohammed was not acting like the sweet, healthy boy that they have come to love. Just this week, we had a medical team come to visit us from MANNA Worldwide. The nurse who was examining Mohammed noticed that he was not doing well at all. She immediately notified Lisa that this young man was dying of AIDS and would not have long to live. Upon questioning him further we found out that he had been told by his grandmother that he was healthy now and did not need to take the medication any longer. When we asked her she said that he looked and acted fine so she did not want to punish him every day by making him take the medicine.

We would ask that you pray for Mohammed. I have attached his school picture from last year so you can see his lovely face. We need his grandmother to understand the importance of the medicine and we need God to use the medicine to make him whole. We know that Mohammed is saved now and will be with God if the Lord chooses to take him home to glory, but our desire is that he might remain with us for a little longer and continue to bless us. He is already a reminder of God's grace and mercy. Pray that God will help us to know how to minister to him and comfort him during this time.

May God bless you all,
Bobby and Lisa Bechtel
Missionaries to Kenya, Africa"

Good times...

These past couple days have been amazing. So far I’ve been going out with the church group (Fox River) to the centers. It’s been great to see all the familiar faces and greet all the friends I made here last year. I feel quite at home. We have been doing activates with the children. There are games, art projects, story lessons and the list goes on. There’s also a medical team and dentists here.

The children have been in heaven with all this fun stuff! Even the simple things like bubbles are greatly enjoyed. When we took out the bubbles during recess, they all followed us around jumping, smiling and trying to pop the bubbles. The other day I played soccer with a group of girls. WOW, they are Good! Those girls can really play.

During the dental evaluations and cleanings, many of the children had to get teeth pulled. It’s a painful process. One of the teachers told me that many children use sticks to try and brush their teeth. They may soften the stick by chewing on it, and then they go ahead and clean their teeth. Right before I came to Kenya I had some necessary dental work done by a dear friend. I needed the work done so badly and felt great when it was done. Now I’m trying to imagine what it would be like to not have that luxury. Thankfully, because of the dentists that came, there will be about 400 children that can feel great now because of the work they had done on their teeth!!!

Bible Study

I want to share info on the Bible Study I did while in Kenya... it changed my life in a huge way.

Below is a list of the main points. Each point is studied in great detail.

1. God is always at work around you.
2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.
3. God invites you to become involved in His work.
4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes and His ways.
5. God's invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
6. You mus make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
7. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.

The workbook can be ordered here for about $15. It's a daily study for 12 weeks.
http://www.lifeway.com/

Below is a poem that is in the study:

Deep in my soul there’s a longing I feel
To look at my life in the light of your will
Knowing your heart; trusting your truth
Day after day I’m walking in your will
All my hopes; all my dreams
Help me forfeit everything
For whatever Your kingdom requires
Guide my steps
Let me see the best you have for me
Give me a heart for your desire
Teach me, oh God in the ways of your Word
Whisper through voices that I’ve seldom heard
Strengthen my faith
Weaken my will
Lead me to where your love is fulfilled
As I delight in you, oh Lord
Within me there’s a fire
And I’m finding the desire of my heart
Is a desire for your desire
I want a heart for your desire

Going back to Kenya Video

Surprised? To say the least!

It was during my travels in the states with Bobby and Lisa Bechtel that I started to pursue the thought of going back to Kenya. There were a couple things that I did not know how would work out. When I returned from the travels, I wondered how I would find temporary employment and how I would raise enough funds. Well, as usual, God had some things in store…

I posted a note on fb stating that I was looking for temporary employment. With the job market these days, it seemed unlikely to find a job on such short notice and for such a short time (not knowing exactly when I was leaving for Kenya). However, my friend Liz that went to Kenya with me in 2009 saw my posting. She is the EVP of the BBB. We talked and she hired me on until I go to Kenya! I’ve been thanking God ever since! In addition to that, I live with my brother who is very generous. He has not allowed me to pay him for living there, which has helped tremendously! Both of these things combine have helped me be able to prepare for Kenya with much less stress.

Before I started fundraising, I was challenged with a couple things. One of them was fear or doubt that it would not work out. Another was pride, because it’s difficult to ask for help. In the midst of these challenges, my heart to serve God in Kenya stayed strong and outweighed any other thoughts. God has given me the opportunity to experience interdependence at its best. The truth is, every person who has taken part of encouraging, praying, financially supporting and believing in this mission to serve God in Kenya is AS MUCH of a part of this as I am. It’s only possible because God’s provision through all these things combine and each person who has let God use them to bless this ministry in any way.

A couple months ago, I started raising funds for my trip to Kenya by doing presentations, sending out letters, networking, etc. Since then, I have been shocked, amazed, moved and inspired! We serve a Generous, AMAZING, Incomprehensible God! I’ve had the opportunity to see Him work in so many ways through people and circumstances in this process. The generosity of everyone is tremendous! The connections that have been made and the relationships that have been strengthened has made me so HAPPY! I’m very excited to share that I’m getting closer to being fully funded for this trip. To think, that this started only a short time ago… leaves me saying, WOW, I serve an awesome GOD!!!

Looking back and seeing how all these things have fallen into place increases my faith in a big way. He is a provider.

THANKS SO MUCH to everyone who has been a part of this... BLESSINGS to YOU!!!!!

I leave July 8th...

Going back to Kenya ~ Fundraising!!

† Dear friends,


I would like to share my journey into missions with you.

In 2008, I found myself immensely heartbroken as I saw firsthand the spiritual devastation and poverty stricken children living in Kenya. With less than 2 weeks in Kenya, God transformed my thinking and placed a solid passion inside me to serve these problems in any capacity I could.

I am planning to return to Kenya to serve the passion God has placed inside me with missionaries that are well established in Kenya through the BBFI. Currently there is a need to raise more financial support for three of five centers that were started through the missionary families and MANNA Worldwide. The centers provide food, water, Christian education and a church for hundreds of children. My goal while in Kenya is to organize and develop a sponsorship program which can bring consistent support for these centers. By creating an organized sponsorship program and a well thought-out correspondence plan, financial goals can be met, maintained and exceeded.

In addition to these tasks, I will be a communication tool for Fox River Christian Church, my sending church, to centers they have successfully started in Kenya. I will keep supporters informed of how much their support is helping and will be updating a website that holds information of the centers.

These are just a couple of the projects I will be working on.

I see the incalculable value that each center holds. During my last trip in Kenya, I interviewed parents and staff members. I’ve witnessed firsthand the life transformation each child has due to the existence of these centers. Most children become saved through this program and have experienced tremendous advances not only spiritually, but also academically and physically. The spiritual knowledge each child gains has immensely changed their character for the better. Their behavioral changes are so apparent that they offer a witness to the community and in turn bring many individuals from the surrounding village to Christ. Their dire physical needs are met through well balanced meals, water and a degree of medical care. Ultimately, they are given Hope; where without help, they have no hope for this life or the next!

I am confident that if this is part of God’s plan for the children in Kenya and for my life right now then He will provide the support needed in order for these projects to move forward. As I raise support for this cause, I would ask that you prayerfully consider partnering with me in this ministry. In order to pursue this work I need to raise support for a plane ticket, graphic design program (for communication projects ~ web / newsletters, etc.) and monthly support for health insurance, malaria medication, rent, food, transportation, ministry funds, etc. Missionaries are funded by churches and individuals. My hope is that this does not feel like an obligation; but an opportunity to join in ministry with me, only if you feel led to.

If you would like to know more details of my work in Kenya, let’s chat!

All donations are tax deductable. Checks can be made out to MANNA Worldwide. Or, all donations can be made online as an automatic withdrawal or a onetime gift at: http://mannaworldwide.com/ Please specify on the check or online gift that the donation is for Kristen Missiaen's mission trip.