we come to you from cairo egypt. we've spent three days in this history-rich (and super hot!) country. it's been a great time to see some amazing sites and to just kinda turn our minds off for a while. i wouldn't say our time in egypt was relaxing (not even close) but it sure was fun.
we can't type much on the blog cause we've got to get up at 1:15 a.m. to get to our flight, so we're about to go to bed. please pray for safe and on-time flights as we will be flying cairo-amsterdam-minneapolis-dallas. also, please pray that we'll be able to get some rest.
the mission was so amazing. we can't even begin to communicate it yet. we need time to process everything. it's hard to believe it's already over, but we know God will bring whatever harvest He chooses through the mission. it is our sincere privilige to serve this awesome God.
thank you guys so much for praying. we believe with all our hearts that God heard your prayers, and He used them to do amazing things in africa. we look forward to seeing our families tomorrow and our church family on sunday.
and what's up with the dadgum mavericks! i mean, come on! maybe you guys should be praying for them instead of us!
we love you guys, and we look forward to smiles and hugs on sunday.
-clark
ps. matt, big big congrats on the news!
Friday, May 4, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
bitter sweet day
It was great to connect with you guys today! I can’t tell how how much good it does for us to just know that we’re in contact with you guys. We have had some exciting moments and some very solemn moments today.
We started out in the radio station at 6:00 preaching to the entire nation of Rwanda. Then ron, Zachary and I went to three different churches and preached. Fourteen people got saved in the church where ron preached! This whole mission ron and I have been praying for the harvest even if we don’t see any of it, but He allowed us to see some fantastic results today! It’s so amazing to see Him work here in this beautiful and very torn country.
After lunch, we went to the main genocide memorial here in Kigali. Unbelievably sobering. You go through this exhibit, and it walks you through the entire genocide complete with VERY graphic photos. Then you go into this dimly lit circular room that is full of actual skulls and bones – and a soft recorded voice is reading name after name of the people who were killed. Then you go upstairs which is entirely dedicated to honoring the children who were killed. You would see a large picture of a two-year old playing and underneath it would read:
Name: Jean Okoye
Age: 2 years
Favorite Food: lentils
Best Friend: Mommie
Personality: fun-loving
Method Of Death: hacked by machete
Finally we walked outside where 250,000 people were buried. It was all large concrete mass-graves. One had a 10’ x 10’ lid, and one of the mourners asked to have it removed, and we just happened to be there. We moved the lid back and saw about 100 wooden caskets just thrown in piles in this grave about 50 feet deep. Such a horrific tragedy. Then we got ready to leave, but our driver was late. But while we were waiting in the parking lot, and influx of cars came all at once. The head of the senate of Rwanda was the first to get out, and since gilbert (our Rwandan contact) is in the government, we got to meet him. We asked what was going on, and they had just found a new body this week, and they were coming to honor it and to put it in that open grave. They found a body from thirteen years ago! i later found out that they usually find about one body per week. We left there with a very heavy heart.
Later, I addressed and sang to a mass of Rwandans in this open-air crusade, but we couldn’t stay because it was nearing 6:00 which is when we had to get back to the hotel to go live to cbc.
Tomorrow we distribute the water. Please pray for us as we have discovered many complications concerning the water distribution, but we believe God will make a way. This is a direct mission of cbc – we will be handing clean water to people on your behalf. Praise God for this amazing opportunity. We have many more things to do tomorrow, so please continue to pray for our strength which is rapidly winding down.
We love you guys, and can’t wait to see you next week!
-clark
We started out in the radio station at 6:00 preaching to the entire nation of Rwanda. Then ron, Zachary and I went to three different churches and preached. Fourteen people got saved in the church where ron preached! This whole mission ron and I have been praying for the harvest even if we don’t see any of it, but He allowed us to see some fantastic results today! It’s so amazing to see Him work here in this beautiful and very torn country.
After lunch, we went to the main genocide memorial here in Kigali. Unbelievably sobering. You go through this exhibit, and it walks you through the entire genocide complete with VERY graphic photos. Then you go into this dimly lit circular room that is full of actual skulls and bones – and a soft recorded voice is reading name after name of the people who were killed. Then you go upstairs which is entirely dedicated to honoring the children who were killed. You would see a large picture of a two-year old playing and underneath it would read:
Name: Jean Okoye
Age: 2 years
Favorite Food: lentils
Best Friend: Mommie
Personality: fun-loving
Method Of Death: hacked by machete
Finally we walked outside where 250,000 people were buried. It was all large concrete mass-graves. One had a 10’ x 10’ lid, and one of the mourners asked to have it removed, and we just happened to be there. We moved the lid back and saw about 100 wooden caskets just thrown in piles in this grave about 50 feet deep. Such a horrific tragedy. Then we got ready to leave, but our driver was late. But while we were waiting in the parking lot, and influx of cars came all at once. The head of the senate of Rwanda was the first to get out, and since gilbert (our Rwandan contact) is in the government, we got to meet him. We asked what was going on, and they had just found a new body this week, and they were coming to honor it and to put it in that open grave. They found a body from thirteen years ago! i later found out that they usually find about one body per week. We left there with a very heavy heart.
Later, I addressed and sang to a mass of Rwandans in this open-air crusade, but we couldn’t stay because it was nearing 6:00 which is when we had to get back to the hotel to go live to cbc.
Tomorrow we distribute the water. Please pray for us as we have discovered many complications concerning the water distribution, but we believe God will make a way. This is a direct mission of cbc – we will be handing clean water to people on your behalf. Praise God for this amazing opportunity. We have many more things to do tomorrow, so please continue to pray for our strength which is rapidly winding down.
We love you guys, and can’t wait to see you next week!
-clark
Saturday, April 28, 2007
so many opportunities, so little time
we're in rwanda! we flew in at about 11 this morning (4 a.m. ct), and met our contacts with whom i have been emailing for about 6 months now. it was so good to meet them face to face. we visited two of the genocide memorial sites, which was very moving. we tried to visit the main memorial in kigali, but we arrived too late (we will visit it tomorrow after church). after a late lunch we visited the hotel from the movie "hotel rwanda." what a surreal experience. there was such trajedy here. it's hard to comprehend.
we met with the mayor of the province where the genocide took place. it was great to talk to him and share with him some hope that we might have (more on that when we get back).
please pray for our schedule. we only have two full days here (sunday and monday) as we will be returning to nairobi on tuesday. we've had to cut many things on the schedule in order to accomplish stuff in the short time we'll be here. tomorrow morning at 6:00, i will be preaching on the radio to the entire nation of rwanda. then ron, zachary and i will be preaching at three different churches during the morning service hours. we'll meet up for lunch then we'll visit that other genocide memorial (they said to be prepared for an emotional experience). then we'll go to the first night of the crusade where i'll sing two songs.
monday, we'll go get the 2000 bottles of water and spend the whole morning distributing it to the people. then at around noon we will meet with the minister of foreign affairs to get with the prime minister. depending on how that meeting goes, he'll decide if we can have a few minutes with the president. then we'll visit an aids orphanage, after which we'll go to the second night of the crusade where ron and i will preach to the masses.
tuesday am we will meet with the mayor again to discuss more about some longer-term solutions that God has given ron for these people. then we will fly back to nairobi.
please pray for us. we hated to cut out some of the stuff they had planned for us, but there was just not enough time. we're blessed to have the opportunites that God has given us. please pray because we're already so tired, and the next few days are gonna pretty much exhaust us. we're so excited to be here, and we can't believe our mission is almost over, but we're pumped to get back to you guys soon.
we love you so much, and we appreciate your prayers as we know you guys are praying continually. we continue to pray for the great harvest!
-clark
we met with the mayor of the province where the genocide took place. it was great to talk to him and share with him some hope that we might have (more on that when we get back).
please pray for our schedule. we only have two full days here (sunday and monday) as we will be returning to nairobi on tuesday. we've had to cut many things on the schedule in order to accomplish stuff in the short time we'll be here. tomorrow morning at 6:00, i will be preaching on the radio to the entire nation of rwanda. then ron, zachary and i will be preaching at three different churches during the morning service hours. we'll meet up for lunch then we'll visit that other genocide memorial (they said to be prepared for an emotional experience). then we'll go to the first night of the crusade where i'll sing two songs.
monday, we'll go get the 2000 bottles of water and spend the whole morning distributing it to the people. then at around noon we will meet with the minister of foreign affairs to get with the prime minister. depending on how that meeting goes, he'll decide if we can have a few minutes with the president. then we'll visit an aids orphanage, after which we'll go to the second night of the crusade where ron and i will preach to the masses.
tuesday am we will meet with the mayor again to discuss more about some longer-term solutions that God has given ron for these people. then we will fly back to nairobi.
please pray for us. we hated to cut out some of the stuff they had planned for us, but there was just not enough time. we're blessed to have the opportunites that God has given us. please pray because we're already so tired, and the next few days are gonna pretty much exhaust us. we're so excited to be here, and we can't believe our mission is almost over, but we're pumped to get back to you guys soon.
we love you so much, and we appreciate your prayers as we know you guys are praying continually. we continue to pray for the great harvest!
-clark
Friday, April 27, 2007
off to rwanda!
on the way back to Nairobi this morning, we stopped at a little town called gilgil. One of our new friends was preaching a crusade there, and we were able to stop in and speak to the people for a few minutes. it is so humbling to see how these guys minister in the most undesirable conditions. My friend peter is a very successful businessman in the most prosperous area in Kenya, and he leaves his business at least once a month to do a crusade in some remote area of Kenya. He called us en route to ask us to stop in, and we were able to speak to these people under this tent in gilgil, Kenya!
God has given us so many opportunities, and we have seen Him show His power in ways we could never have “planned” if He hadn’t ordained this mission from start to finish. It is absolutely mind-blowing.
We leave tomorrow morning at 5:45 to fly to Kigali Rwanda. We really don’t know much about this leg of the trip, but we go confidently believing that God has purposed us to be there at this exact time. Ron and I ask that you PLEASE pray for this leg of the mission. We will have so many opportunities to share His love, His grace, His mercy, His hope, and His bigness to the people in this devastated country. We are supposed to bring messages of hope to the masses, and we have no idea how to do that, but again, we know that we know that we know that we know that God has brought us here for His glory. Please pray that He will use us however he wants.
I hope we will be able to update you guys in Rwanda, but in case we don’t have internet access, we’ll be able to plug in on Tuesday in Nairobi.
We love you guys, and we can’t wait to see you in eight days. We continue to pray believing for the great harvest.
-clark
ps. We are starting to really miss our families now. Please check in on them from time to time. Pat’s number is 972-962-5099. she’ll be at the retreat till Sunday. My mama’s number is 270-227-1647 (she’s watching my kids while burge is at the retreat).
God has given us so many opportunities, and we have seen Him show His power in ways we could never have “planned” if He hadn’t ordained this mission from start to finish. It is absolutely mind-blowing.
We leave tomorrow morning at 5:45 to fly to Kigali Rwanda. We really don’t know much about this leg of the trip, but we go confidently believing that God has purposed us to be there at this exact time. Ron and I ask that you PLEASE pray for this leg of the mission. We will have so many opportunities to share His love, His grace, His mercy, His hope, and His bigness to the people in this devastated country. We are supposed to bring messages of hope to the masses, and we have no idea how to do that, but again, we know that we know that we know that we know that God has brought us here for His glory. Please pray that He will use us however he wants.
I hope we will be able to update you guys in Rwanda, but in case we don’t have internet access, we’ll be able to plug in on Tuesday in Nairobi.
We love you guys, and we can’t wait to see you in eight days. We continue to pray believing for the great harvest.
-clark
ps. We are starting to really miss our families now. Please check in on them from time to time. Pat’s number is 972-962-5099. she’ll be at the retreat till Sunday. My mama’s number is 270-227-1647 (she’s watching my kids while burge is at the retreat).
Thursday, April 26, 2007
bye bye nakuru!
The conferences were awesome! Thank you guys so much for praying. We can’t tell you all that we’ve seen God do these last two weeks, but our prayer was that He would use us however He wants, and that’s exactly what He’s done! We are so privileged to even speak the Name of this God!
Tomorrow, we leave nakuru and return to Nairobi. We will hang out there and have one last meal with our Nairobi team whom we’ve grown to love so much. Then Saturday morning it’s off to Rwanda. We don’t yet know the internet conditions in Rwanda, but we’ll do everything in our power to get plugged in so we can communicate with you guys.
when we get back, i think we’ll be able to show you some stuff since we just completed our 19th video tape at 90 mins each. Also we’ve taken over 1000 pics!
We want to wish all the women a safe, fun, and uplifting trip to three-mountain retreat. We will be praying for you!
Again, thank you guys for all your prayers and thanx for responding to us on the website. Ron and I get so excited when we see a new comment has been posted. It’s great for us to feel a connection to home.
Please pray for our time in Rwanda. We don’t know all the details of our trip (don’t even know where we’ll be sleeping yet), but we trust that God is sovereign and has all of that under control. we're 2/3 done with this mission, and we’re tired, but we believe God has a reason for us to go to Rwanda, so we pray confidently and boldly for the harvest! Please join us in that prayer.
We love you guys, and we hope to be able to communicate with you this weekend from Rwanda.
-clark
ps. matt, thanx for the update. Let me know how the mavs are doing too. Have they recovered from their stunning game-one loss?
Tomorrow, we leave nakuru and return to Nairobi. We will hang out there and have one last meal with our Nairobi team whom we’ve grown to love so much. Then Saturday morning it’s off to Rwanda. We don’t yet know the internet conditions in Rwanda, but we’ll do everything in our power to get plugged in so we can communicate with you guys.
when we get back, i think we’ll be able to show you some stuff since we just completed our 19th video tape at 90 mins each. Also we’ve taken over 1000 pics!
We want to wish all the women a safe, fun, and uplifting trip to three-mountain retreat. We will be praying for you!
Again, thank you guys for all your prayers and thanx for responding to us on the website. Ron and I get so excited when we see a new comment has been posted. It’s great for us to feel a connection to home.
Please pray for our time in Rwanda. We don’t know all the details of our trip (don’t even know where we’ll be sleeping yet), but we trust that God is sovereign and has all of that under control. we're 2/3 done with this mission, and we’re tired, but we believe God has a reason for us to go to Rwanda, so we pray confidently and boldly for the harvest! Please join us in that prayer.
We love you guys, and we hope to be able to communicate with you this weekend from Rwanda.
-clark
ps. matt, thanx for the update. Let me know how the mavs are doing too. Have they recovered from their stunning game-one loss?
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
quick note
we had a great day of leisure today. We went to the nakuru national park for a mini, 5-hour safari and saw lots of wild game, including over a million flamingos on lake nakuru. But the key moment was when we made our way to the top of this cliff and looked down over the nakuru lake valley. We beheld the majesty of God through creation unlike any other time in our lives. It was absolutely stunning and breathtaking. Neither words nor pictures can capture it, so I won’t even try. Just know that we were mesmerized by this indescribable God. (remind me to tell you about the single tree)
we met with the nakuru planning team tonight, and they have organized this leg well. Please pray for us tomorrow! Tomorrow is day one of our conferences in nakuru. The conferences in Nairobi went so well because God showed His power, and His anointing was all over it. This was because you guys were praying, so please don’t stop now! We need your prayers more than ever. Our bodies, minds, and hearts are very tired, but we are also very excited to share what God has given us to share. We believe He has a word for these people, and we want to be obedient to His call so please lift us up often over the next two days. We know we can’t change anybody’s life, so please just pray that God will take over even more than He did in Nairobi. Remember, the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous lover of God avails much.
Ron’s conference begins tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9:00 a.m. (1:00 a.m. CT). mine begins at 2:00 p.m. (6:00 a.m. CT). Please pray that God will move however He wants and that He will draw people to Himself.
We give Him all the glory, and we believe for the great harvest. Buana Asifiwi!
-clark
we met with the nakuru planning team tonight, and they have organized this leg well. Please pray for us tomorrow! Tomorrow is day one of our conferences in nakuru. The conferences in Nairobi went so well because God showed His power, and His anointing was all over it. This was because you guys were praying, so please don’t stop now! We need your prayers more than ever. Our bodies, minds, and hearts are very tired, but we are also very excited to share what God has given us to share. We believe He has a word for these people, and we want to be obedient to His call so please lift us up often over the next two days. We know we can’t change anybody’s life, so please just pray that God will take over even more than He did in Nairobi. Remember, the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous lover of God avails much.
Ron’s conference begins tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9:00 a.m. (1:00 a.m. CT). mine begins at 2:00 p.m. (6:00 a.m. CT). Please pray that God will move however He wants and that He will draw people to Himself.
We give Him all the glory, and we believe for the great harvest. Buana Asifiwi!
-clark
Sunday, April 22, 2007
bye bye nairobi
It was great to go live to cbc tonight. Even though you guys couldn’t understand Zachary very well, it did us well to know that we were connected with you. The guys were really very happy to get to communicate with you. In their song, they were singing (in Swahili) of how deep, high, and wide the love of Christ is. They were excited to sing of His love to you!
Yesterday we went to bring hope to the “Great Lakes Region Leaders” which is a group of refugees from the war-torn countries of Rwanda, congo, and Burundi who have since turned their lives to Christ. We used an interpreter (that was a first for me) to translate into kinyarwanda – this is a “low speech” language, but since they all spoke three different languages, it was the best option. They really appreciated what God spoke to them.
Then we had a very interesting experience. We went to the massai market which is an open air African version of first Monday but much more primitive. The wares they were selling were fantastic, but the moment ron and I walked in…well, have you ever seen what happens when someone drops a bloody piece of meat in the middle of a pack of piranhas? That’s what happened to us. I won’t go into detail, but we pushed ourselves out of there immediately. Later, Zachary took us and was very firm with them, so we were able to get some sweet souvenirs.
This morning was an unbelievable time. We went to zachary’s church. I spoke at the first service, and ron spoke at the second service. i can’t tell you how much we know you guys are praying! There’s no way we could preach like this in our own strength. He simply is taking over, which is exactly what we’ve been praying for! It’s amazing to see God show His power through our weakness. I mean, neither of is a preacher, but He is bringing powerful messages to these people! God is certainly humbling ron and me, and it’s so amazing to see God work in such visible and evident ways.
Tomorrow we leave for the second leg of our mission. We are heading to nakuru which is the second largest city in kenya. We will do our conferences again on Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday we will take a day of leisure where we will visit the nakuru national park to get up close and personal with the wildlife of Africa. This comes at the perfect time because we are very much in need of rest.
Please pray for two things: supernatural rest and continued anointing.
We miss you guys, but please know that this week has absolutely changed our lives. We are not the same people who flew out of dfw last Saturday. The people here are begging us to come back next year and bring a team. I believe this is only the beginning of God using country bible church in the beautiful land of Africa. Faith coupled with obedience changes people. I can’t wait to see what this indescribable God has in store!
-clark
Yesterday we went to bring hope to the “Great Lakes Region Leaders” which is a group of refugees from the war-torn countries of Rwanda, congo, and Burundi who have since turned their lives to Christ. We used an interpreter (that was a first for me) to translate into kinyarwanda – this is a “low speech” language, but since they all spoke three different languages, it was the best option. They really appreciated what God spoke to them.
Then we had a very interesting experience. We went to the massai market which is an open air African version of first Monday but much more primitive. The wares they were selling were fantastic, but the moment ron and I walked in…well, have you ever seen what happens when someone drops a bloody piece of meat in the middle of a pack of piranhas? That’s what happened to us. I won’t go into detail, but we pushed ourselves out of there immediately. Later, Zachary took us and was very firm with them, so we were able to get some sweet souvenirs.
This morning was an unbelievable time. We went to zachary’s church. I spoke at the first service, and ron spoke at the second service. i can’t tell you how much we know you guys are praying! There’s no way we could preach like this in our own strength. He simply is taking over, which is exactly what we’ve been praying for! It’s amazing to see God show His power through our weakness. I mean, neither of is a preacher, but He is bringing powerful messages to these people! God is certainly humbling ron and me, and it’s so amazing to see God work in such visible and evident ways.
Tomorrow we leave for the second leg of our mission. We are heading to nakuru which is the second largest city in kenya. We will do our conferences again on Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday we will take a day of leisure where we will visit the nakuru national park to get up close and personal with the wildlife of Africa. This comes at the perfect time because we are very much in need of rest.
Please pray for two things: supernatural rest and continued anointing.
We miss you guys, but please know that this week has absolutely changed our lives. We are not the same people who flew out of dfw last Saturday. The people here are begging us to come back next year and bring a team. I believe this is only the beginning of God using country bible church in the beautiful land of Africa. Faith coupled with obedience changes people. I can’t wait to see what this indescribable God has in store!
-clark
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