Annointed

just a quick note to let you know how our first conferences went. for those of you who don't know, one of the things zachary asked us to do is a couple of two-day conferences. ron is training businessmen on how to run a business with integrity, and i am training worship leaders on the concept of worship. we've just finished the one in nairobi, and we'll be doing our other one next week in the town of nakuru - about 100 miles northwest of nairobi.

i just want to say that ron and i aren't preachers, but God calls the weak to show Himself strong. it is so evident that many people are praying because the only thing i can say about these eight sessions (four for ron, four for me) is that they were heavily annointed. as a word of testimony, when i walked up for sessions one and three (the first session of each day), i felt nervous and VERY inadequate, but as soon as i started to speak, that's when the annointing came. it was so evident that God took over, because there's no way i can do what He did during those conferences. ron and i walked into our room tonight, and we just said, "no one can say that God wasn't all over that place today." that's what happens when people pray! thank you so much!

we're actually gonna get to sleep a little tonight. it's only 11:00 p.m. and we're about to go to bed, and we don't have to leave until 9:00 a.m. i just wanted to ask you guys to keep praying. tomorrow we'll be ministering to the "great lakes leaders" - a group of war-torn people from rwanda, congo, and burundi. sunday, i will preach at the first service of zachary's church, and ron will preach at the second service. we have plans for sunday afternoon (can't remember right now) then at 7:00 p.m. we will be coming live to country bible church! we're so excited about that because we so much want you to meet our precious team here.

we love each of you, and thank you SO MUCH for your prayers. and matt, there's no way you could eat here dude! didn't i just tell you i ate goat heart? you'd lose 80 pounds!

-clark

Goat Heart???

it is 10:04 p.m. on thursday (2:04 CT), and ron and i are very tired. we told our team (can't describe how awesome they've been) at the beginning that we wanted them to use us - that we wanted to be completely empty when we leave. boy has that come true! this mission is simply unbelievable. sonya, you're right when you say that everyone should come here. and believe me, we will be recruiting for next year when we get back!

words cannot describe the slum we visited. we have some pics, but still you must see it for yourself. we met with the pastor of a new church zachary started a month ago. he was very precious. i can't imagine what it must be like to minister there. these people make about 50 shillings per day (68 shillings is one dollar), so since they can't afford entertainment, they pleasure themselves with sex. HIV is rampant there. their "homes" are nothing more than three tin walls - lined one after another. ron prayed with the pastor, and we left there with a new perspective on life.

last night we ate a traditional african feast: green stuff, white stuff, goat ribs, and goat heart. you eat it communally and with your hands (btw, we use germ-x about four thousand times each day). it was a very special time to eat with our new brothers whom we love so much. you guys will meet them sunday morning!

today marked the beginning of our conferences. ron did a great job with his two sessions (i told him that he exceeded my expectations.) there were about 100 business people there. after lunch, i spoke on sin and then the greatness of God. there were about 75 worship leaders there. i learned a new song today that i will definately be bringing back to cbc - i think you guys will love it. we ended the day with a "dancing service." i mean a real life dancing service! very traditional and wonderful to experience.

words cannot express how we feel. this is simply an amazing experience. we have fallen in love with africa and the kenyan people. they are truly precious. they are so polite and considerate, but the traffic is CHAOS!!! burge would flip out!

so please continue to pray. i know many of you are praying because God is with us mightily. He is so faithful, and we are seeing Him work in great ways. please continue to pray for our rest. we get up early, go hard all day, and go to bed late. i'm praying that God will give us more rest than sleep. our stomachs have adjusted very well (knock on wood, k-dub), but we will continue to be careful.

we love each of you, and are very excited to share with you all that God has done through cbc in africa! until then - Buama asifiwi!

-clark

Contact!

I just thought I'd let everyone know that we have had visual contact at CBC with Clark and Ron. The sweet webcam that Richard set up works really great, so Bridget and the kiddos got to talk to the guys - and see them at the same time. Tim tested it on the big screen in the Sanctinasium, and that went well, too. SO, assuming the schedules line up right, we may just get to SEE and HEAR Clark and Ron at our service this Sunday! So, don't miss the great opportunity. Should be an awesome chance to see what God is doing in Africa.

-Matt

tomorrow starts busy week

it's 7:48 p.m. on tuesday night (11:48 a.m. central time tuesday), and ron and i are wiped out. what a wonderful day today! God has placed around us an unbelievable team from the church here in nairobi. we are growing to love them more and more by the minute! He is taking very good care of us through them.

just when we thought we had beaten jet lag, it slammed us last night. ron slept maybe two hours, and i slept not one moment, and today was a very big day. we drove out to massai land where the primitive and beautiful massai people dwell. this was unlike anything i've ever seen. visiting with these people and loving those kids was an experience i will forever cherish. we gave the kids some colorful bracelets (they loved them), and they were awe-struck at how they could see themselves in the video camera! the wonder in their eyes was truly amazing. i can't really describe it on here, but we'll tell you all about it when we get back. this has changed my perspective on contentment, and today in massai land, i fell in love with africa. what a beautiful creation of Almighty God!

tomorrow morning we will do a television interview concerning our conferences later this week. at noon, ron will preach at the nairobi city hall! this is pretty amazing because people come by the droves to hear the noon preacher share God's word. after lunch we will minister in the slums of nairobi, then we will spend some time setting up for our conferences which begin on thursday.

we have a very busy week ahead of us, so please pray that our strength will hold up as we recover from jet lag. we are doing so well, and we thank you so much for all of your prayers. please know that God is using your prayers in mighty ways here in africa. they are already insisting that we come back next year and bring several more people with us.

we have been so blessed, and it has only been a few days! God is working in amazing ways here already, and we are so honored to be a part of it. His ways are so much higher than ours. i never thought i would see some of the things we saw today, but God's vision is SO much greater, so we believe for the great harvest.

-clark

WE'RE HERE!!!

i come to you from the beautiful city of nairobi, kenya! our flights were great, and we have been very well received by zachary, daniel, and many new friends from the gospel recovery center international here in nairobi. we don't have a lot of time as we are heading to the ymca to SLEEP! i will update more tomorrow hopefully, but know that all is well.

two things: one of our boxes did not arrive so please pray that it will arrive tomorrow. also, a tv commercial with our pictures advertising our conferences is all over the tv stations here so pray that ron doesn't get a big head!

we love you all, and hope to write more tomorrow.

-clark

Prayer Request

Clark called this morning with a prayer request. He and Ron are taking seven extra bags with them that have various stuff for the people over there. The airline charges $150 per bag, but the airline has the choice to waive the fees if it wants to. So pray that those fees get waived and that the $1,000 can be used for something else in Africa. That would be super awesome. Thanks for praying!

-Matt

two pre-trip prayer requests

it's hard to believe that it's almost time to go. we're heading out saturday, and we still have lots of things to finalize before we leave.

i wanted to ask you guys to pray for two things.

• first, just please continue to pray for God's power in this mission. we desperately need Him to show His power in ways we can't even imagine. our goal is for His name and His fame to be made known among the nations, so we pray to that end firmly believing that it is in line with His will.

• also, i want to ask you guys to pray for ron's leg. he's really struggling with swelling in his right leg, and we're gonna be walking alot. i know it's very uncomfortable for him right now, and it'll only get worse considering the conditions we'll be in, but i believe that God can relieve him of that. it may not seem like a big thing, but ron is going to be sixty this year (on june 6 - we have the same birthday...weird), and even though he can run circles around me, i'd still like for us to pray that God would heal his leg.

thank you guys for praying for this mission. i don't want it to be a burden for you, so don't let it be like that. just pray when you think about it. a twenty-second prayer from a fervent heart is more pleasing to God than a six-minute, well thought out dissertation from a heart that would rather be playing solitaire.

i love you guys - each of you. i believe that this powerful God has a plan for each of you today. His glory is far greater than anything we could conceive or imagine, and His ways are so much higher than our ways...so we believe for the great harvest.

-clark