Still working with posterous for posting to wordpress.

I think I want two spaces between paragraphs here but I am not entirely sure.  I will lay this one out that way with two lines between paragraphs and also two lines between a paragraph and pic.

So here goes a pic that is too big:

Now two more spaces and then another line of text.  I am not sure how posterous and wordpress will size the pictures. ]]> http://kenyastories.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/posterous-oversized-pic/feed/ 0 Roger http://kenyastories.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/experiment-with-posterous-posting/ http://kenyastories.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/experiment-with-posterous-posting/#comments Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:36:33 +0000 Roger http://kenyastories.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/experiment-with-posterous-posting/ ]]>

Still working with posterous for posting to wordpress.

I think I want two spaces between paragraphs here but I am not entirely sure.  I will lay this one out that way with two lines between paragraphs and also two lines between a paragraph and pic.

So here goes a pic:

Now two more spaces and then another line of text.  I am not sure how posterous and wordpress will size the pictures. ]]> http://kenyastories.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/experiment-with-posterous-posting/feed/ 0 Roger http://kenyastories.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/report-from-india-and-cuba/ http://kenyastories.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/report-from-india-and-cuba/#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:48:19 +0000 Roger http://kenyastories.wordpress.com/?p=80 ]]>

From “Heaven’s Family:”

Although it won’t make international news, our spiritual family in the state of Orissa, India, is facing a major test. Fanatical Hindu mobs have been on a rampage, determined to exterminate Christians, whether they be Evangelical, Protestant or Roman Catholic. Those mobs have been looting, raping, murdering, and burning down homes and churches. Some believers have been hacked to death or burned alive. Those who have escaped are fleeing to the jungles to preserve their lives. Over 50,000 Christians have been displaced. At least 4,000 homes have been destroyed, as well as hundreds of churches. 13,000 people are living in nine relief camps.

Heaven’s Family is well connected to believers in India, having already provided some relief earlier this year after a similar, but lesser, persecution in Orissa. We’ve also distributed thousands of books to Indian pastors in at least four languages. And we are continually involved in assisting Christian widows, orphans and lepers in India.

One of our primary partners in southern India, pastor K.V. Daniel, has informed me that 110 Christian families among his churches have lost everything, and four of their small orphanages have been destroyed. Right now, believers in Orissa urgently need food and shelter. After the Indian government is able to stabilize the situation, believers will need help rebuilding their lives.

Cuban Cries:

Over the past week we’ve also heard cries of help from our family in Cuba, first devastated by Hurricane Gustav (which made landfall at category 4–winds at 150 mph) and then by Hurricane Ike (which made landfall at category 3). The Cuban Housing Institute says that Hurricane Ike severely damaged over 200,000 homes and completely destroyed 30,000, which may be a conservative estimate. Keep in mind that many Cuban homes are very primitive.

Fidel Castro is quoted as saying, “Hurricane Gustav hit Cuba with the force of an atomic bomb, leaving more devestation that the previous 14 hurricanes over the past 5 years combined.” Cuba’s communist economy will never be able to facilitate the rebuilding of Cuba, as it has not been able to even keep Havana, its capital, in repair, long before the recent hurricanes. Cuba has been slowly crumbling for fifty years, and it has just experienced its worst natural disaster in fifty years.

If you are moved to help relieve the sufferings of Jesus—incarnated among “the least of” His brothers and sisters—Heaven’s Family is here to serve you. 100% of all that we receive towards our Christian Refugees Fund over the next few weeks will be sent to Orissa to bring relief to our family there, and 100% of all that we receive towards our Disaster Relief Fund over the next few weeks will be sent to Cuba to assist our family there.

We (Roger and Brooks Thoman) are finally on the ground in Kenya this week for the first time since the crisis.  We are very happy to be able to re-unite with so many of our friends that we have not seen for over eight months.

Heartbreak and Miracles From the Violence

It is very difficult to be in a country that has recently experienced so much pain and suffering.  We realize that it is one thing to hear about violence from afar, but quite another to hear the stories firsthand from people whose lives have been ripped apart.  What has gripped us with deep sadness is to see that virtually everyone you meet has been exposed to a level of bloodshed and terror that is unimaginable.

I will only share one story here, and it is not the worst I heard…

At one location, human heads were placed across a road to create a roadblock.  When the busses stopped at this “roadblock,” the instigators went onto the bus and took men off who were from the opposing tribe.  They would force them outside, hold them down, and then saw the lower half of their legs off.  They would then leave them there on the ground to bleed out while their families watched.  Unbelievably, this is the kind of thing (and worse) that people in Kenya were exposed to on a regular basis.  It is just so difficult to grasp.

Yet, in the midst of this, we also heard incredible stories of Christians helping people from opposing tribes as well as going to opposing tribes and apologizing for their own tribes (not their own actions, but the actions of others from their own tribes).  Thus, in the midst of the devastation there are wonderful stories of reconciliation and forgiveness, tears and embracing of one another that can only be attributed (by their own admission) to God’s power and mercy.  It is very hard to describe all of this: both the depth of despair that is still everywhere, yet the sparks of hope and redemption that is coming through here and there in the most amazing and powerful ways.

Our Contributions Made a Difference!

We were very gratified to be able to receive firsthand reports from people who benefited from the funds collected through the Simple Churches Care project.  We visited a Displaced Persons camp where we received personal thanks from the camp administrators who said: “Every time we received food and supplies from you it came at just the right time to get us through a difficult period.”

We visited the homes of people who had been relocated out of these camps with the help of funds we sent.  Though they are now living in one-room, mud-constructed shelters, it is their own and they have a place to begin from to build a new life.

We visited women who lost their husbands that were ministered to by the workers who were taking our supplies in and providing spiritual support for those afflicted.

We saw a school (four large tents) set up in a Displaced Persons camp that is educating 400 students per day.  This school was given supplies from our contributions, and the teachers are volunteers many of whom work with our team in that area.

People Reached and Churches Started

We saw the location of a camp that went from 10% Christian to over 80% Christian along with prayer meetings that were taking place everyday.  This camp had, unlike all other camps, had no reports of rape or violence.  Though this camp has now been closed and the refugees moved to other camps, the Christian workers involved continue to visit those who have been reached and encourage them in their new life.

In Kitale, there are now over 50 house churches.  In Nakuru, over a dozen.  In Nairobi, we are seeing new simple churches just now starting.  In Migori and many other rural areas, we are seeing house churches begin to spring up in areas where no traditional churches are found.

We found that the crisis has brought about a new enthusiasm in Kenya for reaching people with the simple message of Christ (without religiosity), a simple church, and a simple lifestyle of following-Jesus that is based on relationship.  The leaders we met with in three different cities were very excited about the possibilities they are now seeing for house churches to multiply in both the urban and rural areas of their country.  We were very encouraged by their enthusiasm and by what seems to be a renewal of passion for reaching their nation.

Practical Needs Remain and We Will Do What We Can

Naturally, there is still a great need for emotional and spiritual healing throughout this nation.  In addition, there are innumerable physical needs that are still unmet: people without homes, families trying to rebuild their livelihoods, and children left homeless because both of their parents were killed.

We will discuss with our “Listening Team” (those who have worked together to hear from God and distribute the money as it came in) how to distribute the remaining funds that we have on-hand to meet at least some of the incredible needs of this country.

Hope

Yet, as already mentioned, there is great hope in our hearts that God is doing a new work in Kenya, one that is deeply needed, that will stir them out of their religious externals and release a genuine, internal, dynamic, intimate-with-Jesus work in the hearts of these wonderful people.

Displaced Persons Camp:

Visiting With Camp Directors:

Two Teachers With Canvass School in Background:

Relocated Family:

Lonely Child:

Letter from Dawson:

Greetings from Kenya. Our hearts are full of thanks to the house church networks of the USA and all over the world. Since the disaster began, our friends from house churches are the only ones who stood with us. Even here in Kenya, those who seem to care are from house churches. Praise the Lord.

As I write this mail, last week we planted 10 house churches in one township. We had raised more than 50 leaders from the refugee camp and we sent out ten and now we have ten churches meeting in houses.

Every week, now, 5 house churches are being planted in different parts of our town. We have been criticized as being unqualified but we dont care. we are training our leaders while on the job. Good things are really happening. Can you imagine that at our refugee camp, nearly 70% of the total population is born again?

When these people came here, only 10% said they were believers. More than 80% have become believers in the past 3months, not only because they heard, but they also saw. Very soon, the remaining will become believers then, we would have accomplished our work at this camp.

We took one of our pastors to this camp so he can work closely with the elders we have been training in the camp.

Thanks again for the funds. At the camp, 35 babies were born and we took good care of them because you stood with us.

There are lots of testimonies coming in everyday.

This report and observation from Dawson is very, very encouraging:

With traditional churches, their worship structure got affected and that is why they can’t have church as normal.  But with house church we don’t go to church but we take the church with us everywhere we go and that is why some house church members or leaders are so happy that they are getting new believers added to house church in their small tents where fellowship is going on as normal.

The traditional church got threatened by the violence and some may even close down but we have used the opportunity to train house church leaders in these camps. Can the church survive? Why not.  Church is about people, we seek to touch peoples lives, lead them to Jesus. Anywhere, anytime when there is an opportunity.

In this region, we may be perceived as a very small congregation in terms of program but our house churches have done more than mega traditional churches in this situation in the country. We are not building programs and structures but we are touching lives in camps by assisting them, buying them blankets, buying small children warm clothes, sanitary towels for women, soaps, food, medicines and other things.

Through these acts of compassion, in our camp alone, we have about 50 church leaders now trained. 30 of them got born again here in the camp. You may ask, but they are young how can they lead a church, they are training while on the job.

We thank God for this. We have promised to stand by the refugees in this camp until they are resettled in the next three months. The government will be working on this.

The way things were… homes and people suffering violence:

The way things are… people still in refugee camps:

Some people finding transportation in hopes of starting a new life:

Isaac describes what our support has meant to him and those he works with:

For days after the clashes we were out of options. But today many of you have partnered with us to relieve human suffering to the most vulnerable and affected people. I can gladly say that we have seen the rise Hope at the end of the tunnel…

You have sent hope and helped us around where we could not imagine.

George Jaoko, a church leader in Nairobi, has been given funds to help with people affected by the violence. Here is his report:

We were able to visit the Nakuru Afraha Stadium Refugee Camp just 100m from the hotel where you (Roger and Brooks) were staying. There are still many displaced persons who do not even have a canvas to cover themselves or their properties. They are are even rained on.

We were able to meet the needs of some of these displaced persons who had nothing to give their children.

We spent some of the money you sent to buy food stuff for their hungry children. Some money was spent in buying food for Crosslink Childrens center which has its number increased. Other money was spent on assisting local church members who are staying with displaced persons but lack resources for food, blankets and mosquito nets.

We have been able to introduce many people to Jesus. I thank you so much for the donation that has been sent to us here in Kenya at this time of need.

Just hours ago the news is spreading throughout Kenya and the world that a peace agreement has been signed between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga.  The agreement calls for a coalition partnership:

“Given the current situation, neither side can realistically govern the country without the other. There must be real power-sharing to move the country forward and begin the healing and reconciliation process.

“With this agreement, we are stepping forward together, as political leaders, to overcome the current crisis and to set the country on a new path. As partners in a coalition government, we commit ourselves to work together in good faith as true partners, through constant consultation and willingness to compromise.”

View the whole story here and here.

While this will go a long way to avert the escalation of violence, there are still many issues facing the Kenyans, especially those who have lost homes, property, and loved ones.  It will require several months (if all goes well) to relocate those who are in camps and to continue to provide for their safety and needs.

Nevertheless, we thank God for the peace that has been initiated in this critical area in Africa!!!

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (left) enjoying tea with President Kibaki (centre) and opposition leader Odinga:

From Dawson Mudenyo in Kitale:

Greetings again from Kenya. Testimonies are coming in every day at one of the camps where we have also pitched tent as our area and place of ministry. We have led nearly 100 families to the Lord in this camp. Every evening families get together either inside the small tent or outside the tent to pray for one another. They share testimonies and also share prayer requests and needs. We have witnessed forgiveness and reconciliation take place and we are so blessed to see lives getting changed.

This is the only refugee camp from the region where NO incident of rape, violence against women, children abuse and molestation has been reported. In other camps there are reports whereby even some people want to sleep with women before they give them anything for food, rape is also high and children molestation. We are blessed to see that our camp is the most organized camp in the region and this is because of Jesus and our brothers like you who are constantly praying with us and supporting us financially.

We bought more blankets and warm clothes for children after we received the funds you sent us. 10 children had gotten sick from the cold but we were able to quickly call in a doctor at a fee to attend to them. We are always at this camp giving advice, counseling, prayer and leading someone to christ. The other thing is that we are constantly asking God for wisdom to train leaders in this camp the right way.

Myself and other house church leaders from our house church network are coming here every week and this Sunday, that is tomorrow, we will divide ourselves so that we can divide the camp into 70 groups so that ministry can freely flow and reach down to everyone.

Again thanks for the funds, we are able to touch lives here with true compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ.