Dear Friends and Supporters of the Kenya Missions Trip. The trip was very fruitful, and I thought I would share some of what happened on the trip as a way of thanking you for your help and to let you know that your support has born much fruit.
I was humbled by being asked to preach on the first full day I was there. We gave an invitation and 10 people decided to follow Christ. Pastors were there to gather information and follow up with discipleship classes.
For Sunday worship I was asked to preach to a church in one of the slums. What a privilege to fellowship with these saints. I spoke on Christ as our model for ministry and how believers can still do what Jesus did. Later that day I was able to visit the planting of a new church. The event was presided over by bishop of several thousand churches, and I met new friends.
On the way to a rural area near Kisumu I saw zebras and some type of deer while we were driving. I was concerned about not being able to flow in the gifts, but God graciously provided opportunities while we were at a mall. Two young men came off the street offering to sell something, but I shared Jesus with them and ministered prophetic words They asked me for a Bible, so I went and bought one from the book store gave it to them.
When we arrived near Kisumu we prayed for rain for the crops and there was a downpour 30 minutes later. I toured a school and helped feed children, and then I went to pray for a widow. She was paralyzed on the left side. We started to pray for her and got her up to walk a little bit outside of her house. She said she had not been outside the house. We walked back inside and I spoke with the man wish me. I sensed that something wasn’t quite right because the daughter in law and son lives right next door, and I knew there had to be a problem why the winner was not getting food. The husband would sometimes go out and drink, and wasn’t taking good care of the family. I had the woman come in and God gave me a word about her being in the church and hearing about Jesus when she was little. I asked if that was correct and she said it was. We talked about how God wanted to pursue her and rejoiced over her like a father who find a lost child. She said she wanted to come back to Jesus. We started to pray, and the husband came in. I spoke to him and told him that he was not going to be happy until he found God’s purpose for his life. I asked him if he wanted to invite Jesus back in this life. He said yes. I asked him again to make sure that that was what he really wanted. He said yes. He knelt down on the ground, and she knelt them on the ground, we prayed together and I ask the Holy Spirit to fill them. They asked if they could have a Bible, & I promised that I would get them a Bible, as well as food for the window.
We went to visit another window. She had problem hearing , and she said it looked cloudy through her eyes. We prayed with her and she began to cry out, and she felt something happening in her ears. We kept testing her hearing and it was coming back. Then we continued to pray for her eyes and she said the cloudiness had gone. The daughter in law came in to give her food and we begin to talk to the daughter in law about Jesus. While we were doing that, the widow began to cry out and said that there was something happening to her hand. She said there are spirits that would come and bother her. We prayed and she was relieved. I went back to telling the daughter in law about Jesus, and the widow started crying out again. We figured out it was a demon, and I asked the lady if she’d been involved in witchcraft or other demon activity. She said she had a long time ago. We asked her if she wanted to be free. We said that the Holy Spirit was much more powerful than any demon. She said yes she wanted to be free. We prayed, and the demon left. We pray with for her to be filled with the spirit and told her that the filling is a constant thing. Then we went to pray with the daughter and mom again and she accepted Christ back into her life. It is a great day when the works of the enemy are destroyed!
I bought food and Bibles for the widows. When we returned to this family the young lady on the right came to us. I asked if she heard about Jesus and she had, but she was not ready to give her life to Him yet. I asked about pain in her body but she had none at the moment. I asked God for help and received a couple words of knowledge. She did not want to acknowledge them yet, but I told her that the same God who have that information knows the details in her life and loves her. She did pray to accept Christ.
We stopped at a village and asked who had heard about Jesus. Many had but had not accepted Him. I asked who had pain in their bodies and started with the girl in the purple top. It took three times praying before the pain started to go down. I prayed for the next lady two or three times but nothing happened. Holy Spirit told me to have someone else pray, so I had the first lady pray, even though she had not received Christ yet. I told them this would show it was not my power, but we prayed in the name of Jesus, and it was His power. The pain started to go down, and I had those two ladies pray for a third lady, with the pain going down. I prayed for a man who was addicted to alcohol. One lady prayed to receive Christ. The people asked us to return, and they asked me to pray a prayer of blessing on their village.
We went to a market in order to buy supplies for a widows dinner tomorrow. The shops were narrow, and there were a lot of motorcycles with people loading sacks. one of the ministry team members introduced the shop owner to me. She said she needed prayer and took me into the shop. She had a headache and also pain in your chest. I had her put her hand on her chest and we pray for the pain to go and it went almost all the way. We prayed for her headache, and it disappeared as well. While I was praying I Had a word about her laying her hands on other people and praying for them. I asked her if she’d ever done that, she said she had not. I shared Matthew 9 where Jesus did all these miracles, and Matthew 10 where He sent disciples out and they did the miracles. I also mentioned Matthew 28 where Jesus told the disciples to make disciples of all nations and having them teach all the things He commanded them to do. I told her healing was part of the package. I encouraged her and I also prayed for her two boys. When I encourage people, I want them to know that they can do these things as well. I just happened to say yes to Jesus.
The next day we were worshipping with approximately 50 widows. I shared encouragement from scriptures, they were given food, and they lined up for prayer. There were many healings, including a large number of people with sight restored. Spent hours ministering including prophetic words. What a precious group of saints.
I also was privileged to speak with and hear testimonies from young ladies in a sewing class. Some are just looking for a sewing machine so they can support themselves financially.
Later I learned that people in this community are hearing what is happening through Jesus and are calling into the ministry center. Please pray the fire continues to spread through Kenya and beyond!
Went to a pastors and leaders training. It seemed as though there were about 50-60 there. They recited Bible verses, worshipped, and watched a video teaching on the covenant. Maurice Odhiambo preached on pursuing the promises of the covenant and used the example of Isaac re-digging the wells that that had been filled. After a break, I returned to preach on co-laboring with God, using recent ministry examples and also relating it to intercessory prayer. Follow the written word we know, listen to and cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and use the power of agreement with other believers. After that I prayed over and ministered to many women and children. I sometimes asked other women to help. The process was slowed a little because of interpretation. I saw healings of eyes and other pains, but there were family and financial issues which could not be verified. There were also a couple of children with seizures and a girl who could not speak. I saw no visible manifestations. I hate disease.
Later I prophesied over at least 9 leaders, quickly and accurately. That probably took 10-20 minutes. That was quicker than healing, plus there was no need for interpretation. I ministered for about 4 1-2 hours. I could not believe it was almost 5:00 PM by the time we left. I felt very energized.
I was a curiosity to the school children. Some would peak into windows at me, smiling and saying how are you, and then running away as they giggled. They were often curious and crowded around me, yet were shy as I addressed them individually. Seeing the boys wrestle on the ground reminded me of my elementary school days. The children reminded me about Jesus telling his disciples to let the children come to him, as well as saying we needed to be like children in order to enter the Kingdom.
We went back to the village today and also visited widows who have no housing. One of the most joyful people I have met is this widow who had nothing to eat that day.
We prayed for another precious saint. I invited some girls to pray for the pain to leave her body and it did. I prayed for and prophesied over each child. One of them held my hand as I left.
We stopped to pray with a family whose mother was in the hospital because she tried to kill herself. One little girl cried because she had never seen a white person before. I showed her that we both loved Jesus and that I had four children of my own. She was finally able to smile at me.
I invited all the children to pray for God to take the pain away from another widow as well as for second widow, and He did. I also ministered to each child.
We visited a group of widows could not afford to send their children to school. I had them minister to each other for emotional and physical needs. We could feel faith grow. I taught them to stand together in prayer, and I prayed for finances. I also ministered to the children.
I was given the privilege to preach in church on the next Sunday. I spoke on the love of God. After lunch two people asked me to pray for them. I felt the Holy Spirit move powerfully on both of them, and I think God’s desire is for something powerful for them. I am humbled to be in this place.
What is going on in Kenya is the result of God’s hand working through His people. What we are seeing is a small portion of fruit of the co-laboring of people like my hosts, Maurice and Benta Odhiambo and Manna Ministries in Kenya. I was happy to be in Kenya to share in the ministry. These servants of God still need prayer and support.
A woman with stomach issues asked me to pray for her. She said God touched her and she felt peace. I reminded her that the Kingdom of God is righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
I visited the Kibera, the 2nd largest slum in Africa, and I was feeding schoolchildren. I really wanted to minister more after what happened at Kisumu, but it is important that I observe and see what the schools need. I did talk with three people about Jesus. Most of the people seemed friendly and I was having withdrawal. I asked one young lady about a scratch on her leg and if I could pray with her. While I was praying I had a word about her not finishing school, which was accurate. I was able to encourage her. One man I encountered was a believer, and his face lit up while I spoke with him.
I left my Randy Clark and Bill Johnson book on healing behind. It is going to be circulating among pastors in Kenya.
The school staff in the private schools I visited work with hardly anything. They think mostly if not only about the needs of the children. One dear lady had severe pain in both sides of her jaw because she needed dental work. We prayed and God took away the pain.
God gave me a prophetic dream a year ago about Kenya being a strategic nation, and how He would use it to spread the gospel to the surrounding nations. Kenya would also be influential in other cultural areas as well, and that they would partner with Israel in some areas such as working with diverse people groups. I recently also saw Kenya as hosting an East African cultural center which would fairly represent other nations as well in ways that would honor them as God’s creations. Recently I also had an impression of a powerful ministry center in the Kibera area. Some of these are in the process of being fulfilled. I wanted to post this so I am not one who declares things after the fact.
The final Sunday I spoke in a service at a church in the Kibera. The people were expecting great things from God. I met the pastor the day before. He is doing a marvelous work there, and we want God to touch His people for His glory. I preached on small beginnings and had several words of knowledge, which led to healings and a restored marriage.
There are so many needs in Kenya. One private school did not have enough cups for the kids in the school. One class at a time used the cups and they had to be washed. I discovered that even if we ship things here, the import tax is often more than the cost of the items. The private schools which take in the orphans need to expand, and the buildings are often like shacks, many having no power.
Thank you all for your continued prayers. We all are important parts in the body of Christ.