Wrap up

10 missionaries from CBC are now home and back into their routines. But I don't think any of us will ever be quite the same. If you're part of the CBC body, you've heard some of the stories from Steve as he winds his experiences into his preaching. And you might have read some stories and impressions on Mike's or Cheri's blog. Some of us are now emailing with our new friends on the other side of the world as we follow up with them on the impact the conferences had on them. But we all are cherishing the memories of how we saw God work and even more amazingly, how we saw God work through us.

A.L.A.R.M. is really a wonderful ministry. I saw in 2007, the first time I was there, but even more so this time, that their vision for Africa and for bringing the healing of Jesus to the African people is a wise and effective one. In every country they have pastors and leaders from that country serving in the ministry. In Kenya they have Kenyans; in Rwanda they have Rwandans; in Congo they have Congolese. Dedicated servants who love the Lord and their people and who know how to help them. A.L.A.R.M. doesn't try to fix the entire continent of Africa or even the countries where they serve; they empower the African pastors so they can bring hope and transformation to Africa, one community at a time.

But did I tell you how much fun we had? Erick and Rose, two of the A.L.A.R.M. staff kept us laughing the whole time we were in Kenya. Yes, the ministry is serious, but the joy of the Lord just overflowed from these two. Rose was always behind the scenes making sure everything ran smoothly. Erick proved himself to be a mature leader way beyond his years as he taught and facilitated. In Rwanda, the country director and his wife, Andre and Alivera, showed us such gracious hospitality, even inviting us to their home for dinner. And you just haven't lived until you've driven top speed through the mountains of Rwanda in a rickety old "matatu" driven by a young man who multi-tasks by driving, singing, eating kabobs, drinking a soda, and talking over his shoulder to us. Emily, the Africa Director for A.L.A.R.M. and I slid around in the back of that "bus" and laughed and prayed the whole way.

So, what's next? A.L.A.R.M. has shared several interesting opportunities with us. Our mission board is collecting more information and talking about what our next step will be. But there are lots of ways for us...for you or your mini-church...to plug into their ministry right now. Providing a pig for an HIV widow so that she can provide for her children by selling piglets and fertilizer...Supporting a trade school that is teaching young men and women a trade...Purchasing a sewing machine for a young mother who has just completed one of A.L.A.R.M.'s sewing schools so that she can earn a living and stay at home with her children...And there are many more. Just ask me!

So, thank you so much for your support and your prayers. It was an amazing trip.

Merrikay for the team



Team Kwale
> Steve Hixon
> Dick and Linda Gotthardt
> Merrikay Lee

(also pictured Darlene Hixon and Loy Warren who didn't make the trip but were praying fervently!)





Team Kilifi
> Mike and Joye Messerli
> Paul and Suzi Henry
> Cheri and Dave Hudspith
> Merrikay Lee

We're home!

Steve and I arrived DFW Sunday afternoon to hugs from family and infrastructure that works...COOL! Now for the process of going through the reverse culture shock. I usually find this harder than the culture shock I experience when I go. I'll try to do a summary later today, but for now, here are the videos and a few pictures I promised. For more pictures, be sure to visit Steve Hixon's Facebook page. I think he'll be uploading a lot.



The IDP is in Goma, Congo. They are living in this camp because the rebels are attacking their villages: killing, looting, raping, kidnapping. The government is encouraging them to go back, but they are afraid.




This is of the pastor's conference. The worship is SO much fun.

I'll post more later.

Merrikay

In Goma

We drove through Rwanda to Goma (Congo) yesterday. We thought it would be a 3 hour trip, but it ended up to be about 5 1/2 hours. The last two days have been...wonderful, touching, tiring, humbling, sad, fun, depressing... This city is totally torn up. Between a war that has been going on for 15 years, a volcano that erupts every couple of years, and a government that seems unable to manage the infrastructure of the country, conditions are pretty bad here. But ALARM, the ministry that we are visiting, is doing amazing things here.

This morning, we were "entertained" by a small choir of young people called "The Ambassadors of Peace." I'll post a video when I get back. They were AMAZING. They are performing throughout this area in churches bringing a message of peace making and reconcilliation. They want to find a studio so that they can record their songs...all of which they write themselves. They were brought together by ALARM through their youth project. I started crying about half way through their performance and pretty much didn't stop the rest of the day. Not tears of sadness, but just raw emotion as I connect with these wonderful people.

Next came the micro-business women. ALARM lends them (individually) a small sum of money to act as capital for them to start a business. The types of business are buying used clothing in bulk and then selling it in the marketplace or buying cloth to make clothes that they then sell. Each one shared their stories. Some had run into trouble because a crisis had happened in their family and they had to use the seed money to take care of that. Some were being pinched very hard because they had to buy with American dollars and then sell in Congo francs. Because of the exchange rate, they keep making less and less profit. But their spirit of hard work and feeling of accomplishment was so strong, I don't think any of them will give up.

So next come the orphans...yes, still crying. From 23 to I would guess about 4. The ALARM Director asked me to speak to them some words of encouragement. I did of course, but their faces were all smiles and they are encouraged every day by what ALARM is doing for them. One young man shared that ALARM had been helping him since he was 9 years old and now he is in his second year of university. He gave quite a testamony of how they had totally changed his life. I gave everyone of the 20 or so a hug!

We weren't through. Next we went to see the sewing school they are running for young women to teach them a trade. I bought 5 little girl dresses that they have made. Crossroads women...line up to get them. Then the small Internet Cafe they run in order to pay for their satelite connection. And a lawyer's "club" that is trying to get justice for women who have been raped and consequently thrown out of their husband's home because they were now "damaged."

Then, as if we needed more convincing of the terribly difficult lives these people live, we went to the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp. These are people who have fled the country side and their homes so that they can be safe from the rebels and the soldiers. They live in make shift little tents on lava stone covered ground with not enough to eat and the knowledge that everything they had "back home" is gone.

Pray for ALARM. They are doing so much with so little.

Tomorrow we start our way home. One day to get back to Kigali, Rwanda. Another day back to Nairobi. Then on to the plane to DFW via Ampsterdam. We get home Sunday afternoon, but don't expect much from me until Tuesday or so.

Merrikay (and Steve)

Monday in Rwanda

First we were 4 (Steve, Dick, Linda, & Merrikay). Two young people from San Antonio joined us in Mombassa (Katie and Trevor). And so we were 6. Katie and Trevor left and so we were back to 4. Now Dick and Linda are on their way home and Steve and I (Merrikay) move on. We flew to Kilgali last night (Rwanda) and met the staff here. Emily Chenga, the Regional Director for ALARM, is with us. Today we visited some ALARM projects. One is a vocational school that teaches mostly young men skills for life...carpentry, construction, electrical, welding, mechanics (cars), and driving. These are young men who can't go to high school. Next a sewing school for (mostly) women. Finally a girls' high school that is made up of many genocide orphans. All of the projects have been initiated by and are now supported by ALARM. They are doing amazing work here.

I'm at a cyber cafe right now and so there isn't much time, but I'll try to write some more detail tonight and upload it tomorrow. Internet service is hard to come by.

We're doing well. Rwanda is a beautiful country and Kigali seems to be in a building boom. Thank you for your prayers. More later.

Merrikay & Steve

Conference at Kwale

Rose, Miriam, and Erick (from ALARM) and I pick up the next team from the Mombasa airport on Saturday afternoon. The plane is late, but that is the only issue. Steve, Dick, and Linda arrive ok and we head out for Kwale. As it turns out, Mombasa is an island, so to get off of it to the south, we have to take a ferry. Interesting and a little scary. ALARM tells us that during peak traffic times, the wait can be three hours. It carries both vehicle and foot traffic. Although the Mombasa airport is not very far from Kwale, we are going to have to allow a lot of time to get from the conference to our flight back to Nairobi on Friday afternoon.

When we get into Kwale district (not Kwale town, which is quite a bit west), it is obvious that this is a more prosperous area than Kilifi. They even have street lights. When we pull up to the hotel, it looks like an American resort. It has a beautiful open air lobby with marble floors. It is right on the ocean. Rose says that because this is a resort town, all the hotels are like this, or even nicer. And it turns out the rate isn’t too much more than in Kilifi. So we have decided to enjoy it and thank God for the blessing.

We have been joined by two people from San Antonio. Katie who is a photographer and her friend Trevor who is a chef. Katie will be photographing our conference.
On Sunday morning we head off for church. We are traveling in a van everywhere we go. To get to the church, we turn off the main road and go through a “residential” area on not more than a dirt foot path. Lots of people are walking about and sitting outside their homes almost close enough to touch from the van window. Lots of Muslims. Of course all the smiling little children waving and calling out “Jambo.” I would guess that the church is about a mile off the road. We have to go very slowly because of the condition of the “road” and it takes us 10-15 minutes.

The church is almost open air. It has some walls, big open spaces (windows), a roof, curtains as the back behind the alter for that wall. The church is much smaller in attendance than the one in Kilifi, but the same kind of worship although no children dancing. There is some sharing of prayer requests, a women’s group singing, and I think one woman who came to Christ. Steve preached on Isaiah 61. It was a great sermon. The pastor’s name is Kenneth. His English is very good. He has been a translator for other missionaries who have come to town and has spent a month in the States at an AWANA conference in Atlanta in 2000.

We decide that we’ll go out to eat lunch and then go to see the church where the conference will be held. Lunch is nice…shared some chicken curry with Linda. Then on to the church. It is a storefront right on the main highway. There is a praise group practicing there…1 guitar, drums, a keyboard, and 2 singers. They have about 100 plastic chairs set up and the room is completely full. There is one fan at the back and one in front of the room where we will be teaching from, but there doesn’t seem to be any way to open windows…maybe just prop open the door.

At the back of the room we go through a door back to the pastor’s office…Pastor Florence. She welcomes us and we sit and chat for a bit. She is very smiley and dynamic. I bet she preaches a good sermon. She asked Pastor Kenneth if we were still expecting 100 attendees and he said “yes.”

On Monday we begin the first day of conference #2. About 60-70 pastors and leaders are here. The room is very crowded, but the weather isn’t too hot and there are two ceiling fans and a very large floor fan all of which make it bearable. We consider moving to another church that is across the road. It is larger and has more airflow, but it doesn’t have electricity or indoor bathrooms. And Florence, who is the pastor of the church where the conference is scheduled, would be hurt if we asked to move. So we decide to stay where we are.

When we arrive, the praise and worship is going on with microphones and the volume turned way up. My ears are still ringing. ;-)

Erick opens with a session on leadership…it is very good. Then I do the introductions and ice breakers. I think it went well. We gave out Texas Rangers pins to the pastor who has been pastoring the longest, the largest number of children, the most miles traveled, the oldest child and the youngest child. They had fun. Then I had them pair up to get to know a “new friend.” They will be introducing their friends throughout the week.

Lunch on Monday is rice with beef bones and a cabbage salad (pretty typical of the whole week) that was made by the ladies of the church. Steve did his walk through the Old Testament after lunch and they loved it. Then he taught on discipleship, which was very good, but I’m afraid that people were falling asleep. The room is warm, rather dark, and we have full stomachs. A bad combination.

On Tuesday we get into our “rhythm” for the whole week. After the pastors finish their praise and worship (I never tire of hearing it), Steve starts with How to Study the Bible. In the second slot, after we have a “tea break,” Steve is teaching on 2 Corinthians. We have lunch about 1:00 and then start back at 2:00. Dick is teaching on counseling issues: Love, Anger, and Forgiveness. The last slot of the day is for the women on the team to teach. I (Merrikay) am teaching on parenting and then missions. Linda is teaching on “Soul Care.” We have some excellent interpreters working with us: Chrispinus, John, Kenneth, and Onisimus. We have invited Onisimus to come to the conference with us from Kilifi. He is a seminary student from Kilifi whom we know from when we were here in 2007.

So, the week is drawing to a close. It has been a wonderful week. When I get back and we have better Internet connection, I’ll load some information about individuals we have met, but for now, I’ll just say that we are very blessed by having 60 new friends in Christ. Tomorrow (Friday) we will hand out the Study Bibles we have for all of them and giving them certificates for the conference.

Thank you for your prayers.

For the team,
Merrikay

Dear friends from outside of Crossroads,

I'd like to give you an explanation of some of the logistics of our two trips. That way the future blog entries will make a little more sense.

There are two teams from Crossroads in Kenya this summer. The first team was focused on leading a Marriage Conference for Pastors in their wives in Kilifi, Kenya. Kilifi is along the eastern coast of Kenya. That team is the one who arrived home on Tuesday. The team members for the first group were Merrikay Lee, Paul and Suzi Henry, Mike and Joye Messerli and Dave and Cheri Hudspith.

The second team started a second conference in Kawale, Kenya on Monday of this week. This conference is a leadership training conference for Pastors. The second team includes Merrikay Lee, Steve Hixon, as well as Dick and Linda Gotthardt. This team is smaller which just as many hours of teaching required. Please pray for strength for them. The experience is exhausting. It requires strength from the Lord. Pray that meaningful conversations will take place this week between the team and the participants. By that, I don't just mean meaningful to the Kenyans, both sides benefit and learn from each other

To all...

I believed in the importance of prayer before I left on this trip. I had no idea how much deeper that belief would grow during on this trip. I have never experienced such a long, consistent and deep sense of abiding peace as I experience over the last fifteen or so days. It began before the trip and continued throughout. Thank you to all who prayed. Please continue to pray for the team that is there now. Pray for the Kenyans. In a week's time they receive a large amount of information. Pray that a few very practical things will be given to each one. Something the Holy Spirit can take and start using in their lives and ministries right now to help them.

One of the ways we made an impact was teaching together as couples. Kenyans do not have arranged marriages. They experience a courtship process very similar to our own. But once they are married to one another, they settle into very entrenched roles. They have not valued the need to maintain and develop a friendship with one another. One of the pastors, said in a small group, "These Americans talk about everything with one another. They'll even converse about a millipede." Another paster stated, "That he did not realize he ever needed to talk to his wife." WOW! Only the tip of the iceberg of the kinds of things we discovered...

Pray for ALARM... African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries. They are doing very important work in Africa. We were very impressed by their staff and volunteers. They are mature servants of God who delight in being excellent guides and hosts. The Alarm team stayed on with the second team from Crossroads. Their names are Rose, Erick and Miriam.

Hopefully the team in Kwale will have access to the internet and be able to post information this week.

As I continue to process what I learned and heard in Africa, you can hear those thoughts at beloved-daughter.blogspot.com. Or, call me up and let's set a date for coffee.

Cheri Hudspith

Home at last

The first team arrived home today at 3:00pm after 24 hours of travel. We are all tired, but very blessed by the week. I don't think there's anything I could add to make our trip any better. We will start posting photos as we are able.