4 GIRLS...and ONE AWESOME GUY

There are five terrific kids from Saddleback who are living in Kitale, Kenya today.

Teaching and encouraging and ministering at:

• OASIS of HOPE  Street Kid Outreach
• Gilgal Secondary School
• Deliverance Church
• Sister Freda's Cottage Hospital
• Purpose Driven Academy
• and Discover to Recover HIV/AIDS Center   
  

Allison is one of the very best examples of a Christian who has moved from an 'awakening' PEACE experience to becoming a true 'advocate' for the sick, the poor, and the hurting. 

Daina's heart for people is so evident...from the moment she walks into an orphanage or a church or a hospital...she goes right after relationship. 

Is Megan a journalist because she asks GREAT QUESTIONS? Or does she ask great questions because she has the heart and skills of a journalist? She dives into ministry by seeking out the truth and the facts and the background. 

Caroline could care less if she EVER is on stage or up front or in the limelight...in fact, she prefers to lead quietly from the middle of the pack...by example, not word.

 

Chris will do ANYTHING, ANY TIME, ANYWHERE...to help share the GOOD NEWS of GOD'S LOVE. I admire his humor and his energy for ministry.

We're not here to SOLVE! We're here to SERVE !

As Don Thompson spoke to a church in a Bukusu slum during a community assessment day...his t-shirt gave me reason to flash back to Hurricane Katrina and the hundreds of servant-hearted Saddleback folks who spread out along the Gulf Coast during the past 3 years. Our teams have blessed over 150 churches and pastors through PEACE RELIEF. And in the process hundreds of abiding friendships have emerged. 

The problems at hand were absolutely overwhelming, but because we reminded ourselves daily that our role was to serve not solve...it relieved the anxiety that comes from trying to 'fix the unfixable'.

 

Don, a retired fire chief, and his family, are shining examples to our church and our worldwide friends that by showing up...in Mt. Elgon, in Slidell, Louisiana, or in Burma...the most wonderful things happen in the most devastated places. 

Matthew 16:24 

FEEDING PROGRAM at KIPSONGO

When you enter the broken backdoor at Pastor John’s Caanon Church in Kipsongo Slums, you immediately are greeted by 200 + tiny chocolate faces.

The number of kids is deceiving because, frankly, they are so very little and only take up a few rows in the wood and mud building. Then you start counting...

The daily feeding program supplies 2 meals for kids between 1 and 3 years of age and in most cases it is the ONLY food they will ever see.

Their moms are nowhere to be found…maybe scavenging for something of some worth in the dump…maybe drinking ‘changa’, the local brew…maybe worse…much worse.

Their dads, if they were EVER around, are long gone…off to Lodwar…off to town…just off…permanently off.

We brought two 90 kilo bags of maize and beans…a good mix of carbs and protein…along with cooking oil and ugali, a Kenya staple, sugar and rice for future days.

Allison, Caroline, Chris, Daina, and Megan jumped right in and began serving…and cuddling…and hanging with these very sweet kids.

Not one bean or kernel of maize remained an hour later…

No ‘finnecky’ eaters in this group.

I like feeding kids…they are so dang happy to be with you and so grateful for whatever comes their way.

“For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water…”

Matthew 25:35

Mobile Medical Clinic at Kipsongo

It’s 1pm on Monday afternoon…

Rain pours down on an already-soaked slum…

Hundreds of hurting folks wait, patiently…sorry for that pun, but it was begging to be thrown in…

Up rolls the medical team…

Sister Freda’s Mobile Medical Team…with a few borrowed hands from abroad…

* Umida from Uzbekistan

* Julia from Ukraine

* Graciella and Ron from the OC

The medical needs are overwhelming to a rookie, but the team just wades in and starts assessments…

• cholera
  
• tb
  
• malaria
  
• typhoid
  
• std's
  
• worms
  
• jiggers
  
• fever
  
• diarrhea.
  

Freda’s treatment team systematically and lovingly cares for and prays for EVERY person there.

She doesn’t rush or linger…

She doesn’t fall into pity or self doubt…

She just does what God designed her to do.

Comfort the Afflicted

When Folks Have Dirty Water

Bad Things Happen…

• Clothes never really get clean
• Bathing and washing are ineffective
• Even a sip becomes a nightmare
• Parasites enter the system
• A dozen different diseases attack
• Diarrhea becomes a constant enemy
• De-hydration sets in
• The body’s natural immune system is depleted
• People die…especially kids

When Folks Have Clean Water

Good things happen…

• Clothes can be cleaned
• Hands and bodies can be washed
• Drinking becomes safe again
• Water-borne diseases stop
• The kidneys start to cleanse the system
• Parasites stop entering the body
• Diarrhea and cholera lose their stranglehold
• Little bodies get re-hydrated
• People live healthier lives…especially kids

I RE-DISCOVERED SOME THINGS ON THIS COLLEGE UKRAINE TEAM

#1 I’M NOT 23 YEARS OLD...I’M 55.

#2 I USED TO THINK OF MYSELF AS HIP....NOW I WONDER HOW LONG BEFORE HIP RELACEMENT SURGERY.

#3 RIDING THE KIEV-TO-MARIOPOL TRAIN WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS IS HILARIOUS.

#4 OUR UKRAINIAN PARTNERS FROM ‘NEW LIFE CHURCH’ AND ‘CHURCH OF GOOD CHANGES’ ARE THE MOST THOUGHTFUL AND SERVANT-HEARTED PEOPLE.

#5 INDIGENOUS, CHURCH-BASED PARTNERSHIP IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO IN LONG RUN MISSIONS.

#6 UKRAINE IS A POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FORCE TO BE RECONNED WITH.

#7 THE BLACK SEA, IN JULY, IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES ON EARTH.

#8 I AM 10 YEARS BEHIND IN CONTEMPORARY MUSIC AND THOUGHT.

#9 I WILL NEVER CATCH UP...AND THAT’S OK WITH ME.

#10 I’VE ALREADY GOT NEXT SUMMER IN CRIMEA CIRCLED ON MY CALENDER...CAMP FOR 100 DRUG ADDICTED STREET KIDS ANYONE???

The CRAVE TEAM in Ukraine

I’ve been at Saddleback for 27 years and I’m embarrassed to say I have NO IDEA what ‘CRAVE’ stands for...
The fact that the name is capitalized MUST mean that in true Warrenesque fashion... it stands for something...but I can’t tell you what.
Rick’s love for acrostics has spawned a whole Saddleback world of words like SHAPE and PEACE and CRAVE

But in old school language...it’s the ‘college group’...
An awesome college group.

What a blast it was ministering with them in Kiev and Mariopol and Crimea.
Addressing the issues of poverty and homelessness and drug abuse.
And seeing, first hand, the biggest challenge of the Worldwide Church....men and women, boys and girls , facing eternity WITHOUT knowing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

With our friend, Vlad, with us...our Crave team shared their stories of their own faith journeys and their loving concern at orphanages...drop-in centers...group homes and rehab centers.


SO EVEN THOUGH I MAY NEVER KNOW WHAT ‘CRAVE’ STANDS FOR ...I KNOW WHAT THESE KIDS COLLEGE KIDS STAND FOR...CHANGED LIVES.

Me and TENTS

OK .... Camping is cool....fresh air...the sounds of birds and the wind and rain...
But at 55 years old I think I may need to get a little bigger tent...
One night in Crimea there was more rain and water INSIDE this tent than outside it.
I spent most of the long downpour night wondering what exactly getting struck by lightning actually does to you.

Baptism in Crimea

In a crisp mountain spring...
In a forest right out of LORD OF THE RINGS...
With a waterfall as the backdrop...
By a clear blue pool where people jump from the rocks above...

With a hundred Ukrainian hikers looking in...

We had the most wonderful BAPTISM service. Breanna, Lauren, and Natalie shared in the 2000-year-old symbol of being buried with Christ and rising to walk a New Life in Him.

As I explained the meaning of baptism to our CRAVE team, the coolest thing happened. As we talked about following Christ's EXAMPLE and His COMMANDMENT, folks began to crowd in close to the water...people were just out hiking and stayed through the whole baptism and prayed with us and cheered and celebrated the girls' step of faith. 

What began in the Jordan River so many years ago with Jesus and John the Baptist...is still very much alive today.