HopeFest Nyeri

Hi!
There were several highlights from HopeFest Nyeri, but I'll share a few here.

In efforts to promote the event, several of the Master's Commission students and I hit the streets of Nyeri on Saturday morning to invite the people of the community. Our morning mission was just as much about sharing the Gospel as promoting Hope Fest (I'd been itching to go street witnessing, so this felt really, really, really good!). This was the first time for many of my students to go out evangelizing, and some were a bit apprehensive. Once we started out, though, I gave the couple of guys in my team opportunities to take the lead, stopping people on the road, sharing the Gospel, asking if how we could pray for them, and also leading us in praying for people. I was so impressed by how the guys were proactively going after souls, leaving the group as we ministered to one person to catch another passerby. One student led a young lady to the Lord. Man, I love, love, love, love, love, love to see the people I pour into pour into others. Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica, “What is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory & joy (I Thes 1:19-20)”. I feel the same way about my Master’s Commission students. I’ve loved (and to some degree, grown attached to) them already, but when I watched them minister to the people of Nyeri, I felt what Paul felt. They are my joy.

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I may have mentioned Kevin & Carrie Thomas. They are missionaries to ICC from Chicago, focusing on ministry with Frontrunners under Pastor Gibson Anduvate. Kevin raps and Carrie sings, but Carrie was sick this weekend and unable to join us in Nyeri. Once the events began Saturday night, Kevin asked me to sing Carrie’s part in a rendition of Hillsong United’s Mighty to Save and I agreed. We had all of five minutes to prepare before we went up, which of course meant a few challenges, but it was super fun. The following morning we were to do it again, this time with the help of my friend Bethuel. I hope to get the video up soon, but here are some photos. 

During the ministry time on Saturday night, I felt like I was supposed to pray for this lady on my left, but I snoozed and she left the event with her children. I was reminded of conversations I’ve had with my missionary friend Freddy about missed opportunities, and never wanting to have to say, “I wish I had prayed for that person.” Later, during dinner, I saw the woman’s daughter (Margaret), and asked where her mom was. That’s when I met Wangoi, a lovely young lady with whom I had a God-appointment. I skipped dinner that night, but was filled up. After meeting the Samaritan woman, Jesus’ disciples urged him to eat. He said, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about. My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” How right you are, Jesus.

Margaret :)

One of the main focuses of our classes on Leadership at Master's Commission last week was empowering servanthood. Spiritual leaders exist to build up people by serving. In John 13 we see that Jesus knew who he was, therefore he could empty himself for his disciples (and the world); and he demonstrated servanthood with a towel and basin. I explained that they would have opportunities to serve in Nyeri, so they should take advantage of them. They did, and they did. 

Becky helping clear the way for the stage with a machete!

Nyeri was great (and beautiful), but it feels really good to be back home (in Nairobi); preparing for another week of teaching Master's Commission. This week, we'll finish our discussion on leadership with project planning and then learn about discipleship.

Not a moment of this experience is possible without your partnership.
Thank you.

Change in Plans

Some of you have asked, and I’ve recently confirmed that I will in fact be doing some work with Zinduka Afrika, during my last week in Nairobi.  It’s funny how God works.  At first it didn’t look like I would spend any time teaching; but that’s what I’ve been spending the bulk of my time doing, and I’ve loved every moment of it!

Last Saturday, I spoke at True Love.  The message was entitled, The Love of God: God is Not Like Your Father.  I shared a testimony of my own life, having grown up without an earthly father, but how the Lord has revealed himself as Father.  We spent the rest of the time looking at attributes of how God is unlike man – He’s holy, faithful, He’s chosen those He calls His children...

This week at Master’s Commission we had three days of class, all talking about spiritual leadership – leadership characterized by the presence of the Holy Spirit.  One of the biggest emphases was servanthood.  We serve now, as we prepare to serve all the more as leaders.  We also talked about how we see Jesus in John 13, who understood his identity, knew he’d come from God and was returning to God, therefore he got up and washed his disciples’ feet (taking the lowest place as servant among them).  Being confident in His identity, Jesus could empty himself for his friends, for the world.  We’d talked about identity a few weeks back, and having that foundation, we can demonstrate leadership by serving others.

Tomorrow we leave for Nyeri for Hope Fest (a 3-day event bringing the message of hope, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to this generation.  The plan is for Hope Fest to tour Kenya in 2012, and go international in the coming years, reaching over 5 million people with the Gospel and winning 500,000 souls by the end of 2016).   This weekend in Nyeri will be the first Hope Fest, and tonight we had two commissioning services with the ministry teams.  It was a beautiful thing, for us to minister to the Lord together before ministering to the people of Nyeri.  After a word from Pastor Gibson, we (the leaders) washed the feet of our team members, and prophesied over each of them.  By the way, prophesying is really, really fun!  Man, I LOVE it when God moves through his people!  

Washing the feet of some of our team members was an honor.  I felt privileged to speak into the individual lives of each person that came to my basin.  Later, as one of the other leaders washed my feet, he said (among other encouragements) that my life isn’t going to be the same after this trip (I receive that!).  It’s amazing what a demonstration of the love and humility of Christ does; the evening was at the same time glorious, stirring and kind of emotional, but God’s presence was tangible.

My expectations for this weekend are high.  Nyeri has been on the news lately: wives are beating their husbands because the men are not taking leadership in the home.  We’re praying for a new identity for the town of Nyeri, that it would be known as a place no longer where the women beat their husbands, but a place where God resides.

We have also secured a website where you’ll likely be able to find live webstreaming: www.hopefest.tv.  Events will kick off at 6pm my time, so 9am Central.

That’s it for now.  Will keep you posted next week about how Hope Fest went.

Onward.

Chy

Some Frontrunners Honoring their Pastor

Master's Commission 2012

This is Life

The romance of “Whoa! I’m in Kenya!” has dissolved, and the mindset that says, “This is life.  I’m on mission to do the will of God and impart His life into the lives of people around me” is at the forefront.

The whole earth is the Lord’s (Ps 24), and I see Him in my midst all the time. 

The next few weeks are going to be hectic, packed with a lot of ministry activity.  This week, I’m scheduled to prepare to teach the teens (ages 14-17) Sunday morning, prepare for two full weeks of teaching at Master’s Commission (the weeks of 2/21 & 2/28), teach at True Love (a Saturday morning adult bible study), and then facilitate a Frontrunners Connecting Group (small group) Sunday afternoon, as well as play guitar for worship Tuesday evening.  One other exciting opportunity is Hope Fest, a series of three-day events, the first of which will be held in nearby Nyeri.  I’ll potentially be helping with the project planning for Hope Fest (which runs 2/24-26).  Details coming soon.

I haven’t yet finalized anything yet with Zinduka Afrika, but as I look at the many, many ministry opportunities at ICC, it’s hard not to be overwhelmed.  Please join me in prayer that I put my hands to exactly what the Lord Jesus has created me to (Eph 2:10), and that the work would produce the maximum possible fruit fort His Kingdom.

Please check back soon.  I’m planning in the next few days to give an update on the events from this past week.

Onward.
Chy

Mwalimu Chy

On Friday, I graded homework for the first time, which officially makes me Mwalimu Chy (Teacher).  The assignment was to quote and describe five of Jesus’ “I am” statements, which He uses to identify himself.  I graded and returned them and asked my students to complete a follow-up assignment over the weekend: to journal about what each of the statements means to them, as a believer in Christ and child of God.  In a couple of weeks, I’ll be teaching two full back-to-back weeks at Master’s Commission, on leadership, as well as a couple more topics yet to be determined, but for an update on how this past Tuesday’s class went, click here.

ICC has a young adults ministry of over 700, called Frontrunners, and they meet on Sunday mornings for corporate worship, which runs parallel to the main church’s services.  Over the weekend, I joined the Frontrunners worship team in singing as well as playing guitar for their two services, and I had an amazing time ministering to the Lord (both in English & Swahili) with this great group of young people, as well as fellowshipping with them afterward.  Check back later - I'll soon upload a video of us singing an English song entitled, “I Love You.”

Yesterday I became aware of just how many ministry opportunities that ICC has, and this week I’ll be diving into new areas.  The week will be spent in helping prepare for teaching the children (young teenagers).  After the second service, I’ll join a Connecting Group (or small group) of young adults that I’ll be meeting with weekly during my time here.  In addition, I’ll begin tomorrow with helping lead worship for ICC’s Tuesday evening prayer meetings.

There are lots of opportunities for good works (more which you’ll read about in the coming weeks), and I’m excited to walk in them.

p.s. it’s summertime in Kenya, so mangos are in season.  fruit salads can be found everywhere, and I couldn't be more delighted :) this was lunch a few days ago.

Follow Up: Big Big Opportunity

In an earlier blog, I asked for prayer to hear God about what to teach my Master’s Commission friends about today.  He spoke and I heard.  Yesterday morning, after much prayer (yours & mine), I felt a strong sense that we needed to discuss identity in Christ before we could get into leadership, or any other topic for that matter.  I submitted it to the program’s leadership, and having been given the green light, I stayed up last night in prayer and preparation.

Some of the topics we covered included the character of God as revealed by His covenant names, the value placed on mankind as seen in Creation, how we see Jesus respond when His identity was attacked (Matt 4), and finally the finished work of the Cross and what that means in the identity of those who place their faith in Jesus.

At the end of the third (last) session, we had a time of ministering to the students.  The hearts of several were touched by the Holy Spirit, and one young man gave his life to Jesus.  As the word went forth, the Spirit's presence filled the room, and even I was getting rocked by the word.  Also, can I just say that I had a blast both teaching, and interacting with the students!  I’ve been in Nairobi for only a week, but if the events from today were the entirety of what the Lord sent me here to do, I would be extremely satisfied…but I praise God because I believe that He has much more to do both in and through me while I’m here.

We're working out my calendar, but right now, I'm scheduled to teach the full week of 2/21 on Leadership (isn’t it cool how things work out?).

In today’s morning session, I mentioned leprosy (from Mark 1), and I somehow used my massive mosquito bites as an illustration.  There was a corporate gasp when they saw my arm.  I guess these don’t look normal, but never fear, I’m told it just looks like that because I have lighter skin (not for long!)

Let me jump back to the beginning of the day.  I was introduced to the pastoral staff during pastoral devotions at ICC, which I'll be joining and whose meetings I'll participating in while interning here.  
You can learn more about these awesome men of God by visiting International Christian Centre's Facebook Page.

At the end of the day, after riding home in a matatu (public transportation), my friend Nash (below) introduced me to a delicious maize snack (a super big boiled corn on the cob with salt).

Quote of the Day:
Nash: What do Americans eat for lunch?
Chy: Like a sandwich and soup.
Nash: That's a snack.  I would need two sandwiches and soup.
Chy: That's a lot.  Some people even just have soup.
Nash: Are they trying to starve themselves?


Anyway, thank you for your continued love, prayer and support.

Forward we go.

Chy