Pentecostals and cultural stress

I just spoke at chapel for the Assemblies of God Bible college. 250ish highly motivated students. I love speaking to pentecostals- when I preach, they preach back. You know that I get enthusiastic when I speak to US suburban calvinists (is anybody awake out there?). Imagine what happens when a few "amens" come back at me. I spoke to them about luke 15- the overwhelming, unconditional love of God. Good stuff, and it really seemed like God was working. Thanks for your prayers.

After about 10 days, I really start to feel cultural
stress. Nothing feels completely comfortable, and it's tiring to navigate linguistic and cultural obstacles.

Tomorrow (thurs), we travel back to Dar es Salaam. Friday AM, we leave early to fly to London, and then home, arriving in Chicago early Sat aft.

finishing strong

I'm getting ready to speak tomorrow at Dodoma Assemblies of God Bible college in Dodoma, Tanzania. I've spent most of the day traveling through the countryside, passing numerous small villages. The students i'm speaking to will be serving in villages just like that - many of them already are. So the question is, what can I possibly have to say to them? I've lived a sheltered, privileged US life. I'm tired after 9 days of travel and ministry. And yet, i'm confident that God has brought me here. Please pray for me that I would find direction and strength (and that I would speak slowly enough for them to understand).
Whenever I approach the end of a trip, it's a dangerous time. I'm emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted. I miss my family. I'm ready to go home. But I need to finish strong...

reflections on Nairobi

I've got 30 minutes before we meet w/ the leadership of the Tanzanian Assemblies of God churches. But this is Africa, so it be a couple hours. I'm excited about our opportunities in TZ, but I want to reflect on Nairobi for a second.
There seems to be a general estimate that 750,000 people live in the Mathare slum. Unemployment is about 70%, and those who have jobs rarely make more than 5-10 dollars per week. Schools are horribly equipped,and hope is nonexistent. A typical 20x20 shanty houses 6-20 people. Raw sewage flows through the narrow alley streets.
Outreach Hope Churches (a series of indigenous Kenyan churches) and the Mathare Valley pastors fellowship have invited us to train pastor-trainers in the Mathare Valley. We're still working out the details, but it's an amazing opportunity. These are pastors and church leaders who will lead churches that proclaim hope in Jesus, teach the Bible, offer education, counsel families and more- all in one the difficult places on earth. They are my heroes- Oliver, Joseph, peter, wallace, and many others.
We're supported in this partnership by Parkview Church in Orland Park, IL. Parkview pastor Tim Harlow arrived w his family during the training. He was very encouraging. Without our US partners, and our in-country partners, we couldn't do any of this.
Gotta run.

next : Tanzania

We had a great time in Kenya - more on that later to
day

Hopefully.
The slums of Nairobi are mind-numbing, but good things are happening.

Off to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania now...

next : Tanzania

Hope in Mathare

They estimate that 600,000 people live in the Mat hare slum...in an area of less than 2 square miles. They live in tiny shacks, packed like sardines - as many as 10 people in a 12 x 12 shack. Others are squeezed into 5-10 story highrises. No one really knows how many people there are in Mathare. But the material poverty is no more striking than the lack of hope. But I've been meeting people who are bringing hope to Mathare- they're called "Mission of Hope". Almost 3000 children are being educated (and loved) in their schools.Social workers are helping to mend broken families. And in a hundred other ways, this christian organization is BEING the church. It's a huge task, but the community is being impacted one life at a time. And we get to be part of all this...more on this later

different side of the world, same cause

Whenever I travel internationally, I'm struck by how different things are - food, culture, weather, language...you name it. And yet, as I meet people, I realize that we all have so much in common. Today, we met w/ Oliver and Joseph, two Kenyan pastors. They work together in an effort to raise up leaders and start new churches. As we talked, we realized that our hearts were in tune, and that we were very much on the same page. I'm from small-town Iowa, and I live in suburban Chicago. They serve in one of the poorest slums in the world. But we found common ground in a common mission.
Tomorrow, we'll be finishing preparations for teaching. I'm also preparing to preach sunday morning.