Ready, Set, Go!

Thanks and praise to Almighty God for His provision! The Clinic for Kenya is scheduled to be shipped on Friday (7/23) at noon! The Lord has provided the best prices and funding and all things needed! It has been HIS timing all along, despite the doubts and fears of us and others. Why did we doubt your great provision? Forgive us Lord. All praise and glory go to YOU Lord! It's NOT about us.

The Clinic should arrive in Kenya around the first week of September, so it should be there when we arrive. Pastor and Lorna will be back in Kenya and the St. John Africa Team will arrive in Kenya on September 23rd. Watch for our blog posts during that time, and remember to leave your comments!

Clinic for Kenya Needs Funds for Final Leg of Journey!

Good News-Bad News!

Thanks be to God the Cargo Container (Clinic for Kenya) is full and ready to be shipped! The bad news is we have discovered that another $10,000 is needed once it arrives at Mombassa! This is twice what we expected to pay to truck it across the country! We are concerned, but trusting God that He will get it there one way or another. We are asking for your prayers!

This Clinic will be such a blessing to the people of Kenya, and the equipment inside will make diagnosis and treatment SO much easier for them. May the God who began this project bring it to fruition in the name of Jesus.

Cargo Container is Here!

The container has arrived and has been painted inside, thanks to the wonderful people at Crittenton Hospital in Rochester! We will fill the container with medical equipment, supplies, clothing, shoes, school supplies, and more. It will then be shipped to Kenya and become an actual medical testing and treatment center. donations of the above items can be delivered to St. John Lutheran Church at 1011 W. University Dr. in Rochester, MI. Help us fill it to the brim! The Lord willing the container will then be trucked across Kenya to the Nyanza Province and be waiting for us when our fourth mission team arrives in September. Stay tuned for further updates!

BIG PLANS IN THE WORKS for 2010!

The Africa Mission Team of St. John has big plans for our next trip in September, 2010!

We have been working very hard to expand this ministry and serve the widows and ophans of Kenya. On our last trip we met many children who were in need of sponsors so they could attend school, purchase a uniform, and receive a good meal while there. After discussing the need with Deaconess Lorna Meeker we determined a monthly amount that would take care of those needs. We took pictures of the children at the Luther Academy in Kibera, the school on the grounds of Springs of Life Lutheran Church where Pastor Dennis Meeker and Deaconess Lorna serve. On returning home in October '09 we set about getting those children sponsored. Through the generosity of the people of St. John and a few non-members, we currently have 37 children sponsored! We have a goal that all 76 children at the Luther Academy will be sponsored and an additional 26 children we met at a Maasai Village near Kisumu will be sponsored. (Currently we have 11 of the Maasai children sponsored.) Please prayerfull consider sponsoring a child! The cost is only $35.00 a month. You will be blessed beyond measure and so will the child that you enable to change their life.

We also have several projects in the works:

Our "Klinic for Kenya" project entails purchasing a 8 ft X 40 ft cargo container that will be filled, with the generous help of Crittenton Hospital in Rochester, medical supplies and equipment, diapers, clothing, and anything else we can get in it! That cargo container will then become a medical clinic in the Nyansa province of Kenya. Watch for the container in mid June in the parking lot at Crittenton Hospital, adjacent to St. John.

We will also be asking the school children of St. John Lutheran School to fill a shoebox full of hygiene products and school supplies for the children in Kenya at the Luther Academy and the Maasai village.

We also look forward to collecting clothing and shoes from our St. John annual Rummage Sale the third week on June. If you would like to contibute anything for the coantainer, please contact Deaconess Linda Nobili at lnobili@stjohnrochester.org. Let's fill it to the brim!

Karibu Kenya! Welcome to Kenya!

Home again, and yet homesick

Yes, we are home again, yet our hearts, minds and prayers will forever be in Kenya!



I returned home on Oct 5th and had surgery at U of M hospital on Oct 7th. I was sad to leave Kenya, but so thankful for a great American hospital. I have broken the fibula bone in two places, so the Dr. "installed" a plate with four screws. He and Mauro got into a dicussion about self-tapping screws which Mauro tried to convey to me upon awakening from surgery, but I was having none of that discussion! The inside ligement that had snapped was healing nicely so he didn't have to sew it. Overall, I am doing much better with the pain now, and I only need the meds a couple times a day. Thank you so much for all your prayers, cards, and meals! Mauro and I are overwhelmed by your generosity and kindness.



As I read Elizabeth's post, I am reminded of all the work we have to do! There are so many needs, that we could never meet them all; but God in His mercy will direct us where to focus our energies. We encountered many more children who need to be sponsored, both for basic sustainance and for school fees. Please let me know if the Lord is leading you to be one of those sponsors.



I have to comment on the team this year. It was very evident that God choose this team. Each brought their own unique gifts and talents with them.

• Elizabeth was clearly there to help the teachers at the the Luther Academy. Her giftedness in teaching and loving children was a great blessing to all she encountered. She also went above and beyond by painting my toenails and washing my hair for me before I left! Thanks Elizabeth! You have a true servant heart.


• Shani used her gifts of compassion and organization to touch the hearts of the children and help the teachers to more organized. Shani, you blog was beautiful and I wanted to cry along with you for the children of Kibera.


• Rockie was in "seventh heaven!" I am so glad that he was able to use the gifts God has given him to lay tile, paint, and whatever else was needed at the school. What a blessing you were Rockie to the young men that you mentored!
• Sue was a women 'possessed' I'm told as she unloaded that cargo carrier! I didn't see it, but anyone wo knows Sue, knows that she puts her whole heart and soul (and back!) into a project. Thank you Sue for your strength, not only of body, but of character. And thank you for leaving Kenya early to be my nursemaid on the way home!
• Karen was our rock. Her wisdom and kindness saw us through. She was a great blessing to the people of Kenya who needed medical attention, and to me! She was right there with me when I fell and I trusted her wisdom and calming presence the entire time. Thanks Karen! You know I miss you already!

I praise the Lord of the Harvest for sending us and I thank all who contributed to make it possible. Look for future presentations and new items for sale!

Home Again

Deaconess Linda had her surgery & is home recovering. She not only broke her leg in two places but also tore a ligament. Continue to pray for her complete healing.

Our team became the dwindling group as the trip went on; first we were 7, then Kirk became ill, then Linda & Sue left early, we went to Amsterdam with 4, Karen went home & then there were 3.

The two flights were interrupted by a one day stint in Amsterdam. It was cold & rainy but we enjoyed the city anyway. We mostly spent our time strolling around & took a canal barge tour. Karen's husband met us for dinner, which we all enjoyed immensely. Karen rode the train to the airport with us & caught a cab home. Rockie, Shani & I flew home to Michigan.

The adventure is over for now,much of the team is already discussing when to return...felling the pull of God's calling to Kenya.

Each team member has their own journey to reflect on; God truely brought us togther for His purpose, to grow us as a team and as His children.

For me the journey will most certainly continue. I'm tied to that place & those people in a way that breaks my heart fresh each time. I walked away from Luther Academy across the red, dusty field & already knew that I would be returning to this place of great suffering, disease and hardship...but God dwells here in the heart of the people who have been drawn so close to Him through those same trials.

Deaconess Lorna says that when you meet people in their suffering, that's when they see Jesus. My hope & prayer is for that to be true of our team.