The interns leading in song in dusty, windy Mwingi

Praise God for answered prayer!

We asked you to pray for our five summer interns, that Christ would be formed in them and that they would be ministers of the love of God to the poor. There certainly were many opportunities to love children, share the gospel, sing for God’s glory, pray with families in their homes and make new friends. The girls taught Sunday school in four churches, checked heights and weights, talked about abortion and abstinence, demonstrated how to make oral re-hydration solution and held malnourished and dying babies. We prayed together, laughed a lot, cried some and had a few frightening moments- a near road accident, being chased by monkeys, and an attempted theft. Weekly we soaked in the gospel using The Gospel Centered Life study (a WHM publication). Our time together ended on a lovely white beach in Mombasa. There were only a few mild illnesses and we are grateful for the Father’s protective hand all summer. Thank you for praying- God really blessed us!

Christine

James

Thank you also for interceding on behalf of Christine and James, the two children with whom I’ve worked for the last 7 years. God has answered prayer through their acceptance into another children’s home closer to where we live. After a visit to the home last weekend, James and Christine, as well as their aunt, were favorable toward the move. The next step is to get letters of transfer from their present residence, school, and HIV/AIDS clinic, where Christine is treated so she can start on her new medications. I’ve struggled with worry because her CD4 count is low and she has had pneumonia twice recently. Please pray that the Lord would restore her health, that the move would go smoothly and that both kids would adjust well. Ask Christ to continue to reveal himself to them.

Judy (front) reunited with her family

Another answer from the Lord has been for a little six year old friend, Judy, an orphan living with my friend, Mary from Sudan. Because of a dispute surrounding Judy, she was abruptly taken by authorities and placed in an orphanage for two months. It is a confusing situation, but this week the court decided to return Judy to Mary’s home and we celebrated this reunion together. Pray for this precious girl to feel loved and secure deep in her soul by both her earthly family and her heavenly Father.

Porridge program at Kyeni Kya Gai School

A boy named Josephat approached me on the street as I waited for some friends. He was dressed in dirty clothes accompanied by several other “street boys” of various ages, some high from sniffing glue in bottles up their sleeves. I was stuck waiting at that spot and some visiting friends were watching, so with less than holy motives, I began a conversation with the 11 year-old. He told me that his mother died and his step mother mistreats him because she does not love him. I explained to him about Jesus’ love and he began to cry telling me how much he misses his mother and prays for her to return. His pleading eyes caused my heart to break for this child! Then in further conversation he said that his sister and cousin are at Huruma Children’s Home, where I hope to move James and Christine. It’s easier to ignore these kids when we encounter them because I feel so helpless to know how to effectively help. I was once warned concerning the enormous problem of kids on the street, “Don’t open the tap unless you are prepared for the flood that will follow.” Another friend wisely said that behind every child in the slums is a huge wedge of difficult social issues. Please pray for Josephat; maybe God will rescue this one boy from his miserable life on the street through Kianga Kids.

Student w/ porridge at Kyeni Kya Gai

I recently struggled through situations concerning three different women asking for help. All are single mothers professing desperation who lost their spouses either through abandonment or death. It is very difficult sometimes to discern if a begging stranger has a true story or not. I praise God for courage to speak the truth in love to each of them, to share Christ and give them my honest advice about their situations. I was able to give something cheerfully to help them and pray them on their way trusting Christ to be their teacher and savior. I wish it was like this more often.

“Missions is messy,” we sometimes say. There are not clear answers on how to handle difficult situations. Many times our own sinful flesh gets in the way or the effects of the fallen world seem insurmountable, but we cling to God’s promise that he will build his church, he will bring in those belonging to him and will destroy the works of the evil one once and for all.

Student with Gospel bracelet

After a busy few months of travel and events with a visiting team, we are finally settling into our new little “cottage in the forest” from where Andrew has been riding his bike to school and Robert and I have set up our offices. Pray for us to rest and be satisfied with Christ during this lull in activity before the next season of travel and busyness begins. More on that in the next update!

Gratefully, Lois

Summer Interns and Church Team together

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” Rom. 12:4-6a

We are always amazed at the way God uses the diversity of gifts with the short-term missionaries He brings our way. The five young interns we hosted for two months and our church team from Gainesville, VA who joined us for two weeks were no exception. Among our interns we had three nursing students and two teachers. With our church team we had one pastor, one teacher, one goat keeper and one soap maker. As Lois spent most of the time with the interns and I focused on the church team, I will give you news about our church team and then let Lois give you a separate update on the interns.

Most of our time with the church team from Virginia was spent in the Mwingi District and focused on a pastor’s seminar, improving the library of the Bible School, researching a soap-making project, and visiting various other ministry sites where Lois and I have been involved. I went with this team and Lois stayed in Karen with the interns.

Jack teaching on eschatology

It was so great to have Pastor Jack Lash teach about 40 rural pastors on the topic of eschatology. This is a subject that the church universally neglects but our faith in this Biblical truth so affects the way we live! Many warn of being “so heavenly-minded that we are no earthly good,” but someone else said that, “We cannot be of any earthly good if we are not heavenly-minded!” It was encouraging to see how quickly Jack connected with these men across the wide chasm of cultural differences he needed to straddle. I know his pastoral, loving heart and careful, passionate teaching was a blessing to these men for three days, as well as preaching on two Sundays.

Trinity Bible School Library

Elder Richard Chenette was also a great blessing as he catalogued the books of the library of Trinity Bible Institute, where the seminar was held, including some their church donated. We are praying that we can help to renovate this facility to better protect the books from dirt and mice and insects that have been deteriorating their condition. The Bible School would like to move the library into a larger, brighter facility that, once renovated with window glass, new doors, book shelves and tables, will afford the students a much better study environment. If you are interested in helping let us know! Richard also got to give Pethuel some basic lessons on the used computer someone sent for him to use.

Becky Peach and her favorite animal!

Kathleen demonstrating soap making

A major focus of this trip was to ascertain the feasibility of beginning a soap-making project in Mwingi District to provide some employment for some of the Kenyan ladies. Becky Peach and Kathleen Hutcheson were able to meet with several community development groups with which Lois and her friend Rhoda have been connected. The beauty of this arrangement is that there were already formed groups of ladies who were currently doing different projects to help their communities. Kathleen was able to find local ingredients that the ladies could use in the process. Unfortunately, after lots of research about different breeds of goats, it was discovered that using goat milk to make the soap might prove problematic. Also, our colleagues at the health center there asked that we encourage community members to use their goat milk to feed their children as a source of nutrition.

At the end of our time Becky and Kathleen enthusiastically commented that they were very impressed with how industrious all the women were and with the very real possibility of this project working- with or without goat milk. Over 90 women were shown the process throughout the week. They are already eager to return and see this initiative become a reality! Thanks for your prayers.

Kiluki with hand-made parallel bars

Esther- the girl with club feet

Becky Peach, who is a qualified Occupational Therapist saw several patients that Lois has been helping and gave encouraging professional and practical advice to their families. Kiluki, a six year old with Cerebral Palsy is receiving physical therapy and the other girl, Esther, received corrective surgery for club feet. Kianga Kids fund has provided their treatment. Becky said that being able to drive out to their villages and see them in their home environment was very helpful. Becky also got to visit Overcomers by Grace ministry to the handicapped in Nairobi.

Reticulated Giraffe at Meru Nat'l Park

Outreach at Usueni

Visiting one of the village church-plants

This team also visited several village churches and saw the difficult conditions that our church planters deal with using limited resources. After a morning visit to a gamepark, including one flat tire and a broken tailpipe, we arrived at the church planting site of Usueni (see our March 2009 update) to do some outdoor music and preaching. Children, ladies, and even some men began dancing with joy with the worship music and, to our surprise, Elder Richard with our U.S. team jumped in to dance with them! At that point many more joined in and we danced and laughed with abandon! After this event we were shown the land the church is trying to purchase and their temporary church building and prayed for God to help them establish this beachhead of his kingdom.

Baptizing 38!

On our last Sunday there, Jack preached and I had the privilege of baptizing 38 men, women and children of Pethuel’s congregation!

Other praises and prayer requests…
1. While we were hosting this team, Kenya was in the middle of voting on a referendum to change their constitution and many feared it would turn violent as it did the days after the last election. Thanks to the prayers of many, this time of voting was carried out very peacefully and Kenyans now have a new constitution. We also praise God that it did not prevent us from doing our ministry.

2. After a busy time of ministry and Andrew being away at camp, we are all together as a family again for at least a week! Pray for God to give us good times of reconnecting.

3. Please pray for my next ministry trip August 20-23- this time to Western Kenya where I will do some teaching with another pastor and dedicate a new church building. Pray for safety on the road and the anointing of the Spirit for effective teaching in church planting.

4. Please begin praying for a longer ministry trip for me in Uganda and South Sudan during the months of September and October where I will also be doing training and visiting some of the World Harvest missionaries. We are hoping that Lois will be able to come and join me for some of the time in Uganda but we will see. Ask God to protect Lois and Andrew in my absence and keep our love strong in spite of our separations.

Thanks for your prayers and faithful financial support!

In Christ,

Robert

Our team of four comes from Gainesville, VA and we are excited to have folks from this church come who have been our supporters for many years. Reverend Jack Lash, the pastor of this church, will be teaching a seminar for the Kenyan pastors on the topic of eschatology. This is a topic that can sometimes sound abstract and confusing to us all but I believe that, although there are many different approaches, a good basic understanding and faith in what the scriptures teach about this topic informs our everyday life in the here-and-now.

Jack is accompanied by another elder in the church, Richard, who will be assisting Jack and helping us with the cataloguing of the library of our small Bible School where Jack will be teaching. Two ladies, Becky and Kathleen will also be coming to research the goat project we have been talking about. It seems they have decided to focus mainly on soap-making rather than cheese production.

Togenbach cross-breeds

Please pray for the following:
1. For safe travel in the air and on the ground according to our schedule:
July 28th- Team leaves U.S.
July 29th- Arrives in Nairobi
July 31st- Robert travels by road with team of four to Mwingi.
August 1-8: Ministry in Mwingi
August 9: Travel by road back to Nairobi
August 11: Team departs for U.S.

2. Ask the Lord to use Pastor Lash as he teaches this seminar on eschatology. Pray that his communication will be clear and encouraging. Pray for him and Richard as they preach on Sundays and at an outreach event in one of the villages.

3. Petition our Father to give wisdom as the ladies pursue the goat project. Pray that this project might provide some employment for an area that is poor because of low rain levels.

4. Pray for me as I lead this team. I want to do the logistics effectively (there are many!) while at the same time loving everyone well.

5. Ask in faith that this team will go back to their church with a renewed and informed vision of how to continue partnering with us in this work.

Other prayer items:
1. Pray for peace on and around 4th of August as Kenya votes on a new constitution. Difficult issues include abortion, special courts allowed for Muslims and land issues. Pray that the Kenyan people would make the right choice that pray that everyone would except the outcome peacefully. Pray for unity and harmony.

2. Pray for the family of one of our pastors who recently died of AIDS. None of us, including his wife, knew he was HIV positive and now the widow and young child are also positive. The other pastors are taking an offering to help this family in their great need. We are praying about how we can help.

3. Pray for our daughter Jessica as she continues to struggle through a difficult workload and exams as she trains to become a paramedic. Pray that she will stay the course and not become discouraged.

Thanks for praying!

Robert

Thanks for staying in touch with us and the Lord as you support us with your prayers and finances. We have been flying so much “by the seat of our pants” that we have little time to rest or maintain our vehicles, let alone our aging bodies!

Trip to Mwingi (June 24-28):
The purpose of this trip was for me to work with the church planters and for Lois to do children’s ministry with our five interns- Emily, Katie, Stephanie, Jenny and Heather.

Our four Ngomeni church planters

Daniel Nzuki's church in Maweni

I visited the four church planters in the Ngomeni Presbytery with which we are in partnership for training and financial support. After a couple of days of long trips to these rural church plants, I taught a one-day seminar with the help of two of our trainers. On Sunday I also got to preach at one of the new churches. I was encouraged to see the progress they are making despite the tremendous lack of resources. One church is being planted in a predominately Somali area with few churches, schools or hospitals.

Interns assist with community health education

While I was working with the church planters, Lois and our five interns worked with children at an HIV clinic and Kyeni Kya Gai School that helps many orphans. They also played with and prayed for inpatient children at Tei Wa Yesu Hospital.

Oh the joy of bubbles!

What kind of animals are these?

This week we need your prayers for Lois and the interns as they travel a couple hours from Nairobi to the town of Nakuru (July 7-13) where they will be doing Bible stories and health education using puppets, songs and crafts, as well as health checks for children. They will be ministering at the Imani Church and it’s primary school, as well as the IDP’s living at a place called Pipeline.

Please pray for the following:
1. Oneness on the team. God is always at work in us as he works through us.
2. For the interns to be willing to take risks as they trust the Mighty King to work through them.
3. For lasting fruit from their labor of love.
4. For safety in travel and good health.
5. Ask God to renew their hearts in the Gospel as they seek to live out what they have been studying together in The Gospel-Centered Life course.
6. Pray for me (Robert) as I remain alone in Nairobi to continue unpacking our belongings, meet with the Overcomers by Grace ministry to handicapped and lead in worship at New City Fellowship on Sunday. Pray for Andrew’s safe travel to and back from the Kenya coast with his friend’s family.

Thanks for caring and praying!

Robert for Lois and Andrew

We thank God for the spiritual refreshment afforded by our tri-annual WHM retreat in Greece May 31- June 5th. Phenomenal times of worship, fellowship, prayer, teaching, discussion and fun all conspired to put fresh wind in our sails as we returned to Kenya.

Enjoying a cruise in Greece

Worship was awesome and refreshing

Every team was prayed for

That refreshment was sorely needed for the task of moving to a new house that met us when we returned. How encouraging it is to know that, in the midst of the chaos of all of the “things” of life being in disarray and hard to locate, Jesus is never further than a breath away when we want to locate him! We are now living just outside of the congested city of Nairobi in a place called Karen- named after Karen Blixen. Although we are now further away from some of our good friends, our house is smaller and internet access more difficult, we are closer to Andrew’s school and enjoying the beauty and quiet of the area.

Our cat Brady thought he was coming too!

Another challenge and yet joy has been the arrival of our five young interns. They flew in from the U.S. on Friday evening with all luggage in hand, healthy, and in good spirits. They have already launched out into studying Swahili and preparing for their trip with us to minister in the rural area of Mwingi District later this week. They will be using puppets and music to share the Gospel at an HIV/AIDS clinic and orphan school, as well as putting on a community health day at one of the churches.

Our new interns

Items for prayer…
1. Please pray that God would give us grace to settle into our new home in the midst of regular ministry and our activities with the interns.

2. Pray for Stephanie, Emily, Heather, Jennifer, and Katie as they adjust to their life and ministry here in Kenya over the next two months. Pray that God would use them to minister the love of God in their activities and relationships. Pray for their safety and health and pray that Christ would be formed in them and that God would give each one a clearer sense of his calling for them.

3. Please intercede for Lois’ nephew Ben, a recent Cornell graduate, as he undergoes brain surgery on Wednesday 23rd. Pray that the tumor will prove to be benign, that he will heal with minimal side effects and that God would increase his faith through this experience.

4. Ask God to use Lois and our interns to minister to children in Mwingi June 24-28. At the same time, Robert will be leading a training seminar for church planters in the Ngomeni Presbytery and visiting the four church planters we are co-sponsoring. Pray for patience, love, discernment, and good communication. Also pray for the two mentors, Pethuel and Patrick who will be helping him to teach.

5. Lift us up to the Father as we have a difficult hearing at a government office to discuss our worker Joseph’s termination of employment and his insistence on receiving a severance pay in spite of our evidence that he was stealing from us. Pray that we would continue to love Joseph and that God would lead him to repentance.

6. Pray for James and Christine to be placed in a good home where they will know love and where Christine can receive consistent good medical treatment for her HIV/AIDS. This is urgent because her CD4 cell count has dropped and she needs to begin a new therapy.

Yours for the Harvest,
Robert & Lois Carr