Welcome Friends

Welcome to my journal chronicling my year long journey on a mission trip to Kiambu City (a suburb of Nairobi) in Kenya. Although I won’t be stepping foot onto a 767 until late in July of this year, my journey to plant my feet on African soil starts here in America right now. For the past two weeks I have written letters to all my family members and friends asking them to participate in my quest by either praying for me or sending me a few dollars for a plane ticket. Below is a copy of the letter.

Dear Family and Friends,

I’m writing to you because I’ve been given the opportunity to go on a mission trip this year to Nairobi, Kenya in Africa. In this letter I would like to share with you my opportunity and how you can help.

We have a minister in our church in Charlotte who is from Kenya, Fr Lawrence Mbugua. He is here in the United States to complete his seminary education before returning to Kenya to establish ministry works in the Nairobi area. Fr. Lawrence has told me about how people in Kenya struggle with much of the same problems we have here in America like poverty, addiction, and crime. But unlike Kenya, citizens of this country have an advantage to overcoming these problems like a strong economy and a just system of government. Fr. Lawrence says he is lead by the Lord to “take back” some of the blessings he has received here in America to his brothers and sisters still struggling in Kenya. I believe I am led by the Lord to help Fr. Lawrence accomplish his mission.

For the past two years I have given my talents as a videographer to the Kenya mission trips by taking the photographs and home video, church members collect while in Africa, and producing various DVD’s for the church. This year I feel led to accompany Fr. Lawrence and the church team on a two week visit to Kenya so I can use my talents to document the work our church is doing and collect all the elements I need to produce a full length, broadcast quality documentary.

This year’s mission team will include two priests and their families, a group of teenagers, and me and my camera. Here are some of the things they hope to do and I hope to document:
• We will be conducting an evangelistic and healing crusade in Kitikiti, a village near Nairobi where Fr. Lawrence will be establishing a new outreach and ministry.
• We will do a pastor’s conference, mainly about how to pastor and what God says about finances. We hope we can do this conference in two different areas to two different groups of pastors.
• The musician and teenagers will do some market crusades, dramas, and youth outreach – all to support and build a church in the Nairobi area.
• And, of course, we will be visiting in many homes doing personal ministry.

For this trip to be possible, I am trusting God to supply prayer partners and financial supporters who will participate with me in this ministry. I know that the Lord is calling us to invest in Kenya, and, most importantly, I am asking for your prayers. So would you consider being a prayer partner with me for this mission trip?

The following are some prayers needs:
• Financial – raising the needed funds by June 1st as well as having the funds necessary for my family while I am away.
• Paperwork – for all the necessary papers to be approved in both the USA and Kenya.
• Physical – for strength, health and safety for the trip.
• Spiritual – for my preparation spiritually and that many lives will be touched by our Lord Jesus and that the local church there will be blessed!

Also, would you consider being a financial partner with me for this mission trip? I need to raise $2,500 by June 1st to cover travel and basic expenses for the trip. Should God lead you to help financially, your contribution is tax deductible through our church and can be returned with the enclosed form and envelope.

I am very excited about this opportunity to serve the Lord in Kenya! As I said before, I believe I am led to use my God given talents as a professional videographer to help bring the word of the Lord to those all over the world who need to hear a message of hope. Thank you so much for your kind consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Although the letter explains why I am going and why I need financial support, I believe it only scratches the surface of why this trip is so important to me, the members of our church, and the folks we are going over to Africa to help. I decided starting this blog would be the best way to report to the entire world our mission to reach out to those in need.

In the following post I will write about all the tasks that I and other missionaries have to complete before we can pack our bags. Then in the last week of July, I hope to post pictures and reports from Africa so folks can follow along with us on our journey. When we return, the blog continues with posts on how I produce a documentary from all the raw video and photographs I and other missionaries shoot while working in Kenya. I promise to write about a ton of interesting stuff that will keep you coming back to this blog for updates. Besides, where else are you going to see all of these great pictures from Nairobi, Kiambu City, and Kitikiti? Wikipedia? I don’t think so.

Please join me as we prepare for Mission to Kenya 2007.