My nephew Chad Stembridge of Stembridge Mill Moving Pictures helped us with the logo for the site. We hope to do much more with ARM over the upcoming years, and are grateful to God for allowing us to find this ministry while on mission in Lynch, KY this past summer!

“The price of plastic bags is set to go up by 660 per cent by January next year due to the introduction of a new standard. The announcement comes after the Government moved to introduce a 120 per cent excise duty in this year’s budget to curb the use of the bags, which are harmful to the environment.”

Alfayo got very excited when I told him I had seen the article about plastic bags, and quickly whipped out a small notebook and turned to a page where he had briefly listed “his plan”

1. Recycle
2. Reduce
3. Reuse
   

He had a lot to say about the subject, and I could tell this was something he was quite passionate about. We spent about 30 minutes talking about Conservation in Kenya, and I then shifted gears a little… I asked him about his faith, and if he attended a church anywhere, and he told me h attended an AIC (African Inland Church) up the nearby hill.

He opened up more and told me that he had some questions about denominations, and Baptism. His church taught that he had to take a 6 week course before he could make a profession of faith and be baptized. I quickly shared with him the truth of the Gospel, and he really listened, not joking as much; but asking more questions. He wanted to wait and be baptized back at school at his local student union; but I told him that it was more important to make a decision that would affect his eternal life. He agreed, and we prayed right there in front of the CBC Church at Choimim. I invited him to come and visit the church with Pastor Aineahs. I encouraged him to make contact with his AIC pastor, and let him know that he had accepted Christ as his Savior, and that he needed to receive discipleship, and training. As he left that night, I was very encouraged by this young man; but realized that I may not see him again, for a while. I pray God is really growing in him, and has sent someone to teach him more of the truth.

This evening at our Commissioning service, Pastor Al let 2 of our team members share testimonies of their calling to this trip. It was wonderful to hear how God called these people, and just about everyone has a different story.

After this, we were taught about the 7 dimensions of the call, and how it applied to our lives as Christians. The text was from Isaiah 6:1-13. Without having time to go into too much detail, we learned that God’s Calling comes in the midst of Crisis, and comes in the context of worship, confession, and commitment. There is always a cost to that calling; but the cost of being called is NEVER costly for those who are CALLED!

Keep our team in prayer as we travel very early to Hartsfield, and go through the process of checking in, and then wait. Also pray that we will be very open to the people God will put in front of us throughout the journey there, and that we will be faithful witness even as we travel!

We’ll try to update again from the airport, at some point if possible.

It’s been two years since our last trip and the exciting things God is doing through Build the Village are almost too many to tell! Churches have been established all across the Nandi Hills Region, Discipleship courses have touched many lives, and the Theological school has seen it’s first set of graduates this past year. Perhaps the most exciting news of all is the establishment of the first “Village Hub” in the village of Choimim where a church has been built and dedicated, a clean-water well has been opened, the preschool is up and running with it’s first class of students and the finishing touches are being put on the orphanage as of this letter. These are certainly exciting times to see God’s hand at work touching lives in real and profound ways with the living Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Two years ago, we were privileged to be a part of a church planting and evangelism mission trip to this region and to produce Build the Village’s first video documenting this work. This year we’ve been asked to produce a follow-up video in order to tell some of the stories of the lives being changed and the ministry being done in this region. This, along with the primary work of village evangelism, helping out with construction of the orphanage, assistance in the new preschool with materials and guidance, and the hopeful establishment of a local women’s ministry; is what our team hopes to have God do through us during this year’s trip.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the mission and ministry of Build the Village you can visit their website at: www.buildthevillage.org. Below is a list of items we will bring and leave for future use. Perhaps you’d like to send something along too!

• small sewing kits
• pencils and erasers
• yellow highlighters
• “emergency” candles
• sharpeners
• small umbrellas
• raincoats
• clothespins
• batteries
• flashlights
• ABEKA preschool curriculum
• twin-sized bed sheets

Thanks and Godspeace!

We have been blessed with the opportunity to assist IMB Missionaries Charles and Sandra Daniels, in Samburu, Kenya set up their website to keep their prayer partners and supporters connected with their work in Kenya. Visit the new Samburu website here.

To see photographs taken on the trip, take a look here: here:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=1282371330104783017" width="400" height="326" wmode="transparent" /]

David working with James, our Turkana translator on Canon XL1s basics.

The above photographs are from a Mission trip this past January (2003). MorningStar Media was a part of a Missions Team with Snellville Christian Church traveling to Northern Kenya. While there, they visited Kip and Katy Lines, and produced a video promoting their work there. They are missionaries with CMF International, and work with the Turkana. Learn more about Kip and Katy’s work at www.ejoka.com and… see the video here, and many more of the sights and sounds on their web site! Would you like a copy to share with your church? Please write us!

Download: recorded by David at the above location, in 1985