My Confession, Repentance and Request...

My Confession…

When I wasn’t a missionary and still living comfortably in America, I got really good at condemning missionaries for their (seemingly) constant requests for money. I wondered… why aren’t these people like Amy Carmichael or other missionaries who really trusted God! After a few years in Kenya, the only thing I continue to wonder is… are there any limits to my ignorance?

My Repentance…

Now that I live in Kenya and trying to be a missionary, I'm actually amazed at missionaries’ restraint in requesting help. I am also amazed at just how stupid one can become through judging other folks… at least until he walks a few miles in their shoes. Amy did let people know her needs and so did most all other great missionaries of the Faith.

Well, anyway I felt the need to publicly repent for my presumptuous and false conclusions… so here it is for all to see. May God and missionaries everywhere please forgive this penitent man.

Yet, what motivates missionaries (including us) to ask for your support, you might ask? Let me share a few of our experiences.

When you go from living in one of the most prosperous nations in the world, to a nation where you most people don’t earn all day  what we spend at Starbucks each morning… it’s both shocking and humiliating. Not saying there’s anything wrong with purchasing a good cup of coffee in the morning.

And… I still very much believe that God provides where He guides miraculously. Recently, our heavenly Father miraculously put seven thousand shillings (about seventy five dollars) in our water account last week and we still have no idea where that money came from! We were struggling to pay our bills so when we asked the water company how much we needed to pay they told us we owed them nothing and that we were paid up for months ahead!

Yet, reality confirms that more times than not, resources don’t miraculously appear but rather come from the hearts of our Father’s children. Either way … miraculously or through the love of the brethren it’s all from Him and does the same thing … takes care of the desperate needs.

In the face of seeing such overwhelming needs and while observing how so little can accomplish so much… it becomes difficult, if not impossible…   not to ask for help. Especially, when you know that the people you’re asking already desire to invest in God’s work.

My Request…

Right about now, you’re starting to think… all this is probably leading up to a request for money… and you would be correct. Here’s the situation and our request.

We are desperately trying to establish a primary school that will be a beacon of Light in the slums of Ponda Mali. In so doing we are presently trying to move our students to a bigger and safer location and help them with their tuition fees (see the LEARN  program).

The eighty or so students attending StoneHouse Academy have little room to play outside and no real fence to keep them safe from drunkards… or worse. We learned two weeks ago that a man, living next door to the school, was arrested for child abuse.

There is an abundance of inebriated men wandering around this area. This poor soul we found across the street from our new school plot last week. I had to check to see if he was still breathing. Sometimes... they're not.

Two days ago this one passed out just outside our school.

 On top of that, the children’s classrooms are too small and their little bathroom is a disaster. We have almost spent every cent we have getting the new plot ready but we are running out of time… and money.

We are working as hard as we did when we built the church gathering place for StoneHouse Fellowship Nakuru. And we are doing everything we possibly can do ourselves, like straightening bent nails and using used materials to build with and looking for voluntary help.

The new plot has already changed greatly and the community is beginning to notice. We were recently told about a local Matatoo (taxi driver) who was passing by the new school ground and stopped the van to tell his passengers to look out at our new plot. He said… “Look! They are making our whole neighborhood better…. And they are not even spending a lot of money!” One of our friends happened to be in the Matatoo and later related the story to us.

A young mother of four, living in one of the huts attached to our property has begun to have hope again when we told her that we would try and help her and her children out of their dire circumstances.

A young man called Wawareu who was working for us, ran off with one of our tools. We went and found his brother and told him we really liked the young man and would forgive him and let him continue to work if he returned in the morning with the tool. He did so and has now been with us for over a week. The Light and Love of Christ has already begun to shine into the darkness.

I am including some ‘before and after’ pictures so you can see the new plot’s physical progress. Please consider how you can become involved. 

Before

 After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Remember these little guys (our students, many of which are orphans) are not only getting a Christ filled education by loving Christ filled teachers; they are also getting two hot meals a day. Our sincere thanks to those presently doing all they can to help us reach our goal. Please keep us in your prayers.

Mungu Awa Bariki Sana.  (May God bless you much)…

 Dave, Cynthia and the StoneHouse Family.

Engashura !

Wowwwwwwwwwwww! What a day! It was such a wonderful Spirited filled, Hallelujah day! It was like experiencing a little bit of heaven on earth. For all our friends at home who prayed for us to have a great beginning in Engasura… Thank you …. Our Father surely heard your prayers.

This was the first Sunday gathering at Engasura and it was incredible! We arrived early and started putting up the tent, trying to figure out where the sun would end up, so our people would not bake in the blazing hot equatorial sunshine.

Our first visitors were a group of young ladies from a nearby high school. Their teacher is a member of our Church Fellowship in Nakuru. They were such a delight.

As soon as Abraham and Evan set up the P. A. system they began singing. After the gathering they asked  James and I if we could come and address their school, to which we said… “We’d love to.”

As they sang  people began  to come.

Once we all were seated, Thomas welcomed everyone to the celebration of the inauguration of StoneHouse Fellowship Engasura.

Then the Nakuru StoneHouse youth began to lead us in song.

As we started to sing, our Princess of Praise, Sara, led the children in a dance of adulation.

As we returned to our seats one of Margret’s daughter-in-law asked if she could speak. She said the Lord had given her a vision months ago. The mud-church building that was originally here and represented the last ten years was encircled by a great snake. She said it was choking the life out of the people who came there to experience the Lord's Life. But then, God showed her a striped green tent that would come and be filled with the Lord’s Spirit. She said He would crush the head of the great serpent and a new day begin. Hallelujah! The tent we were sitting under is green striped! Today Christ crushed the head of the serpent!

Then the StoneHouse Nakuru Sunday school came out and offered their praise in dance.

Next, the older children began to offer their praise.

Everyone loved their offering.

At that point the women came to the front and offered up their praise for StoneHouse Engasura.

That’s when James and I got up and began to tell of the meaning of StoneHouse. This StoneHouse would be the temple of our God, and would be a living example of the Life of Christ. Our StoneHouse Fellowship had already laid the first stone… Christ… and now the second living stone would be laid atop of that Stone. That would be Margret … the first living stone of StoneHouse Engasura!

Praise broke out again as the StoneHouse Youth broke out in thanksgiving.

They literally came off the ground!

Several young people offered their individual songs of praise.

All the children loved their singing.

Then there was a quick skit from our drama club about the importance of meaning what you say.

The High School girls offered up another wonderful song.

And then began the last part of the celebration. Margret and her family desired to give the property we were meeting on to StoneHouse Ministries International.

As she presented to us the deed to the land, Margret told of how she had promised to give a portion of her shamba (farm) to the work of the Lord.

Then she and her family signed the property over to StoneHouse Ministry International… with the full blessing of her entire family. One of her sons later said to me … “now we know that our dear mother can rest in peace for God has given her the desires of her heart.”

Then came the most joyful celebration of all. As her entire family knelt to receive God's blessing… James and I asked God to bless her entire family and to bless the offering of their hands.

Margret arose and said… this is the best day of my life!

For all of you that labored in prayer that this beginning be Spirit filled. Bless you!

Your StoneHouse Family.