Video Blogging

My son John keeps a video blog... sometimes... you can check it out at the end of this blog. I enjoy it... I like video blogs in general... but he's my son, what can I say?

One of my favorite video blogs is by a computer tech billionaire who meets with his buddies and they pass the video camera around like a cookie jar, filming one another as they each share their perspective, discussing the big changes in the computer industry. Our son recently graduated from California Baptist University, here in Riverside and he said it was common in Missions classes to have live video discussions with missionaries from around the world using SKYPE. That'd be easy to save and post as a video blog. It's all so cool.

A couple of years ago we'd taken a building group to Kenya from Central Community. I was preaching in Kitale, it was videotaped, saved, compressed and then Ken, our associate spent a day or two trying to upload it for our Sunday morning services at home... I think half the message made it... next time we'll just make a video call to SKYPE in Nairobi, film the message as a video call and have someone in Riverside record it! Much easier... maybe...

Anyway... check out John's blog... consider dusting off your seldom used video camera and making one of your own. It's one more great way to "Go! into the whole world..."

blessings,

Eric

Read This Blog

Pastor Steve Rutenbar teaching the masses, just outside Kitale, Kenya

http://www.kenyarelief.blogspot.com/

Read and follow Pastor Steve's blog. Stay current on their time in Kenya in this crisis. You'll grow, I promise. When people ask how we started our work in Kenya, I tell them we went to the univeristy of Steve. It's true. The man's heart for Kenya is huge and he's taught me more than I could ever thank him for. Keep Steve, Dan and Jeff in your prayers today. Continue to pray for the peace of God to move in Kenya.

blessings,

Eric

The Word of Peace

Man waves a machete in Nakuru, Kenya. 1-27-08 SKY News

I'm not preaching today. That's unusual. Rare. I preach 4 times a week, or more, at least 50 times a year. I've not preached for two weeks... it's been a good break and I've enjoyed listening to God's Word as our son John and our friend, Pastor Dean Witkop, have shared my regular preaching schedule. God has blessed us.

But I should have been preaching... in Kenya... but the church was burned to the ground. Today, Sunday, January 27, we would have been wrapping up our Nairobi crusade after preaching in Kibera. The church is gone. The crusade would have been the same as last years- outside in a parking lot in the market place with large loud speakers, followed by the Jesus Film. The market places have been burned to the ground. Curfews are in place. The only crowds that are gathering - gather with machetes, bow and arrow, rocks in hand... hearts filled with anger. Even funerals for those killed in the rioting have quickly become flashpoints of violence and death.

The Word of Peace seems to be silenced... but God is not dead or deaf to our prayers.

Religious leaders from across Kenya are building a coalition of faith, crying out for peace. Spiritual leaders from around the world with a heart for Kenya are flying into the storm with a heart to serve. And the church, too often silent in times of crisis... so quiet as Rwanda faced her day of reckoning... is in prayer... praying for peace... praying for God to show how we can serve in this miserable moment for Kenya.

People fight poverty around the world. Violence happens in silence to children, women, the elderly, the disabled, the disenfranchised in every nation... in America. Jesus walked almong "the least of these..." and promised that when we did the same, we were serving Him. Christ has placed Kenya in our hearts but you don't have to go to Kenya to meet the need. Each of us live in community's filled with those in need of The Word of Peace in their time of heartbreak, loss, confusion, pain, poverty, hunger, anger, sin... and when it seems the skies are silent and we get no immediate response, God is working - in us - we're the one that prayed. He longs to give us a heart to serve and a willingness to share ourselves with those far from His Peace- wherever they live -whatever the reason.

May you richly experience The Peace of God today.

blessings,

Eric

Running to Live

Wesly Ngetich, 34, who won Grandma’s Marathon in 2007 and 2005, was shot through the chest with an arrow during fighting in his hometown, not far from Masai Mara.

Something wonderful about running in Kenya... the history of the worlds great runners combined with the beauty, altitude and mystery of what might be hiding in the predawn graylight keeps the mind alert, senses reaching out and heart beating fast reminding you of life and each precious step in it. Kenya is normally a runner's paradise. Marathon stars are recognized and lifted up nation wide.

They've made huge targets in the current violence and chaos. A number have been injued... now another has been killed. An arrow shot through his chest- seems impossible -out on the trans mara, rural, beautiful and now covered in blood.

Look at the photo- VICTORY! - so quickly slipping away... Life. God opens doors, gives us an opportunity and we give it our best... or not. Wesly, named I'm sure for John Wesley, the great reformer. No clue if Wesly was running to or from the violence... today... we have the opportunity remember Kenya, remember Wesly, to run. We have today. Keep the family of Wesly Ngetich in your prayers. What a waste.

Here's a short video of a day we spent in the trans mara in February, 2007

cry freedom

Continue to pray for our friends in Kenya. Pray for peace.

Many in the west don't realize that much of Kenya's press has been silenced by the government during this crisis. Youtube has become a primary news source. You can stay connected daily at this Kenya Link.

blessings,

Eric

I Might Have to Go...

My heart's hurting for Kenya... it seems so wrong not to stand beside them in their time of pain, violence and chaos... I might have to go- sooner, instead of later. Our group was to leave Tuesday morning, Jan 15... but with the violence and chaos since the elections, it only seemed prudent to cancel the trip. Don't think I could handle watching our group caught up in the middle of another nations anger over political and social issues I don't begin to understand.

"prudent..."

But my heart remains so full... praying for a solution... don't even know what I'd do if I went. Guess part of me just wants to hold my friends, embrace our young work, tell people how sorry we are... let them know that we're not just friends from afar and we'll visit when everything's good... but to show them we're willing and ready to enter their pain, their heartbreak, their chaos... I don't begin to know how to express it.

Matatu's- that's one in the picture. They're little minivans, one of Kenya's major forms of mass transit, that get jammed with people- often until they're hanging out the doors. We jammed that little matatu to make are way outside Kakuma, a refugee camp near the boarder with Sudan in NW Kenya. People begged for rescue, greeted us in love, pressed names written on paper into our hands, told us stories of loss that were beyond grief or understanding. Then we jammed back into our little matatu- windows closed against the dust of the Sahara Desert- even in the 122 degree (farenheit) heat... you've not lived until you're jammed into a matatu at plus 120!

It begs the question: "Why would ANYONE want to go back!?!"

A popular saying when we were in Kenya was "It's easier to get a visa into Heaven than into the United States." The popular saying now- after the elections -is "It's easier for a Luo to become president of the US, (that would be Barack Obama), then to become president of Kenya!" Poverty soon becomes futility. We wanted desperately for a Maasai pastor we work with to visit us here in the US. He received his passport in Kenya only to be denied a visa by the US. Devestated- he emailed me -"What am I to do now?"

I know what he did: got back into a matatu- paid his schillings and headed towards his home outside Narok. Walked the long single track path alone to his little manata and passed the news along to his family- walked the 120 kilometers he walks every week through the wilderness of the Masai Mara visiting the 4 churches he pastors and gave them the sad news... they'd been praying. Maybe I just need to hug Pastor Samuel and tell him we're disappointed too... but sitting in my office, that could hold several matatus, that Samuel's entire home would fit neatly within... the "prudent" thing to do, that which I'll probably do... is to stay... until I know how I can help.

God's Grace is Amazing. It's not abandoned the people of Kenya, the people of the US, or anyone anywhere... it flows in and through us... filling us richly with His Healing Power, even when we're not sure what to do. Until then, I long to be "faithful in the meantime." It's my prayer for you as well. I'm guessing you have places to go.

blessings,

Eric

Make a Difference!

Artivists, a film festival promoting films that speak out on current social concerns- particularly focusing on poverty, children, and animal rights (you can learn more about the festival at their site, www.artivists.org),has selected Glue Boys for showing this year, learn more about Glue Boys at www.glueboys.com. What you'll read at the web sites is such a small part of the story. Every film has film makers, dreams, hearts longing for change and voices crying to be heard behind them. We see the celebrity images of excess and too often forget that behind every talking head is a human heart, a spirit in motion, lives, families and almost always, issues that run through the fiber of their being... Artivist hopes to acknowledge and encourage these voices. That's a good thing.

The festival would have never caught my attention- I'm not exactly their prime audience -but for the selection of Glue Boys. Philip Hamer, an exceptional human being, who just happens to be my nephew, is the man who made Glue Boys. So many of the people who've helped pay for it, labored and prayed through the process and spent time in Kenya working on it, are people I know and love. Our son John had the opportunity to work with Phil, shooting daily among the street kids of Kitale, and that's one of the many sparks that finally began our work in Kenya.

Next weekend I'm going to my first film festival to view Glue Boys. I'm excited. It's a reminder that one heart, one voice, one person can still make a difference in a world that quickly diminishes the power of one. I've seen the film plenty of times. I've held Charles and Thomas, two of the primary street children followed throughout the film in my arms. Now we have the opportunity to share with Phil, the crew of the film and their families as this good work is recognized at the heart of entertainment world, Hollywood. Good on you Phil. Way to go Kat and Dan. I couldn't be more proud of you John. Best of all, the story of street children will continue to be lifted up and we'll be forced to respond... we can make a difference- Phil is. We can.

See you in Hollywood!

Good Friends

That's my good friend Patrick and his family. Marty and I had the opportunity to take them out to dinner at the Safari Park Hotel while we were in Nairobi. It was the first night of our crusade and Eunice, Patrick's wife, had come forward for prayer after the message. The moon was HUGE, the weather perfect and I was praying with friends... then we had the opportunity to eat together. Patrick and his wife showed off the kids jackets- said that Debi had sent them for Christmas- what do I know? Then he started asking about so many of the past Kenya teams from Central Community by name: Tom and Ellen, Rosie, Chris, John, Pastor Israel, Pastor Ken... I couldn't help but think, "What a trip! I'm sitting in Nairobi, with a Kenyan friend, asking me about "my" friends, 12,000 miles away. God is too good. His Kingdom beyond our understanding. The fellowship of believers way better than we ever deserve.

The great blogs are over at Pastor Ken's, John's and Matt's spots - be sure to check them out- they've got video and everything. Matt's is so real I thought I'd catch a cold just watching it. Me, I can't believe I figured out how to upload this photo of a good friend I love. My "brother from another mother." I hope you'll meet him someday- here visiting us- or all of us together in Kenya. God's connecting us around the world and He's doing it as only He can. It's so good to belong to one another.

blessings,

Eric