Good News from Wednesday and Thursday in Africa

by | Aug 29, 2024 | What's New

Dear All,

Wednesday’s and Thursday’s Bottom Lines:

Scott was able to sleep nearly 7 hours at Pastor Hillary’s house Tuesday night!

His Wednesday meetings with the three core leaders was “excellent,” with each leader now having a checklist of the details they need to handle to make everything in the upcoming seminars go smoothly.

Scott’s first Better Together (BT) marriage seminar on Thursday went very well and made a deep impact on many couples. His next one will be in the nearby town of Kagio on Friday.

Thursday’s Prayer Requests:

1. Many pastoral couples to come to the BT seminar in Kagio on Friday. 
2. No logistical issues on the road or at tomorrow’s seminar.
3. The ministry to come forth fresh and many couples’ marriages to be healed and strengthened.Thursday’s Details:

Pastor Hillary and Joyce live in a suburb outside Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, and they are hosting Scott at their home. His first Better Together marriage seminar (Thursday) was held about two hours away in Kianyaga. As they were driving, Hillary told Scott there was one question that he has repeatedly asked himself, “If Missionary [Scott] never comes back to work in Kenya, what will I do?” Then he answered, “Even if we don’t have you, we have the 4 PTM volumes. We know the way. We will continue because this is God’s vision.”

This was super encouraging to Scott. It’s commendable to do well whatever God tells you to do, and even to do it for a long time, but if you never reproduce your passion and skill in someone else, then when for whatever reason you are no longer personally doing it, that ministry eventually dies. It’s the old, “You’re no success without a successor” thing. Thankfully, others – like Hillary – are catching the vision of raising disciple-makers and are running forward with it.

At Thursday’s BT seminar, as always, Scott held a friendly competition among the husbands about why their wife is their princess and among the wives about why their husband is their hero. The entries are judged, small prizes are awarded, and the winning hero dons hero glasses while the winning princess wears a tiara. 

Here are today’s winners.The winning hero has been married for 34 years!Scott shared several testimonies following Thursday’s seminar, and this one is wonderful: “Hillary told me that there is a church leader here who has been separated from his wife for 15 years. He joined the disciple-makers group earlier this year, and after going through the lesson on integrity and the lesson on virtue, he decided he needed to reunite with his wife. He was at the seminar today with his wife!”

Scott also asked us to thank God with him for the following:
– Unity and great expectation among the Kenyan leadership team (Hellen, Hillary, and James).
– His own uneventful and successful travel.
– Hillary’s determination to continue the work, with or without Scott’s assistance.
So even early on in this mission trip God is answering prayers and healing ministry couples. Would you please take a moment to pray for the next BT seminar on Friday? I believe it will start around 1:00 AM Friday MO time. Thank you very much!

Blessings,
Patty

Landed with luggage!

by | Aug 27, 2024 | What's New

Dear All,

Just a quick note to let you know that Scott arrived safely in Nairobi, despite having only 35 minutes in Doha to get from one gate to the other. He normally has to change terminals and go through security, but as soon as he deplaned, he was whisked to the outbound gate, which just “happened” to be next to his inbound gate!

Here he is with his Kenyan family.  = )

With Pastor Hillary, his wife Joyce (in blue) and their two children
Scott asked me to thank all of you who have prayed for his travel to go well. As a bonus, his checked bag made the connection too!

Now he’s getting settled, sleeping, and will meet with his team tomorrow.

Thank you so much!

Blessings,
Patty

Heading to Africa!

by | Aug 26, 2024 | What's New

Dear All,

Monday’s Bottom Line:

Scott is on his way to Nairobi, Kenya, where he will base for the next 3.5 weeks of ministry.

Monday’s Prayer Requests:

1. Safe travel and Scott’s checked bag to arrive with him. He has a tight connection in Doha, and occasionally, his bag doesn’t make the transfer, although he always does. = )
2. Scott to be a great encouragement to our excellent Kenya leadership team (Hellen, James, Hillary).
3. The right people to attend the 11 seminars Scott will lead; all (and only) the pastors and spouses whose hearts will be open to what God has for them through these discipleship and marriage seminars.
Monday’s Details:

Scott’s total travel time will be about 28 hours, including a 3-hour layover in Dallas. The longest of his three flights (Dallas, TX, to Doha, Qatar) is 7,921 miles! He will arrive in Nairobi on Tuesday afternoon, MO time. On Wednesday, Scott will be in meetings with our Kenya leadership team, and on Thursday, he will lead his first of seven Better Together marriage seminars for ministry couples in Kianyaga, a 2-hour drive from Nairobi.

As we have more information, I will update you. Thank you for praying now for My Hero as he travels to begin this mission trip!

Blessings,
Patty

Hero Heads Home

by | May 13, 2024 | What's New

Dear All,

Sunday’s Bottom Line:

Scott’s Raising Champions parenting seminar made a difference in the lives of the attendees. He’s on his way to the western hemisphere now!

Sunday’s Prayer Requests:

1. A safe, comfortable trip for Scott; he and his luggage to arrive intact and on time. He has a tight connection in Denver.
2. Good post-trip follow-up; the new Filipino DM groups to meet weekly and thrive, and Scott and other TTC leaders to be Spirit-led in setting up administrative procedures to effectively manage the expansion of the ministry.
3. Details concerning the publication of Scott’s Raising Disciple-Makers book (both in the U.S. and abroad) to be worked out favorably.
Sunday’s Details:

Here’s what Scott said following the Saturday parenting seminar.

“It is finished!”

And, “The final session went well on raising champions. It was unfortunate that we had so many that had teenagers or 20-somethings. Even one mom was there who had a 36-year-old son. Not much I could do in that case. But they were very thankful for the information, saying it was very clear.

“The idea that the husband and wife would be at the center of the family, and not the child, was big news to them. Culturally it’s normal for the child to sleep with Mom and Dad until they’re 3, 4, or 5. But they saw from the scriptures that it’s not healthy.

“The biggest impact was the session on media usage. I took the pictures you sent me of the snake and added those into my presentation. I said, ‘How many of you would give a snake to your child if they whined and begged and asked you please please please give me the snake?’ Of course, everyone said no, they wouldn’t do that. Then I told them that it would be better to give your child a snake than an unregulated phone. It was very impactful; unfortunately people had a lot of regret because they gave their phone to their child when he or she was 3 years old just to entertain them and shut them up.

“I finished this session with grace-filled parenting, which was a good way to end. But the main thing is I’m done!”

And he’ll be home Monday evening! Thank you again for your prayers.

Blessings,
Patty


P.S.  Yes, we did have a rather intense snake situation here on Friday. It had nothing to do with TTC and all is well, but if you are looking for a V-E-R-Y long “Day in the Life of…” story to read, here’s a link.

In the Home Stretch

by | May 11, 2024 | What's New

Dear All,

Saturday’s Bottom Line:

We don’t yet have news about the Saturday parenting seminar, but I’ll let you know what I know whenever I know it. After preaching Sunday morning at Wilson and Angelica’s church, Scott will be ready to start his journey home. His back has been a bit achy.

Saturday’s Prayer Requests:

1. All the details and logistics to wrap up well as this mission trip concludes.
2. God to remind the folks who have attended Scott’s various seminars about the things they’ve learned and help them apply them in their lives and ministries.
3. Grace, safety, and comfort for Scott as he travels HOME!
Saturday’s Details:

You may be aware that Scott was dealing with back issues over the past several months. That’s why this trip to the Philippines was delayed and then shortened from the original plan. He’s been doing well, but I’m sure all the sitting, standing, driving, and teaching can be draining. Thankfully he has been able to do his physical therapy exercises for the past week, and we’re expecting his back to settle down without any problems.

Scott hasn’t yet told me about the Saturday parenting seminar, but I’m sure it went well, and I KNOW they ate well too. Beforehand, he said, “These are all the supplies Angelica has prepared for today’s Raising Champions seminar. She is even bringing an oven to cook in!”
Trunk full of food!
Looking at that picture, I asked him how many people were expected, and he replied simply, “Filipinos are good eaters!”

I’ve been trying to do some time calculations, but my brain’s been a little fuzzy.

I think the distance from his host home there in Villasis to the airport in Manila is about 115 miles, but I recall being told that that drive can take anywhere from two to three – or maybe even four(?!?) – hours, depending on traffic. His flight leaves Manila at 8:40 AM local time on Monday, and he probably needs to be at the airport at least two hours in advance, so I’m guessing he will drive away from “home” at something like 3:00 AM Monday, which will be around 2:00 PM Sunday MO time.

He will fly from Manila to San Francisco to Denver to Springfield, so by the time I pick him up and we get home from the airport Monday evening, he will have been in transit for a total of something like 27 hours. Trust me, there’s just nothing easy or recreational about that, so once again, please pray for My Hero!  = )

Blessings,
Patty