| Dear All, Wednesday’s Bottom Line: Pastor Mark is on his way to Germany via Qatar, and Scott and the “Pillars” (James, Hellen, and HIllary) have enjoyed some R & R. Thursday they will do some planning on getting DM groups going for the 100+ people who’ve signed up, as well as longer-range ministry planning. Wednesday’s Prayer Requests: 1. Safe, timely travel for Pastor Mark, sound sleep, effective teaching sessions, God to help him and the Ukrainians to connect easily with each other. 2. “Iron sharpening iron” discussions among Scott and the Pillars concerning fulfilling current ministry needs and moving TTC forward in East Africa. 3. Scott’s travels home to go well (safety, sleep, connections made, luggage arriving with him) and a smooth “re-entry” to life at home together. = ) |
| Wednesday’s Details: Scott, Mark, Hellen, James, and Hillary had a relaxing day on Wednesday. Scott’s goal was for them all to rest peacefully and have fun, and he thinks that goal was achieved. You may know that Scott is a man on a mission; if he’s awake he’s doing something purposeful. Well, those three Pillars are similar. They each have much to do and are always busy working for God, people, the ministry, etc. This means that, unlike Scott, they don’t play games! But it sounds like the past few days together have changed that. They laughed uncontrollably while playing Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza (a great party game!), and then they struggled while Mark and Scott tried to teach them to play Catan (a much more complicated game). Can those of you who have played Catan imagine teaching it to people who, culturally, just don’t play games?!? But those Kenyans were troopers and gave it their best shot. = ) |
 Catan players counterclockwise from Scott: Joyce (Hillary’s wife), James, Hellen, Susan (James’ wife), Hillary |
| They all seemed to agree that this mission trip overall has just been phenomenal, and they are amazed at what God has done. Scott held a similar “retreat” in Nairobi a couple years ago, but that was mainly with people who had never been in DM groups. He said, “There has been a night and day difference between that retreat and this one, because this time everybody who came is actually leading a group. Some of these folks have been leading their groups more or less like a Bible study class, but now they realize that the priority MUST be on developing “family” relationships, not conveying academic doctrine. “They came with lots of questions, and after the Q&A session (where I ended up crying) they truly understand what discipleship is really all about. And that it’s NOT about what’s in it for them. One man told me that now he is determined never to ask for money again!” = ) In conclusion, Scott reiterated to me that they now have 100+ people signed up for DM groups, and we know from experience that in order to be effective, those groups need to start within 10 days of when the sign-ups occurred. So he asked us again to pray for the Pillars as they review all those application forms and figure out who to assign to which group led by whom meeting how, when, and where. God surely hears our prayers and answers. Thanks for standing with us and continuing to PRAY as this great mission trip concludes! Blessings, Patty |