Some Things Cannot Be Measured.
Dear Friends,
I just wrapped up my two week stay in Kenya and Ethiopia. I am writing this while sitting in an airport in Addis, Ethiopia trying to process the mystery of our Lord.
There are times that Jesus does things that are very difficult to quantify. While we can put numbers to meetings, over 1000 leaders were taught by myself and the Dynamic Church Planting Team that travels with me, and many hours of input from the Word, that would never suffice to explain what the Lord did.
The first week was spent in Turkana… “way” out in the bush of Kenya, It’s like a desert. In fact, it felt very much like being at the Colorado River years ago, but there wasn’t any water! It was 100 degrees each day and there was no air conditioning, yet the people sat for hours of teaching and ministry, it was incredible. They were so hungry for Jesus.
Each afternoon I went out to the surrounding villages in the area to meet people. One day I visited a partially built church on a windswept plain where over 100 villagers meet to worship each week. This is unusual in not so much that they meet, but that they are also attempting to build a building. 95% of the churches in the bush meet under trees that provide shade from the sun. That is the norm, but this area has such high winds, think Fontana, that they need an enclosed building to meet. Included are some pictures that I want to ask you to pray over. I want to help them complete this building. It will cost approximately $8,000 USD to do so. Would you pray towards helping with this expense so these precious people can gather each week and worship?
Much of my time in Turkana was teaching out of the life of Joseph and the struggles he had as he grew into the great leader he became. We had amazing ministry and times of prayer for them as so many struggle to make ends meet as they serve Jesus. I have also attached some pictures of a well, or bore hole, that supplies water to a huge area of this desert. The picture of the lady with the little girl is a story in and of itself. She and her little girl carry those three yellow water containers 3.5 miles each way. The little girl drags the barrel, and she is only 4 years old!!! This lady worships in one of the churches under the trees and she asked me to please drill her a well near her village. WOW! I told her I would pray for the funds to do that, and I believe that they have already been provided. Again $8,000 USD to drill a well.
You are never the same after these divine appointments, and I was forever changed by her heart.
The second week I caught a plane from Nairobi to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Having never traveled to Ethiopia I had no idea what to expect. Wow, what a shock. No third world here. Addis is an incredibly beautiful city with huge highways and beautiful buildings. I spent a day teaching leaders there and the Holy Spirit showed up in a huge way and touched us all. I left deeply blessed.
I then flew an hour to Hawassa, Ethiopia to meet with leaders which I met in Nairobi earlier this year. These are seasoned leaders, many of whom oversee denominations and multiple churches. We spent hours talking about the Kingdom of God and how He wants to rule and reign over His church. I closed Wednesday’s session with an altar call for repentance. The altar was full of leaders bowing before Jesus confessing their sin and disobedience.
They invited me back to do an outdoor crusade next year. I will need to pray into that in the days and months ahead. Will you join me in asking the Lord what He desires for me to do in this coming year in Africa? I have several invitations that need His clarity. It was a full and deep day followed by a plane flight back to Addis, Ethiopia and then on to the USA. Thank you for making this possible… from the leadership training and equipping leaders for church planting to the altar ministry times, this was all because of your gifts and prayers. My heart is full and my life is blessed.
Before closing I want to invite each of you to join me for another evening at the Jesse Turner Center on Thursday, December 3rd at 6pm. We have set aside the evening to see you face to face, reconnect, and to thank you for all you have done to bless and build the Kingdom of God this year. We plan to share stories, do some teaching and thank you for making this possible.
Please set aside this evening and join us, would you? We miss you and long to see you again.
In Jesus,
Pastor Dan
