April 2023 || Newsletter

Arise, Shine!

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you." Isaiah 60: 1-2

Dear CMK Friends and Family,

These verses in Isaiah 60 tell us where God wants His glory to be
seen and it's UPON YOU. Let the GLORY of the Lord shine and be seen on you! When the darkness seems to increase, the LIGHT is ever greater. The world is sin-sick and weary, but we know the SAVIOR and are sent to reveal Him to the world in EVER-INCREASING GLORY.

This year, the Lord has been speaking to us about His Glory and His Presence. In His Presence we have all we need for life and health and purpose. Everywhere we go, we anticipate that He has gone before us. As long as we keep following, He will always lead. As long as we look to Him, we will see His glory.

Young hadzabe thirsty for water just collected from a dirty river

TANZANIA

It's For His Glory we travel to tell those who have never heard...

Joel and some of the team travelled into the interior of Tanzania to make contact with an unreached tribe called the Assa on the Joshua Project site. This was a hard trip with days of rigorous traveling. They met the chief of this tribe and learned the name of the tribe has been changed. Now that we know the region this tribe is in we will be able to plan more outreaches. On the return trip, Joel stopped by our well site next to a Hadzabe camp. The Hadzabe chief met him there and told him he has many more camps further in the bush that are hurting for water. They travelled farther with the chief and in each camp the chief would explain, "this is the man who brought my camp water and can help you learn about God." Many of these camps had never heard about the Gospel and were eager to hear. In one camp, buckets of dirty water were carried in and little children ran to the buckets, so thirsty they drank straight from the muddy containers. We felt God's heart arranging this trip and clearly leading our steps.

Prayer Focus: That God will give us the grace and provision to reach more of these unreached people with the Gospel and with clean water. He loves them and longs for them to know salvation through Jesus Pray that a second well will be drilled near unreached camps of Hadzabe.

KENYA

It's for His Glory we share the good news of Jesus in words and in actions...

Whether it's sharing in our local church here in Kenya alongside Pastor Kisinga, praying for the sick, or connecting with Jesus' body of believers throughout the land to reach the lost, the cross is our focus. It's been a joy to see our kids eager to lay hands and anoint the sick with us. We have seen prayers of

healing answered already and know our God is a miracle working God, a faithful Father and loving Savior. Astair has been giving art classes with the local kids and it's been a joy to watch our girls use their gifts to show God's love.
This month has not been without challenges for our family. We've battled giardia and mango flies but God has given us the grace to overcome and He's poured His love into our hearts. We're so thankful for the families that reached out to us with support! We're thankful for every one of you.

The First Well of the Season is being Drilled!!

Joel and Thad have covered hundreds of miles surveying villages in need of water. Boston and Legend have also covered miles of terrain as well. We're pretty grateful for their commitment and hard work. Just today, Thad and Boston went with Joel to the first drill site of the season in a village called Senda that has struggled for a long time to get water. The picture above is where they have been collecting water. We're excited for what God has planned for this village and the others that will be receiving God's miracles of provision, salvation, healing, and deliverance!

Prayer Focus: That the drilling will be a success and the work will continue to be blessed and increased. That God's Word will be proclaimed and that many will be saved, healed, and delivered. That God's protection will be on us all in our traveling, in our living, in all that we do.

NEPAL & PAKISTAN

The third well has been drilled in Nepal! Pastors KB and Sushila held a well celebration ceremony and fed the community that came. Many of these communities are located in rice fields where the water has arsenic and these fresh water wells are saving lives! The second well has been drilled in Pakistan and we are on target to drill 6 more! Due to the sensitive nature of this location, we can't share specifics, but on the edge of darkness, the Light is Shining! God is being glorified!

All throughout the earth, God is being glorified!

"So wake up, you living gateways! Lift up your heads, you doorways of eternity! Welcome the King of Glory, for he is about to come through you." -Psalms 24:7

We love you all and Thank God for you always! Thank you for your prayers and support and your willingness to be the answer to the prayers you pray.

Look up! Welcome your King of Glory--He's coming through you!

Love In Christ,

Joel and Joye and the Seven from Heaven

F a l l   |   2 0 2 2

 Dear CMK Family,

Thank you for another incredible, unimaginable year so far!! And it’s not over yet!!  All that God has done would fill pages and pages!  We couldn’t have dreamed up all He's done this year!!  And the people He’s done it through!  

“The LORD has demonstrated His holy power before the eyes of all nations. All the ends of the earth will see the victory of our God.” Isaiah 52:10 AMP

ALL the ENDS of the EARTH WILL SEE that Power and Victory belong to our God!  He won’t lead us to dead ends UNLESS He plans to provide a highway in the wilderness.  He won’t  lead us to the desert UNLESS He plans to provide water from a rock.  He is never without a plan!  He is never without the victory!  If you’re facing the desert or a dead end, know that God has the victory planned for all the world to see!  The bigger the crisis, the bigger the victory!

Reaching the world with the gospel has never felt so daunting, with 3.2 million that have NEVER HEARD the gospel even once still waiting on the life saving message we hold.  BUT with the need so great, God’s power is on display in even greater ways!  We are finding the darkest places to be blazing the brightest with MIRACLES of LOVE. 

In Nepal especially we have seen this (more about that below).  We didn't have the funds to help all the needs we saw there, but we went anyway knowing God had to have a plan and He wanted us to continue to walk by faith, go by faith, give by faith!  And of course, God is showing up because He has everything we need.  He's never short on resources!  God isn't slow to answer, He's as fast as His people are to obey.

WHAT GOD HAS DONE THIS YEAR!

• TWO VILLAGES of UNREACHED TRIBES heard the Gospel for the FIRST TIME and Accepted Christ in Tanzania and South Sudan

• 1,017 people baptized publicly in a commitment to follow Christ (4,000+ students also prayed to accept Christ through school outreaches)

• 26 Villages now have Clean Water Well Systems– Over 150,000 can access free clean water

• Over 2,000 Bibles given to new believers, 200 audio bibles delivered to an unreached tribe for the first time in history

• Ongoing Outreaches with The Jesus Film + Bibles to remote tribes, seeing more salvations on every outreach

• Short term missions teams were strategic in reaching communities for Christ

• Karen and Jeff Gross were pioneers and persevered against all odds to train up masons and supervise drilling projects this year!

• God sent us to Mexico, Paraguay and Nepal opening new doors for ministry!

GOD’S SURPRISE– Mexico, Paraguay, and Nepal

God has been opening doors for ministry around the world.  He surprised us by leading us to Mexico (where a well is committed to), Paraguay, and Nepal!  Justin Kelley of Renewed Ministries traveled to Paraguay with Joel and is helping build an orphanage with our friend John Duot in South Sudan.  Joel and I just returned from Nepal in October.  This trip wasn’t even on our radar until August of this year!  God set it in motion and clearly told us to go.  At first, we didn’t even know anyone there!  Then God connected us with a national church there that had been praying for us to come and drill wells for their suffering churches (this was unknown to us at first!).  In fact, a couple weeks before we were scheduled to arrive in Nepal, there were landslides and flooding that devastated many of the communities.  We visited some of the areas, prayed and held those who were devastated by loss and some of you sent relief funds.  We saw God move mightily in POWER in Nepal and the churches we visited were all born out of miracles! 

 In Nepal, it’s illegal to evangelize and Christians are arrested and jailed if caught sharing about Jesus.  In order to reach their neighbors, they must move in LOVE and pray for healings and deliverance.  Many people get healed and delivered when the Christians pray for them and that is how their churches are growing!  400 churches have been planted by the ministry we are partnering with there.  Bringing water to the suffering communities will be a mighty testament of God’s love and we all began to pray fervently for this!  While we were still there, a friend of mine contacted me and told me the amount she and her husband wanted to give for a well.  It was the exact amount Joel had just calculated after meeting with a local driller!  Now, only a couple weeks later, FIVE WELLS have been sponsored!  Each well costs an estimate of 5K-10K.  Revival is spreading in Nepal– even in the midst of persecution, the Nepali Christians risk it all to serve Jesus!  The ministry of Pastor K B Basel and his wife Pastor Sushila is a beautiful picture of the first church in Acts!  They have even rescued an estimate of 9,000 girls from sex trafficking!  They’re in need of a safe house for the girls that can’t be returned to a family.  This is on our miracle prayer list!

GOD'S POWER TO SAVE-- TANZANIA

This year we saw many of our years of prayers for the UNREACHED TRIBES answered!  God put the unreached tribe of the Hadzabe in Tanzania on our hearts back in 2019 and we have been praying and planning on how to reach them ever since.  Our missionary Nickson Mzigaba is from Tanzania and he put his heart into this mission.  Joel broke his foot in two places while on outreach to the Maasai with a visiting short term missions team, but he went forward with the outreach to the Hadzabe in spite of it!  Nickson arranged for the difficult process of drilling in such a remote area and Joel went there once to supervise before the well was complete. Joel and I, our kids, Pastor Benson, our fellow missionary Aaron Domengeaux, and our Pastors Deven and Kathy Pedeaux from the U.S. made the journey into the bush for the celebration.  Deven and Kathy brought the solar audio bibles from the U.S. with the Hadzabe language translated for the FIRST TIME in history!  We also brought bibles for the Datoga, Mubulu, and Masaai tribes. 

There were miracle SALVATIONS at the Celebration!!  Many locals told us the Hadzabe were resistant to the gospel and would refuse to go in the water to be baptized, due to their superstitions.  But God had a plan!  Joel had been visiting with the Hadzabe, and they told him they had never seen anyone bring such love–in the form of water, one of their greatest needs–and they asked him to tell them about his God!!!  They were eager to hear about God!  Even during the sharing of the Gospel through interpreters at the Celebration, several Hadzabe men sat on the steps of the baptismal–eager to go in and be baptized!  We had explained it all to them and they were READY!  Twelve of the Hadzabe, and eight Datoga and Mbulu put their faith in Jesus and were baptized!  One of the local chiefs declared “We have seen the Gospel with Evidence!”

GOD’S POWER TO SAVE– SOUTH SUDAN

One of the hardest trips we made this year was with John Duot Duong into the remote interior of war-torn South Sudan. John Duot knew of a village of the Toposa tribe that was unreached and in dire need of water. Our land cruiser had to be winched through rivers and mountains by Joel and the team of Nickson, John Duot, Simon, and Ali. They passed up the drill rig and the drillers weren’t sure they could make it the rest of the way. When Joel arrived at the village, he began to share about our God and how we know He is real because He answers our prayers. At that exact moment, the drilling rig pulled into the village and Joel and all the villagers fell to their knees praising God. After such an incredible answer to prayer, the entire village chose to put their trust in Jesus!! Joel and the team barely made it out of South Sudan alive as they were ambushed at the border. John Duot has since brought audio bibles to the Toposa and they have been able to hear the word of God for the VERY FIRST TIME since they do not read or write in this village.

GOD’S LOVE & MIGHT– KENYA

God continues to pour out His Love on Kenya! Kenya still has some of the most extensive needs for clean water. It’s also very expensive and hard to drill here. The gratitude and the response of the many villages that receive the gift of clean water is hard to express in words. Many of you have come to see it for yourself! Pastor Benson and the prayer team of Kilaatu Baptist Church have helped us on every outreach in Kenya! They have served and loved these communities so well! Karen and Jeff Gross moved to Kenya late last year to begin to spearhead drilling projects. Their spiritual tenacity and perseverance accomplished so much for the Kingdom of God! They lived in Kenya for eight months building up the local churches there and drilling a record number of wells along with spiritually contending for these villages. They trained up masons and organized committees, met with village chiefs, exhorted and taught the local churches, saw miracles of healing and deliverance and that’s only part of it! What they have sown into many hearts and many lives will be reaped for ages. Jeff is a recent cancer survivor and is now battling an aggressive bacterial infection that requires around the clock IV meds. Please keep this mighty couple in your prayers! What they have accomplished for the Kingdom is untold!

The response to the Gospel has been incredible in Kenya!   997 were baptized this year at the well celebrations! There are healings and deliverance at these celebrations and the Holy Spirit has moved powerfully.

We had a wonderful family, the Preston's, who came to serve with their children, along with their teen daughter, Presley, who gave of her summer to serve.  Another amazing teen missionary, Mallorie Richardson, stayed for a month and walked countless miles through villages spreading the gospel!  What a gift they were!  They were absolutely instrumental in helping us organize and lead missions teams and outreaches!  We are so grateful for them. 

We had some wonderful short term missions teams come and serve this year! They were able to reach so many more people than we could on our own. Lives are changed forever because of them! One team from Bethany Church bought shoes for an entire school and washed hundreds of children's feet. It was a beautiful and moving picture of Jesus' love in action. God moved through the willingness of many to give up their time and money to serve God's purposes in the nations. Next year, we will have more opportunities to come and serve! God wants to use your feet to bring His good news! (Isaiah 52:7)

GOD’S NOT FINISHED YET!

This year isn’t over yet and God still has more up His sleeve! 

God isn’t slow to answer, He’s as fast as his people are to obey.

“God has rolled up his sleeves. All the nations can see his holy, muscled arm. Everyone, from one end of the earth to the other, sees him at work, doing his salvation work.” Isaiah 52:10 MSG

God is rolling up His sleeves and He's ready to open doors for YOU. He's just waiting for us to be ready to walk obediently through them to partner with Him in HIS SALVATION WORK.
The more doors we walk through in faith, the more God keeps opening!

Thank you to everyone who has given and prayed and has come and served!

We Love You!

May God’s Face Shine on You,

The Dicharry’s 
Joel and Joye and the Magnificent Seven

Join us in taking the Gospel to the World!

Dear Friends,

We are praying this letter will encourage you as you step into a New Year of God's promises.  

This past year has held trials for many, but in this New Year, we encourage you to Lean into the Heeling.

The other day as I (Joel) was praying, God gave me a vision of sailboats in a bay.  Some were leaning full sail into the wind and flying across the water while others had their sails untied and some had their sails completely down and weren't moving at all.   The ones who weren't moving were angry that there wasn't any wind in their sails.  God gave me the interpretation of the vision. "This is a picture of what is happening in my church," He said, "Many people are saying that they don't hear my voice, that I speak to others but do not speak to them.  But the same wind of my voice that is moving the others is passing right past their boat because they have untied or taken down their sails."

After this, God led me to research sailing terminology.  The first definition God brought me to was the definition of the word "heeling".  
The way the word heeling was defined confirmed in my spirit that this was a word from God for His church in 2021.

Heeling: This is the term for when a sailboat leans over in the water, pushed by the wind. There’s nothing else like the thrill of heeling over as your sails fill and your speed picks up!

Keel: The keel is a long, heavy fin on the bottom of the boat that sticks down into the water. It provides stability and is the reason why modern sailboats are nearly impossible to capsize. (definitions found online)

Heeling is the place of  SURRENDER.

You don't have control, you must lean into the wind and trust the Keel: the foundation of Jesus Christ in your life.

You move the fastest when you surrender!

God's plans for His church, the advancement of His Kingdom, is going to happen QUICKLY in this New Year.

Church and Family of Christ, His Winds are coming!  Be prepared to surrender control.
 

Did you take your sails down because it got rough?  Did you say “I can’t hold the helm anymore, I need better control”.  Did you think He would let the boat roll over and watch you drown?  God says “I’m still here, I will not let the storm crush you."  Will you say to him “I will stay the course though the storms come I will remain faithful and steadfast."  Will you anchor in him, will you trust him through the storm?  Why fear?  Think of a time he has not been faithful to you; think of a time he has let you down? Think of a time He didn’t cover your sins with His blood.   When has he told you “no, I’m done with your failures."

 He loves to work through broken and mended vessels. Psalms 103:10 says "He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve."   Why did he choose Paul?  Why not pick someone that didn’t take all the wrong turns?  Why not pick someone who would be better accepted by man and the church?  God chooses who he chooses, He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, He is the Maker of heaven and earth, He chooses who He can be seen through.  There is nothing you can do to disqualify yourself from the calling of God.  God just sees who he created you to be and nothing else.  He chose you and your calling before you were born.  He chooses those He bought,  His grace allows our surrender and His choosing us is all we need.    

Do you think Paul’s idea of how to grow the early church was prison?  Do you think it deterred him?  No.  You know why? 

He was already in prison to the calling.  He was already fully surrendered. 

He had already given up his abilities for God's call.  He realized it didn’t take what he brought to the table; it took surrender. None of your abilities are bad nor useless, but you need to rely on God to choose what he uses.  We get worn out in using our abilities for him.  Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
 

Lean over in the Heeling and trust the wind will not overcome the keel!   It’s a feeling of no control and no fear.  This is where Paul was.  He knew he was not in control and did not fear.   He knew his job was to surrender and obey in love, and that was all. 

It's time to tie our sails back up.  To Learn to hear His voice. To Learn to lean in trust into His wind and let go of our own control. 
Is there anything that you can do in 2021 that’s greater than what God has destined for His kingdom through you?!

He is the captain!  Surrender is the greatest!

“The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By Gods help, I aim to be that man.”
- Dwight Moody

People tell me “Joel, that must have been so hard to move to a village with no power and no water and live with small children.”  You know what I tell them?   The hardest time was the 2009 to 2019 when I knew what we were called to but didn’t know how to get there.  We tried everything in our power, but only surrender to his timing and calling will do it.  We get anxious in the waiting.  God was loading up our keel, he was mending our sails, he was teaching the right knots to tie, how to jibe.   
 

God doesn’t need what you think you are the best at.  What did Paul bring from his former life?  He said I come bringing Christ only. 

He didn’t come with fancy speech, being from Tarsus and having his education, he could have.  Don’t over think this.  We have to walk things out daily, but walking in surrender is freeing.  People around you at work will see it and wonder, “what is it that allows you to not be shaken?”  And you respond “I’ve already been knocked down!!!!!  It is He that is alive in me."   You can’t knock Christ down.  There is an old saying “be careful what you say to someone with nothing, its almost like having it all!”.  Philippians 1:21 says, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

If you realize that you have already lost it for the Kingdom then you can live freely like Paul taught!  

Living surrendered allows you to look different.  You will be seen differently!  Revelations 13:10b  "Here is the call for the patient endurance and the faithfulness of the saints which will be seen in the response of God’s people to difficult times." 
 

Lastly, Love is the glue that holds it together. 

It’s the knots holding the sails.  You can have the greatest mast and sails and keel if the knots come untied; you go nowhere.  Love holds it all together. 

How did Joseph feel all those years in the waiting?  He had the vision from the beginning, but he had to learn surrender.  

We try to give what we want to get God what He wants, but all he wants is surrender. We try so hard to give God what we want to give him, our best efforts, to get God what He wants.  It doesn’t work.  He wants surrender, He wants it all. He’s a jealous God, He wants our whole heart, our ambitions, our dreams, our hopes, our wants, all our desires.   Will you give it all to him and say what Jesus said in tears of blood “Not my will, but yours”, “even if this cup seems too much for me,  I will drink it”  

The greatest thing you can do this year is surrender to His will. 

It sounds simple, but it’s hard.  It was hard for Jesus.  "He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." (Matthew 26:42)

Jesus had to keep praying it so that He could let it happen and if Jesus had to continue to pray it, how much more should we be crying out “not I but YOU, not my will but your will, not my kingdom but your kingdom! God, it's hard, but your will be done!  God, it's hard but I surrender." 

Don’t make plans in 2021 on how to be a better Christian, make plans on how to better surrender!

Realize that it’s not your ability that gets His will accomplished, its your surrender.   It took me going all the way to Africa and bringing all my best abilities to learn that I can’t do it.   All the things I’ve been working on, all the things I’ve been carrying, couldn’t get it done.  God is not looking for us to get good at something or to gain a certain income or to accomplish a certain level.  He is looking for us to be who he already pre-destined us to be.  

He never saw Peter the fisherman.  He always saw Peter the rock!  He didn’t ask Peter to go figure out how to be the rock and then he will be used.  He just said "Come and follow me."  Surrender.  Can we come?  Can we follow Him and stop trying to be something in man's eyes first?  Can we just come, unready, unaccomplished, unqualified, and fully surrendered?

Don’t look to those around you, look to him.  Don’t look at the other sailboats on the water.  In First Corinthians, Paul shares this principle over and over.  Is Christ divided?  We have the same Jesus in each of us. 

How could you covet having better access to the one you have all access to?   It's the SAME WIND that moves us all!

If it’s the same Jesus, then what do we lack?   What we lack is understanding of the big plan.  We lack control.   We fearwhat we can’t control.  When we use our abilities, we have control.  When God does it, it's beyond us and bigger than us and it grows His kingdom not our kingdom.  

It's time we lean over in the Heeling and trust the wind will not overcome the keel.  

Galatians 2:19-21 in The Message says this about surrender:  "What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily."

2021 lays before us full of all access to Christ!  Let's SURRENDER and see Him move His mighty Wind in a Great Revival!

Leaning in the Heeling,

Joel Dicharry

Commission Mankind
www.commissionmankind.com

Dear Friend, prayers are rising!

And God is MOVING!  He is always moved by our prayers.  He ALWAYS has a Plan.  

THE PLAN
God's plan from Genesis to Revelation has never changed.  Covid-19 can't change it.  The world can't change it.  God's own enemy can't change it.

God's plan, like His character, is always full of love and mercy.  His plan is always to RESTORE.  His plan is to REDEEM.  His plan is to RESCUE.

Dear Friend, you can REST in the fact that all God's plans are good towards you.

Can we encourage you a little bit today?  You are an encouragement to us always and we have been praying for you by name.  

You know what's encouraging?  Jesus Himself is praying for you!!  And He's praying for you by name!  His prayers are continually for you!  So, friend, keep your eyes on Jesus because His eyes are on you.  He doesn't sleep, He doesn't take a break from being our Savior.  He's our Savior Forever.  His power to redeem and heal and save is FOREVER.

Victor loves his new Bible given by Sole to Soul, a campaign started by the children's church of Wellspring Church

Joel met with Mully at Mully Children's Family and connected him with our friend John Duot Duong. John started an orphanage in South Sudan that we support monthly. It was incredible to be in the same room as these two heroes of the faith!

THE SECRET
God never asks us to accept what is happening around us, He only asks us to learn how to be content in Him in the midst of our circumstances.  A child is content when they are being held safely in their parent's loving arms.  There may be chaos all around, and still a baby will rest in the arms of the one who loves them.  

Paul said in Philippians 4 that he learned the secret to being content in every situation. "I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." 

Paul wrote this under house arrest.  But he doesn't spend time lamenting his circumstances or railing at God for keeping him there.  Instead, he pens the most quoted verses of all time.  He spent his time in isolation writing letters of encouragement and discipleship to his church families.  He tells his brothers and sisters in Christ this convicting admonition:  

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:4-7

The secret to peace (which is much like contentment), is to rejoice in the One who strengthens you.

Christ is near!  His strength is available to you today!  His peace will guard your heart and mind!

THE PRACTICE
How do we put this into practice in our lives?  How do we rejoice when all is falling apart around us?  How do we maintain a thankful heart?

Paul gives the answer in the verses that directly follow:

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you."  Philippians 4:8-9

We turn not only our eyes to Jesus, but our thoughts as well!  When we look for Him, we will find Him.

And the world as we know it may have suddenly came to a crashing stop, but we can still "keep putting into practice" all Paul shared.  Our Christianity hasn't been placed on hold.  If Paul's encouragement from a prison cell to the early church could be read over and over again for centuries, what can God do with our obedience to Him during this time?

THE GOOD
If you need some GOOD things to rejoice about, we want to share with you what God has been doing here in Kenya!  Right now the country is on lock down and has been since March.  Groups of people are not allowed to meet or congregate and all schools and churches are closed.  However, we continue to look for ways God can help us reach out in love to the people here and He is providing avenues for us to help FEED THE NEEDY during this time!

Because of lockdown, many in rural communities are without jobs and we were able to feed 100 needy families in the village of Ndituni.  We distributed 1,500 pounds of dry goods.  We also distributed food to two more villages, giving thousands of pounds of vegetables and essentials, going home to home and praying for the sick.

SHOES FOR SMILES AND SOUL TO SOLE!

We have been visiting several schools here in the rural areas of Machakos county before the lockdown went into effect.  Often, we would see children going to school without shoes.  Joel had a dream one night and in it we were driving down a mountain road and giving shoes to the children from a large bag.  The next day, some of our very good friends told us they wanted to start collecting funds for shoes for the children and called the campaign Shoes for Smiles.  We were so excited!  We went out that day and purchased shoes to pass out and we drove down the road in our Miracle Van, looking for children walking home from school without shoes.  Our kids loved getting to do this!  

A campaign was started by many of you in the states and we were able to visit schools and pass out nearly 200 pairs of shoes!  The first school we visited, I didn't have the right size shoe for one little girl and she started to cry.  I glanced down and saw that Story had the right size.  When I asked if Story would give her shoes to the girl, she didn't even hesitate.  Boston carried her on his back the rest of the trip and my heart was so impacted!

We are praising God for our family in Christ that continues to raise funds for shoes, Bibles, and now FOOD to feed the hungry!  Soul to Sole, a campaign started by our children's pastor, sent us money to purchase 100 quality children's bibles and 100 pairs of school shoes.   Our good friend and Kenyan Pastor, Peter, collected them for us.   When the lockdown forced people out of work, Shoes for Smiles quickly sent money that was intended for shoes to be used for food for families in need.  

We were able to pass out Bibles to 100 children during our recent Food Distribution.  This was the first Bible these children have ever owned! Their smiles were so big and they were so excited!

THE WELL PROJECT

The well project continues to move slowly yet steadily forward.  We have met with numerous government officials and have written countless letters and drafted several plans.  Everywhere we go, we see the need for clean water and how it can affect every facet of life.  We passionately continue to advocate for this basic human need!  We are thankful for the friends we have made here who have worked tirelessly with us.  Recently, we made a very good contact with the Chief Officer of Machakos as well as the Deputy Governor and the project is moving forward and finally gaining ground.  We were told that many of the government officials thought we would leave and give up and they are surprised that we haven't.  It's gained their attention and now we are hopeful it has gained their support.  The government has the drilling equipment, but lacks funds for fuel, transport, and materials.  We have committed by faith to provide those things.  We're in this to the end!  God told us He would do this, and we have put our trust in Him.  Please continue to pray for the well project to begin drilling as soon as the government lifts the quarantine restrictions.

This stone marks the spot (much like Mizpah in the Bible) where the Geologist found water in Ndituni.  Right in the village center!  

NETWORKING MISSIONS

God has blown us away with His plans and purposes!  We've seen His HAND at work in miraculous ways!  One of those ways is through connections He has made for us.  He has been very strategic!  Joel met many national missionaries while he was on outreach throughout East Africa this past summer and one of those is the director of Together Orphan Ministries.  John Duot Duong stayed for 10 days with our family and we arranged for a meeting with him and the Founder of Mully Children's Family, Dr. Charles Mulli.  We continue to support the orphans of Together Orphan Ministries monthly.  We were able to send 500 bibles to them through our friend and director of the Gideons in Northern Kenya, David Otiende.  It was the first time the Gideons have been able to send Bibles to South Sudan.  God is TRULY orchestrating so many plans and purposes and we are BLESSED to see Him at work here in Kenya, South Sudan, and Tanzania.

Our friend Nickson from Tanzania came to stay with us for a week and when he went back to Tanzania he found out that our mutual friend and recent convert to Christianity was in a motorcycle accident.  Ollie is a Maasai tribesman who accepted Christ this summer when Joel and Connor were on outreach in Tanzania. Ollie’s tibula and fibula were broken in the accident and never healed.  Infection set in.  With the help of River City Church in Laplace, we were able to send money to get him transported to a hospital and have surgery on his leg.  Ollie will walk again and he and his family are so grateful! 

Joel with Ollie (on the right) this summer in Tanzania

Thank you for continuing to trust in the plans of God and to be a part of His purposes on this earth!  

Jesus is returning.  He's coming back for His inheritance and that inheritance is US:  His believers!  Let's continue spurring one another on in faith, in love, and in good works.  (Hebrews 10:24)

We Thank God for You!!

Love and Blessings in Christ,

Joel and Joye and Family

Today we visited White Dove Fellowship

Thankful for the prayers and support of local churches!

WE HAVE EXCITING NEWS!!

We feel like shouting from the mountain tops “Look what God has done!”

We were able to purchase TICKETS to Kenya for our family!! And yes, that means TEN tickets were booked for an international flight! My mom is coming to spend the first month with us!

We leave January 18th! Only Five weeks away.

God is giving us a whole new appreciation for His “suddenlies”.

What He says, He does. What He promises, He fulfills. You can stake your life on it. And as Christians, we are asked to do no less.

We’ve staked our lives on His commission. But that doesn’t mean we are paragons of faith. It simply means we are willing to look foolish to the world. :) We are willing to follow Him, and thankfully He leads us one step at a time.

I used to think following God one step at a time was frustratingly slow—now, I understand why the slow and steady pace—each step of obedience requires more faith than the last one.

Recently, Joel and I were praying about whether or not we should go ahead and purchase tickets when there are still some big things we are waiting on provision for; things like a vehicle and an extra rain collecting tank for the house. (By the way, that’s another awesome testimony— we’ve been graciously offered a house to stay in by a family member of Angels Center of Hope.) In both of our prayer times, God gave us similar scriptures. Joel had written on the top of his notes, “God directs our steps” (Proverbs 20:24) and I had written in my notes, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

How can we walk if we don’t take steps? And how will that walk be one of faith if we can see every step?

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God,” Paul says (Romans 8:14)

If we are walking by faith, it becomes as simple as Following the Leader. The Spirit of God is the one who leads and this is how we demonstrate our sonship. This is no normal walk. It’s a walk categorized by blind faith and expectant trust. Does it look foolish sometimes? Absolutely! Does it even make sense to us at times? To be honest, no, not always. .

“A man’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way?” Proverbs 20:24

If God is leading, then He knows where He’s going! God doesn't get lost. He doesn’t lose His way. He doesn’t need a map or a program or a list. He thought of everything and He knows how to get us where He wants us. We can’t miss the destination, when He is our guide. We can’t miss our goal, when He is our aim.

God willing, we will be in Kenya in January! And we’ll be taking it one step at a time, as the Lord leads! He’s brought us this far and we are amazed at the love and support of the people of God and the way we travel together on this journey.

In Christ,

Joye