Prayer Calendar

If you are on my email list I'm emailing you the attachment so it can be printed easily and placed on your refrigerator or someplace where you will remember to pray for me and my team. If you'd like the actual file and are not on my email list, just email me and I will send it to you. Don't feel like you have to read all this at once; it's meant to be taken a day or several days at a time. The portion at the end are things that you can pray for every day of the trip.
We are resting as the branches of the vine of Christ. Apart from the vine, we can do NOTHING! Therefore, prayer, trust, and daily abiding in Christ is essential not only for trips like these but even for daily life. I highly encourage you to pray for us, because we are lost without it (John 15:5).


PRAYER CALENDAR:

Please pray each day for our team:

• Humble attitudes and servant hearts
• Respect of culture
• Joyful spirit content in all things
• Submission to authority (Jill, Ben, Shanda, etc.)
• Grace in dealing with heat & insects
• That we could be true examples of the Christian walk – that the Kenyans may see our dedication and love for Christ, but also our faults and daily need of Him.
• HEALTH – big one.
• Flexibility – this trip is all planned out, but it could all change and turn on a dime as it already has once.

Today – June 5^th

• Final team meeting on May 31 with Dennis (Kenya field director) and Allison (Dennis’ fiancée).
• Kate, Carmie, Rachel, & Landon’s passports to come through. Possible trip to Houston – June 1^st for re-application.
• Our team’s Creativity & the Holy Spirit in preparing for the leading of devotionals, church times, and a chapel service.
• Small gifts to Kenyans will be chosen wisely and used to encourage, show love, and edify the college leaders we will be working with.
• Spiritual, physical, mental readiness for the team.
• Pray for Dennis & Allison as they prepare for their wedding in North Carolina

June 5^th – June 7^th (morning)

• Safety in travels
• Patience with 4 planes & over 14 hrs of layover.
• Use the time wisely for team building and more prep. for the time in Kenya
• Pray for Moses – my Kenyan ministry partner. That I may teach him in Bible study, leadership, and what he needs most.

June 7^th (afternoon) – 8^th

· Become well-rested in Mombasa

· Sharpness & Organization in planning and gathering of supplies before we go to the Word of Life camp

· Pray for Jill as she guides us in all the aspects and logistics of this trip.

· Pray for Landon meeting with Martin. That Martin might learn what he needs most from Landon.

Saturday June 9^th

• Safety in traveling 30 miles to Ukunda (roads are really bad in Kenya)
• First meeting of Kenyan College Leaders – pray for energy, joy, and excitement to build the relationships with our two teams
• For the Word of Life Staff – be a blessing to them and an example of Jesus Christ.
• Pray for Anthony meeting with Ivan. That Ivan might learn what he needs most from Anthony.

June 10^th – 17^th

• Every day, 9AM-1PM: Discipleship times with ministry partners. Pray for love, relationship building, use of curriculum, and discernment on the most important things to talk about
• Every day, 2PM-6:30PM: Ministry / work projects in the Word of Life camp or Ukunda village. Pray for servant hearts and strong role modeling of the Christian life as seen in service and giving.
• Every day: That the Holy Spirit would impart the vision of discipleship, evangelism, holiness, the reading and studying of the Word of God, prayer, fellowship, accountability, and service as essential parts of the Christian life to these Kenyan leaders and all the Word of Life staff and people of Ukunda as well as Mombasa.

Monday June 11^th

• Work project at Word of Life – manual labor on the 11^th, 12^th, & 14^th – pray for safety and to be a help to the camp
• Pray for Carmie meeting with Betty. That Betty might learn what she needs most from Carmie.

Tuesday June 12^th

• Our team led devotionals for the Word of Life staff & Kenyan college leaders on the 12^th, 13^th, and 14^th – to effectively encourage and edify those around us
• Pray for Laci meeting with Jackie. That Jackie might learn what she needs most from Laci.

Wednesday June 13^th (Ben’s birthday)

• Visit of elementary school in Ukunda – the gospel could be shared with emphasis on growth in Christ and the personal relationship with God. Be an example of loving evangelism for our partners.
• Pray for Kate meeting with Lynn. That Lynn might learn what she needs most from Kate.

Thursday June 14^th

• Traditionally someone gets sick while in Kenya – pray for health for my team members at this midway point.
• Pray for Rachel meeting with Sylvia. That Sylvia might learn what she needs most from Rachel.

Friday June 15^th

• Morning Chapel service with 600 kids – the team will be doing some sort of skit or devotional
• Evening “Youth Worker’s Fellowship” – the team will also be leading in this time. Pray for preparedness and the Spirit’s leading to say or do what GOD wants to be said or done and not our own thoughts, words, or desires.
• Pray for Shanda meeting with Kenalyn. That Kenalyn might learn what she needs most from Shanda.

Saturday June 16^th

• Visitation of Word of Life staff members living in Ukunda and evangelism in their neighborhoods. Encouragement, effective gospel presentations, and modeling evangelism to ministry partners.

Sunday June 17^th

• Presentation at church service: skit, song, or devotional.
• Goodbyes to our new Kenyan friends and ministry partners: Pray that both the Kenyans and Americans will remember one another by their mutual love for Christ and that there would be exponential impact that occurs in all our lives after having met, served, and learned from one another.
• Travel back to Mombasa after church

June 18^th – 21^st

• Debrief time for team. This is still ministry time for Shanda and I; pray that we would effectively lead our team to think for themselves and to remember the things God has taught them through this trip.
• Pray for the lives of the team members to be forever changed having seen God acting in another part of the world
• Pray for direction and future involvement in foreign and local missions
• Pray that their hearts would be forever bound to Christ and their passion and vision would forever be grounded in evangelism and DISCIPLESHIP.

June 22^nd – 24^th

• Safety in travels home
• Patience with 4 planes and over 15 hours of layover.
• Pray for God to raise up full time missionaries for Kenya to join the Denton Bible team in Mombasa.

What am I doing from June 5th - 24th?

I’m glad you asked that question. I’m going to Kenya!

Well, a lot has happened recently to change the nature of the trip this June. Dennis Omondi the Denton Bible Missionary whose hometown is Mombasa, Kenya had to come home early. Dennis planned on being involved in our trip and taking us and 8 of the leaders in the college ministry in Mombasa to Western Kenya for a mission trip / work project there. But the laws of immigration and marriage has called him to the states early, and it would be unwise to travel within Kenya without a Kenyan.

So, our plans now are to go to Mombasa, then after a day or two of planning and resting from the 3 days & 4 planes of travel, we will meet up with 8 of the leaders of the college ministry and go to Word of Life, a youth camp on the Indian Ocean about 30 minutes south of Mombasa. These Kenyans are students or just out of college. Some have been saved for a while, others more recently, but all have a lot to learn about the daily Christian life and walk. It is our team’s goal to model the Christian life for them through living life with them, taking them through a curriculum (The Timothy Principle – based from the Navigators 2:7 material by Roy Robertson), becoming their friends, peers, disciplers and guides. It is our hope that the things they hear and see from us will be taken into practice and passed down to all of the people involved in the college ministry in Mombasa. Because this is our main ministry, we will be spending every morning over the next 8 days with our ministry partners. I will be meeting with Moses who has been involved in the college ministry for 2 years now and will be part of the core leadership team in the fall. His favorite soccer team is Manchester United (I just realized that if I’m going to be a missionary, I must know and appreciate SOCCER – I’ll be working on that). I hope to get to know him, love him, show him how I live life and teach him in areas of leadership and Bible study methods. I could share with you about the other people that each one of my team members are paired up with, but I’d rather tell you about that when I really know them and have pictures to accompany my words.

In the afternoons we will be doing a service project for the Word of Life camp as well as visiting an elementary school to share Christ with the kids there one afternoon. The idea for these 8 days is to be with these key leaders of the college ministry ALL THE TIME! We will read with them, pray, hang out, eat, serve, work, play, sleep, everything. This is the discipleship that Jesus displayed with the apostles and I am excited to follow in that pattern at least for a few days. Perhaps it will urge me on to following His pattern much more closely and consistently?

After that, the Kenyans will go home and we will return to Mombasa to debrief. Some may say, well at this point ministry is over right? Not at all. Because since the first team meeting in April, discipleship has been happening. This debriefing time will be a key time for my team to think about God, missions, discipleship, service, and ministry in a whole new light. Recently I’ve come to realize that mission trips can be very similar to Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. He was riding along the road minding his own business, and all of a sudden knocked off his horse. When he looks up, he sees Jesus face to face. Missions can have a profound effect on a believer. It is like getting slapped in the face or knocked off a horse to find you are staring at the face of your Lord and things have never been so clear.

Coming Soon: a Prayer Calendar with dates and suggested prayer topics.

"Social Finals Week"

Wow! This week has been really crazy. Really. I have called it "Social Finals Week" or "Social Marathon" because I have been so busy. It is starting to finally slow down after all. Let me take you through a synopsis of the week:

Monday:
My good friend Levi came into town. He stayed with me for the week and we hung out with Brian Allgaier (who got married on Saturday) while watching some awesome Jazz music at the Greenhouse.Wednesday:
Drove to Dallas to celebrate my brother Peter's 30th birthday. Good time with mi familia. That night my other brother Andy and his wife checked into the hospital because their baby was ready to become a new Warren in the world.Thursday:
Sean Warren is born at 1:29PM!! Bachelor Party for Brian Allgaier in Ft. Worth, Texas. All was planned by me, the Best Man.Friday:
Rehearsal at the church and Rehearsal Dinner at Texas Land & Cattle (tasty). Brian gave me a French Press for the groomsmen gift!! Very exciting

Saturday:
Wake up early. Go to Dallas to see Sean Warren for the first time and hold my 2 day old nephew. Pick up Kenya team member. Buy supplies to decorate the wedding car. Practice Best Man speech. Go to wedding!Sunday - Monday:
Wake up early. Go to church. Pack up Kenya team in a suburban to drive 3 hrs. to the Wichita Mts. in Oklahoma. Stinking beautiful and fantastic camping.

Kenya Support Amount Raised!

I am at full support with several hundred dollars extra that will go directly to any team members that might be lacking in their support. If you were planning on contributing to the Kenya mission trip and are willing to have the money go to other team members or Denton Bible Missions, I am positive that God will use your donation toward His glory in whatever way He sees fit.

I must say that I have never seen so much generosity so quickly. It is all God's doing whether the reason for it is simply to encourage and affirm myself and my future direction in missions and full-time ministry, and/or because God has blessed me with incredibly godly, generous, and loving friends and family who have God's heart for the world.

The body of Christ stands united as a team when we gather together with one purpose and one heart which is God's purpose and God's heart. This will of God is that ALL NATIONS see and know the glory of His Son Jesus Christ and put their faith in God's salvation through Jesus Christ who paid the penalty for our desperately sinful hearts.