Can I make a quick suggestion...

At some point in the day that you read this, take a walk. Don't finish every task on your to do list. Turn off your computer, or even more radical...turn off your cell phone! Spend more time in a conversation than your productivity would allow for. Reflect on a Bible verse. Pray. Think of one of the thousands of things you can thank and praise God for and then praise Him for it.

Do one of these things today and remember that life is not about industry, production, task completion, but about the worship of our Creator and Redeemer and the enjoyment of Him among the community of people around us.

P.S. For centuries, people have lived without computers, phones, cars, and all the other technological advancements that somehow make us take more work upon ourselves in order to consider ourselves as 'faithful'. Many people in the past have been deemed as 'faithful' and have completed far less tasks than what we take on.

Travels, Libraries, Newsletters, & New Life

This is going to be a really exciting update, guaranteed! You know why?
Good things happened in March!

1) Snow. It snowed somewhere around 6-7 inches in Denton, Tx! Since when does that happen??

2)A Trip. I had two weeks off of class, a much appreciated break, in which I was able to take some time to catch up on school assignments and take a trip to Lubbock & Clovis, New Mexico. Many of you probably do not know, but I went to Texas Tech my sophomore year (2000-2001) and I’ve had the privilege of staying in touch with a few friends out there. It was a very nice and relaxing time of catching up and great discussions on the church (a topic of conversation I am increasingly interested in), ministry, life, and Kenya. Often times I get caught up in enjoying the conversations and company that I forget to take pictures all together. But I did take ONE!

These are my friends, the McCallisters, in small town Clovis, New Mexico. In many ways, they are missionaries also: they are in a very different culture and there is great need for church-goers to be Christ-followers worshiping in spirit and truth.

3) First Newsletter. I was able to send out my first Benya Newsletter by God’s grace, Justin Pocta’s design skills, and Jill Senechal’s editing skills. Hopefully you have received it and enjoyed reading what I enjoyed writing.

3) A New Believer. And lastly, some very exciting news. One of my friends that I have been meeting with, studying the Bible with, and hanging out with off and on over the last 3 years, just trusted in Jesus Christ as his Savior recognizing that nothing he can do could ever earn him the right to be called ‘good’. The way to God is only through His Son, Jesus Christ, who dealt with sinful hearts in a very specific way on the cross. We cannot approach God without His forgiveness and Christ’s righteousness, and my friend came to that realization by God’s great gift of faith. Praise God!

Well, on to a couple of other items of business. The Omondis arrived safely in Kenya, and Jill will soon follow sometime in mid-April. The team is reforming and excited to be back home in Kenya to minister to the needs of the people. One thing the team is working on currently is a Resource Library for the pastors that are trained in the area by our ministry. At the Library, they will have the opportunity to come study God’s Word together and prepare sermons for their congregations using the many resources for understanding the Bible and communicating it effectively. If you are interested in helping us make this happen, you may help in 2 ways:

1. By donating relevant reference books you don’t use anymore.
2. By buying one of the books on our wishlist (Click HERE)or sending a check to the address below.

Denton Bible Church
Attn: Missions Office (Kenya Library Project)
2300 E. University
Denton, TX 76209

If you think you have a book that might be useful or want to know more about the project, click on this link for more information: Pastor’s Library.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. My trip this summer is coming fast, so please pray that I'd be prepared in body and in spirit.

Videos about Kenya

Here are some great videos made by my teammates the Omondis & Jill Senechal that I pulled off of the Omondi's Blog. A few of them I had never seen and they were educational to me as well:

This one was from the Denton Bible Missions Conference:


This was a documentary of a short term trip taken in 2005 that can help you get more acquainted with Kenyan culture:


And finally, here is a short video made by Dennis & Allison Omondi that does a great job at explaining our ministry and the values and beliefs of Serve:

A helpful audio file...

From a couple of peoples recommendations, I listened to a sermon by Mark Driscoll on the Emerging Church. For those of you like me who are just now learning about this important issue, Driscoll was actually a part of the original members that led the movement that is now labeled Emergent, but left the movement early on when he recognized his friends were questioning things that the Bible does not question but states as clear fact: Is there a hell? Does the Bible call homosexuality sin? Did Jesus really raise from the dead?

Driscoll has an insight to the movement beyond many people because of his involvement and even friendships with some of the spokesmen for the movement. This allows Driscoll to proclaim what is heretical but to do it with humility and with a deep love and sorrow for his friends who are teaching it.

Click here: Scroll down to "Mars Hill Church and The Emerging Church". You can listen online or right (ctrl) click and save the link to get the Mp3.

A Sermon, Georgia, and Peace in Kenya - March 2008

So what is going on in the world of Benya? February was a good month. After beginning MTI again, getting sick, going to Georgia where I helped a friend move to beautiful Savannah, click for pictures, spending 20 whole hours visiting and 35 hours driving, and preaching my first church sermon on the tail end of the sickness, I think I feel I am getting into a routine. Now I just need to add some of things I've neglected like continuing support appointments and reading the Bible (kidding on the last one)!

The Sermon:
I was given the opportunity to preach at Denton Community Church and I am very pleased with the result. Not because I think I did a great job nor because I think I was hilarious and entertaining, but because many people came up to me and said that it was very applicable to their lives. The text was Genesis 30:25-43 and it was about creating a balanced trust in your life where you are not frantically acting all the time believing you have complete control over all situations in your life and you are not resting so fully in God's sovereignty that you have stopped working or acting all together. Faithfully resting in God's sovereignty and faithfully acting according to God's principles. This balance is something we all need. Without the trust in God's sovereignty, stress levels become unhealthy, and without the faithful action, we become lazy and not useful to God.

Kenya and the Kenya Team:
This month has allowed for several meetings with the full time missionaries of the Kenya team who are all still in town because of the political strife in Kenya. It has afforded good times of hanging out, getting to know one another, and planning for the future that are all very valuable to the future functioning of us as a team. Also, within this month the country itself has made some great progress in their negotiations between the two political leaders at strife with one another. President Mwai Kibaki has now agreed to create a Prime Minister position for Raila Odinga who was the opposing party that ran against him in the December elections (click here for more info.) This means that Kenya will prayerfully be at peace from the fighting and the country can begin turning their attention towards rebuilding and helping their people. Praise God! Keep praying for peace in Kenya as the Omondis and Jill look toward heading back to Kenya by the end of this month.

Prayer Points:
Please pray for this month as I will have some time off from school where I hope to have support appointments and to be diligent in working on school projects. Also, pray for the Kenya team as they head back to Kenya and for the country itself and its continued peace.

P.S. If I have your address, expect a letter from me this month - my first official, printed, BENYA newsletter. (Pray that I use my time wisely to get these out!)