Graduation, 100%, & the Missions Conference

A lot of great things have been happening in the Benya world!

Graduation:
Last Saturday, on May 9th, I had my official commencement ceremony from the Missionary Training Institute. It was a wonderful and encouraging time that I got to share with my family and some friends. The last two years have been challenging but very rewarding from class to my internship with DCC to the support raising process.

Support:
And Praise God, I have finished support raising! I am at 100% of my monthly needs and about 58% of my one time needs. However, the remaining 42% should be taken care of through the monthly donations rolling over through August (my estimated departure). Our team, however, is still support raising for a project in Ukunda. Ask me about it if you are interested.

Thank you for going on this journey with me. If you have been praying, know that you are a part of this and I'm extremely grateful. Rejoice with me because God has answered your prayers.

Missions Conference:

For those of you in the Denton / DFW area, I'd like you to come celebrate with me all the great things God has done and is doing at the Denton Bible Missions Conference: Love Your Neighbor. You don't have to be a part of DBC to come and I'm positive it will be worth your while. Details are below. Click on this link to REGISTER.

The conference will be a great event to . . .

1. Get to know our missionaries: DBC has 73 missionary families sent out from our body serving around the world in a variety of ministries. We hope to have over 50 of these missionaries here at the conference. You will have the opportunity to hear them share with the conference, attend one of their break-out sessions, or visit one on one.
2. Learn about DBC missions: The conference will highlight several of our field ministries and offer break out sessions for in depth discussion of each of our key ministries.
3. Be challenged with solid teaching: Mark Young (Executive Pastor of Missions at StoneBriar Church, Professor at DTS and President Elect of Denver Seminary) and Tommy Nelson will be challenge us on loving our neighbor
4. Get involved: Opportunities for local and international involvement will be highlighted throughout the conference
5. Bring the whole family: there will be a childrens program on both days that will take the kids to far away places like China and Kenya while having them back in time to be picked up. Kids last year loved the event and it motivated whole families to begin praying and participating in outreach.
   

Conference Details:

1. The conference is on Friday night May 29th from 6 – 9 PM (doors open at 5) and Saturday May 30th from 9 AM to 2 PM (doors open at 8AM).
2. The cost is free but we are asking everyone to register. Lunch on Saturday is $5 per adult and $2 per child and requires a ticket purchased prior to the event.

Reflections on Disparity

Disparity.

I've been thinking about this word a lot lately. I promise I'll make this reasonably short.

This last month I was able to spend a week in Memphis with 140 college students from the college ministry of Denton Bible Church. It was a great time of service, learning, and reflection on the need for Christians to infiltrate culture and be a witness in all areas of life which include rich and poor, black and white, not allowing our cultural biases or inner prejudices keep us from engaging in cross cultural ministry here in our own country.

Sadly I only took 3 pictures. The one above is at the Civil Rights Museum that is built around the motel where Martin Luther King Jr was killed.

I also have been able to teach a lot this last month and I am continuing on with my Church History class on Monday nights for two more weeks. But on to the word at hand.

Disparity.
Martin Luther King rose up to fight, but not to kill. He rose up to challenge, but not injure. And they killed him. He recognized the disparity between white Americans and black Americans, all citizens of the same nation but one being treated as less than human.

Disparity.
Why does a group of men and women get to come to a church on a Monday night and learn about Church History, when some PASTORS elsewhere in the world have never even heard that Christ is returning...yet still have faith in Him and follow Him?

Disparity.
Why do some people live in incredible luxury and wastefulness, while others simply long for the basic needs of a human being? Water. Bread.

Disparity.
Why are we able to gather in some places with thousands of Christians while some entire nations do not have the same amount of believers as our typical SMALL GROUP?

Disparity.
Why do we have multiple choices of English translations when many people groups have no Scripture in their language to guide them to the truth of Christ?

Perhaps why is too philosophical, theological, impractical of a question? Maybe the question for all of these is WHAT can we do about this massive gulf of difference between our world...and the rest of the world.

Yes, Christians are missionaries and disciples of Christ wherever we are and there IS need everywhere. But what should be done about the disparity? This word just keeps staying in my head. Disparity.

I think the answer is found in the heart of God who crossed the ultimate gulf of difference, the ultimate disparity and came to redeem the world in Jesus the Christ.

Pray with me for more laborers for the harvest, 'for the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few' (Mt 9:35-38).

Quick, someone join the Benya support team!

So, the other day I was looking at how much more monthly support needs to come in for me to be at 100%. I had just registered a new support team member and so I took my total and minused what I have coming in right now.

(Suspenseful moment)

I have exactly $666 a month needed! Isn't that a little crazy? Someone needs to join quick! I don't want to stay at that number for too long :).

I'm sure it's fine......

Alright, who's been praying?

Alright, who's been praying? Come on. Fess up. Because surely someone has! Missionaries don't have 23% jumps in their monthly supporters in one month. This just doesn't happen! And yet it has. God has been knocking my socks off with people who are interested in joining the Benya team and being a part of the work in Kenya. For example, last week I had 9 appointments. Out of those, 7 of them wanted to join the team. Out of those, four of them already have turned in the paperwork and are already starting to give! Unbelievable! But shouldn't it be believable oh me of little faith?

Things are getting quite busy as everything I am doing this semester is hitting at once: Spring Break Mission trip to Memphis with College Life (March 15-21), teaching 3 sessions of OT Survey (starting 3/23), teaching 6 sessions of Church History (starting 3/23), along with continued support meetings. I'm starting to wonder if God is going to bring in my support early just so I can rest for a while before leaving!

Will you leave as soon as your support is raised?
On this side of August, no. I'm still planning on being in Denton early June for the Denton Bible Missions Conference and going to Dearborn, Michigan in July for 3 1/2 weeks of training on how to share Christ with Muslims. I am becoming more and more convinced of the necessity of this training in Michigan so that in my ministry with Word of Life Fellowship Church and in pastoral training I can encourage them to local outreach and evangelism of the Muslim people in the South Coast of Kenya.

Please pray:
- For more people to join my support team and for my one time support to be raised.
- Pray for my teaching this next month - Old Testament Survey / Church History
- Pray for the Spring Break trip to Memphis - for hearts to be conformed to Christ.

Immediate Fruit?

The hardest part about support raising in my opinion is the waiting. We are typically not very patient people, humans that is but especially Americans. But a lot of support raising is simply waiting on God to move in the hearts of the people you meet with to sit down, pray, look at the budgets, decide whether or not they can support you, and then fill the forms out. It takes a long time to get all that done when life is hectic and kids get sick and jobs get demanding. I think God really uses this whole process to develop missionaries before he sends them out to the field.

How would missionaries react if 100% of their support came in the first month they started support raising? I'd probably be pretty overwhelmed and simply not ready to leave yet! Also I might go to the field expecting the same kind of immediate fruit in the ministry. "Immediate Fruit" - well there is an oxymoron if I've ever heard one. There is absolutely nothing immediate about fruit if we are involved in the planting, watering, cultivating, and waiting process. It's the same with ministry, and the same with support raising.

Praise God, I have been making significant progress and it has been very encouraging. I was at 40% in December and now I have 55% of my monthly support covered. Praise God for His provision!

Please pray:
1) For my patience and faithfulness in the support raising process.
2) For God's provision in God's timing.
3) For the many other things I am attempting to juggle at the same time: Class on Islam, Discipleship, teaching a Church History class and 3 weeks of OT Survey in MTI after Spring Break, Personal Reading, etc.
4) Most importantly pray for my own faithfulness in prayer. "Lord place in Ben and place in me daily a stronger heart of prayer and desire to pray which is our great and wonderful privilege as redeemed children of God."