Let the Nations Be Glad

Retreat is a memory now. Pictures and videos are posted to help us remember. 

Magdalene Nungu from Cameroon has a tradition of bringing a new song to Joni each time she sees her. She teaches Joni a song in Pidgin English and they sing it together.

All the camp photos are posted at Kodak Gallery. I pray they will bless you with pleasure and good memories.

As camp photographer, I had the privilege of seeing activities in many parts of the program. I was very glad I took my bike for getting around and back and forth!

Elisa and I helped the Turner family during Family Retreat. Mrs. Turner wrote on her blog about how much they enjoyed camp and she also posted some pictures.

Hey Everybody!

Everyone left camp around noon today. 

When we say "talent," I think we usually mean a high level of performance in comparison with others.

One of the special things about this Family Retreat is that my friend, Magdalene Nungu, is here from Cameroon. She is the founder and director of a disabilities ministry in the Bamenda area of the Northwest Province. I met her last year when I was part of the team distributing wheelchairs through her organization. 

Last year Billy came to Family Retreat. Billy is a black lab trained as a therapy dog. This means he has passed animal "good citizen" tests and is approved to visit hospitals, nursing homes, and other similar situations. 

Our campers arrived today (yesterday, really, since it's after midnight).

Talitha and I arrived at Castaway Club about 4:30, along with most of the other volunteers. Talitha is especially happy that her cousin, Betsy, came up from Chicago to work and brought along her friend, Hannah.

I'm sitting in the middle of a puddle of packing. Talitha and I leave in about 3 hours for camp. 

Talitha and I drove home today from our vacation, leaving my husband behind to have a few more days of quiet and retreat on his own. 

A couple of people have mentioned that they're not sure how to post a comment because they've forgotten their sign-in info or don't want to register.

Hey Everyone!

I am so excited for Joni and Friends Camp. I would love to give you guys some reasons why I am so excited.

Okay, the first reason is that this is my very first time volunteering at Joni and Friends Camp. Last year, when my mom went for the Minnesota Joni and Friends Camp I didn’t really feel like I was ready to go to one. But now I am ready.

Reason two: I get to bring my violin and play music for people. I just love being able to minister to people that way!

Reason three: I get to take care of an adorable little friend I know!

Reason four: I get to room with other girls from my church!

Reason five: Some of my friends are going from church!

And finally, Reason six: This is a great opportunity for me to serve others and to be like Christ and his image in Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for  many.” I get to serve others maybe even in the smallest ways like playing violin, but the bigger thing is that I get to be like Christ.

I most heartily look forward to seeing you there if you’re going! I really can’t wait to go, can you tell?

Families and STMs (Short-Term Missionaries=volunteers) are getting ready for Minnesota's second Joni and Friends Family Retreat next week. We've put together a photo book to help campers know what to expect at camp. Near the top right-hand corner you can choose "play" for a slideshow or you may arrow through at your own pace.

Imagine that you must lie or crawl or be carried, and you have no hope that anything will ever be better. Then, you are offered a wheelchair. Imagine that, for the first time in your life, you can look at people almost eye to eye, that you can see the world face-on. 

In January 2007, I was part of a team distributing wheelchairs in Cameroon, West Africa. This was a combined ministry of JAF and Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. Team members raised their own support. Internet connection was spotty, but we were able to post a few entries in a team blog. 

From Noel:

Summer afternoon. Sisters swimming in the bay. Diving from a raft. Hitting bottom. Broken neck. Quadriplegia. Seventeen years old and life will never again be the same.

Posted by Noel:
I'll be making a new side bar for our next ministry opportunity, but I want to save the images that were in the Kenya trip side bar. 

From Talitha:
Today is a sad day for my mom and I. Today is March 10, 2008... which means that today is our last full day in Kenya. Tonight we leave at 11:30pm for our flight to Amsterdam from Kenya. Part of me wants to stay. Part of me wants to leave and see my church, school and just be at home. I have seen so much for me to process. Some of what I saw made me angry. Some of it made me sad. Some of it made me happy. Seeing the poverty made me mad and sad. Seeing the children happy and asking us "how are you?" made me happy. We take so much for granted in "the states" and we don't even think about other people in the world who may not have the same things that we do, or may not have it at all. I encourage you (in the states) to pray earnestly for these (broken or hurt or happy) people in Kenya. Also when you catch yourself being picky about a certain food ( don't feel bad, I do it too) remember that there are people in the world who don't have any food or live on less than a dollar a day so they eat what they can get for their family. One thought I definitly come away with on this trip is that there really is trees dying and a lot of us waste paper in the states and we don't even think about that there really is trees dying. I given you a lot to think about, so process it slowly and maybe you have some thoughts.
God bless you and keep you and give you a heart(if not already) t0 be on your knees for these people in Kenya and all of Africa. May Jesus Christ's name be hallowed forever in Africa!

From Noel:

From Talitha :

Hey Everybody! I hope everybody is safe and blessed.
ok, Some thoughts here. When I saw how the women have to walk down this steep steep hill to get firewood and back up carrying it, it struck me how hard these women work to get food for their families. They (i think ) get firewood down the steep escarpement 3 times a week. That takes a lot of muscle. The firewood they carry is a huge old pile. Some women did not have shoes. Some women did not have husbands because they were widowed. Some women had torn and dirty dresses and scarves. That is one of the reasons (I think) that they loved the scarves. We in The States take for granted the firewood we burn because we can buy firewood. And we have cars to go get it. A lot of us use cars to go get firewood, clothes and other stuff. When they have to walk maybe some miles to go get the essentials for living. Also when I saw some of the children walking to school, it struck me how sometimes they have to walk a long way to get to school. And we sit back and relax in buses. Seeing this taught me that I shouldn't complain when my bus comes late because i should be grateful that I get to ride a bus at all. Also some kids at my school live farther away, They should be grateful that they do not have to walk the 20 or something miles. I have given you alot to think about, so process it slowly. If you have questions or something to say, give me a comment. Blessings!

From Noel:

From Noel:

From Noel:

From Talitha:

Hey Everybody! A exciting thing is happening today. I am gettng my hair braided with extensions. Isn't that exciting? Later we probably will post a picture of my hair. But now, I have to go and get my hair braided! Many bessingsand I miss you all ( especially my class, Thanks Jalen for the awesome comment, I bue you too!) I am feeling better with my shots, Thanks for the prayers! Love you all,bye!

From Noel:

I have known of Rift Valley Academy ever since my sister Julie worked there for a time in the 70s. It is a well-known day and boarding school founded by AIM in Kijabe and sits about halfway up the escarpment of the Rift Valley. Craig Sorley was a boarding student there, grades 8-12.

Adjacent to RVA is the AIM hospital. To all my medical friends I say, if you want to see medicine in a new way, come work at a mission hospital. Most cases are far advanced and there are conditions that are rarely if ever treated in the US.

Today, after walking around a bit at RVA and eating spaghetti lunch amidst a tent-full of student clamor, we drove down the hill to the hospital to meet Dr. Harry Kraus. I "met" Harry first through his writing. Since then, when I knew I'd be coming to Kenya, he and his wife, Kris, were kind enough to invite us to visit them. So this afternoon we had tea--I mean chai--and then this evening they took Talitha and me out to eat at a Java House (apparently founded by Americans who thought there ought to be a good place to buy good coffee in this coffee-growing country).

I want to recommend Harry's books to you. My favorites are The Chairman (fiction) and Breathing Grace (non-fiction). I wouldn't be surprised if when you read these, you'll want to find his others.

Once again, it's late and time to sleep. Tomorrow I'll be attending a Care of Creation workshop for farmers: Farming God's Way. Talitha will be doing something she's never done before, but more about that later.

(By the way, I keep mentioning the Rift Valley. The Great Rift Valley is a north-south volcanic-earthquake fault running from Lebanon to Mozambique. It's major enough to be seen from space.)

From Noel:

From Noel:

We went with the Sorleys this morning to Tigoni Baptist. We expected the service to be in
Swahili, and most of it was. Good music. I was able to catch on to a couple of the phrases if they were repetitive enough. One sounded really familiar and I finally realized it was "Things Already Bettah" that we learned in English from Watoto.

Then when it was sermon time, Pastor Bosco had another man up there with him to translate into English. I think that was an impromptu arrangement because we were visiting. The sermon was from Philippians 1:15-18. He spoke about unity and love, specifically relating it to the recent violence in Kenya. He challenged the church to be different than others.

I have been in services other places where the language is unfamiliar, and God works anyway. Maybe I meditate on the passage I know the pastor is preaching from. Or maybe God brings other things to mind. Or maybe I pray for the people who are worshiping around me.

So I didn't mind when I thought this morning would be all Swahili, but I was glad I could understand more than I expected.

From Talitha:

Ok, tired here. But for the most part i am happy because we are here safely.
Thank you to all who were praying for us that we would be safe. The planes were safe and we had a nice time at the Amsterdam airport and had some delightful walffle caramely cookies ( the kind that Miss Ward really likes! smile). I slept 6 hours on one of the flights. And I slept all of the night yesterday night and woke up in the morning at 6:00am. Here it is about 9 hours difference so right now it is 9:10am. At home it is about midnight.

Grace and peace from God our perfect heavenly Daddy!

From Noel: You have given us all we needed to go--prayers and gifts. THANK YOU! Lord willing, we arrive late tomorrow evening, Nairobi time. Thank you for blessing us as we go and while we're there.

From Talitha:

Thank you so much to all who so willingly contributed to " The Piper Travel Fund". Also thank you to all who so willingly prayed for us while we were packing and those who so willingly are going to pray for us. We really really really appreciate all this help and prayers you have bestowed on us. Thank you Thank you Thank you!

May Jesus Christ's name be hallowed in Kenya forever!
Talitha

From Noel:

One of the effects of planning a trip to Kenya is that I'm lots more aware of what's happening there. According to my original plans I should have already traveled and returned. But post-election violence caused that trip to be postponed till now. I have paid close attention since then to the progress of talks between the rival leaders, Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga.

The area where we'll be visiting was not affected by the violence and foreigners did not feel threatened.

Just yesterday, an agreement for a coalition government was announced. There is great relief in Kenya, mixed with caution.

So today, let's give thanks and pray for peaceful follow-through.

From Talitha:

I'm feeling a little sore right now--on both sides. Three shots today!

From Talitha:

Hello Friends.

I want to say that I am so blessed to have all of you as friends.
Please pray hard that I will not forget anything when I pack. Also if you could pray that I will have patience when I pack. Packing for long trips has always been hard. And I need the Lord's grace and mercy as I pack. Thank you for all your prayers. They are appreciated.
God bless you!

May Jesus Christ's name be hallowed now and forever more!

From Talitha:

If you could pray for me, that would be great. Here are some ways that you could pray for me:

• That the Lord would keep us safe traveling.
• That the Lord would keep us safe there where we will be.
• That the Lord would give us unity traveling and when we are there.
• That the Lord would keep us from grumbling when things don't go our way.
• That the Lord would keep our families [Daddy and brothers and their families] safe and happy while we are gone.
• That we would encourage each other to have devotions, to pray, and to treat each other and everybody there with love.
• That God would help us understand more about how important the environment is in people's lives and spiritual lives.
• That we would always remember that we are there to serve and not to be served.

Thank you for praying for us. God bless you and keep you and give you peace, joy, and love for God and for others.

From Noel:

Talitha and I leave for Kenya on Friday. We will be visiting Craig and Tracy Sorley, missionaries sent out by Bethlehem Baptist to service with Care of Creation . Our main purpose is to find out more about Care of Creation so we ourselves can pray more intelligently and so we can bring back to Bethlehem a greater understanding and vision of the ministry of Care of Creation.

The combination of ecology and missions is not a familiar sort of ministry for me. Here's a parallel that I found helpful. We're used to the idea of medical missionaries trying to heal people's bodies, which provides a pathway for the gospel, with the prayer that people's souls will be redeemed and healed. Care of Creation is working to heal the environment, which provides a pathway for the gospel, with the prayer that people's souls will be redeemed and healed.

I know we're supposed to be stewards of the world God put us in, but I've always been wary of environmental activists, because so many seem to make the world itself into god. So I'm excited that to learn more about these things with a biblical foundation.

I found Ed Brown's book, Our Father's World: Mobilizing the Church to Care for Creation, to be a very helpful beginning.