God Provides Abundantly...

Praise God for His gracious provision!! He has provided amazingly for this trip in so many ways. Over the past few months, each one of the Kenya Team members has had a definite sense of God leading them to the mission to Kenya. Because we have felt confident of this call, we have trusted that God would provide what is needed to make it happen (Phil 1:3-6).

We have been thrilled to watch God at work through His people to make provision for full funding for the trip in the space of just a few short months. This demonstration of His faithfulness has encouraged us to believe that God is going to also come through in making us adequate for the ministry He has prepared for us in Kenya (2 Cor. 3:4-5).

We would appreciate all of your prayers for us in that regard. Pray also for us, that we would be ready to respond in the power of the Spirit to each circumstance and opportunity as they come in the process of the trip (Col. 4:3-6). We are excited that there are so many friends and ‘Family’ members participating in this faith adventure with us. We know that it is going to result in a lot of praise to our great King.

A Great Guitar Story - by: Willie Riese

I was having lunch with Joel and Rachel (Colbourne-Eagy) Hoffman, and we started talking about my participation in the upcoming trip to Kenya. Somewhere along the way I mentioned how we were praying for a guitar. It just so happened that Joel had an extra guitar he was looking to part ways with. (A little trivia: this was the guitar I learned how to play on when Joel and I were housemates in college.)

This guitar had been an “extra” for a few years after Joel bought a newer, nicer, guitar. However, the newer guitar was destroyed, along with all of the Hoffmans possessions, in the Port-au-Prince quake when their fifth-story apartment found its way to the ground level (at the time, they were missionaries with the Mennonite Central Committee in Haiti). Their survival of that quake is an entirely separate God-story – you can find it online by Googling “Joel and Rachel Hoffman”.

A custom-guitar builder here in Oregon heard about Joel and Rachel’s miraculous story and put together a very nice custom guitar and gifted it to the Hoffmans recently, leaving Joel once again with an extra guitar, which will find its way to Africa – a place very near and dear to the Hoffman’s hearts – they have served several times in missions work in Malawi and Burundi.

While buying new strings for this guitar in The Dalles, I inquired about whether the shop might have used guitar cases – we still need to get the guitar over to Kenya in one piece, after all. While they explained to me some different options (and they were willing to give us a great deal – thanks CRM), Derek Reaves, who happened to be with me, mentioned that he had an extra case that he could give us. The case is perfect for what we’re doing.

So just like that, we have a good guitar and a nice, sturdy case; all we need now is a guitar strap. Not too shabby, eh? God just continues to show His providence and hand in preparing the way for this trip.

The Ninth Member!

We would like our prayer team and supporters to meet the ninth member of our team, Mutisya Munyoki (pictured above w/ family).  Mutisya is a childhood friend of the Casady's sons (pictured below w/ Brian Casady).  Mutisya will be supplying our transportation around Kenya for the duration of our time there. Mutisya now lives in Nairobi with his wife, Bethany and daughter Mwende.  He will be a great addition to our team, helping us in many ways as we enter a world much different than our own in the Dalles, Oregon.  Please add Mutisya's name to your prayers for us.

And a Guitar??

We are also considering taking a guitar along that would probably be left in Kenya for their use. If you have a guitar that you would like to donate to the effort or if you felt lead to purchase one for this purpose, contact Willie Riese to discuss the possibility. Willie is the musical one of the group and is working on this aspect. Willie can be reached at highschool@gatewaypresbyterian.com or through the main phone at the church (541-298-8531).

Looking for a Laptop to...

Do you have a working laptop that would be portable for our trip to Kenya? We are hoping to take a laptop to use while on the trip and leave it behind when we leave. We're looking for something that is useful for basic computing including internet, email, etc. Newer and lighter would be better, but this will be a leave behind for our missionaries in Kenya.

If you have something to offer and feel lead to donate this to the mission, please let us know by contacting the Church or Scott Hege at schege@gmail.com or 541.288.1616.

Thank your for your consideration.

Tickets are Purchased!

God is continuing to bless this effort and has provided the funding for the airline tickets for all of the participants for the 2010 Gateway Mission to Kenya.  We are a Go!  Amen.  He is a powerful God.

Thank you to our Gateway family and all of the people that are supporting this mission.  We look forward to raising the balance of the needed resources as we prepare to move this trip forward.  While many details are yet to be worked out, below is the schedule for our flights:

Leave Portland (PDX) 13 July 1:30P - Arrive Amsterdam (AMS) 14 July 8:30A
Leave AMS 14 July 10:25A -              Arrive Nairobi (NBO) 14 July 7:25P

Leave NBO 2 Aug 8:10A -                 Arrive AMS 2 Aug 3:55P
Leave AMS 3 Aug 10:10A -               Arrive PDX 3 Aug 11:04A

More details as they become available.  Please continue to keep this trip in your prayers that the rest of the details will come together and that we will be tools for accomplishing Gods plans for us in Kenya.

Thank you!

Letter to Our Gateway Family:

Dear Gateway family,

Plans for Gateway's Short-term Mission to Kenya are moving forward rapidly. God has brought together a fantastic team that is quickly drawing together in unity of mind and purpose to serve our great God in ministry to His Kingdom world-wide. Let us tell you about what’s happening.

To read the whole letter by clicking on the graphic below: