Home again

Jambo Everyone!!

I am officially writing this email from Canadian soil. That's right I have landed safely in Canada after my 6 month adventure away in Kenya. I want to start by thanking you all SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much for all of your prayers!!! God has heard them and answered! I am feeling much much better these days and didn't struggle at all on the flights with my ears... which is really a miracle. So thank you for being so faithful and caring enough to pray for me. You played a really big role in my time away. Without that prayer support who knows what would've happened.

Secondly... I have SO many stories of what has been doing in my life and in others around me that I would love to share with any of you. I'm actually presenting my trip Sunday night...6:00pm, March 4th at Forest Baptist Church for any of you in the area who might want to come and hear that. God is really SO great! And I have much to share.

Also, as usual I'm coming to you again with prayer requests. Yes my time for now is over in Kenya but I would beg you to continue to remain with me in prayer for Kenya and different things going on there. IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE, FOR NOW AND FOR ETERNITY!

Here are a few of the prayer requests:

• Fridah, the school leader, feels God calling her to Switzerland for more training with the DTS for 6 months. She needs to get her VISA next week and it can be a very hard task in human eyes. But I know that through Christ ALL things are possible and even easy! So I'm requesting that we stand with her and watch God surprise her with how easily HE can do "impossible" things in our lives!
  
  
• Other team members are flying home this weekend and need protection again as I did when traveling. It's long distance but God is faithful.
  
  
• There's a real need for a "DTS van", which again in Kenyan perspective seems absolutely impossible, but we all know that God is our provider and can SO EASILY bring that about. With a DTS van, traveling becomes so much easier and economical. God has placed this need in many of our hearts and so we want to rally together around it and pray it into being.
  

Again... thank you SO much... ASANTE SANA! You'll never know the impact you've made into eternity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God bless you all!
Love, the Canadian/Kenyan,
Alaina

PS - If you would even like to receive updates as I know about them let me know and I'd love to keep in contact as we stand united in Christ.

PSS - I will be staying in Forest until Wednesday, March 7th at which time I will flying back to my family in Edmonton.

The story of the eight men

As promised, Alaina described the entire story she alluded to in her previous post to mom on the phone today. Mom typed it up to share with you all.

THE STORY OF THE EIGHT MEN! - as told by Alaina

Last Saturday night, January 13th, was the night of this occurrence. Alaina shared that although they are safe in Africa, they must always be cautious. For example, going to the washroom which is not a part of their home where they have been staying, but rather outside, is a place you don't go by yourself. Especially at night time, it's like the whole group goes over together she said.

Anyway, Saturday night, everyone had gone to bed. Alaina was wide awake, and it was unusual for her to not be able to fall asleep. She was experiencing a lot of headaches that week, and when Freda, their leader and good friend, discovered she was still up, they ended chatting until 1 or 2:00 in the morning.

As a team they had been made aware that the area they were in was a place where it's hard to pray. There is much witchcraft happening in the area and people in their work deal with evil spirits.

So, we have this picture.. Alaina can't sleep... and as in many hotter climates, there are bars on the opened windows and she is about 2-3 feet from the window. She was praying for some time about protection for the team as she felt afraid.. the first time she really has had this fear while in Africa. Alaina felt she couldn't look to the window, so she slept facing the other way. She knew God was telling her to pray, and had a sense she was protected, so after praying for a couple of hours she feel asleep.

The same night, Martha, a Kenyan student, came in and she was feeling frightened that night. She had been up working on a message to give that next day at church... and not able to sleep was praying and singing. She couldn't look at the window, but felt someone was there ... and turned and saw a hand through the bars. So, at 5:00 in the morning Martha cried out in her language, "You be defeated in Jesus' name!" She just yelled it out! Mercy too had been praying as she had had a bad dream. Freda heard the noise, is scared and came in wondering what is happening and they discovered that Martha had hit the hand of a person that had pulled away and that she had just seen 8 men run away.

They were all surprised that they were not attacked sooner. Alaina said it was interesting that there were 8 of them as there are also 8 on the team - 2 leaders and 6 students. Freda commented, "God showed you what to pray for while you were sleeping. God showed His power through prayer."

So, whenever prompted to PRAY... do so! We do not know what we may face, but God does... and will guide us.

Prayer Requests

• This week they go to work with the Dorobo people, a tribe in the bush. They are one of the 42 tribal peoples and is an unreached group in Kenya. PLEASE PRAY.. For protection and whatever else God would place on your heart.

• Also pray for the team to transition back into their home cultures. Alaina and some others went to a grocery store today and for 10 minutes couldn't speak because there was sooo much food in the store. Alaina said it was like a superstore compared to the past few weeks they had experienced where you get milk from a cow and water from puddles she said. Alaina has 5 more weeks before she comes home, but is feeling the effects already.

Another note from Alaina

Here's a quick little update received today from Alaina:

Amosi!!!! (That's luo for hi.... like jambo but a different tribe!!!)

Oh how are you?!?! Life has been SO crazy lately but SO good!!!!!!! This past week we were really in the ~bush bush~ of Africa.... it was so cool though... like we showered with water from puddles... and walked and walked to get anywhere... yeah.... we lived in a little village!! A beautiful village... where we did widow ministry... we visited like 70 widows... all living in the same area. It was crazy how many of them there were. And we even got to mud a house for one of them! Wow!!! This was really my highlight of the last month!!!! Then today when we left they all brought things for us... corn... eggs... whatever they had... and really they have nothing!!!! It was So challenging!!!!

Anyways.... this week we're headed to Usenge... (not sure if that's how you spell it). First we're here in Bondo for a day or two working in an orphanage!

News from Outreach

I received an email from Alaina today that she wanted me to share with you all. Enjoy!
Larissa

We arrived here in Mbita, Kenya on Wednesday after a horrible 18 hour bus ride plus 2 hours through “the bush”. I thank God though that despite the ride on the bus we did make it safely and didn’t come across any other problems other then sore behinds, necks, and freezing toes! Lol.

Mbita is BEAUTIFUL… it’s very much more in the “bush” then Mombasa, but is located RIGHT on Lake Victoria and makes for a gorgeous sight! I’m really enjoying that part of this for sure. There are small mountains around the lake too really reminded me of home, minus the fact that we find many hippos living in the lake, something very uncommon to Canada.

Our first outreach was to help with the local orphan school, where 80% of the children attending are orphans. We assisted with a Christmas party for them which was a lot of fun for me. Tomorrow, (Sunday), I am preaching in a local church, as well as two others from my team so you could be praying for us. As well, on Monday we start Ferry ministry, which I think will be intense but cool. Thursday or Friday we’re hoping to go visit some local orphans/widows… and depending if the money comes in we might be building a house for a widow living nearby. (Which is think is SO COOL… and something I LOVE doing!!!)

We’re heading out of Mbita on Sunday… out to Port Victoria or Budalangi. It seems so fast since we’ve been here but it’s nice to see so many different things going on. It really encourages me to see how many places God is working.

I need to head out but I wanted you all to know that I love you SO much and I really appreciate your prayers!!

Pray for Holly… she’s sick and has an infected foot. And yeah… pray for whatever else the spirit leads!!

I love you… hope you're doing well in Canada!!
Alaina

Happy Rock Children's Center

Monday November 6th, 2006

Today for free time I walked over to a nearby Children's Home called Happy Rock which is actually run by Mercy's (a student here at the DTS) Mom. There are 18 kids living there right now. They have room for 25-30 but only have the funds to care for the 18 they have right now. Most of these kids are orphans and are being supported by outside means to live and go to school. A couple of them even have aids or other sicknesses. But despite that they are SO full of love... it is AMAZING!

I had gone before to this home to play with the kids but didn't ever feel that “attachment” to it that some of my classmates felt. Some of them even felt called to stay longer after the DTS to volunteer here. And I really didn't understand this. Why didn't I feel this way? Why didn't I LOVE to go there? I love kids... REALLY and I love the idea of working with orphans and children. I really didn't get it. But this week God gave me an answer. If everyone worked at the same place all the time who would go to other, maybe less well known, homes to care for those children... or to work in a women's ministry... or with prostitutes etc.??!!??!! We can't all love the same place. So now I know that God has his own place for me to “fall in love” with. Maybe it's not even in Mombasa... maybe I'll meet it when we go on outreach. I don't know but I do know I'm SO excited about finding it. I want a place that I can pour my heart into... a place maybe no one else wants to work in or with... a place I can even “be involved with” from Canada... through raising awareness, support... and PRAYER. I want God's ministry for ME!!

In the meantime I will still be involved here...
Please be praying for this children's home... for the kids that live there...
Esther – Norah – Meshack – Kevin – Annah - Joshua – Shadrack – Noel – Jackie – Grace – Paris – Hussein – Monica – Henry – Abraham – Anges – Sara – Alex
And for the “Aunties” that take care of all the children!!!

Authentic Photos

Alaina sent some photos this morning that I think you'll be excited to see. They are of the YWAM base in Mombassa, the dorm, their beds, showers, etc. This is what she is really experiencing and seeing in Kenya, not what I imagine it to look like. Enjoy!!
Larissa

Alaina in Africa

Mom sent this picture to me today, presumably from Alaina. Now you can "meet" Alaina's DTS team in Kenya! Enjoy!
Larissa

Who's Who: Back row... Fridah (one of the two DTS leaders), Martha, Mercy, Holly, Caland
Front Row... Paul (other DTS leader), Me, Helena, Allan.

Alaina says:

This is our DTS team... there are other staff that work at the base but only these people are students of or working with the DTS.