- What was the ultimate reason Jesus Christ came to us and died on the cross?
- What did His death actually do?
- Why is this significant for us?
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
The Meaning of the Cross
Please take some time to mediate on the meaning of the cross. Here are a couple of questions:
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Fund Raising Schedule
- Rice Heating Bags - on sale now $5.00 for herb-free, $7.00 for herbal (spearmint or rosemary). Needs: make more rice bags.
- Yardsale at Faith Baptist Church in Hollis, NH - Saturday, June 2nd 7:30am to 2:00pm. Food, music, yard sale treasures, rice heating bags, and much more! Needs: yardsale treasures.
- Change for Africa jars - jars already in distribution, some have already been returned. More jars available.
- Faith Baptist Church Youth Group Band benefit coffee house - mid-June (date pending).
- Spaghetti Dinner - late June/early July - need to set date.
- "Night out" - more fancy dinner - idea in the works. Need a coordinator - Haavistos?
- Support letters - already sent out.
- Yardsale at Faith Baptist Church in Hollis, NH - Saturday, June 2nd 7:30am to 2:00pm. Food, music, yard sale treasures, rice heating bags, and much more! Needs: yardsale treasures.
- Change for Africa jars - jars already in distribution, some have already been returned. More jars available.
- Faith Baptist Church Youth Group Band benefit coffee house - mid-June (date pending).
- Spaghetti Dinner - late June/early July - need to set date.
- "Night out" - more fancy dinner - idea in the works. Need a coordinator - Haavistos?
- Support letters - already sent out.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Suggested Packing List
Suggested Packing List for
Think: simple and all things to leave behind. Rule of thumb for dressing: dress nicely but comfortably. Always be prepared to walk a long way in whatever you’re wearing that day. Kenyans dress very nicely and very modestly.
Plan on one checked bag and one carry-on backpack
Clothes – plan on leaving most in Kenya
- One pair of loose fitting pants for around the motel/travel
- One pair of capris for safari
- Two loose skirts below the knee
- One church outfit
- 3-4 shirts (short sleeve, no sleeveless)
- Underwear for a week (will do laundry)
- Comfortable sandals (need to be able to walk distances)
- Sneakers and comfortable socks
- Comfortable church shoes (optional, could just wear nice sandals)
- PJs (cool at night ~70 degrees)
- Jacket/sweater (cool and windy at night, travel)
- Men: sports coat and tie, dress pants, dress shoes, two pairs pants, 5-7 undershirts, 3 collared casual shirts or polo shirts, sandals/daily shoes (comfortable for walking distances).
Toiletries – are available to purchase in Kijabe if you forget something!
- Small shampoo/conditioner
- Small soap
- Small toothpaste, toothbrush
- Facial soap, washcloth
- Moisturizer with SPF
- Deodorant (don’t forget that!)
- Razor (in checked luggage)
- Nail clippers (optional - in checked luggage)
Accessories
- Broad rimed hat
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen at least SPF 30-40
- Mosquito spray/lotion (not aerosol due to plane travel)
- Camera (with lots of film or digital memory!) (put film in your carry-on, not checked luggage to preserve film integrity)
- Travel alarm clock
- Inflatable travel pillow
- Nalgene water bottle (pack in your checked luggage – European airports may not let you thru security with even empty container)
- Flashlight
- Pocket knife (optional - in checked luggage)
- A few snacks (granola bars, crackers, raisins)
Medical
- Tylenol
- Bandaids, triple antibiotic ointment
- Malaria meds
- Anti-diarrheal (immodium)
- Peptobismo
- Anti-diarrhea antibiotic (Cipro)
- Packet of Gatorade for rehydration
- Decongestant
Gifts
- Stickers for kids in VBS
- Balloons for kids in VBS
- One host/hostess gift with gift bag and tissue paper (each person bring one gift and we will take turns giving gift to our hosts – calendars, American foods, journals, etc.)
- We can purchase Bibles there in appropriate languages, so consider bringing money if that’s a gift you’d like to give to a Kenyan.
- $100 for gifts
- $30 for extra expenses (snack foods, airport snacks, etc.)
- $30 for local ministries/offerings
Important documents – recommend a money belt/bag to keep passport next to your body under your clothes during travel.
- Passport
- Money – divided into several different places throughout your luggage and person
- Vaccine record
In your carry-on, pack one entire change of clothes, your necessary medications, basic toiletries (all liquids <3oz style=""> I.e. any essentials if the checked luggage gets lost for a few days.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
The Gospel Part II
We want to know and understand the whole Gospel of God. The Gospel should be so much a part of us that all of life reminds us of, and demonstrates to us, the centrality and importance of the Gospel in our lives.
In our discussions of the Gospel, we're going to break it down into 4 essential parts. Remember, this is just one way to organize it so we can discuss and remember it better. The organization itself is not the Gospel! Please interact with the Gospel, and be careful not to fall in love with some way to organize it. It is as we interact with it that it will become part of us and be beneficial to us. Here is how we will look at it:
In our previous discussion, we spoke of God's holiness and a little of the sinfulness of mankind. We will at some point go back and look at the holiness of God, but for next week we are to consider the sinfulness of man. Please remember to read through Genesis 3, and ponder the following questions:
In our discussions of the Gospel, we're going to break it down into 4 essential parts. Remember, this is just one way to organize it so we can discuss and remember it better. The organization itself is not the Gospel! Please interact with the Gospel, and be careful not to fall in love with some way to organize it. It is as we interact with it that it will become part of us and be beneficial to us. Here is how we will look at it:
- God is Holy
- Man is sinful
- Jesus is the answer
- God calls us to respond with repentance and trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord
In our previous discussion, we spoke of God's holiness and a little of the sinfulness of mankind. We will at some point go back and look at the holiness of God, but for next week we are to consider the sinfulness of man. Please remember to read through Genesis 3, and ponder the following questions:
- What was the essence of Adam and Eve's sin?
- Consider how this "essence" of sin connects the outward effects of sin that we can see. In other words, what is it about sin that makes it so bad that God hates it, and how does that show itself in our actions as sinners?
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
What is the Gospel
When asked what this purpose of a missionary is, many people will respond with something like, "One who shares the Gospel with people from other cultures". There is a lot to discuss in this statement, but right know I would like to focus on the "Gospel" part. Take some time to study and contemplate what this "Gospel" is that we find so important as to compel us to share it with others. What is this Gospel that has compelled others to not only make it their lives work, but to even give up their lives?
Take some time to think and write about this this week in the comments of this blog. Search the scriptures for our answers, and indicate what those are in your answers. The questions is "What is the Gospel!"
Take some time to think and write about this this week in the comments of this blog. Search the scriptures for our answers, and indicate what those are in your answers. The questions is "What is the Gospel!"
Monday, March 5, 2007
Fund raising
We pray that everyone is feeling better and recovering from your various activities this weekend!
We need to get to work on fundraisers - this is something that we can work on over the internet and less in person, so be sure to chime in!
1. Yard Sale - spread the word to starting collecting/saving items for a huge yard sale in the spring. Let's set a date - a Saturday - please list days that ARE NOT good for you and email me at mcrattin@gmail.com. We'll need help running the yard sale as well as setting up the day before and advertising. We need some people who are not on the missions team who also can help out!
2. Herbal heating pads "rice socks" - we can make these together and sell them online, in our communities, and at the yardsale. We need to set a date to get together to make them - please suggest dates that are good for you - at least half a day. Also, we need the following materials: international looking fabric, large spools of black and white thread, lots dried herbs - we have lots of rice that we'll donate to the cause and we have some African fabric which can be used. Anyone have a recipe for how much herbs need to go into one of these to make it aromatic when heated?
3. Penny jars - collect containers! We need to collect as many containers as possible ASAP - we can label them and give them back to our church family to start collecting loose change. Does someone want to design a small label that we can print off, cut up, and glue to the containers?
4. Refine your support letters and get them to Josh if you haven't already. He especially likes to proof read letters in languages that he doesn' t know... right Elizabeth? haha!! ;-)
5. More thoughts?
Keep praying!
-Abby
We need to get to work on fundraisers - this is something that we can work on over the internet and less in person, so be sure to chime in!
1. Yard Sale - spread the word to starting collecting/saving items for a huge yard sale in the spring. Let's set a date - a Saturday - please list days that ARE NOT good for you and email me at mcrattin@gmail.com. We'll need help running the yard sale as well as setting up the day before and advertising. We need some people who are not on the missions team who also can help out!
2. Herbal heating pads "rice socks" - we can make these together and sell them online, in our communities, and at the yardsale. We need to set a date to get together to make them - please suggest dates that are good for you - at least half a day. Also, we need the following materials: international looking fabric, large spools of black and white thread, lots dried herbs - we have lots of rice that we'll donate to the cause and we have some African fabric which can be used. Anyone have a recipe for how much herbs need to go into one of these to make it aromatic when heated?
3. Penny jars - collect containers! We need to collect as many containers as possible ASAP - we can label them and give them back to our church family to start collecting loose change. Does someone want to design a small label that we can print off, cut up, and glue to the containers?
4. Refine your support letters and get them to Josh if you haven't already. He especially likes to proof read letters in languages that he doesn' t know... right Elizabeth? haha!! ;-)
5. More thoughts?
Keep praying!
-Abby
Friday, February 23, 2007
Some things to Consider
I have a couple of things that I wanted you to think about/remember as we seek to proclaim God's goodness in this process.
- Spiritual Disciplines: Spiritual disciplines are those actions we consciously do in order to draw near to God; and they are the primary means by which we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit (John 17:17). In other words, they bring us closer to God, and are used by God to make our desires and nature more like His.
- Prayer Journal:
Don't forget be keeping a prayer journal. This is to be a recording of your prayers to God, and any answers received. Try to make it more then simply a list. Include your thoughts. Give context to what your write, and comment about what God seems to be doing or saying. Other then this format can vary greatly, and I'm not going to prescribe any specific way to do this. Some ideas for praying: Pray through a palm. Write out a prayer! This last idea might sound funny in our culture, but it can be a great way to meditate and pray to God. Piper makes the point that we tend to wrongly equate spontaneity with sincerity and true heart-feltness (is that a word?) This is not the case, and he points out that poetry, for example, is intended to cut right to the heart, yet, it is on of the most regimented and thought through forms of writing we have. A poet works VERY hard to put his or her thoughts into a specific pattern. Being thoughtful and working hard are good things. - Reading the word
We need to be spending time reading and meditating on the word of God, the Bible. This is how God communicates His will and mind to us. Being in the word of God and prayer go hand in hand. My only further comment on this right know is to remind you to think about what you read. Meditate on it, chew it. As we saw in Deuteronomy 6 last weekend, God wants His words to be part of us all throughout the day. For this to happen, we must be spending time putting His words IN our hearts. This requires effort and attention to what we are doing. This requires us to consider who to apply His word to every aspects of our lives. We will not do this if we do not spend time to put it into our hearts and minds.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
About Kenya
GEOGRAPHY
Kenya is split by the equator and is bor-dered to the north by Ethiopia and Sudan, to the east by the Indian Ocean and Somalia, to the west by Uganda and Lake Victoria, and to the south by Tanzania. Kenya is dominated by the 5000-km-long Rift Valley, which contains sev-eral huge volcanoes, including Mt Kenya and Mt Elgon.
CLIMATE
Western Kenya is generally hot and humid, ranging from 60° to 100° F. The Cen-tral Highlands and Rift Valley have a tempera-ture range of 50° to 80° F. Northern and east-ern Kenya is very dry with daily highs of 110° F and lows of 70° F. The coastal belt is hot and humid, though tempered by coastal sea breezes with temperatures ranging from 70° to 90° F.
ANIMAL LIFE
Kenya’s dazzling array of animals is the main tourist attraction. The ‘Big Five’ – lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and buffalo – are the most popular, but there is a vast array of other animals. Kenya is also home to a huge variety of birds, ostriches, storks, flamingos, pelicans, and hornbills. Probably the most endangered species in Kenya is the black rhino. This non-aggressive animal is subject to poaching for its horn, which the local Yemenis and Omanis use to make dagger-handles. The rhino population hovers between a dangerously low 400 to 900 rhinos in the wild.
POPULATION AND INCOME
Kenya’s population is estimated at around 35,000,000 people, with over 99% of these being African. 33% of Kenyans live in urban areas, mostly in squalid conditions. Kenya is the 17th poorest country in the world and has the third-largest gap between rich and poor. 42% of the population subsists on less than KSh60 per day. With the ex-change rate hovering around KSh77 to US$1, this means that almost half of the population average a daily income of around US¢80. De-spite this low income, the literacy rate is around 79%, which is remarkable considering the ex-pense of attending school.
RELIGION
Most Kenyans follow one of four relig-ions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, or tradi-tional beliefs. The majority of Kenya’s tribal populations are animists, following witchdoc-tors and soothsayers. Christianity is very wide-spread due to intense missionary activity over the last 300 years. Hinduism and Islam are practiced mostly by Asians and Arabs.
LANGUAGES
Kenya’s two official languages are Eng-lish and Swahili. These are taught in schools throughout the country. There are also many major indigenous languages, including Kikuyu, Luo, Kikamba, Maasai and Samburu. A little Swahili you should know: the word for bald man is mzee kipara (mzay-ay keep-ah-ruh) which literally means ‘mosquito airport’!
TRIBES
There are over 70 tribal groups in Kenya, each with their own, unique languages and traditions. They are divided into two major groups: the Bantu-speakers, which migrated from West Africa in the 15th century AD, and the Nilotic-speakers, which migrated from the Nile valley in the 16th century AD. Tribes with Bantu origins include the Akamba, Gusii, Ki-kuyu, Luyha, Meru, and Swahili peoples. The Kalenjia, Luo, Maasai, Pokot, Samburu and Turkana tribes are all of Nilotic origin. Other tribes include the El-Moro, Gabbra, Omani, Rendille and Yemeni peoples.
Kenya is split by the equator and is bor-dered to the north by Ethiopia and Sudan, to the east by the Indian Ocean and Somalia, to the west by Uganda and Lake Victoria, and to the south by Tanzania. Kenya is dominated by the 5000-km-long Rift Valley, which contains sev-eral huge volcanoes, including Mt Kenya and Mt Elgon.
CLIMATE
Western Kenya is generally hot and humid, ranging from 60° to 100° F. The Cen-tral Highlands and Rift Valley have a tempera-ture range of 50° to 80° F. Northern and east-ern Kenya is very dry with daily highs of 110° F and lows of 70° F. The coastal belt is hot and humid, though tempered by coastal sea breezes with temperatures ranging from 70° to 90° F.
ANIMAL LIFE
Kenya’s dazzling array of animals is the main tourist attraction. The ‘Big Five’ – lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and buffalo – are the most popular, but there is a vast array of other animals. Kenya is also home to a huge variety of birds, ostriches, storks, flamingos, pelicans, and hornbills. Probably the most endangered species in Kenya is the black rhino. This non-aggressive animal is subject to poaching for its horn, which the local Yemenis and Omanis use to make dagger-handles. The rhino population hovers between a dangerously low 400 to 900 rhinos in the wild.
POPULATION AND INCOME
Kenya’s population is estimated at around 35,000,000 people, with over 99% of these being African. 33% of Kenyans live in urban areas, mostly in squalid conditions. Kenya is the 17th poorest country in the world and has the third-largest gap between rich and poor. 42% of the population subsists on less than KSh60 per day. With the ex-change rate hovering around KSh77 to US$1, this means that almost half of the population average a daily income of around US¢80. De-spite this low income, the literacy rate is around 79%, which is remarkable considering the ex-pense of attending school.
RELIGION
Most Kenyans follow one of four relig-ions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, or tradi-tional beliefs. The majority of Kenya’s tribal populations are animists, following witchdoc-tors and soothsayers. Christianity is very wide-spread due to intense missionary activity over the last 300 years. Hinduism and Islam are practiced mostly by Asians and Arabs.
LANGUAGES
Kenya’s two official languages are Eng-lish and Swahili. These are taught in schools throughout the country. There are also many major indigenous languages, including Kikuyu, Luo, Kikamba, Maasai and Samburu. A little Swahili you should know: the word for bald man is mzee kipara (mzay-ay keep-ah-ruh) which literally means ‘mosquito airport’!
TRIBES
There are over 70 tribal groups in Kenya, each with their own, unique languages and traditions. They are divided into two major groups: the Bantu-speakers, which migrated from West Africa in the 15th century AD, and the Nilotic-speakers, which migrated from the Nile valley in the 16th century AD. Tribes with Bantu origins include the Akamba, Gusii, Ki-kuyu, Luyha, Meru, and Swahili peoples. The Kalenjia, Luo, Maasai, Pokot, Samburu and Turkana tribes are all of Nilotic origin. Other tribes include the El-Moro, Gabbra, Omani, Rendille and Yemeni peoples.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Logistics
Dates: August 5-20, 2007 (pending airfare for finalization)
Location: Kijabe, Kenya
Confirmed Team Members: Josh and Abby (and Gracie) Rattin, Mike Rattin, Jessi Rattin, Elizabeth Strout, Annie Haavisto
Location: Kijabe, Kenya
Confirmed Team Members: Josh and Abby (and Gracie) Rattin, Mike Rattin, Jessi Rattin, Elizabeth Strout, Annie Haavisto
Our First Meeting!
I am so excited about this trip! We're just finishing up our first meeting. We've gotten lots done, including setting the date of the trip, and establishing homework! Keep praying for us as we will be working hard on missions discipleship, fundraising and so on. God is so great!
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