- 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.
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.
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
