November Kenya Trip
I wanted to let you guys be apart of the NewSpring Kenya November Trip by praying for us as we leave today (Thursday) and return on Saturday, November 28th. I have listed below the 48 people going on this upcoming trip. I would love for you to pray for people’s attitudes, God to rock the team’s world, God would open up the Kenyan’s heart to receive the Gospel, and safety from physical & spiritual opposition. I wanted to give you a general itinerary of what will be going on.
-Flying on Thursday and Friday. We have a 13-hour layover in Paris. Good news: we will be doing a tour of the city. Bad news: I don’t want to lose anyone in France or miss our last flight.
-Saturday morning we will hit the ground running (literally) and will be heading up to the Segera Mission with only two back-to-back “redeye” flights as our sleeping opportunity. Yikes!
-Sunday equals church day with 4 church opportunities in Endona, Black Tank, Depatus, and the Segera Mission
-Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: Work Days which will be (1)Jigger Removal & Education of the families with kids (2)Construction of the roof of the water tank (holding tank) at Black Tank (3)Working with school kids of Endona & the Mission
-Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) That day will consist of saying good-byes at the Mission, dedicating the Black Tank water project, and heading to Sweetwater to relax and enjoy Turkey Day.
-Friday, as you know is the longest day in the world, and has the opportunity to make people irritable and ready to SNAP! But we are going to pray against that.
-Saturday is a day FULL of flying home and missing the annual USC-Clemson football game. Boo!
NewSpring Church Staff: Michael Brown, Shane Duffey, Lee McDerment, Paul Marshall, David Nimmons, Amanda Nimmons, Jennifer Turner, Amanda Thompson
Anderson campus: Rhonda A., Danny B., Rachael C., Lee F., Kayla G., Johnny H., Michael H., Seth H., Don J., Casey K., Jesse & Nancy L., Cristin M., Carla P., Sarah P., Haley R., Natalie S., Philip T., Mark W.
Greenville campus: Lauren C., Heather E., Danielle L., David & Sallie P., Caleb R., Kathryn S., Mara S., Brittany S., Brandi T., Kristin Z.
Florence campus: Bob B., Cookie C., Heather C., Jennifer D., Shane & Courtney G., Liston G., Robert G., Alicia P., Kim S.
August Kenya Trip
So we are leaving today and heading again to Kenya. We have 34 folks from NewSpring Church going with us on this trip. Half the team will be doing medical clinics for 3.5 days around the Segera Mission and surrounding area (Endona, Depatus, Black Tank). The other half of the team will be working on building pit latrines for the community of Depatus as well as having the opportunity to do several outreach activities in the community. The entire team will get the opportunity to worship with the Kenyans at several of the local churches in the area on Sunday; one of the highlights of the trip.
Would you take the time this week to pray for the NewSpring Kenya Team over the next 11 days? We will be leaving out Thursday afternoon and returning on Sunday evening, August 30th.
August Kenya Team:
- NewSpring Staff (David Nimmons, Brad Cooper)
- Medical Team (Diana, Chasse, Rhonda, Michael, Maggi, Jane, Camille, Barry, Tammy, Matt, Suzanne, Carla, Kristen, Mandy, Lindsey, and Zack)
- Service Team (Rebekkah, Julie, Seth, Caleb, Matt, Megan, Alison, Walker, Lauren, Bill, Charlie, Vikki, Wanda, Carly, Erin, and John)
Kenya… here we come!
So we have been waiting for this event for some time now. After much prayer and consideration we are heading to Kenya with NewSpring Church & The 410 Bridge for a service trip. Please be in prayer for the team that is going on this trip. We will be leaving on Thursday, June 11th and returning on Saturday, June 20th.
June Kenya Trip Participants: Jake, David, Jason, Will, Matt, Trey, Giles, Steven, Chris, Jeremy, Morgan, Zach, Kendal, Joe, Bill, Patrick, Kylie, Carol, Molly, Ronnie, Nancy, Christine, Leslie, Kacie, Cyndi, Mike, Brian, Mindy, Ashley, Justin, Tiffany, and Chuck.
We would love your prayers over the next 10 days.
Accountability
I have recently been reading through the book of Proverbs in The Message. Pretty wise stuff in scripture that encourages you and many times challenges you. It is amazing that the Bible that was written so long ago can be so practical to us today in 2009. God really reminded me of the importance of accountability in my life. Proverbs chapter 2: 16-19, “Wise friends will rescue you from the Temptress – that smooth-talking Seductress… No one who joins her company ever comes back, ever sets foot on the path to real living” (The Message). I do not know of too many men that want to screw up their life and their marriages but this verse SHOUTS that we need accountability to finish strong in life and in our marriages. These few verses should scare every man to get accountability in there lives. I know that there are times in my life that I am weak and I need “wise friends” in my life who will challenge me with real questions and call me on the carpet when I am tempted to stray. I need wise men in my life that I will be completely honest with regarding any subject. Do you have accountability in your life? Do you have someone in your life who will ask the tough questions and you can be honest with?
I remember being handed a list of questions that serve as a great starting point. Some questions may apply to you and others may not. The bottom line is: we need accountability! Do you have it?
Accountability Questions
- Have you set a daily time in the scriptures and in prayer?
- Have you had any flirtatious or lustful attitudes, tempting thoughts, or exposed yourself to any illicit materials that would not glorify God?
- Have you spent quality relationship time with family and friends?
- Have you been completely above reproach in your financial dealings?
- Have you done your 100% best in your job?
- Have you told any half-truths or outright lies, putting yourself in a better light to those around you?
- Have you taken care of your body through daily physical exercise and proper sleeping and eating habits?
- Have you allowed any person or circumstance to rob you of your joy?
Passion
So I had the chance to get away over the Memorial Day Weekend with the wife. While at the hotel we had a chance to get a copy of The Wall Street Journal. I am not really one to read this particular newspaper, but decided to see what good stories I could find. I was shocked to find a fun article that peaked my interest. A story about Starbucks Coffee and a man (Winter) who wants to visit EVERY store in the world. There is even a documentary film about his journey called “Starbucking.” The Wall Street Journal mentioned that Winter has been to more than 9,000 Starbucks stores in the U.S., Japan, Lebanon, Turkey, and 13 other countries in the past dozen years. Wow! There is a lot you can say about Winter, but the guy has got passion. While reading about Winter’s pursuit of visiting every Starbucks in the world, I really had this thought in my mind: what if every follower of Jesus has this kind of passion for the Lord? Christ followers having such a strong desire for Jesus and pursuing Him everyday with everything we have. Just imagine.
Winter is pursuing something that is really important to him, but really does not matter. As followers of Jesus, we have the privilege to run after and pursue things that do matter. How passionate are we for things that Jesus is passionate about? Sometimes I feel I run after things that matter to Jesus and other times I run after things that simply do not matter. How about you? What are you passionate about? Are they the things that Jesus is passionate about?
Here is the Wall Street Journal video about Winter.
NewSpring Church is Kenya bound
So NewSpring is going to Kenya. Do you want to come along? Perry talked this past Sunday about our partnership with the 410 Bridge and our upcoming trips to Kenya over the next few years. Our first trip is just around the corner – June 11th – 20th. Check out the NewSpring Church website for more information.
What an opportunity to experience life outside the States and see what God is up to all around the world. I promise you one thing – you will be stretched like never before.
Don’t you want to be a part of NewSpring Church reaching out to the nations?
A Crazy Life
Several, several evenings a week (it seems) my wife and sometimes Caleb will watch on TLC: “Jon and Kate Plus 8.” Sometimes I like the show, sometimes I don’t. I think my wife loves the show regardless if it is a brand new episode or a stinkin’ rerun. (BTW – I heard the show is in its last few episodes and will not return. Don’t want to start a rumor, but that is what “they say.” Is this true?) Anyway – back to where I was going with this post. The show comes on with Jon and Kate saying in the intro: “It’s a crazy life, but it’s our life.” I really feel that could be said about my life. My life has been crazy – especially over the last year. Last March I had the chance to read Craig Groeschel’s book “Chazown” with several folks on the Care Staff at church. (Highly recommend the book.) The book challenges you to see what God’s vision for your life is and then go and pursue that. The question that the book asked that really got me thinking was: If money were no object and I could do anything I wanted for the rest of my life, what would I do?” That question was easy for me to answer. I said to the group that was studying this book together: I would love to lead and organize mission trips and other outreach things for the church. Within a short few months, God allowed me to make steps toward that dream with NewSpring Church. CRAZY. A few months later in April, while visiting a fertility clinic in Greenville, SC my wife and I found out that we were four months pregnant. CRAZY. Caleb arrived a few months later in October with a not-so-typical entrance into the world. (Dad was sitting out in the operating room while mom was unconscious in the operating room). CRAZY. Right after the Christmas season, I found out that I would be heading to Kenya for a vision trip with five other folks on the NewSpring Church staff. CRAZY. We made the trip in February with an organization called the 410 Bridge and God clearly showed our church a community that we could pour into over the next few years. CRAZY. “It’s a crazy life…”
