Revival in Little Rock

When I was at church Sunday here in Nairobi a friend who is also from Little Rock, with a big smile on her face asked me "have you heard what's going on at Summit? They're having a revival!"

The Summit Church in Little Rock, Ark., is my sending church and home church, which I love and miss dearly. When my friend asked me this question, I was intrigued but we didn't get to chat afterward and I honestly didn't think about it anymore, until this morning. I got on Summit's website to see if there were posts about this revival happening. I was expecting, if anything, a short video or photos but nothing more. Well, I was wrong.

When you have a few minutes, maybe 20 or 30, I invite you to check out these "Reports of God's Mercies" detailing the true revival taking place in Little Rock. What a blessing and encouragement, beautiful conviction and heart-wrenching joy.

I can't wait to be back at my church later this year. Maybe this revival will still be going on? The Lord knows my heart is in need of a revival.

Many blessings,
Blake

Beautiful Malawi

Last week I traveled south to Malawi for a cluster meeting and gave a presentation about our media teams. It was such a great week catching up with wonderful friends and enjoying a restful time at the Sun 'n' Sand Resort on Lake Malawi. Beautiful place! It had a huge swimming pool, my room had AC and satellite TV and across the lake, you could see the mountains of Mozambique in the distance.

One of the best parts of my job is meeting people who serve all over Africa. Several people in this cluster I've spent lots of time with in different trainings since I've been out. But even people I met for the first time at the meeting were so kind and friendly and really exemplified that warm mission family atmosphere. The Lord always gives me these times of fellowship, rest and encouragement just when I need them the most. My God is so good!

Volunteers from Porter Memorial Baptist in Lexington, KY, served throughout the meeting and genuinely showed their hearts for our people and their eagerness to serve. Bill Henard preached from Ephesians and it was a series of sermons where you felt like he was preaching directly to you. Again, my God is so good!

Many blessings,
Blake



Beautiful Malawi with rain showers in the distance


Got to love the signs you see all over Africa


Me and Lauren, we go way back...to NTV


Me and the Nalls, we were in 40/40 together, love these guys!


Pier from the shoreline on Lake Malawi with Mozambique in the distance

More than a year

It's really easy to get out of the habit of blogging. I guess once the "honeymoon" phase of living overseas wears off, the new things, the odd things, the funny things, the unbelievable things, they all begin to go unnoticed because they all become the norm.

During these few weeks of observing Lent, I decided to take a break from facebook. I spend way too much time on it and am well aware of the major distractions it can cause. I want to take these few weeks to really seek the Lord for the future and spend time in His word, discerning what He has in store for me.

Next month, it will be three years ago I attended a conference in Richmond, VA, taking the final steps to sign up to move overseas for a few years. It's hard to believe this season of life wraps up in just four months. Two years turned into three years and my, how those years have passed by. But I'm anxious to get home to Arkansas from Africa in August, to spend lots of time with my incredible family and reconnect with some wonderful friends.

Maybe during this break from facebook I'll find time to blog. Time will tell...

A Busy Start to a New Year

If anyone still happens to check this blog, my apologies that it has been almost three months since I last posted. Terrible, I know. Since 2010 began, I feel like I have been going non-stop. For starters, I moved into a new apartment on the compound January 9. The following week, I was in Limuru at Brackenhurst to help with the homeschool conference for a few days. The next week, I was on a media coverage in the Nyanza Province in western Kenya to cover a medical missions team from Alexander City, Alabama. I was barely home a couple of days then it was back to Brackenhurst the last week of January to help with kids at another meeting.

So January was a full month. February was showing no signs of slowing down. After the meetings at Brackenhurst, I had a few nights at home before I headed to Tanzania for another media coverage, this time I was following a team from Beaumont, Texas, who was doing chronological Bible storying with the Maasai people. This trip was pretty cool because it was the first time I've really got to spend time in the bush with Maasai. It was a fun week and I really got a better understanding of life for the Maasai.

I thought I had about a week home before a trip to Zambia but it looks like I won't be traveling anywhere until June. I was looking forward to visiting friends there but I'm thankful I get to stay home for a while. Of course, things come up and I could be gone again before I know it. Actually, this weekend I'm going with some friends to the coast for a quick beach trip. Should be fun!

Well, that's been my life the last several weeks. I hope all is well wherever you are in the world and that you are enjoying the Lord's blessings and praising Him for loving us.

Malaria

Just over a week ago, on a Friday night, I started feeling like I was coming down with something. I felt a little flu-ish but nothing too bad and a couple of Tylenol seemed to do the trick. Until the next day. I was experiencing these cycles of cold chills to the point of shaking, high fever, then cold sweats when the fever broke. All the classic signs of Malaria. These cycles would come every few hours. 

Jeff and I were house- and dog-sitting for some friends in Lameru, about 45 minutes outside of Nairobi. My friend Kristen was sure I had Malaria and needed to get tested ASAP. I thought I would be okay until we got back to Nairobi Monday. Sunday changed that idea. The fever cycles were coming more frequently and in between them, I felt awful and I was vomiting by this point.

The place we were staying had a small clinic with a doctor on call so Jeff tracked him down and I met him at the clinic for a Malaria test. A quick prick on the finger and 15 minutes later, a positive test for Malaria. Nairobi really isn't a Malaria area but I had been in West Africa for over two weeks and Malaria is common there. I guess I came back with a little souvenir I didn't want.

The doctor at the clinic went with Jeff into town and go some meds for me and I started them right away. Four tablets every 12 hours. Monday morning we got up and headed back to Nairobi and I couldn't wait to get in my own bed. The fevers continued throughout the day Monday and into the night. Tuesday things were slowly looking up as the meds were really kicking in and I was beginning to feel better. Wednesday was much better with my last dose of meds but I still felt totally exhausted. Thursday I felt up to going grocery shopping but that wiped me out. By the weekend though, I was feeling myself again and today, I'm feeling great, despite still feeling tired from time to time.

They say I'm an official African "M" now that I've had malaria, sort of like a badge of honor. It's no fun to be sick with that stuff but I guess I have a new story to share from my life in Africa.

Praise the Lord, the ultimate Healer, and for faithful prayer warriors!

First time out

Yesterday I drove alone in Nairobi for the first time. Until then, Jeff has been so great to either drive or be my navigator whenever we're out and about. Traffic in Nairobi is a little crazy, especially during morning rush hour and again in afternoon rush hour that lasts as late at 10 p.m. If one tries to get anywhere during these critical traffic times, expect to sit in traffic for hours. So goes life in Nairobi.

Giving directions is not always easy because many times, there are no signs marking the names of roads so you have to depend on landmarks. I had a team meeting yesterday and one of my teammates was sick so my time to drive alone had finally arrived. I got directions, asked the Lord to be with me and off I went.

This was around 9:30 a.m. and luckily much of the morning traffic had cleared. I found each turn without any problems and made it to the meeting in 30 minutes. Praise the Lord!

It's the small steps that will slowly help me get adjusted to the vast difference of life here in Nairobi, compared to Johannesburg. I'm looking forward to the day I can hop in my white station wagon (complete with a blue racing stripe) and take off to anywhere I want to go, know how to get there and when to attempt leaving my house. God is good, all the time...

Mosquitos and such

Mosquitos have always been annoying but lately, I wouldn't mind if God would abolish them from the planet. For some reason these little pests have invaded my house here in Nairobi. They are everywhere. I spray Doom and kill the ones I see and it seems that killing one produces two in its place, is that possible? Jeff loaned me a Vape Mat, this little device that releases an invisible insectiside into the air that's supposed to rid one's house of mosquitos but it seems to me, these bugs are invincible. Apparently they have a taste for my ear. At night, they dive bomb my head and swarm my ear. It's like they hold a megaphone to their wings and turn up the volume. Luckily when I turn my fan on high it produces enough air flow to keep them at bay from my head. The joys of living in Africa, huh?

Since moving to Nairobi, I haven't had too many issues with power outages but today is making up for it. I'm not sure what's happening on the compound but the electricity has been going in and out all morning. Surprisingly though it hasn't bothered me too much. God is giving me an extra dose of patience today so I praise Him for that.

It has been such a blessing to live close to Jeff. We live on the same compound, just around the corner from each other, about a two-minute walk between our houses. We only have nine months left in our term and I stand in awe at God's provision by placing me to serve in the same city as one of my best friends. As Jeff and I say, "PTL!" (Praise the Lord).

Blessings to you today.