Hume International Ministries

After a few days of high-energy recreation, heart-felt chapels, and
action-packed free time with students, I experienced my favorite
moment of camp yesterday morning. We invited the students the night
before to an early morning worship and prayer meeting before
breakfast. To be honest, jet lag was my great enemy and made it hard
to feel awake and lively at 7AM. Apparently, for the students who are
currently starting a school break, 7AM is absurdly early as well.
However, we still had a few who wanted to be a part of worship. We
allowed the students to lead us out to a great spot. It overlooked
over the entire Rift Valley.

It was here where I found myself blown away by the thought of what God
was doing in our lives. He brought the other Hume leaders and me clear
across the world simply to encourage and to love these students. For
the students, He has placed them in a country where they could be
light for Christ to the people. Now we were both worshiping the same
God as we viewed His incredible creation. For all of us, this was not
a show, or time to impress others. It was a morning of humble worship.
A small group of people sang genuinely to the Lord, “HOW GREAT IS OUR
GOD,”… simply because He Is.

- Robbie Conrad

Yesterday’s recreation was AMAZING! After all 3 games were over; we
had a giant slip and slide! All the students were smiling, laughing,
and completely soaked! Yesterday was a great day for the staff. Most
of us had several quality conversations with students. We were each
assigned ten or so students for a prayer group. My small group is
becoming more comfortable and revealing more of themselves.
Worship through music is a powerful experience here at RVA. The
students sing God’s praises loudly and in our small chapel room, it
resonates. Decision night was last night. One student accepted Christ
(Praise the Lord!) and many students opened up about questions and
problems they had. Since becoming a Christian, I have always felt
self-conscious about praying, especially in front of other people, and
I always felt like it was the weakest part of my walk with God.
Yesterday He gave me many different opportunities to pray with
students, and by the end of the night, I felt comfortable and excited
to talk with God in the presence of others.
- Brooke Lawrence

Today we traded football and turkey, for giraffes and cheetahs! This afternoon we travelled to the A.F.E.W. (African Fund for Endangered Wildlife) Giraffe Center. There we were able to pet, feed, hug, and even kiss the giraffes. It was amazing to have such giant creatures eating out of the palms of our hands. From there we visited the Nairobi Animal Orphanage, which houses many of Kenya’s indigenous species including monkeys, big cats, and birds. The highlight of the orphanage was stepping into the cheetah enclosure to pet the “kitties”. Don’t worry! We took lots of great photos and will post them as soon as we have sufficient internet!

This morning one of the pastors visiting the Mayfield House (AIM’s hospitality center) began our breakfast with a word of prayer. He ended it by declaring, “In Jesus name I pray, and I believe.” The simplicity and power behind those words captivated our entire team. As Christians, we understand that we must petition God through the Name of Christ. But how often do we make a public profession of our belief in His ability to hear and answer those petitions?

What a great reminder as we celebrated Thanksgiving. Petting cheetahs and giraffes is awesome. But the power of a simple man’s prayer will challenge me for years to come.

Kelsie Elise

After 39 hours of travel, we finally arrived in Nairobi, Kenya this morning. Thank you to those who have been praying for our travel; not only was it a smooth trip, but all of our luggage arrived safely in Kenya. We were met at the airport by our onsite hosts, the Maples, who drove us to Mayfield House (where we will be staying through Friday morning) and debriefed us on the particulars of our trip. It’s been quite a day for us as we have spent the majority of the day fighting jet lag. Some highlights of the day included preparation for camp seminars, a frisbee-golf tournament, exploring a local shopping plaza called the Yaya, and interactive team games.

A few fun facts about Kenya:
1. People drive on the left side of the road.
2. Taking a picture of a government structure can result in a fine and/or jail time
3. The largest bill in Kenya (supposedly) is the 1000 shilling, which is equivalent to roughly $14 dollars. ~$1/70 shilling

It has been a long day for all of us, and while it may be 10:30 am in the US, it’s 9:30pm here; we are ready to sleep. Good night from Kenya!

We Made It!

TOP: Jake, Brittany, Brooke, PK, George, Andy, Robbie, Kelcie
BOTTOM: Stuart, Jason, Sarah

We are a little more than ½ way with our travel.

We left Hume Monday morning @ 5:00am, picked up Brooke and Brittany on our way to LAX. After realizing we received bad information concerning our departure gate, we walked the width of the airport and met the rest of the team.

I think we will gel well as a team. An eleven-hour overnight flight is not the best team building activity. It was good to spend an hour and a half standing and talking with Stuart. He has a passion for communicating the Word of God.

With a nine-hour layover in Amsterdam, we explored the city. Judging by that walk-about through the city, we are a group that seems to blend well. Though all were fatigued, no one was annoying. People shared the lead and others respected that by following.

Two highlights of the day…

1. The quietness of Amsterdam. For a large city, there were long stretches of silence. That may be related to almost one million bicycles within the city limits.
2. Jake and Jason falling asleep in McDonalds. Nothing says, “Tourist!” more than sunglasses on a rainy day and mouths wide open. Those boys are exhausted!

Hume is going to Kenya in just 3 days!  We leave Monday the 23rd to run camp for 120 junior high and high school missionary kids and we couldn’t be more thrilled.  Even in this time of prepartion, God is teaching us.  This past Saturday, half our team met to pack equipment, run through schedules, and pray for the trip.  In our time of prayer we lifted up fundraising; we were still in need of 50% of our budget.  Since then, we’ve been blessed with $2,723 in donations, leaving our balance at $4,434.  A special thank you to all of our generous donors who are making this trip possible.

What We’re Doing in Kenya:

In country, we will team up with a African Inland Missions (AIM) to run Hume style camps for the children of AIM missionaries.  Camp will be held on site at Rift Valley Academy in conjuntion with the annual AIM conference.  Following camp, we will travel to a remote village of the Samburu tribe where the Maples family is sharing the gospel. Combined, we will be gone for two and half weeks.

Prayer:

Please be praying for our team and the effectivness of our efforts in Kenya.

A few specific prayer requests:

-the students: Pray that God would be preparing their hearts for his purposes and that camp would be a catalyst for a first generation faith among the students.  Specifically pray for two families who have recently lost their fathers on the mission field. Pray that camp would be a comforting and refreshing time for them.

-the staff: Pray for our team and the logistics of travel and ministry.  Pray that we would allow ourselves to be effective tools in the lives of the people we meet.  Moreover, please pray for open hearts that are sensitive to God’s teaching.

-the support: Pray that God would continue to provide for this trip financially.

Stay tuned for more updates!