AFRICA 2008
Hello, friends and family. This is the place to receive updates, prayer requests and stories as we journey through Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Egypt sharing the good news about Jesus. Though our access to email may be limited, you can anticipate regular reports from us throughout the two weeks we are gone. Thanks for your prayers and support – we can’t wait to see you again!
Tuesday, June 17th at 11:59pm
posted by theMILL Staff in Colorado
All teams are finally back safe and sound. theMILL AFRICA 2008 was a huge success. Thank you for all of your support and prayers!
Monday, June 16th at 11:10am
posted by theMILL Staff in Colorado
The second round of teams’ flight from London is delayed about an hour, so if you plan to meet them at New Life Church be there between 7:45 and 8:15pm.
UPDATE on Tanzania Team #2:
They are currently at the Nairobi airport checking in for their flight to London. They have been confirmed on United flights 921 (London to Dullus) and 303 (Dullus to Denver) and will arrive in Denver at 9:30pm Tuesday night the 17th. A MILL van will pick them up and they should arrive at New Life Church approximately 11:30pm.
Sunday, June 15th at 10:06pm
posted by theMILL Staff in Colorado
The first round of teams made it safely back to New Life Church’s campus approximately 7pm tonight. The second round of teams will be arriving in London in about an hour and twenty minutes. We look forward to welcoming them all back tomorrow evening!
UPDATE on Tanzania Team #2:
The entire team’s flights had to be rebooked. They stayed the night in Nairobi and will catch a flight tomorrow evening. More details to come!
Sunday, June 15th at 11:13am
posted by theMILL Staff in Colorado
ARRIVAL INFORMATION:
Teams arrive at DIA both Sunday and Monday afternoon, on United Airlines flight #939 at 4:14 pm. Family and friends (that have already made arrangements) picking up a team member at the airport can meet them at the appropriate baggage claim. Otherwise, you can meet team members back at New Life between 6:30 and 7:00 pm.
Sunday, June 15th at 9:34am
posted by theMILL Staff in Colorado
The first round of teams are on their flight from London to Denver and will be arriving later this afternoon. They will arrive at the church sometime between 6:15 and 7:00pm tonight. Meanwhile the second round of MILL teams are enjoying their last night in Nairobi, Kenya and will be off to the airport in a few hours. Pray for safe travel for all the teams!
Saturday, June 14th at 9:19am
posted by theMILL Staff in Colorado
All the teams have arrived safely into Nairobi, Kenya and have begun the debriefing process. Last night at theMILL Aaron Stern did a live video iChat from Africa. It is incredible to hear the stories of blind eyes being opened, the deaf hearing and so many other incredible stories of people coming to know the Lord! Please, continue to pray for all the teams as they have their last hours or day (depending on their departure group) in Kenya. And pray for safe travel all the way home till we get to see their faces and hear the amazing stories of all that God has done!
Friday, June 13th at 12:44am
posted by MILL Team Leaders in Tanzania
We (Tanzania #2) wanted to give you all an update on our trip so far. We have truly seen the Lord's power and grace at work here in Africa. Good news, none of us have been sick so far. We have all been very healthy and well taken care of here. We are now in the town of Arusha finishing up our last day before leaving for Nairobi to join all of theMILL missions team. The last couple of days we have gone on safaris, one near Lake Manyara and in the Ngorogoro Crater. We have also been blessed by ministering in surrounding orphanages, universities and churches. On this trip we have seen God's heart to heal his people through praying for young ones with Malaria and AIDS. The Churches here have also sparked a new fire in our heart that we will bring home with us! We are sad to be leaving soon, but excited to share more stories of God's love when we return.
Wednesday, June 11th at 1:02am
posted by theMILL Staff in Colorado
The Egypt team has visited various orphanages in the outskirts of Cairo. They say that Cairo is an incredible city, but the outskirts are full of slums. They have spent a great deal of their time connecting with and loving on lots of children. The team also got to visit and prayer walk Islamic Cairo. Also, they went to an area of Cairo called the “city of the dead” where people live among gravesites. They will be visiting a Sudanese refugee camp tomorrow.
As all the teams continue to bring light to the darkest areas they have their share of challenges…please, be in prayer for all the teams and their final days of ministry!
Tuesday, June 10th at 10:25pm
posted by MILL Team Leaders in Tanzania
We (Team Tanzania #1) have been in the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp for 3 days, and the Holy Spirit is washing the camp with His presence. The first day we attended a graduation of 50 bible school graduates at the camp. It was an honor to see 70-80 year old women and men graduating and how proud their families were of them. The second day we talked and preached with the young adults about the mantle of leadership being passed to them. These young adults would have been 10-15 years old when the genocide started happening in their native Congo.
Yesterday was what we called "the spiritual warfare day". A couple of the women on our team were ministering to the wives of the pastors of the camp. Most of these women have been sexually abused and they started to tell their testimonies to the ladies of the team. Our women talked about forgiveness and the pastors' wives started to confess bitterness, anger, and resentment they have felt towards someone. There is a battle going on within the camp involving the witchcraft. Many witch doctors will cast spells on our team with the hopes of frustrating us, confusing us, or simply to put our hearts in a state of not caring. We see the power of God and believe He is working in powerful ways in the refugees. Everyone is in good health. Get ready for a bunch of red dirt to come home with us because it is everywhere here.
Yesterday was what we called "the spiritual warfare day". A couple of the women on our team were ministering to the wives of the pastors of the camp. Most of these women have been sexually abused and they started to tell their testimonies to the ladies of the team. Our women talked about forgiveness and the pastors' wives started to confess bitterness, anger, and resentment they have felt towards someone. There is a battle going on within the camp involving the witchcraft. Many witch doctors will cast spells on our team with the hopes of frustrating us, confusing us, or simply to put our hearts in a state of not caring. We see the power of God and believe He is working in powerful ways in the refugees. Everyone is in good health. Get ready for a bunch of red dirt to come home with us because it is everywhere here.
Tuesday, June 10th at 12:42pm
posted by theMILL Staff in Colorado
Brian and Hannah Brooks are visiting MILL teams as volunteer staff in order to document the trip through video and photography. Check out Hannah Brooks’ blog at http://audreyhannahphoto.com/blog/ with some great info and photos of where they’ve been!
Tuesday, June 10th at 3:56am
posted by theMILL Staff in Uganda
Here’s a quick update for the Uganda teams! We visited all the compassion teams. It is incredible what the compassion organization does in the lives of these people. They take a child that is living in poverty...with no chance at a normal life and gives them hope. Peter, a main contact here, told us of a family that was a “child led” home. The person in charge was 17, and she was raising the rest of the family …4 other siblings. This house was in Katuugo outside of Lewero. So, the three of theMILL Uganda teams assigned there were working on making a home for that family. They are also building a road, a kitchen and loving the children! They have had a lot of rain and are pretty soggy, but the spirit of the teams was high when we left. We had an awesome prayer meeting around the camp fire one night ago praying for the land and for the people in the area, because there is a lot of witchcraft and other things going on in the area.
We also visited the teams in Kayunga...there was a crusade the night that we came and several people became believers. Reports were that over 30 people were saved. The teams in Kayunga were also involved in talking with students about purity...the questions that theMILL students were asked were intense...children were asking about what to do when they were being taken advantage of sexually in order to have their tuitions at the school paid for...it was insane to hear that children had to deal with these types of situations.
Monday, June 9th at 2:01pm
posted by theMILL Staff in Rwanda
theMILL team here in Rwanda is working in orphanages called New Hope Homes doing construction projects and playing with the kids. They worked with a Compassion project on Saturday. They have also gone out to local churches and given away goats purchased by the team to families in need. These goats will provide milk, food and income for these families. They also gave away over 150 Health Cards (cost - $2 each) that provide health care for a year. The team is healthy, vibrant and doing great.
The Rwanda team also has a blog that they update regularly at - www.xanga.com/teamRWANDA
The Rwanda team also has a blog that they update regularly at - www.xanga.com/teamRWANDA
Monday, June 9th at 1:58pm
posted by theMILL Staff in Kenya
We have been out visiting the Kenya teams and God is doing amazing things! Teams are building homes for widows -- one is 105 years old! We interviewed one of the widows who is in her 70's and taking care of several young orphans. Building houses is hard labor -- hauling bricks and mud for quite a distance, but they hope to finish all the homes by the end of the trip. In addition, teams have been hosting crusades in the evenings with people coming to know the Lord. Praise God! All the teams are camping in remote locations, helping to cook meals and connecting with Compassion's Leadership Development Students. It has been incredible to see relationships forming as Kenyan and American students work together to serve the poor and share the Gospel. Please pray for continued protection, energy, health and the work of the Holy Spirit in each opportunity that comes our way.
Sunday, June 8th at 9:18am
posted by theMILL Staff in Ethiopia
Aaron Stern here… It’s been so great to be with 4 of theMILL teams in Addis Abba, Ethiopia for a couple of days. They have all been involved with multiple Compassion projects all over the city. They are building, painting, playing with kids, teaching kids, singing with kids, and just overall showing the love of God to young and old alike. Showing God’s love in tangible and practical ways is so incredibly powerful! The teams are all doing great and loving every day they are getting to serve in this nation!
Thursday, June 5th at 9:59am
posted by theMILL Staff in Kenya
Hello from Africa! All teams have arrived safely at their destinations with Egypt leading the way on Saturday. Uganda and Ethiopia teams left Sunday with Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania departing on Monday. We have had a few luggage issues which are slowly but surely getting resolved.
Egypt team has mentioned several times that everyone is healthy and enjoying their ministry opportunities. One of our Ethiopia teams left for their destination this morning with all bags in hand. They will be building a hospital and hosting medical clinics. The other Ethiopia teams are settled at the seminary in Addis Ababa and beginning their outreach.
The Kenya teams left this morning after a day of cultural briefing, walks around Nairobi with their leadership development students and a much needed night's sleep. It was incredibly exciting to see the buses roll out. Everyone was extremely excited and ready to go. They will be building homes for widows, hosting crusades, doing door-to-door evangelism among other things.
We have also spoken with the Rwanda and Tanzania teams. They are preparing for their different outreaches -- more details to come from them soon.
Thanks for your prayers. Please pray for continued health and incredible outreach opportunities. Pray for safe travel for staff as we move from country to country to visit teams. We will have many chances to love, intercede, share and expect with great faith over the next 10 days. Philippians 1:27-28 says "Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one Spirit, striving together with one accord for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you." What a great way to pray! Thanks for all your support...
Wednesday, June 4th at 11:23am
posted by theMILL Staff in Uganda
Just checking in to let you know that all of the Uganda teams are here and well! We checked out the School of Worship (SOW) team’s location yesterday and it is sweet!! There are 48 homes with orphans each with a house mom and they are so cute! The medical team is providing care for each child and the SOW students will be hanging mosquito nets for the kids (the highest killer of children in Uganda is Malaria), doing VBS with them and having ministry times (spa days and ministry time) for the moms. They also have a concert this Friday at a local university.
We are also in the middle of making arrangements to visit all of the other Uganda teams--will let you know how it goes!
Wednesday, June 4th at 7:30am
posted by theMILL Staff in Colorado
All of the teams have arrived safely! They are all on the ground in their destination countries. Be praying that all adjust to the time change quickly and that God's hand would be on them in all their efforts over the next week and a half. More updates to come soon - Thanks for all your prayers!