Deviating From the Plan

Most of us make plans of some sort. Some have plans for the day and week, while others have plans for the month, year and the rest of our lives. We talk about our plans, get excited for them and can’t wait to be a part of them. When Tascha and I were preparing to come to Kenya, we planned what we were going do do (as much as we could) and we talked about it with everyone. We talked about how I would be doing media and youth ministry and how Tascha would be doing orphan ministry. But, now that we have been here for a month, we realize that where we are currently, orphan ministry and youth ministry are not our main focuses.

Here in Kericho, my main ministry has been guitar! I am borrowing a guitar from a fellow missionary just for my own enjoyment and personal worship to God. However, God has presented an opportunity for me to teach guitar to the students and staff here at Kenya Highlands Evangelical University. There are around 20 students and 3 staff who are taking lessons. I have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays after 4pm tea. We gather in the Chapel and split up into groups and learn songs. If there are chords they do not know in the song, then we learn them! My goal is to have the students leading worship using guitar in chapel by April.

 

These lessons are more than learning to play guitar. By these students and staff learning, they are being equipped to teach others guitar. But more than that, they have a portable instrument (tool) to lead worship anywhere. Teaching guitar to new believers is a form of discipleship, ingraining in them what it means to worship God, not only with our voice and a guitar, but with our lives.

 

For Tascha, her main ministry here in Kericho has been at Immanuel AGC, assisting with Children’s ministry. Most Wednesdays we are at the church and she and Lily (the Children’s Pastor) are coming up with ideas for the nine Sunday School lessons for that Sunday. In Sunday School, there are around 500 kids from Kindergarden to 8th grade. Not only does Tascha help plan each lesson, but also comes up with crafts for the kids to do and then prepares the crafts. She is really good at it and the kids love the crafts!

 

We can have a plan for what we want to do or what we think we are going to do. We can pray about it and doors may open or close. For us right now, we are ministering in ways we didn’t really think about because we were open and let God lead. This morning I was reading in Psalm 37 and verses 5-6 really stuck out:

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act, making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.”

In our everyday lives, committing each day to God for His glory and His use. Trust in Him and He will show up! It might not be in a huge glamorous way, but many times, if not most times, He shows up in the small, everyday things. 

An Unexpected Journey

I have a Type B personality. I like to help people, Im flexible, and I don’t live a very structured life. Tascha, on the other hand, has a Type AB personality. She is organized, has a plan (with a few back ups), and is very much a perfectionist. However, she also has a servants heart and thinks of others over herself. During our new missionary orientation last week, we learned this about ourselves and it was great preparation for the week ahead. 

Waterfall at Tenwek

Our original plan was to attend orientation on Friday and then head back to Kericho. Well, when the orientation was over Saturday, Jim and Alice invited us back to their house in Nakuru so we could use their fast internet to get our phones unlocked and restored. This was such a blessing because we had been trying for weeks to get them unlocked, but didn't have good enough internet. Before we left for Nakuru, Mike Davis (new missionary doc and fellow Tennessean) invited Tascha and I to the Tenwek Super Bowl party Monday night. Since the game was actually Monday morning at 2am Kenya time, they were recording it and watching it that evening. We were very excited and Alice helped us work out transportation back to Tenwek for the party. 

When we arrived in Nakuru, we met the Hages (Marvin and Miriam) who were also staying with Jim and Alice. They were leaving the next morning for Tenwek and were the ones who agreed to take us! So, the next morning, we went to church at Lakeview AGC and after a quick stop at Nakumatt and lunch at Java House, we were off to Tenwek!

Newborn in the nursery

Upon arriving at Mike and Katie’s home at Tenwek, we put our things in the guest bedroom and had dinner. It was very nice to be in the company of fellow Tennesseans! We played a little guitar and then went to bed. Monday, Tascha and I went to the nursery where all the newborns are. We didn't hold any, but it was really cool seeing the moms interact with their newborns. That night we went to the Super Bowl party. As you already know, there wasn't much of a game, but it was still fun watching it. With about 9 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, I somehow moved the wrong way and turned the power off. We quickly fixed it, but I was charged with a “delay of game” penalty. 

Tuesday we had lunch with Paul and Ashleigh Espy and their family. It was great getting to know them and meet their kids (who were some of the ones we had Mt. Hope Bible Camp campers write letters to last summer). After lunch, Ashleigh told us that there was a need for a preschool teacher for the MKs Wednesday and Thursday because the current teacher was going to Nairobi for a few days. We talked it over and agreed to stay. So, we let the Davis’ know our change of plans and they were happy to accommodate us a few extra days (gotta love that good ‘ol Southern hospitality!) 

Bible Quizzing

Since we stayed, we had the opportunity to visit the Umoja Children’s Home, about 15 minutes from Tenwek. What a blessing it was to be able to go and unleash all kinds of love and attention on these kids! The youngest was around 4 and the oldest was in Form 4 (12th grade) because they keep the kids there until university. In all, there were around 60 kids that stayed at Umoja. While we were there, we got to see some Bible quizzing practice and we were sung to right before we left. I would say that spending an hour with those kids was the highlight of our week!

     

Wednesday and Thursday, Tascha taught preschool. Thursday I went and played guitar for the 7 preschoolers and we had a blast!

Tascha teaching the 7 preschoolers

Later in the afternoon, we got a ride and came back to Kericho…just in time for guitar lessons! The students and I worked on playing “Majesty” and “Blessed Be Your Name.” These students are so smart and passionate about playing! It is an honor for me to be able to help them in their ministries. 

So originally, we were going to return to Kericho on February 1. However, God had other plans and had we not been open to other possibilities, we would have missed out on so much! In my morning devotions, I have been reminded time and time again to be open and present. If we keep our mind so focused on what we think we are here to do, we miss out on who we are here for, that is, Christ. Paul was devoted to the person of Christ, not a religion. By our openness and devotion to the person of Christ this past week, we have had the opportunity to dwell in His presence. Over the past week we have been mentored, encouraged and blessed by the people and ministries in and surrounding Tenwek. It was just what we needed!

A Few Differences

Internet and Phones

Internet here in Kenya is very different than in the states. There are a few providers, but the main two are Orange and Safaricom. You purchase modems (jump drives) and pre-pay for data with scratch cards that you can purchase just about anywhere. Internet speed is slow. Downloading large pictures, songs, videos, etc is not advised. Internet is great for doing basic social media, email, research, etc. 

 

Phones are all pre-paid. Smart phones work here but are expensive if you buy them here. Tasch and I brought our iPhone 4’s under the assumption that they were unlocked. They were not. We are still in the process of unlocking them. Anyway, for phones here, you buy a SIM card and then you put shillings on your account. You can then, go online and allocate how many shillings you want for airtime and how much you want for data. SMS counts as airtime. This is similar to the pay-as-you-go phones in the states. 

Water, Electricity and Laundry

Water here is not drinkable. Water must be filtered to brush your teeth, wash your fruits and vegetables, and to drink. You can filter it by boiling it, or by using a water filter. We did not have a water filter here when we arrived to WGM bought one for the house!

Our water filter. Thank you WGM

Electricity here in Kericho is not reliable. It goes off at least once a day (usually around dinner time) and can stay off 15min to a few hours! We have candles all over the house because when power goes out at night, it gets very dark!

Our backup generator.
The is how we spend our evenings

Laundry is a very time consuming activity. We do have a washer, but it is not like the ones in the states. After clothes are washed, we put them in a separate compartment for them to spin. We then put them back in the washer to rinse before putting them back in the spinner. Once the washing process is complete, we hang our clothes on our clothes line in the back yard to dry. 

Our washer. The left side is for wash/rinse cycle.
The right side is for the spin cycle.

Our dryer. We don't need electricity for it!

  

Jambo!

So, its been a week since we left Knoxville, Tennessee for Kenya. Most of this past week has been traveling so we really have not settled down just yet. We arrived in Kenya late Thursday night and stayed in Nairobi for a few days with Jon and Vera (WGM Africa Regional Directors). There we got phones and rested. Saturday we left Nairobi for Nakuru by way of the Great Rift Valley. You can see for miles and miles at the top of the valley. As we drove through it, we saw zebras, gazelle and of course cattle and donkeys. 

When we arrived in Nakuru, we had lunch with the WGM Kenya directors (Jim and Alice) and then they took us to the Africa Gospel Church Baby Centre to meet April and see where we will be serving starting in a few months. We both loved spending time there learning about the ministry and just loving on the kids! For more information about the AGC Baby Centre, you can visit our website - www.jeffandtaschafyke.com

Sunday, we went with Jim and Alice to Ngata AGC which is next door to the Baby Centre. For January, their theme is “Discipleship” and the youth pastor spoke and gave a wonderful message out of John 15. One thing that stuck out was a statement he made. “Many of us know ABOUT God, but do you KNOW God?” He went on to talk about how some know of God and go through the routine of church, but unless we are in His word and communicate regularly through prayer (abiding in Him), then we do not know God on a personal level. He went on to say that discipleship is as easy as touching someone (investing in them). He then touched someone and that person got up and touched someone else and pretty quick, the entire congregation was standing because they had been touched. It was a great illustration. After church we met the pastors and they are excited that we are coming in April for six months!

After church we went and had lunch at Java House (the Kenyan Starbucks) which was amazing! I had so missed Java House from my previous trip to Kenya in 2008. We then shopped at a local grocery store and went with Jim and Alice to the Lake Nakuru National Park where we saw buffalo and baboons. I got out of the car to get a closer look at some of the baboons and to take a few pictures on Tascha’s phone. After our visit, we went back to the house and I helped Alice start up her blog. She is going to be a pro in no time! After our blog session, Alice taught Tascha how to make pizza dough from scratch since we were having grilled pizza for dinner. It was really good! 

Monday Jim and Alice brought us from Nakuru to Kericho, where we presently are serving. We took Monday evening and Tuesday to get settled and to meet with our hosts, Pat and Kathie Greco. Pat is the Vice Chancellor of Kenya Highlands Evangelical University where we are staying. Wednesday, we met most of the staff at the college during tea time. Every day at 10am and 4pm, everyone stops for tea… and I love it! After lunch, Kathie took us to Immanuel Africa Gospel Church to meet Joyce (the senior pastor) and the rest of the pastoral staff there. We discussed ministry opportunities and it looks like they are going to keep us busy! I will be helping with improving the audio and visual technologies for the church, as well as helping with their website. Tascha will be helping with children’s ministries. 

Tomorrow we will be at a picnic Immanuel AGC is hosting for the youth, and Sunday we will be attending both church services at Immanuel. As this week draws to a close and we begin wrapping our heads around the ministry opportunities here, please pray with us that God would continue to lead and guide us as we serve Him in Kericho at Kenya Highlands Evangelical University and Immanuel AGC. 

SEND

We are all called to be a part of missions. Some of us are called to go. Those who are not called to go, are called to send! There are many ways to send. Here are just a few:

- Pray about a missions worker God might want you to encourage.

• If you would like to be on our prayer team, you can sign up on our website (www.jeffandtaschafyke.com) under the "support" tab

- Create a local sending group. Consider sending care packages.
- Encourage a missions worker by e-mail, Facebook, telephone or Skype webcam call.

• We are on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Twitter and Skype! Visit our website for links to all or our Social Media sites

- Share a meal, your professional skills, a car or guest room with a missions worker.
- Financially support a missionary or project.

• You can financially support us by going to www.wgm.org/fyke or by going to our website and clicking the support tab

- Plan a trip with your life group to visit missionaries where they serve.

GO

Learning and Praying are wonderful ways to get started in missions. However, nothing beats actually going on a trip and allowing God to use you in a mighty way! Now, going doesn't have to be across the world, it can be in your home town. In Knoxville, Tascha and I have worked with The Lost Sheep Ministries and Knoxville Area Rescue Ministry (KARM) serving the homeless. Homeless ministry was out of my comfort zone at first and I believe that because it was, God was able to teach me, shape me and bless me more through it because I was more reliant on Him than I was myself. When we do missions, we do not do them to be a hero to the world, Jesus is that hero. We do missions not only because it is our purpose to reach every tribe and tongue, but because we cant not share the love of Christ! Our love for others is the overflowing of God love for us! Below are a few ways to GO!

• Go on a short-term cross-cultural trip with your church or a mission group.
• Tascha and I did this when we went to Uganda
• Use your profession to share the good news and Christ's love among the nations.
• Students can go on a "back and forth" trip with their college group or seminary. 
• I did this when I went to East Asia and Kenya
• Contact a few mission agencies to see how they might utilize your skills short term or long term.
• World Gospel Mission - www.wgm.org
• International Mission Board - www.imb.org
• Wycliffe Bible Translators - www.wycliffe.org
• Serving In Mission (SIM) - www.sim.org
• Africa Inland Mission (AIM) - www.aimint.org
• The World Race - www.theworldrace.org

PRAY

Missionaries need prayer. All over the world, there are people laboring for the sake of the gospel. This is why Paul repeatedly asked those who sent him to pray for him (Rom 15:30; 2 Cor 1:11; 1 Thess 5:25; 2 Thess 3:1; Heb 13:18). Below are 6 ways to get involved in praying for missionaries (including us!)

• Sign up to receive prayer letters or missionary e-mails and pray regularly for them. You can sign up for ours by visiting our website (www.jeffandtaschafyke.com) or by emailing us (jeff.fyke@wgm.org)
• Ask God to show you for whom you should pray.
• Request country- or people-specific prayer guides for your computer or mobile phone . You can get the free Joshua Project app at http://www.joshuaproject.net/mobile.php
• Join or start a prayer group through your church or among your friends.
• Purchase the Operation World book and pray for people in a different country each day.
• Use an outline to pray for missionaries. You can find one at http://www.kingdompraying.com/assets/PDF/Scripture_Prayers_Missionaries.pdf