Engage the Nations

It is the Christmas season 2009.  Like Joseph and Mary 2000 years ago, a young couple are on the virge of the birth of their first baby boy.  Although they are doing everything to prepare for the big day, it still catches them by surprise.  Instead of the regular 40 weeks, the baby is arriving six weeks early. Because they are not expecting it this early, their bags are not packed nor is the nursery fully furnished.  Safe for an early morning warning in a dream to the father to prepare to be in a delivery room and with assurance (from the Lord) that it would be o.k, the day started off as any other day. At 6:00 AM, the couple prays together for about 40 minutes in their home in Victoria.  They take showers.  At about 7:30 AM, the husband goes to work briefly from his home office while the wife prepares something for their breakfast together. Within a couple hours they will have a routine prenatal doctor's appointment.  Later in the evening the wife's sister and her two beau

Two weeks ago I read in a Kenyan Newspaper about billionaire Bill Gates’ visit to the Kenyan town of Eldoret. The town lies about fifty miles from the village where I grew up. He was there to check on the projects of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. When he came to town, he entered one small pharmacy and went about looking at the various anti-malaria medications they had on sale and then left incognito. Whereas if it was in the United States most Americans might have recognized him and maybe tried to catch his attention, no one in the Kenyan store or street did. He went about his business in the store like any ordinary person would without anyone turning their heads. It was only when he requested to speak with the store owner and gave his name that the store clerks realized that he might be some important person. All the while, he mingled with the Kenyan people without anyone of them realizing that they were mingling with a multi-billionaire whose net worth is twice the size

Have you ever felt desperate for God? Have you ever, out of desperation for God, become incoherent in your speech before Him? Have you ever prostrated yourself before Him in intense desire for His glory? Have you ever stayed before Him for an hour in speechless surrender and abandonment to His majesty? King David demonstrated this kind of intense longing when he yearned, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God; when shall I come and appear before Him?" (Psalms 42:1-2) Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself groaned in the garden of Gethsemane. Luke tells us that He was in agony. His praying was not an easy walk in the park. He was taking head on the principalities, the powers, the rulers of the darkness of this age and the spiritual wickedness in the high places and it was intense. He needed every ounce of divine muscle and it was obvious in the natural. He was praying very fervently, Luke tells us! We do no

Click here to watch this great testimony of faith and answer to the prayer of God's people.  Hope you are blessed!

Click h ere to read our Fall Special Mission Report for SWIM ministry partners. Pray with us as we enter the final stretch of 2009 and plan for 2010!   Pray especially that God may direct you on how you can partner with us financially in these tough economic times to bring the gospel of our Lord to thousands of people locally and around the world. To donate, click on the donate button on the right side of this screen. Serving in His power and for His glory, Sammy and Suzanne Wanyonyi

A few months ago Pastor Joel Johnson of Westwood Community Church, Chanhassen, MN did a series of messages on the book of Daniel. I am listening to one of those messages focused on the subject of prayer and fasting. Since I am blogging about the subject, I thought I would share the link here. Joel makes a number of observations based on Daniel's season of prayer and fasting recorded in Chapter 9. The first is that breakthrough happens through intense prayer and fasting. When we come to God on bended knees, there is communication that happens. Fasting communicates a longing, sincerity, and intensity toward God. It brings a different kind of urgency to our prayer that we do not always experience in times of prayer unaccompanied by fasting. Fasting also helps us listen to God so we can hear the direction that He has for us. In our cluttered and food-sourced culture, there are so many distractions that take away our capacity to hear God's voice. Getting away from those dis

Know thy season, know thy reason! That is right...as thou doth fast and pray.  Several posts ago, August 28th, I shared with you how I approach times of crucial ministry decisions, major personal life changes, or when entering into a significant ministry opportunity. Through the discipline of prayer and fasting, I get to hear God more clearly, draw great strength and inspiration from the Holy Spirit, and focus on the mission or situation that is at hand. There are times when the situation or circumstance looks so gigantic. Yet as soon as I bring it to the Lord during a season of prayer and fasting, great clarity tends to happen around it. A recent example pertains to our missionary work to Burundi in September when we needed $ 22,000 in ten days. Although we knew that God's will was for us to go to Burundi, the amount needed looked staggering. But as soon as we brought it to the Lord during a season of three days of fasting and prayer, our faith grew to the point where we ha

Sixteen years ago I worked for an  airline catering company in Nairobi.  This was my first job after graduating from High School and while attending college (Wow, it has already been that long!).  Every lunch hour, the working area would shut down and everyone would go to the cafeteria for lunch.  Instead of going to eat, however, I often took that lunch hour and would spent it in fasting and prayer.  I would find quiet space, mostly in one of the empty coldrooms and there I would spent 30-40 minutes on my knees in intense prayer.  It was a habit I practiced most of the two years I worked there. One day as I was tacked away praying, unbeknown to me the company's Chief executive and his personel manager were going round inspecting the facilities.  When they came to the area where I was, I was praying with such deep intensity that I did not notice or sense them.  They saw me praying and chose not to interfere.  They continued to inspect the facility and returned about ten minu

This last Sunday September 27th I spoke to the International congregation of Destiny Faith Ministries in Brooklyn Park, MN.  In a message titled, "Grow, Become, Increase," drawn from the "silent" years of Jesus' life (Luke 2:40-52), I highlight the fact that the so called silent years were in fact not that very silent for Jesus.  Luke informs us that Jesus was occupied with three things during that period of his life: growing, becoming and increasing. Being fully and perfect man, a pre-occupation of Luke, Jesus grew physically.  Most significantly, He grew spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and socially. It would be a sad fact of life if a 30-year old man stayed on the lap of his mom suckling away at her breast.  Sadly, many of us do exactly that in the church.  Year in and year-out we stay put, afraid to venture out into God's zone of faith and favor. The apostle Paul says in 1 Cor 13:11, "When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, t

This week in a New York Times article published on September 27th , I am quoted commenting on the recent Airlines’ habit of charging extra fees for baggage. I reflect on how this impacts those of us who are involved in International missionary travel and often need to carry lots of stuff around. The concern is not only the fact that this heightens the cost of doing missions. The lack of uniform standards on the part of the airline carriers in terms of baggage limits and fees becomes a very taxing ordeal for the passenger. For instance, when we left the United States for Nairobi on KLM/Delta we were allowed two pieces of luggage with cumulative weight of 70 pounds per person. But on reaching Nairobi and needing to transfer to Kenya Airways a partner carrier for KLM/Delta, to Bujumbura and for return to United States, we were told we would be allowed two pieces not exceeding 23 pounds each. Moreover, if you have one of the two bags weighing 10 pounds and the other one 30 pounds, yo

The pop band Sixpence None the Richer gets its name from a line in C. S. Lewis; he says that we are like children who are given sixpence by their father so they can go buy him a present for his birthday. He is none the richer for our giving, but we are. When you consider the mystery in creation and then realize that God has given us all this majesty so in turn we may give Him praise and worship, you can’t help but marvel. Our worship does not add anything to the fact that He is God. Yet we grow richer because of it. This past week, coming home from Burundi, our team spent a couple days in Kenya to debrief and to rest ahead of the long flight back to the United States. We visited the world-famous Maasai Mara for an African Safari experience. We stayed at the Mara Serena Safari Lodge. Here you are received by a very friendly guest officer named Pamela, get to stay in a "Maasai hut" (tongue in cheek...inside pic above), have breakfast in the wilderness as you are watche

Among the huge throng at the altar, one little girl stood out. I had invited the audience numbering close to 10,000 at the last service on Sunday Sept 13 th to consider Christ and His claims. Several hundred people, somewhere in the tune of 300, poured into the altar area and the adjacent isles. All were in penitent prayer and supplication as they responded to the call to fully and unreservedly commit their lives to Jesus Christ. I was leading these respondents in a prayer of salvation and rededication when I noticed her. Aged about 10 years old, she stood among them, right next to the podium. She raised her hands in a receiving posture. Tears flowed so freely from her eyes. Her lips quivered gently. Her entire countenance overflowed in absolute surrender. Jesus was definitely embracing her fully and she was giving it all back to Him. What love! What amazing love of God I saw in that moment as I paused to watch! I was in turn deeply touched and moved. "Dear Lord, if only I

The meeting area, about two acres in size, was tight and squished. Every part of it had been set up for the people to sit. 10,000 chairs total and they were all filled to capacity with some overflowing. The people of Burundi have great rhythm in their step. The place was vibrant with singing, dancing, and rejoicing. Children, adults, the elderly, they all sung and danced rhythmically. After we were introduced, Dan Dye shared his testimony of how he came to Jesus Christ. The audience connected well with him. I was then invited to bring the message of Jesus Christ. I preached from Luke 21:34-36. I felt God's Spirit moving through the word as I preached. Expectant hearts sat on the edge of their seats taking in every word. I warned them of the soon coming day o f the Lord. I exhorted them of the Lord's call to repentance. I invited them to embrace the grace of God which is available through Christ. I called upon them to reject the ways and patterns of this world. I counsele

We thank God for what He is doing here in Bujumbura. Over the last two days we have ministered to Christian leaders from across the region. On Tuesday, we had 150 leaders attend the conference at the Kings Conference center. On Wednesday, 206 attended. Some of the leaders have travelled by road for 24 hours from Goma and Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo and from Rwanda into Burundi for the conference. I am totally blown away by their faith, dedication, commitment, and desire to be part of what God is doing in this region of Africa. Initially, Burundi's President Piere Nkurunziza was invited to come and open the conference. He, however, send his minister for Good Governance Hon. Martin Nivyabandi to do so on his behalf. We are informed that the country's political parties are having tension and disagreements that could potentially turn violent and derail the recent peace accord. Consequently, the president has called for a weeklong retreat for all the political

Here, Burundi's Minister in the Office of the President for Good Governance Martin Nivyabandi speaks to leaders during one of the sessions. 206 Christian leaders from across the spectrum participated in the conference held at Kings Conference Center, Bujumbura.  Above, SWIM director Sammy Wanyonyi speaks to the leaders as Dan Dye looks on.  Below, Pastors worship in song and prayer during one of the sessions.  Next they share in a beef stew and rice lunch. Below, Ben Otube (right) from Nakuru, Kenya who served as SWIM's Conference and Festival Director/Representative embraces Pastor Manasse Mberabagabo during one of the sessions.  Next, Ben follows the conference along with other pastors.     Below, Steve Wareham and the Burundi government minister share a moment during the conference. Dan Dye makes the vision presentation from a biblical and corporate perspective Pastor Manasse Mberabagabo, who was the main host for the meetings shares with the audience fr