We've Moved

As you have probably heard, we've changed our name to BlueSky.  We've changed our blog so that we have a new place to tell you about the amazing adventure the Lord has called us to as we seek to reach out to the multinational community in Kenya!  So head over to www.adventurescalling.wordpress.com and check out what the Lord is doing in Kenya!

Climb BlueSky Progress

The Climb BlueSky team is continually amazed by the Lord's faithfulness.  After several months of encountering roadblock after roadblock, it looks like they may be able to begin building next week.  Lord willing, a couple of the climbing walls will be up by the end of the year.  Several others will be built when the builder comes in early 2012.
We're so excited to get Climb BlueSky up and running, it is going to be so much more than just a climbing gym.  It will be a hub for all of the ministries of BlueSky, better equipping each of them to serve the multinational community.  Would you pray the following for Climb BlueSky?

• Pray that the Lord would orchestrate each and every detail so that building can begin next week.
• Building materials in Kenya have been climbing steadily, making it difficult for the team to find materials at the price budgeted.  Pray that the Lord would allow them to find the best prices on building materials.  
• Pray that the Lord would provide every dollar needed to complete the project.  We are trusting Him to provide the $100,000 needed to complete the project.
• Pray that Climb BlueSky will be able to open to the public by early next year!

You can help BlueSky by shopping at Amazon.com this Christmas!

It's probably safe to assume that almost everyone reading this will be doing at least some of their Christmas shopping online.  Some of us will be avoiding the crowds entirely by searching the internet for the best deals.  Amazon.com a favorite internet retailer because they have EVERYTHING and offer great holiday deals (which have already started!).  Did you know that you can help fund ministry among the multinational community in Nairobi just by shopping at Amazon?!?

Just start your search here!  When you click GO, you will be re-directed to Amazon's site and you can start shopping.

  

Since you came to Amazon via our blog, we will get on average 4-6% back on your purchase.  That can all add up in a hurry so this is a great way to bless BlueSky this holiday season!  Thank you so much for helping us in this way!

Pray!

It's been a tough few days, so I wanted to send some prayer requests your way - thanks for standing in prayer with us!  Praise the Lord that He has defeated Satan, but we are definitely feeling in the battle right now! Yet, we know our God is powerful and responds to the prayers of His people!

• Dave Preston's mom, Becky, had hip surgery last week, and she hasn’t regained conscientiousness. She is also on kidney dialysis. Dave flew to the US last Saturday to be with her.  She's in a hospital in Columbus, GA. Pray for healing for Becky, wisdom for Dave & Rick (his dad), and strength for Tammy & the kids who are in Kenya.

• Lexi was involved in a car accident last Friday night.  She was with some of the teachers from the international school, and without solid explanation, their car flipped. Lexi had a bad feeling, and was praying for protection about the time the car started to roll. All 4 of the passengers walked away unharmed, but shaken up. Lexi knows, without doubt, that the Lord was protecting them! Pray for continued safety & protection of our team as we drive these roads!

• One of our BlueSky cars (the small corolla) was stolen today from the street outside of our office. Andrew parked it for the day while he was at the office, and was dumbfounded to return in the afternoon to find it missing. Cars are already limited for our ministry needs, so this is a blow to the whole ministry. Pray for a multiplication of resources, and for the thieves to meet Jesus!

• Our Climb BlueSky guys, Stephen, Andrew, and Jason, have been working for MONTHS now to get the final renovation permit so that we can begin to build in our space. We've bumped directly into Kenyan corruption at it's finest, and we need wisdom to know the best next step forward. We fully know that the Lord will use this ministry to bring people into His Kingdom. There is such darkness in this Indian complex, and we are excited to be God's light in this place!  Pray for the NCC permit to come thru immediately, despite corruption, and for lives to be changed for eternity! 

• Most of our team has travel plans at some point within the next month.  Pray for safety and rejuvenation!

Definitely appreciate you guys! And, SO enjoyed getting to see / talk to many of you during this past month of my time in the US.  I've returned to Kenya safely, just 2 days ago, and it's been great to re-connect with the team here. 

 

Blessings on you all!

Kim

 

Opportunity to Impact Multinational Students on Challenge Course

Last weekend the student council from one of the international school's was on the challenge course.  They were the middle school student council at the school where Lexi spends time with students so she joined Greg and Ngatho on the course.

Greg, the adventures director, said,"They had a blast, we did team building during the day and then after dinner we kind of had a mini camp night where we just goofed around playing games and having hot chocolate and snacks. It was a great group, a couple of the girls had been to camp before and one of the boys, but everyone there said they want to come to camp this year! It was a lot of fun and I am glad we got to make more connections with the kids, Lexi is really involved at the school but I am not able to be 100% involved with the schools so it was a huge blessing to be able to spend a day and half hanging out with the students."


Our team is so blessed with individuals who just love being around with students, whether thats getting to know them better on the ropes course, hanging out with them at the weekly BlueSky youth event, going to their soccer games, or just chatting over a milkshake.  Our team truly loves each one of the students and desires to share Jesus with them!

BlueSky Youth Rafting Trip

Last weekend, BlueSky Youth had the opportunity to take 28 students rafting at the Tana river and they had  a blast. When they started packng to leave, it was pouring rain. They debated on whether or not to even go because the of the weather.  But God answered r prayers- the rain cleared out that afternoon (it rained a little bit during the night) but by Friday when they rafted and were on the river, the weather could not have been more perfect! Praise God!!  Bryce was able to share a message with the students on Thursday night, and the whole weekend was a great way to spend time with students, and love on them! Our team is so thankful for the time they had to pour into the students..

Daley says, "It was so awesome to see how the girls connected, even though not all of them knew each other and came from lots of different schools. When I went over to the tent to tell them goodnight, all ten of them had their heads in the middle facing each other and they were all talking and giggling.  Michelle and I jumped in as well and talked with them for a long time before we went to bed. It was a great bonding experience! 

Our Youth director Michelle, expressed thanks at the way the team went above and beyond to love and serve the students.  "Greg stayed back and didnt raft because he had been before, and he cleaned up our breakfast and set up lunch for us!  Jason drove the van, although I know he was exhausted on the way back, and took care of the fire and everything for us- and everyone was so engaging with the students- it really was such a blessing!" 

EPOCH Missions Gala

Last night we had a group of about 40 people come out and support our Executive Director Kim Pace at the Epoch Missions Gala.  We were so thankful that so many people made an effort to make it to the event.  The night was a huge success.  There were 18 finalists who were doing awesome Kingdom work both overseas and here at home.  It was such an encouragement to hear what the Lord is doing.

One of the fun things that Kim decided to do was wear Indian clothes to the event.  Since much of our work and our new climbing gym are centered in the Indian community in Nairobi, it seemed like a fitting way to draw attention to what the Lord is doing within that community.

Kim was one of 3 finalists in the People's Choice award.  There were 7 categories and only the nominees for the People's Choice award were able to share with the audience about their work so we were so thankful that Kim was able to do that.  In the end, she was awarded 2nd place in the category and received a grant for just under $2,500.  Kim is humbled by the honor and so thankful that so many people made it to the event!

Kim with John Hightower and Lauren Minshew 

Kim with Patrick and Rachel Lockman (Rachel is a BlueSky board member and nominated Kim for the award)

The Pace Family, along with Lauren and Rhonda Cathy

Connie and Jim Korb, alongside John 

Kim with the group from First Presbyterian Church of Peachtree City

John with Donovan and Tracie Gossett

Jason and Ashley Pace 

Lexi Directs Middle School Play

Lexi was a theater major in college, so volunteering with the drama department at the international school is a great way for her to serve the school and build relationships with both students and staff.  It is awesome to see how the Lord opens the door for each member of our team to use their unique gifts to serve others.

This semester Lexi has been the assistant director for the middle school play.  They performed Cinders (a Cinderella parody) several times last weekend.   It was a traveling show, so they performed at the school for two shows, and then went to the Starehe Girls' School (all high schoolers, from poor Kenyan homes on scholarship) and the Nest (an orphanage for kids' whose mothers are in prison). Lexi says, "It was SO wonderful to see the kids reactions to the silly, light-hearted play and then to see the our kids interacting with the Kenyan kids afterwards. I was so proud of the actors, and touched by the welcome we received from the students/children at each place."

Here are some pictures from their time at Starehe!

Camp BlueSky's Off-Season Happenings

The Camp BlueSky Team, Lexi and Jason, have been hard at work keeping up with the various off-season tasks that need to be done for camp.  One of the huge tasks they are working on is filling counselor roles for the 2012 camp team.  Do you know any college students who love Jesus, enjoy working with kids, and are looking for a summer job on the mission field?  If so send them our way or send them to this link where they can read more about the opportunity and download an application.
Camp BlueSky is also planning to host its first ever December Beach Camp.  This event will be the week before Christmas and will be open to high school students.  Now that we have a larger team in country we have the capacity to pull something like this off.  Sign-ups are open so would you pray that many students will sign up to be a part of this life-changing week?

Plywood

Yes, this is a blog post about plywood.  Today the plywood for the climbing walls in the rock gym arrived, 180 pieces of it.  

This is the view of the plywood truck from our office.  Its high, from the 6th floor to be exact.  Good thing there's an elevator.  Oh wait, it wasn't working today.  That picture looks awfully wet you say?  Yes, it's raining.  So that's going to be 180 pieces of plywood, up 6 flights of stairs, in the rain.

 But it happened, here's the celebration of the last piece coming in 3 hours after they started.

A well earned break and a shot of the guys who helped.

Sure, this is a bit of an over-dramatization about plywood.  But the reality is that once the climbing walls and student space are built, students are going to have a space dedicated to them.  They'll come to this space and they will hear about Jesus, many of them will hear about Him there for the first time.  So that is enough to make 180 pieces of plywood pretty exciting.  Would you begin to pray now that this student space would be a place where truth is proclaimed and Jesus is honored?

The Feeding of the 5000

Just after posting the details of the Garissa trip yesterday, the Preston's sent out this update from Tammy.  For those of you who may not know, David and Tammy have been involved with Brackenhurst Ministries from the very beginning, Tammy was primarily involved through her work with WinShape Wilderness.  When David came on as Director of Operations, it just seemed so natural to have the Preston's on the team.   I thought you would enjoy this story from Tammy.

I must write while it is still fresh! So much was packed into our experience in Garissa. Thank you so much for lifting the trip up in prayer--we could feel it!

Everything went like clockwork, which can be a surprise in Kenya! As we were flying up to Garissa early Saturday morning, I looked down at the desolate land below: no vegetation, dried up river beds, no apparent life anywhere.There was a muddy river that ran nearby, and we were warned by the Kenyans to stay away from the river banks because of the crocodiles and the fact that they prefer "white meat"--haha! I thought to myself 'how can anyone actually live here...and why would they willingly do so?". I am not sure I got an answer to that question...

After we landed we drove about 45 minutes outside of town to the village. People had walked into the main location where the food would be distributed (I use that term loosely-- "main"= about 7-8 mud huts randomly scattered in a random spot in the desert) from a total of 7 different villages. These people were absolutely beautiful. They are Somali refugees whose families have actually been in Kenya for about 19 years...it is because of the time they have been here that they are not "qualified" for aid going to other Somalis...they are not considered current refugees.

Anyways, the elders of the village invited the older guys in our group into one of the huts to talk and share a blessing, so the rest of us just hung out with the people and did our best to communicate and love on them. That was easy. They were very curious about us and had no trouble interacting with us. I was so taken with the contrast of the dry, desolate desert with the vibrant and colorful fabric the women wore--it was amazing!

When the men came out of the hut, everyone gathered around the Convoy of Hope truck which had all the food. We were expecting to distribute a large bag of food containing maize, flour, beans, rice, and some tea that would last 2 weeks per family to a total of 140 families. Right before we got started though, we were informed that another village had heard about the distribution and had walked hours to come and see if they might also receive the food. This group of people were made to sit separate from the others--definitely singled out--so that they wouldn't get in the line and take rations that others had officially gotten themselves on a list for. We were told we would likely run out of food before we could give any to this last village.

I instantly got a lump in my throat: at WinShape Wilderness whenever we would feed a large group and the meal appeared to be not enough to feed them all, we would sincerely pray the "feeding of the 5000"…that God would somehow multiply the food--and the Lord would provide! It almost became a joke…So there we were in the desert, and I was praying that prayer with what seemed like such higher stakes: Chick-fil-A was not right around the corner if we ran out of food! Neither was WinShape Retreat...so we all prayed silently (we could not be overt in the midst of these Muslim people), and I am happy to report that not only did EVERY person who came that day receive food, there were extra bags leftover! I mean, tears!! God is so amazingly faithful in His provision. What a blessing.

We were unable to directly share the Gospel with these people, but hopefully they felt the love of Jesus in and through us as we were able to interact with them. They are SO SO SO precious and my heart is burdened for them. I hope to have the opportunity to return one day. Again, thanks for praying. There is a Christian school that has been started nearby and these Muslim people are gladly sending their children--they know that through education the next generation will have the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty in their people. Some children have become believers as a result...so amazing.


Please continue to pray for these people!

Relief Work in Garissa

Last Saturday, Kim, Tammy, and Wesley, had the opportunity to help with famine relief through the international church in Nairobi.  As you have probably seen on the news, some regions of Kenya are suffering the effects of a terrible drought.  ICF raised funds to distribute food in two villages near Garissa (the Kenyan town closest to the Somali border).  Since most of the international aid is going to Somali refugees, they focused their work on two established villages.  The people from the villages are of Somali descent but have been living in Kenya for quite some time.

Its awesome to see the International church's willingness to serve in the community.  Since many people who attend ICF are aid workers, they really are in a great place to know who is being overlooked and step in and help them.  We are truly thankful that some people from our team were able to partner with ICF to meet this desperate need.

BlueSky Adventures Article Featured in Kenya Business Newspaper

Last Friday, an article was written about BlueSky Adventures in the Business Daily.  The paper is Kenya's best source for business news. Click here to read the article.  You will have to pardon their flare for the dramatic, we don't typically use the word "battlefield" when we describe our teambuilding facility.  Regardless of that, the article was a great way to get the word out about what we offer at BlueSky.

Student Team's Weekend Plans

This weekend the student team is back together after being spread out in 3 places last weekend.  One school had their high school retreat so Jason, Stephen, Andrew, and Daley were all spending time with those students and handling their adventure programming.  Michelle and Kim were in Tanzania participating in a youth worker training with some missionaries in Arusha.  Bryce, Tyler, and Lexi stayed in Nairobi to run the middle and high school events there.

This week everyone is back in town and the student events have shifted into what will be the general format.  They include music, games, door prizes, and skits, which all build on each other and lead into a Gospel centered message.  This week Michelle began by introducing the Character of God.  She answered basic questions like "Does God exist?" and "What is God like?"  The two big takeaways for the kids were 1.  There is only one God.  2.  We are created in His image.

Each week, the message will build on the week before as the team seeks to help the kids to know God.  Our prayer is that the weekly event would be a place where students hear and respond to the Gospel.  Please pray for the student team as they intentionally share with students at the weekly event.

Here are some pictures from the High School retreat!

BlueSky Adventures Enjoys a Busy September

We are thankful to report that BlueSky Adventures is having a very busy September.  July and August are always slow months: schools are out and businesses don't want a day out because it is cold and rainy in Nairobi.  By September we were thrilled to see a full calendar again.  We've had quite a few corporate groups as well as some businesses and NGO's.

Once camp ended in August, Greg Hatcher officially joined the BlueSky Adventures team as the new director.  Greg is a recent graduate from Gonzaga University with a degree in marketing.  He has spent much of his first 2 months working on getting our marketing systems in place.  Greg has a heart for using the business world as his mission field and investing in both clients and staff.  Greg also enjoys working with students and enjoys plugging into the student ministry as he is able.  We are looking forward to seeing BlueSky Adventures continue to grow and develop under Greg's leadership.

Student Staff Focuses on Relationship Building During September

During September our student team focused on laying the groundwork upon which they will build throughout the year.  Although we've had a year round student program for several years, this year things look quite differently.  The team is larger, in more schools, and has shifted away from the youth group model they have been using for quite some time.  Instead they are focusing on one weekly event that will reach kids from a variety of cultures and backgrounds.  Then they will be meeting with smaller groups of kids throughout the week where they will be meeting kids at their point of need.
Since September focused on relationship building, each weekly event focused on activities that would allow our team to mingle with the students.  The most popular event was the dodgeball tournament.  Over 50 high school students came to this event and everyone had an amazing time!  We are so excited to see the energy and enthusiasm that have been building through these weekly events.   Now that the events have been established, in October the weekly events will add a message component that will take shape over the rest of the semester.  You can be praying for the team as they prepare for the upcoming events.

The girl staff took on all of the high school boys, I probably don't have to tell you who won.

The guy staff took on all of the high school girls.  Again, you probably know who won.

Daley gets to know some of the girls in between games.

Daley and Tyler with some of the students.

Jason with some of the kids

Tyler organized the tournament.

Middle schoolers participating in Family Feud style games at a recent event.

Jason helps the guys out

Michelle with some of the middle school girls.