Healing! on the Streets of Kibera

Change of Address

2011-03-28T20:05:00.009+03:00

To anybody following this blog - it's moved. It can now be found at http://www.tptrust.org/blog/hots/ and if you want to follow it, just click on the RSS feed icon at the top of the screen.

Stay with us if you want to read more life-changing testimonies of God's heart for the poor.

Thanks, Jon

Breaking out of the box

2011-03-14T16:52:00.001+03:00

No HotS last week due to the security risks in Kibera, but this week we were back. No Pastor Shadrack, and no Eunice, as they are both recovering from their car accident. So this week, joining Godwill, Emily & myself, we had Judy. It was a first time for her, and it was another great week out on the streets.

Not that there were any dramatic healings this week. Yes, some people came in pain, and left pain-free. But no broken bones were fixed, no eyes were opened, and no skin diseases wiped away in front of our eyes. But that's not what it's about, though it is nice when it happens. What it's about is being a conduit through which God's love can flow to His people, and it's not up to us who comes along.

Up till the last few weeks I had been feeling a little disappointed when somebody wasn't sick, but asked for prayer because they need work. I had felt that praying for God to provide work was somehow less important than for physical healing. But over the last few weeks I've been reflecting a little on that, and realised that part of God's Kingdom coming in Kibera may well be that it becomes a place where people are able to support their own families, because they do have work. So today I was pleased that we had many people coming who needed, and asked for prayer for, work. We had one young man who confessed a desire for a wife, and it was a real honour to pray for God to bring a godly young lady for him to marry, as well as for him to have a job to support her and their future family with. We had another guy come who really wants to stop drinking, but can't do it by himself.

And that's a little bit of what I think God's Kingdom coming in Kibera might look like. Yes, a place where God physically heals people, but not just that. Also a place where God provides for people in all the ways they need Him to. I appreciate this doesn't fit the HotS model, but then I never do like to conform and be boxed in, and I see the model as a starting point, rather than necessarily the final answer.

So with Judy now on board, our small team is slowly growing. With another couple of regulars we could set up in a second part of Kibera too. It was circumstances that forced us to grow the team today, but I believe it was a God-inspired thought to ask Judy to join us. Who else will God bring to us to join in demonstrating His amazing love for His people of Kibera.

Bananas

2011-03-01T13:50:00.002+03:00

Every week is different. Today, for the first hour, we struggled to get anybody to stop. There were plenty of people around, and they noticed us and read our signboard, but most refused to stop. Some of those that did stop chatted briefly then moved on, unwilling to receive prayer for any needs.

In our preparation, we felt the Holy Spirit give us three names, and surprise surprise, none of them were right. However, 2 of the 4 sicknesses we did get, and those people were healed. After last week's broken leg, this week we had someone with a broken arm in a cast, who after prayer was waving his arm around saying it was better.

Most of the last half an hour, I spent with Gabriel who stopped. He was quite clearly drunk, and through the course of the conversation informed me that he was a doctor, a soldier, and a bio-chemist. We were eventually able to pray for him, and then spent a considerable time persuading him to leave, which he would only do after buying a banana for each of the white people on the team today.

Florence came to find us after we'd finished and were back at the centre. Last week we prayed for her hands to reform and grow, and she felt something stirring in her upper arms. Today she came, still without hands, and when we prayed she again felt something happening in her upper arms. Does God feel compassion for her and want to heal her hands – I don't know. If He does, you can be sure it'll feature on this blog.

Anyone need a spare set of crutches?

2011-02-21T16:29:00.000+03:00

Today we had a pro with us, Nick - a pastor from Frome who is involved with HotS in the UK. His son, Ben was also coming onto the team, so today we had a team of seven. Our hour of preparation was great, and we had the opportunity to pray and lay hands on each member of the team.

Once out on the street, under our resurrected shade that provided much-needed relief from the sun, it was another busy Monday. All in all we had 25 people stop for prayer, with a complete range of needs that we could pray for. Many of the people we pray for each week bring a collection of needs - some health-related, some financial, and some family problems. All are important, and we believe that God's Kingdom can come in any and every area of a person's life, so we pray for them all.

A short time after we started I noticed Hesbon hobbling along the street on his crutches. We prayed for him a few weeks ago, after he had broken his knee, and that night was the first night he had been able to sleep without painkillers. Today, as he hobbled along, I went over to him to start chatting, and offered to pray with him some more. He was quite happy, and I grabbed a stool and brought it to him to save him having to struggle to get to us. Fortunately, Ben was just finishing praying with somebody else, so I invited him over to pray with us. After some prayer, we asked Hesbon what he was feeling, and he said the pain was less. After some more prayer he had more mobility in his leg, and gingerly attempted to stand unaided. When he started trying to take some small steps I was getting nervous, and tried to move round so that if his leg gave way he would at least have me to lean on. But I wasn't needed. His leg didn't give way, and he could bend his knee, and walk on the uneven ground, slowly at first, but gradually gaining his confidence as the realisation of healing set in. As that realisation dawned, a smile started to spread across his face - the most wonderful smile I have seen I think. I suggested he take off the thick support bandage he was wearing and try without it. He did, and could fully support himself, and walk normally. I kept asking him if he had any pain, but no he didn't. By now a smile was spreading on Ben's and my face too, as the realisation of what God had done sank in.

Hesbon walked away smiling, waving his crutches around as he didn't know what to do with them. It was another wonderful example of God demonstrating his love for the poor, and of His Kingdom coming in Kibera.

There were other healings too, people who came in pain left pain-free, others said they felt lighter after we had prayed, another lady came with a serious blood pressure problem that made her weak, and after prayer could hold something with a firm grip that demonstrated her strength had returned.

One of the final ladies I had the privilege to pray for, Florence, had no hands - as a result of an accident with fire when she was six years old. My heart cried out to her, and I asked her if I could pray for her hands. As I was praying she said she could feel something in the top of her arms, so we prayed some more. I don't know if I was expecting to actually see new hands form and fingers grow, or what. They didn't, and I don't know if they will. I don't know why they didn't, why God healed Hesbon but didn't heal Florence. Many places in the Bible it says that the sick were brought to Jesus and He healed them all, not just some of them. Maybe when God heals all those who come to us, that will be the time we really start to see God's Kingdom come in Kibera.

A J Day

2011-02-14T12:28:00.000+03:00

Today we had Ginny as our guest, which meant we had enough people to make three teams. And it was just as well as for much of the morning all three pairs were occupied praying for people. Apart from a 10-minute lull towards the end, we had a constant flow of people coming for prayer.

Many today were coming with requests for prayers for work, or difficult financial situations. All in all in our two-hour period we were privileged to pray for 24 people. Several people were reluctant to share about particular needs, but we seemed to be a little better in tune with the Holy Spirit, and were able to prompt some with words of knowledge that then opened the door for people to share.

One lady, with a serious wound on her leg, felt that something was stirring in the wound as we were praying. Another lady, blind in one eye, felt as if her eye was spinning when we were praying, and was beginning to be able to see. The last lady today came with back pain, and after a couple of bouts of prayer it was great to see the smile on her face as she slowly realised that all the pain had gone and she could move freely and easily.

Next week we have a HotS pro with us from Frome, in Somerset (UK), so we are looking forward to that. There are also signs that God may be preparing to expand the team so we can operate from more than one location - we'll see how that develops. This ministry is having a great impact on many people's lives, and in God's timing it will be great to see it expand and impact more people each week.

Why is today a J day? When we were preparing in prayer, four names we felt the Holy Spirit give us began with J. And of the 24 people we prayed for, six of them had names beginning with J.

Screaming worms

2011-02-07T15:30:00.000+03:00

We decided to shake it up a little today, and partnered Emily with Eunice, while Pastor Shadrack was with Godwill and myself, though I found I was able to sit back and watch the others some of the time.

This was also our first week under a sun/rain-shelter, erected by Pastor Shadrack and Ngugi (our caretaker), which provided us with shade for the first hour. Then it began to collapse, and eventually we dismantled it before it collapsed on someone we were praying for. Apparently there is a plan for an improvement to the fixing method in place for next week.

Fortunately, the collapsing shade didn't seem to put people off, and we had a fair assortment of illnesses and needs to pray for. In our preparation time, one of us suggested the name Onyango, and the first lady who stopped was Anyango - close enough for us! And sure enough, God healed her of the pain in her back and leg that she came with.

Nancy came with rib and chest pain. After prayer her chest was better, and after a second bout of prayer her ribs were better too. Dismas had a headache, sore throat, pain in his chest, and itching - and left completely healed. Gladys came with pain in her stomach, and reported that whilst Emily & Eunice were praying for her, she felt the worms in her stomach screaming!

One lady, who was blind in one eye, refused prayer. She sat and talked for a while, but despite our best efforts we could not convince her to receive prayer for healing for her eye. She seemed convinced that we were devil-worshippers, which I suppose is a good reason to refuse prayer, but it was sad that we couldn't convine her of who we really are.

A couple of times today, while we were initially chatting with people, we had words from the Holy Spirit that were specific to those people, to health issues they might not otherwise have shared, and that proved to be accurate words of knowledge. And there was also one guy who for whom I felt sure the Holy Spirit directed me to his right ear, but no amount of cajoling or pursuading on my part could convince him that he had a problem with his hearing - some people eh!

Praying away the rain

2011-01-24T13:03:00.000+03:00

We welcomed Godwill to the team today, so we had a three and a two on the streets praying. While we were preparing, it was raining fairly steadily, and we didn't hold out that much hope for being able to get out. But nevertheless, we prepared, and once again the Holy Spirit provided us with an insight into the types of illnesses He wanted to heal, and he gave us some people's names too.

During the preparation time I felt we should take authority over the weather, and so we did! I've never (seriously) commanded clouds and rain to go away before, and I have to admit that I felt a bit foolish asking the team to join with me in doing so. By the looks on their faces they thought I was losing it, but I'm not that easily dissuaded, so we did. We specifically asked for the window of time from 10-12 to be dry, and we claimed it in Jesus' name. As we were setting up, it was spitting, but a hole appeared in the clouds overhead, and the rain stopped. 10 o'clock came, and it was still spitting a bit, but then it stopped. Over the next 45 minutes, it continued to threaten, and at times was spitting and we wondered whether to call it a day. But we continued to rebuke the clouds, this time standing out in the open and doing so, feeling even more foolish!

But it worked, and just as we finished at 12, and were clearing the stools and sign back up to the project, it rained. For about 1 minute, it rained with such force that you only get in Africa, and I looked at my watch - 12:02.

Last week, God told us in advance that He would be healing eyes. And He did. This week, eyesight problems weren't on the list He gave us, but two people came with problems. One of them also had problems with her joints and her stomach. After prayer the joints were pain-free, and her stomach was better. But her eyesight wasn't. And nor was the other person's eyesight any better. Why, last week, did one person receive sight in a previous completely blind eye, and this week neither person received any healing? I don't know, but God is sovereign, and as His servaant that will do for me.

Even though it wasn't raining, the gloomy weather was keeping people indoors, so we didn't have so many takers today. Those who were out and about were less inclined to stop, and many went past refusing to make eye contact. Those that stopped we gladly prayed for, and saw God's healing. Of the five sicknesses God told us in advance, we met them all, which is encouraging.

However, we're getting worse at hearing names correctly, as this week there were no matches!

The blind see

2011-01-17T14:19:00.000+03:00

In our time of preparation this morning, we felt God tell us He would be healing eyes, asthma, stomach & leg problems. Little did we know...

Fred was our third visitor. He was more intrigued than stopping with purpose, but during chatting we discovered he had stomach pain, and for the past 10 years hadn't seen out of his right eye. Something (I'm not sure what) to do with the milk from a poisonous plant had happened 10 years ago that had caused the sight loss. We offered to pray for healing, but before he would allow us, Fred told us that he wasn't a Christian, and that before we could pray for healing he needed to accept Christ! Eunice wanted to call Pastor over from his team, but I said no, he was needed there, so Eunice led Fred to the Lord. Then we prayed for his stomach and his eye. The sense of the Holy Spirit was ridiculously strong - you could almost see Him all over Fred, it was wonderful. After prayer, we asked Fred how he was feeling. His stomach was better, he said, and he could see a little from his eye. We prayed some more, and he could see a lot more. One more time we prayed, and he could see our faces, and the watch on my wrist. Whilst the healing on his eye wasn't complete, we felt that maybe God would continue that over time, and that our prayer was finished. Fred is one of those people who does not exhibit emotions much, and he left fairly straight-faced, despite the fact that he'd just become a Christian, his stomach was better, and his eye was beginning to see!

Monica and Florence were walking past. Florence didn't want to accept our invitation to come and sit, but Monica did which meant Florence had little choice. They had been walking quite slowly, and Monica told us how all her joints were causing her pain throughout her whole body. After prayer, she told us that the pain had gone. She started to stretch out her arms and legs testing her healing, and told us that the only place where there was still pain was in her neck. We said we'd pray for her again, after we'd prayed for her friend, Florence, who needed prayer for peace in her family. Once we'd prayed for Florence, we turned back to Monica, who told us that now, her neck was completely fine. She had a big smile on her face, and got up with her friend. They asked lots of questions about the church we were representing, and promised to come on Sunday. As they walked off, Monica was almost kicking her legs out sideways and dancing as she tested out her healing - great fun to watch!

About half an hour later Fred came back. He told us that his stomach really was completely better, and lifted up his shirt to show us. We weren't sure how it had looked before, but took his word and his genuine excitement as proof that yes, God really had healed him. We asked about his right eye, and he told us that although he could see it was dark, and not clear. We prayed some more, and when he opened his eye he said it was as if the light had been switched on, and he could count how many fingers Eunice was holding up!

That's just two of today's visitors - there were 16 in all, and many went away instantly healed or touched by God. Others had come on behalf of friends or family, and we trust they will be healed. All in all we prayed for 3 people with eyesight problems, 4 others with asthma, and 1 with a stomach problem - so we heard God corectly about the illnesses He'd bring our way.

However, keeping us nice and humble is the fact that we thought we'd pray for Joyce, Peter Karanja, Elias, Jane & Mary - only one of those was right. So we still have a long way to go in discerning correctly God's voice from the other voices in our heads.

Busy, busy, busy

2011-01-10T12:49:00.001+03:00

Oh yes, it's good to be back. Thanks, Emily, for keeping the blog going since July when I left for the UK and a sabbatical, and although I've enjoyed following the blog, it's nothing like getting involved for real!

This morning was our first HotS of this year, and we decided to change the format slightly. We now meet for prayer from 9-10, during which time this morning we had an opportunity to prepare ourselves through a short time of confession to one another, to invite the Holy Spirit to give insight into illnesses He wanted to heal today, and also to invite him to tell us names of people He wanted to heal today.

Encouragingly, some of the illnesses we got right - though none of the names! However, we think there was something going on with people whose name begins with a 'J', as three of the four of us suggested people with that initial. So when we got a couple of people whose name did begin with a 'J', we prayed for them with more confidence.

We were in our dusty alley from 10-12, and today they definitely came! It was non-stop, and often the couple of stools we had inadvertantly brought down as spares (because we miscounted!) were occupied by people waiting. Many people needed to find work, many were struggling to get fees or uniform for their children or grandchildren to go to school, and many were sick.

One lady came with a lot of pain in her stomach, and a headache. We prayed three times for physical healing and after the third time there was no pain left anywhere. Another lady came at the end with pain in all her joints. It was another gradual process, but by the end she stood up, bent over and touched her toes, and walked away with a spring in her step, pain-free.

We prayed for people with TB, stomach problems, leg pain, eye problems, alcohol addiction, chest problems, asthma, and someone in absentia who is lame. We prayed with power and authority, and received insight from the Holy Spirit and were able to speak directly into people's lives, with words of challenge or encouragement. As ever, it was a privilege, and a humbling experience, and we look forward eagerly to next week!

No sick people

2010-11-22T14:05:00.002+03:00

We had a great time of prayer last Wednesday for the HotS team. We did some warfare prayer knowing there are witchdoctors operating very close to where we pray. We also prayed for each team member individually for more faith amongst other things. We were all very positive after the prayers and feeling very encouraged. Today, we still only prayed with two people. Julia who comes most weeks for prayer as her ear problem still is not healed and for a lady whose husband left her last week leaving her with a baby to look after but no job or income. We spent some time praying for all the people we have prayed with in the past, especially one lady who had a huge growth on her ankle. We heard this week that it was diagnosed as cancer so they amputated her leg below the knee. Please pray for her as she adjusts to this big change.

Today was our last prayer time of 2010 as next week all the team will be busy running holiday clubs for the kids at Turning Point so no posts for a while but we will be back in the new year, with our missing team members back and ready for action!

Ready to change

2010-11-15T16:55:00.002+03:00

Apologies for not posting last week, I was attending a very important conference! We prayed for a few more people this week, some with stomach problems, high blood pressure and one problem that was described as stones in the eye – sounds painful! Our friend July also returned who often stops for prayer for various things. One guy called Jackson wanted prayer to stop drinking, he said he has many problems, his wife has left because of his drinking and he wants to change. We were able to pray with him and encourage him with testimonies and he left in a very positive state.

We are hoping to meet as a team this Wednesday morning to pray together for each other and for the HotS ministry. We are wondering why less people have been stopping for prayer recently and whether we need to change anything. Mostly we just want to spend some time seeking God, His heart and plans for each of us and for the HotS prayer times.

Another quiet one

2010-11-01T14:42:00.002+03:00

We prayed for just three people again today, it is a privilege to pray even with a few people and those few people really appreciate the prayers but we're wondering why the numbers have gone down so much from the first term. We have decided we need to take some time to pray again as a team for the ministry and align ourselves again with God's vision. We hope to do that soon before we hit the streets again.

Rain interrupts play

2010-10-25T15:40:00.000+03:00

Today was the first time that we didn't pray with anyone, It was a rainy morning and we went back inside for a while as we had no umberellas and no-one was likely to stop and sit in the rain for prayer if they were already feeling sick! The sun came out and we returned to our post but still no-one stopped for prayer just to greet us and ask questions.

But I counted we have prayed for around 250 people up to this point so we lifted those people up in prayers again, praying that God would keep on working in their lives.

Pastor/Plumber

2010-10-18T17:21:00.000+03:00

Today we met Leah who was incredibly grateful for prayers for her son, he is four years old but has the body of a two year old, he has never walked and she carries him in a leso (material sheet) on her back like a baby. He doesn't understand much of what is going on but seeing his mum was happy with the prayers he was smiling too.

We went back to Lillian's place to check on her but she had been taken to hospital for more tests on the growth on her foot. Her daughter said there had been no change since we prayed so we prayed again with her. We also prayed with a lady who had lost two of her children, she just did not know where they were and was very worried.

Two young mums shyly asked for prayer this morning for jobs and for peace in their homes, one also had a bad back. It is often humbling to see people responding in faith, however tentatively, to the offer of prayer. We often don't see people again but reading so many verses in the bible where God says that he hears the call of the weak I am confident that He is responding.

One of these ladies' sons kindly broke the water pipe next to us while he was waiting for his mum, flooding the area next to us. Pastor valiantly got soaked putting it back together.

Persistance pays off

2010-10-11T15:49:00.002+03:00

There is a lady who stops to greet us every Monday with a huge smile on her face, today was the first time she sat down for prayer. As she got talking and shared many family problems she started to cry, telling about her husband who drinks too much and how she worries about her children who have all run away to the streets. We prayed with her and she left peaceful and hopefully encouraged having shared her burden and brought it to God.

Later we went to visit Lillian who we have visited a couple of times before. She has a huge growth on the side of her foot, bigger than a tennis ball. It has been operated on several times but it keeps coming back. When she tries to walk it starts bleeding so she is stuck lying on a sack on the floor, there is little she can do. Eunice had a sense that there was some witchcraft involved and felt the Holy Spirit saying we needed to pray against that. So, she called the rest of us in and we did just that. There was no immediate change but we will see what happens.

Judy, the lady with persistent faith, had finally been healed of every problem she came with. It has taken quite a while but one by one God has healed her. She stopped by to let us know so we could celebrate and thank God with her.

I need prayer!

2010-10-04T15:37:00.000+03:00

This week everyone who stopped for prayer had been before or heard of us and knew what we were doing. Emelda sat down and stated 'I need prayer' without even greeting us! We prayed for her headache and cough and she spent a good while just quietly sitting in God's presence. She said she felt very hot and off she went!

Another lady felt pain especially in her knees and again she stayed quiet in prayer for quite a long time, just enjoying a peaceful moment. She said she felt a change as she stretched out her arms and legs testing for the pain.

Judy is a lady of persistent faith, she was coming from prayer weekly before we broke up for school holidays and only just heard we had returned. Originally she had a long list of illnesses for us to pray for, today we just prayed for her ear, the last thing that needs healing. Then maybe she will stop coming!

We also prayed with a couple of ladies who wanted to pray for their husbands who drank changaa, illegal brew, they did not care about their families and would sometimes be violent. One lady said, 'God is good and loves everyone so we need to pray for him'.

Arise

2010-09-28T12:30:00.002+03:00

Pastor and I were the only pray-ers today and we were busy! We prayed for knee pain, a wrist injury, stomach ulcers and skin disease. Two friends asked us for free medicine and walked away when we said we were offering prayers, but they got somewhere down the road and hit a spark of faith, they decided to come back so we prayed for Cornelius' back pain.

Margaret had pain in her knees, back and head which had gone by the end of the prayers, she wanted to bring her child next Monday. I was reading in Psalms this morning that the Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord is on his heavenly throne and he says 'because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise'. And I was imagining the mighty God rising from his heavenly throne on behalf of those we were praying for.

Eunice is ill with pneumonia, Godwill is busy with work, and Florence came late today that's why they did not join us. So please pray for God to protect our team

Nearly missed it!

2010-09-20T18:24:00.000+03:00

There weren't too many people stopping for prayer again today but maybe it will take a while for word to spread that HotS is happening again. This morning thus involved a lot of sitting and waiting. Florence and Eunice were called to pray for someone in their house, they had a growth on their foot and could not walk to our prayer spot.

Another young guy asked very shyly what we were doing, he practically had his back turned to us as he asked. He was expecting us to have some free dawa (medicine) but he was open to prayer too so we prayed for his stomach which has given him pain for a long time.

Just as we were packing up to leave, having waited a good 20 minutes without anyone stopping a lady came and asked us to pray for her. She had several problems including a growth on her throat around the size of a golf ball, a bad cough and chest pain and pain that spread from her back around her waist. The only symptom she was feeling when she sat down was the back pain, when she should up to test it afterwards the pain had gone.

Hopefully that is a step towards a complete healing, we invited her back for more prayer next week. She caught us just in time to go home pain-free! God is good.

HotS Returns

2010-09-13T17:44:00.002+03:00

We returned to our spot in the alley outside the Turning Point compound this week to offer prayer for healing. It was good to be back meeting new people and having the opportunity to listen and share in their struggles with them. This week we only prayed for one ill person directly, otherwise we prayed with people who had children or other family members who were sick in the house or upcountry.

During the break Godwill has been continuing with some ad hoc healing on the streets around his home, some of his neighbours heard about what he was doing on mondays and called him to their house when they had a problem with their knees. The next day after he had prayed he had a call to say the pain was nearly gone.

Wait for me!

2010-07-19T15:34:00.000+03:00

Florence came rushing into the project late this morning, she was determined to join the prayer team so she downed her morning tea and mandazi at a speed which probably made her feel a little queezy. Soon enough she was back out the gate on her way to pray.

The team was somewhat reduced today as I was busy with visitors while Godwill had other work. So Pastor, Eunice and Florence were the only ones. They prayed for people with stomache aches, ear aches and malaria and for a lady preparing for her mother-in-law's funeral.

To be honest I don't know much more about what happened but Florence was very happy to have been on the team when I saw her afterwards. Its very cool to see others get excited about what God is doing and want to be a part of it.

Lucky Lucy

2010-07-12T15:45:00.000+03:00

There was quite a sense of peace today as we prayed, sat and waited to see what God would get up to this week. The HotS model is all about praying gently and operating out of a place of peace. To me it seemed God established an atmosphere of peace from the beginning. Sometimes I feel restless waiting for people to stop but today I was able to be patient.

We prayed for two people with asthma, as well as, blood pressure (I don't know if it was too low or too high, it just wasn't right!), malaria, cancer and a swollen hand. We took the opportunity between patients to pray for friends upcountry in the advanced stages of AIDs

One lady returned for the third week in a row still seeking and believing for healing in her ear and the pain in her side. Hesbon the sausage seller also returned for a chat and for more prayers for his business and family. We also prayed for twin babies Lucky and Lucy, Lucky had a skin problem down the right hand side of her face while Lucy had a nasty cough.

We prayed for a guy a couple of weeks ago who was standing just down the alley from us talking and shouting constantly without making any sense. Though we could not convince him to come for prayer we prayed for him from a distance for deliverance. He walked past us today quiet and calm, certainly a change from last time we saw him.

Learning on the job

2010-07-05T15:25:00.000+03:00

The open sewer running through our prayer spot had been freshly cleared this morning which made the smell particularly pungent, we had to re-order our stools a little so nobody had their feet in sewage but otherwise it was a good morning of prayer. We prayed with around nine people altogether although extras came to find us in the project after we had packed away asking for prayer.

We prayed for those with chest pain, skin disease, hip and joint pain, stomach aches, unemployment and family problems. One single mother came for healing for ulcers, she has no husband and no job or business with which to support her kids, the stress she felt was visible so we prayed for healing and peace and for some way to provide for her kids. Two people returned this week, one lady had less pain in her side after we prayed last week and so asked us to pray again. One man had not seen any change since we prayed and did not want us to pray again.

After praying this week, Eunice was telling us how she often feels tired after doing the HotS ministry because sometimes its like the Holy Spirit in her is fighting with other spirits and she is caught in the middle of the battle. She says she has learnt a lot through doing this prayer, particularly in discerning between spirits and learning to listen to God's voice and guidance. So we continue to learn as we go.

Three types of healing

2010-06-28T22:49:00.000+03:00

The HotS team was mixed up today as Jon and Pastor took a break for the week. Eunice went with Godwill and visiting Beki while Florence and I (I being Emily) prayed together. Godwill was the first customer today with a high temperature and bad headache, after praying the temperature came down although he continued to pray through sniffles for the others that came.

We prayed for people with boils, poor hearing, weakness, and struggling businesses. Several people also stop just to ask what we are doing but don't want prayer. A lady with knee pain felt an instant change as she got up to leave, a lady with chest pain was healed about 15 minutes after we prayed and a lady with neck pain felt a small change but left full of faith for complete healing.

As we pray often you can see a sense of peace on people's faces, today a lady lingered so long just enjoying God's presence I thought she had fallen asleep!

Healing for anyone

2010-06-21T13:23:00.000+03:00

I found myself questioning today whether someone deserved to be healed.

Two ladies were walking past and stopped, and started talking. One of the ladies sat down, and as the conversation progressed, and she started talking about herself, I started judging her. I'm not proud of it, just owning up to it.

What followed, once we began praying for her, was the most obvious experience of the Holy Spirit working on someone right there in front of us that we have seen. She began to sob, then cry out to Jesus. Her crying was almost violent - her whole body was shaking as the sobbing racked her body. Eunice said afterwards that she could feel the Holy Spirit powerfully moving, and that He was causing her to shake too.

It reminded me of the Samaritan woman at the well, and the impact that her meeting with Jesus had on her. We could see and hear this lady meeting Jesus, and we pray that the impact will last.

Apart from that lady, we had the usual range of illnesses and needs to pray for. We were summoned by one person to go to somebody's house who was unable to walk to see us. And we had more reports of healings from previous weeks, and one man who came back for more prayer after an improvement in his condition, but not complete healing.

So today was a reminder for me that God's love is for everyone, that none of us deserve it, and that it is there for us no matter how we live and what choices we make. And sometimes it's easy to judge someone according to my own standards, but unless I have lived their life, I don't really have any right to do that.

Plus it's not my job to judge anyway. It's my job to minister God's grace. And that's for anyone and everyone.

God's sense of humour

2010-06-14T13:26:00.000+03:00

Today God seemed to want to focus on people with unusual names! We were visited by Fernice, Consolata, Ephely, Leonita and Devna amongst others. When I look back to the previous week's record of who we prayed for, and see it's made up of people like Jimmy, Thomas, Ruth & Margaret, I have to wonder about God's sense of humour.

Today was busy – we had people waiting again, the first time for a while. After the customary 30 minutes at the beginning when nobody stopped, we then had an almost constant stream of people needing God's touch on their lives - more than 20 prayed for in this week's 2-hour session. It continues to amaze me how some, especially women, will share openly about what in the West would be considered very personal, and usually embarrassing. Today's list included people with stomach pain, high blood pressure, asthma, painful joints, injuries to heads and necks, menstrual problems, hearing, and eyesight. We also prayed for people's employment and their businesses.

About half way through this morning's session, a troubled young man took up residence a little way down the dirty street, speaking out loudly. Not much of what he was saying made much sense, and it appears from what others said that he has been like this since the post-election violence, in which his parents were killed. We sent Godwill to invite him for prayer but he refused and gradually moved further and further away. As he moved out of sight and sound, we prayed for deliverance and peace for him.

I also discovered this morning that a local witch doctor, Ndanu, lives within a stone's throw of our base for HotS. She walked past us a couple of times, and we invited her for prayer, but she refused our offer. In faith we bound the power that she is using to influence people in the neighbourhood, and prayed that the Holy Spirit would reveal His power to her. I was hoping and praying for an opportunity to pray with her, but she didn't reappear – maybe next week.

Last week we prayed for Godwill, who suffered from asthma and nosebleeds. He hasn't had any asthmatic symptoms since we prayed, and no nosebleeds either.

Compelled to grab

2010-06-07T12:23:00.000+03:00

After today I've only got another 3 Mondays in Kibera before we go to the UK for our annual fundraising jaunt, and then we have a sabbatical until Christmas. How I am going to miss these Monday mornings!

Every week is different, and this week was no exception. One guy who we encouraged to come and sit down told us there was nothing wrong. Whilst we were chatting I was asking the Holy Spirit what we could pray for, and I felt prompted to ask the guy about his feet. Sure enough, he has a cut on one foot that he got about 1 month ago, and that is refusing to heal up. Then he told us about the pain in his back, the need for prayer for his family, and his need for a job. It was as if the Holy Spirit just needed him to get started, and prompted me with the right question for him.

Another lady was walking past, and although busy with one person I noticed her and quietly said to Em to go and get her. She did, and she was happy to receive prayer - she has a badly scarred face from a burn, and has lost the sight in one eye because of it. Pastor Shadrack and Em were able to lay hands on her face, and the lady could feel heat coming while they were praying. Although there was no instant change, we are hoping she comes back to see us next week and to report improvements, and that healing is on the way.

But that's the first time I've felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to actually grab someone for prayer, rather than just waiting for them to stop.

There were other sight issues today that we were able to pray for, and one young girl who came with pain and soreness behind her eyes, and left pain-free after the prayer. It was another great week of seeing God's heart for the poor at work through us. This week we had Godwill on the team again, and next week we hope that Florence will join us once more, which will mean a team of 6.

Roll on next week.

God loves sausages

2010-06-02T22:17:00.000+03:00

I wasn't there this week - I was unavoidably detained at the coast! So this week's update comes from Emily.

We waited a full hour before anyone stopped for prayer today but once one had sat down, several followed. We prayed for people with chest pain, coughs, very swollen glands and skin diseases as well as for some businesses, there were more guys this week than usual including one man who had cut a finger off! It did not grow back but we prayed for the pain to go.

One guy came back to say hi, last week we had prayed for his sausage selling business and his wife and family. He reported that his wife is fine now and he sold all of his sausages, not only that day but everyday since! Before last week he would only sell a few here and there, he said his faith is strong now so we prayed together again that God would keep showing Himself.

Godwill, the Turning Point football coach, stepped up to take Jon's place on the team this week, he said it was a very moving and humbling experience.

Getting better

2010-05-24T12:14:00.000+03:00

Saw the Queen again today - Queen Elizabeth that is (see 10th May blog post). Her ankles are completely healed, so she was coming back for prayer for other needs. Other returners today as well, including Maximilla who two months ago had no sight in her left eye, and through prayer is gradually receiving her sight. She can now see distance, and we continued to pray for complete healing - I told her off for not coming back sooner so we could continue to pray - hopefully we'll see her next week for an update.

A massive privilege today was praying for Sylvester. He's a grown-up street boy, probably now 25. Every day he wanders around with a sack on his back, sifting through rubbish and sewage to get anything he may possibly be able to sell. Grown-up street boys are the outcasts of society here - nobody talks to them, and even the dogs are trained to chase them away. In fact Sylvester had a wound on his leg from a dog bite he recieved recently. We were able to spend a few minutes praying with him, for the wound to heal, for him to get work, and for him to know God's love for him, and his worth to God.

I recognised Sylvester as having walked past on previous weeks. Then I had half wanted him to stop, but half wanted him to carry on. If you could mentally picture someone completely devoid of hope, you'd be seeing Sylvester. But today, by God's grace in me, I was able to genuinely feel some of the love that God has for him, and to pray that he would know that love for himself. It was a privilege to lay hands on and pray for someone whom society would rather ignore, or kick down further into the dirt where they have to live. Surely he is the sort of person that Jesus would have spent time with, would have valued.

In fact, a number of the people who stopped today, we sensed needed prayer for more than what they had asked for. Many needed to know God's love for them, and to know God's power breaking through into their lives. We had physical healings too, and no doubt God is continuing to bring physical healing and restoration to many, but today we were able to go deeper than just the physical, and speak words of affirmation, grace and love into people's hearts.

We had Tom with us, who's been involved in HotS in Inverness for a couple of years now. It was good to speak with him and to compare how we do it differently to them, and he enjoyed the experience of praying in the warmth (!), and of experiencing people just coming and sitting down with their needs, and openly sharing them.

Another great week. Like the people we pray for, it just keeps getting better!

Is anybody sick?

2010-05-17T13:51:00.001+03:00

What a strange week!

For most of this morning's session we were jokingly wondering if God had healed everybody's sicknesses. People were stopping and asking for prayer, but none of them were sick! Today seemed to be about praying for people who need work - which is probably more than 50% of the population of Kibera.

Towards the end of the time we got a few people who were sick, and after we'd packed up and returned to our centre we had three people over the next two hours come and find us and ask if they were too late for prayer, so we prayed for their illnesses. One had damage to his eyesight, and another had growths in her stomach. The third was really coming to report a healing from the previous week's prayer, but also needed prayer for another condition.

So it was a strange week. As humans we like to rationalise things, and come up with explanations and reasons. During this week's HotS I was doing that, and trying to think of why it was different this week, and where all the sick people were. But then I started to see what I was doing, and realised the futility of it. We don't serve a rational God - at least, not rational in human terms. So why should there be a rational reason for why one week is so completely different to the next.

What will next week hold? Only God knows the answer to that question, and I probably don't want to know, and certainly don't need to. We'll make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit, and see who He brings our way. We'll pray for them, and see what He does.

The lady who came to report her healing today also told us that she now has faith and is praying for her friends!

Praying for the Queen

2010-05-10T11:54:00.001+03:00

Oh yes - it's good to be back!

This morning we welcomed Ashley onto the team. She's visiting from the UK where she's a Children's Pastor, and it was great to have her with us. And it was a welcome return to the team for Emily, back from the UK & India.

Even just setting up this morning,we had such a sense of anticipation at what God was going to do - it was so exciting. Actually, setting up sounds a bit grand - it's really just erecting our sign and placing a few stools on the ground to sit on.

After prayer to claim the time, the ground, and the people God wanted to send to us, we sat and waited. Some weeks we have to wait a while before anybody stops, and today it was about 30 minutes, but once the first had stopped, we hardly had a minute without both teams having someone to pray for.

As on previous occasions, some people were interested passers-by, others had come specifically. One lady walked past and saw the sign, went home and brought her teenage son back with her. He had been experiencing pain and weakness in his arms since the start of the year. Today he wasn't at school because of the pain. After we'd prayed for him he said the pain was less, so we prayed some more until he could say the pain was completely gone. We feel confident that God will restore his strength too, but the relief of pain was immediate.

There was also a lady who came with a rash on her arm, and pain in her arm. She was instantly healed too. And another lady with pain in her ankles whenever she stood up. She sat down, we prayed, and she stood up pain-free!

We prayed for people with back pain, colds, bleeding, stomach pain, gynae problems, TB, and a broken leg. We prayed for people who are out of work and desperately trying to find jobs so they can care for their family. We prayed for healing & freedom for a couple of men who are alcoholics, and who have lost their families because of their alcoholism.

One of the lady's we prayed for introduced herself as Queen Elizabeth - no joke! She was born in 1952 and was named by her parents after the Queen. She went away healed.

Once again we witnessed the love that God has for the people of Kibera in action, and felt privileged to be a part. Roll on next Monday!

It's not just for the poor

2010-05-03T11:08:00.000+03:00

We were due to start up again today - unfortunately I'm sick and the two Kenyans on our team are a bit too busy with it being the first day of the project reopening after the Easter break. So instead of updating on HotS, I thought I'd update on someone I had the privilege of praying for after church a couple of weeks ago, let's call him Adam.

Adam had been experiencing a lot of pain on the right hand side of his chest and abdomen, and the doctors were baffled. In the ministry time after the service Pastor Doug asked a lady and myself to pray for him. We talked a little first, then began praying. We could sense the Holy Spirit with us as we prayed, and took authority over the condition and commanded it to come out. After a while of praying we asked Adam what he was feeling, and he could feel the Holy Spirit at work. I had a sense that something had to be pulled out from Adam's right hand side, and repositioned myself so I could concentrate on that area. Now it might seem weird - it did to me - but I felt that I needed to mime pulling something like a rope from his side, in a sort of tug-of-war style. I was a little hesitant to do this, especially as we were at the front of church and there were still many people there. But nevertheless, and feeling a bit of an idiot, that's what I started to do, praying whilst I was pulling this imaginary rope from Adam's side. At the end of the prayer time we asked Adam how he was feeling, and he said that the pain levels were coming down.

I didn't see him again till yesterday, and I approached him to see how he is now. He informed me that he's completely better, that there is absolutely no pain, and that God had really taught him some stuff through the sickness and healing process.

It's great that God healed Adam, but I felt a little sad that the healing needed to be justified by God teaching him through this time. And I said, "Maybe God healed you just because He wanted to heal you, not because He wanted to teach you anything".

We do like to rationalise God, but I think the Bible points to a God who is completely irrational, from a human perspective, and does things His own way, for His own reasons - and often just simply because He loves us and we ask.

No more till May

2010-03-29T12:12:00.002+03:00

Another week, another Monday, and another opportunity for people in Kibera to experience God's love for them through His healing power.

And it was another busy week, with more reports of healings from previous weeks. One lady that we prayed for last week was so grateful for the healing she received that this week she came with a thank offering of money - needless to say we pointed out that the healing ministry is free, and she went away even happier!

Maximilla has a serious problem with her left eye, and last week came for prayer. Last week she couldn't distinguish anything through her eye, now she can see light and dark. We prayed that God would continue the healing He has started.

Other prayers this week were said for diabetes, toothache, healing from burns, chest problems, malaria, sore rashes, reuniting of families, one lady with an alcoholic husband who regularly beats her, and a few who need employment. Some of these people had tried doctors, clinics, and various different medications without any improvement, some came to us deliberately, others were attracted by the offer of something for free. All received prayer, and we believe the Holy Spirit was with us once again, and even now is healing those we were privileged to pray with.

I'm still fasting on a Monday, and plan to continue as I'm still enjoying it, and find I am more spiritually aware on a Monday than on other days! However, last night I woke up in the night, with the words in my head "you are released from your fast". It was as if God was saying to me "you fasted when I asked you to fast, and now I'm releasing you". So now it's a personal choice, rather than something I feel God is compelling me to do.

The Turning Point project closes for the Easter break this week, so our HotS ministry will take a break too. We are excitedly looking forward to May 3rd when we'll be back out there, and Emily will be back with us, and we can be witnesses to God's heart in action for the poor of this world.

So, to God be the Glory, great things He has done!

Breakthrough!

2010-03-22T12:26:00.003+03:00

What a morning! Last week we had been sat waiting, waiting, waiting for people to come, and it seemed as if there was a spiritual barrier preventing people from even showing any interest.

This week, the complete opposite. There was hardly a moment when one of the groups wasn't involved praying with someone, and a lot of the time both groups were busy, and I was noticing people walking by and slowing down to see what was going on - this while I was attempting to hover between Pastor Shadrack and Eunice as they were praying - come back Emily!

Once again, we had people coming back reporting healing, and all told we had 15 visitors in our two hour stretch, and were able to pray for them and a variety of their family members who were sick. And, me being an Arsenal supporters, I was very pleased and privileged to pray for a young boy called Arshavin. This week's list of illnesses included malaria, typhoid, stomach ulcers, colds, boils, asthma, alcoholism, boils, fertility, eyesight, painful legs, pain & growths in mouths... I could continue.

We also prayed for employment for people desperate to find a way of supporting their family - one man was actually on his way to an interview and stopped for prayer. Today it was a privilege again, but it was also very exciting! All the team had a very real sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and I think our confidence and faith is growing. One lady came with an obvious eye problem, but wasn't asking us to pray for it - she'd come back to report healing from her first visit to us. But I felt I really wanted to pray for her eyesight, so asked specifically what the problem was with her eye, and if we could pray for healing. I'm hoping to see her next week, and that she can clearly see me!

Next week will be our last HotS session until May, as the project closes for the Easter holidays. And then in May we'll be restored to full strength with Emily returning - we're still praying for God to bring more to join us, and this morning is the first morning that we could have prayed for more had we had a larger team. No doubt, in God's timing, we'll have more helpers.

And just as I was about to sign off for this week Francis came through the door of the office in Kibera. He's the man who was going for an interview this morning, and he was coming to report that he'd got the job - praise God muchly!

I'm not a great advert for HotS this week

2010-03-15T13:00:00.003+03:00

Another Monday, another 2 hours sat by an open sewer in Kibera, with people milling around going about their daily business. This week a local man decided to clear out the sewer a bit, as it was so blocked that it was preventing anything running down. This entailed raking out clumps of rubbish and sewage, and leaving piles at intervals along the edge of the sewer. It did improve the drainage, certainly, and for a few minutes I was grateful that I was so bunged up with cold that I couldn't effectively smell much!

However, being bunged up with cold isn't a great advert for a Healing ministry. Smiling weakly at people walking by whilst blowing one's nose repeatedly in front of a large sign proclaiming 'Healing' is a little ironic. The team did pray for me, but my nose continued to think it was in training for a marathon.

So, apart from me, we only had 3 takers this week. One mum with her 2 year old daughter who she was taking to a clinic. She had a persistent cough that we prayed for. Another mum came that we know because one of her children is in the TP Mashimoni project. She's a single mum with a lot of problems and issues, and we're fairly certain she's HIV+. She had a bad cough, which may well have been the signs of TB, and she asked for prayer for healing for it. She didn't want prayer for anything else, but if God heals her cough then maybe she'll come back for healing prayer for some of the other problems she experiences.

And the last lady was a repeater from last week. She'd come with her daughter who last week had painful boils on her bottom. we prayed last Monday, and by Friday they had completely disappeared - from memory she'd been suffering with them for a couple of months at least. We were also able to pray about the mum's marriage, as she suspects her husband has been looking elsewhere. It must take quite some courage to open up and admit something like that, and once again, it was a huge privilege to pray for her.

So once again, we have been witnesses to the healing power of the Holy Spirit at work in Kibera. It may not be as dramatic as Peter & John, but God is reaching people at their point of need, and they are acknowledging it as Him. Awesome!

Positive to Negative?

2010-03-08T12:11:00.003+03:00

Our God is an Awesome God!

Praying again this morning - this time without Emily as she's on her way back to the UK for a few weeks. We weren't quite sure how the dynamics would work without her, but decided that I'd attempt to hover in between Pastor Shadrack and Eunice, and join in with them.

For 45 minutes we sat with nobody requesting prayer. Several people stopped, some even sat down, to ask about what sort of 'healing' we were offering, but people seemed reluctant to accept our offers to pray for them. We had a couple of ladies stop with more encouraging reports of healing from our praying last week, saying they are 'completely better'.

But slowly things changed. One of the first people we prayed for had suspected lung cancer, found it hard to breathe at times, and the medicine he was getting from the hospital wasn't helping at all.

Another lady came on behalf of her and her husband, who were both diagnosed HIV+ in December. I was wondering whether my faith was big enough to pray that her status turns negative, but I needn't have worried. She announced that although her husband has been taking anti retro-viral medication, she isn't as she expects God to heal her. It was a privilege to pray for her, and we asked her to get another test done so she can see if God has healed her. And if God has healed her, to tell any HIV+ friends she has to come for prayer too.

We prayed for people suffering from allergies causing rashes all over their body, pain all over, problems with painful feet, a young child with boils on her bottom, a lady up-country with a severely swollen leg that the family can't afford the cost of treatment for, a lady in hospital with complications following the stillbirth of her baby, marital problems, and unemployment. The man who came needing employment was one of the ones who had stopped to chat earlier, but hadn't been brave enough to ask for prayer then. It was an hour later that he returned and sat down again, and this time told us about his family and how he can't provide for them.

Once again, it was a privilege to pray for them all, and we eagerly anticipate next week.

Getting wet for Jesus

2010-03-01T11:33:00.002+03:00

And not just wet, but cold as well. But what a privilege again!

Two people came back to report healing and thank us, and we were able to thank God with them for the healing. One lady came last week with high blood pressure, 170 over something, and after two days it was down to 150, and by the end of the week was down to 130. We prayed for it to continue coming down to a normal level.

We prayed for people with cancer, blindness in one eye, stomach problems, malaria, leg pain, a baby who is brain-damaged due to oxygen starvation at birth, infertility, allergies affecting eyes, chest pain, others with eye problems, and for employment opportunities for those struggling to support their families. All this in two hours.

It was incredible to be standing or sitting in the rain, and to know that God was with us, and His Holy Spirit was at work. Many of those we prayed for told us of strange feelings they experienced whilst we were praying - one lady said she just wanted to shake all over when we were praying for her. God was definitely at work amongst the poor today!

I'm still shaking, but that's from standing outside in the rain for two hours!

Today was the last HotS with Emily for a while, as she's off to the UK and then on holiday. So unless God brings someone else our team will be down to three. How we'll work that I'm not sure - I may try and hover between Pastor and Eunice, going to pray where I think I may be of more use. Or we may just have one team of three. We'll see how we sense God's leading before next Monday.

Emily says she's going to miss watching people meeting with God in the middle of the slum.

Week 2

2010-02-22T12:40:00.002+03:00

I must think up more imaginative titles for this blog.

Since last week's HotS three people have come to find us and tell us they've been healed. And at this morning's session one of the ladies we prayed for last week came back to thank us, and to tell us that her child who had been having nightmares repeatedly is now sleeping peacefully, and her 18 month old who hadn't previously walked had started walking the day we prayed. She had also been the victim of a violent robbery recently, and we were able to pray for peace, and also for the return of her stolen belongings.

Another lady we prayed for today, Elizabeth, had been living with pain in her knees and back, and unable to bend her knees much. After prayer, when she said she felt "heat and cold water" running down her legs, she was able to squat from standing - something she couldn't have even attempted before.

We had a couple of brave men who stopped for prayer today as well - last week it was just ladies. Others included people suffering from high blood pressure, where medication wasn't having any effect, malaria, stomach and head pain, and others.

The time flew by today, and before we knew it we were packing up for this week. I probably should have asked for prayer from the team myself, as I've got some sort of viral bug that's going round which is making me very tired, and I found it hard to concentrate this morning. But fortunately God doesn't need me to be with it, just to be available, and I was able to be that.

There were many people, like last week, who stopped to see what we were doing, but who didn't come for prayer. But the word is spreading, and those who were healed last week have been telling others. We prayed, once again, for God's victory in Kibera, and that it would become a place where God is glorified, and He is Lord.

Unfortunately, the other pastors who have been involved in some or all of the training don't seem to be sticking with it - one turned up at the end last week, and this week none of them came. So it's just the four of us, and with Emily going back to the UK two weeks today, she's only got one more session she'll be here for until May. We need to pray that God would build a team of people to run with this, and to see it expand into other parts of Kibera. And that we would recognise the people of His choosing for the task.

The more the merrier as they say.

Week 1

2010-02-15T13:56:00.006+03:00

There we were, sat on little wooden stools, an open sewer running next to us, flies landing on us continuously, in the heat of the day, with the dust blowing into our eyes. There aren't many places on earth where physical poverty is more in evidence than there, in the heart of Kibera. And this morning God was there, and it was quite literally awesome to be included as a witness to it.

So many places in the Bible it talks about God's heart, or concern, for the poor. And this morning, that's what we saw. It was an amazingly humbling experience, a real privilege to be a part of, and a day I will long remember.

For two hours the four of us (Emily & Pastor Shadrack, Eunice & myself) were available to pray for people. And they came - we prayed for people suffering from all kinds of infirmities, some who were experiencing abuse, some who had exhausted their meagre finances on dodgy clinics and were no better for it, and all open to experiencing the power of God in their lives. At 12:00 when we were due to finish we had a queue of people waiting, and we had to continue till 12:20 to clear the backlog. All in all, 16 people with direct healing requests were prayed for, and many of them could feel the Holy Spirit on them, through them, in them, as we prayed.

There was suspicion at first, many people wondering what we were all about, unbelieving that it was free, and one even thought we were a mobile health clinic! But after the first one or two accepted the offer of prayer, and people could see there wasn't anything sinister going on, and that we didn't demand payment from them (something that many 'Christian healers' do here) their confidence grew. Some engaged us in conversation, before heading off on an errand, promising to return on their way back. Others walked past unwilling to make eye-contact, but obviously interested in what was on offer. Others just came and sat down on one of the available stools to chat and pass the time of day.

But through all of these came the ones who God wanted us to pray for. We had one lady openly breatfeeding her child whilst she was being prayed for (bet that doesn't often happen in Coleraine), and others who were so open with us when discussing their problems, with nowhere else to turn. The Holy Spirit was moving on these people as we prayed for them, and we believe He began the healing process in them at that time. It's funny to think that now, a couple of hours or so later, people will be realising they have been healed, and hopefully going and telling their friends about what God has done for them.

Could this morning have been any more encouraging for us as a team? I suppose if a one-legged person had come and we'd seen his missing leg grow, then yes. But maybe that's for next week!

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!

2010-02-08T15:54:00.003+03:00

So, today we were in Kibera, me hungry again. TP's Pastor Shadrack was feeling very poorly, and none of the other pastors turned up. So our team was down to three, and because of this we decided just to pray for some people at the project, instead of going out and identifying a suitable site.

First we offered to pray for Pastor Shadrack. He has been sick for over a week, and the clinic he attended didn't know what the problem was. He was suffering from a bad headache, aching joints, and exhaustion. As there was Eunice, Emily & myself able to pray, we each took one thing. Em started with the headache, Eunice went on to the aching joints, and I finished with the exhaustion. After the prayer Pastor informed us that the headache had gone completely while we were praying - he'd had it for over a week so was very happy. We told him to go home and rest, and said in confidence that he'd be fine when he woke up the next day.

Then we called in Moses, who we'd previously prayed for two weeks ago. He had a very sore back, was often in a lot of pain, and sometimes couldn't really walk very well. We got ready to pray some more for him, but then he told us that he didn't want us to pray, as his back was "totally different", he was in no pain, and just wanted to thank God for his healing. We invited him to pray a prayer of thanks to God for that, which he did.

Then we prayed again for Eunice's back, and Emily's eyes, and passed on things we felt the Holy Spirit was saying which was great.

Then we finished, and Eunice received a call from Pastor Shadrack. He informed her that he wasn't going to take any of the medication he'd been given by the clinic this morning. When she asked why, he told her that it was because he hadn't even got to his home, and he felt completely better!

So roll on next week for more prayer, and maybe getting out there onto the streets!

Sheila

2010-02-02T12:45:00.000+03:00

Just been praying with Em and Eunice for Sheila - just over 1 year old, the 3rd of triplets, who is far behind the development of her sisters. She can't yet sit, and her body doesn't seem to grow - stick thin legs and arms, and always with her hands in tight fists.

It was a privilege to pray for her. Now it's up to God whether or not He heals her.

Not disappointed

2010-02-02T11:16:00.001+03:00

We were prevented from training today by sickness and unavailability of the pastors. So we've rearranged the session for next Monday, and I've been praying for protection for the pastors that God wants involved, and telling Satan he has to leave them alone.

Also been claiming Kibera for Jesus, and asking Him to prepare the hearts of those He wants to touch through the HotS ministry. And praying for an outpouring of His Holy Spirit with healing power on those He is bringing to be involved.

Somebody asked me if I was disappointed that this morning's training hadn't happened. I thought about it, and realised that as I am just God's servant here, doing His will, I wasn't disappointed. If this was all my plans and ideas, then I guess I would be. But it's not, and it would feel a bit odd to be disappointed for God!

Instead, I've viewed it as another opportunity to pray and commit this ministry to God, asking again that His will be done, for His glory.

After all, it's all for Him, and it will happen in His time, with His choice of people. So I continue to be excited, and no, I'm not disappointed.

Alien Praying

2010-01-26T21:08:00.003+03:00

A good training session today. Four pastors plus Eunice, Emily & myself. After reviewing the teaching briefly, we then plunged in with some practical trials. Two of the pastors watched as they hadn't been at the last training, and the others of us split into two groups - Pastor Shadrack, Pastor Alex & Emily in one group, Eunice and myself in the other.

We had four guinea pigs, so opportunities for four of us to take the lead in the praying. It was very interesting to see different people at different levels of comfort with the style of praying - some more able to be patient, others needing to fill space with words. But we had a great time, and two of the people we prayed for could feel the Holy Spirit at work on the areas we were ministering to.

We'll be training again next week - too many of us are still having to refer to the notes to try to make sure we don't forget stuff! Also next week I think we'll be looking for a suitable venue in Mashimoni.

All in all a very encouraging and exciting day - everyone seems very enthusiastic, and willing to learn and grasp this new style of praying, however alien it may feel to them. In time it will become more natural no doubt, but at the moment it's great just to see their desire, and their shared heart for the people of Kibera.

I feel privileged to be involved with them all.

Shrieking demons!

2010-01-18T14:30:00.003+03:00

So we were due to do some more training this morning, but vehicle problems have prevented us. Rescheduled for next Tuesday, so the impetus will continue. I'm thinking that we'll hopefully get out on the streets of Kibera for the first time on 1st Feb - two weeks today.

I've been reading in Acts about how after Stephen died, Philip went and started preaching, and demons were shrieking as they came out. Did some more 'claiming Kibera prayer for God' today and was taking authority over Satan and sending him out of Kibera - obviously not in any of my own power, but it's great to know that he's already lost the battle, and that if we are standing with Jesus we have His authority and can basically order Satan or one of his demons to flee, and they have to obey.

I'm praying for that sort of power in Jesus' name in Kibera - whether it be through the HotS or some other means - but that Kibera would become a place that is known for Jesus, that it would be a place where people know the freedom that comes through knowing Jesus, and where Satan would have no more strongholds, but where he would know he has no place.

Now that would be a different Kibera! Am I being naive? Do I really think that my prayers, together with the prayers of a few pastors and others, can have that impact? I wonder whether the first apostles also had these sorts of questions? Did they doubt a person would be healed when they declared it? Did they fear taking authority over demons and casting them out, afraid of what the demons may do to them?

We're not told about the apostles having doubts, but they were human, so I imagine they did at first, but maybe after a few instances of taking authority they started to get confidence in God's power, and in their own ability to hear and discern God's voice telling them who to zap, and who not to. The healing of the man who went 'walking and leaping' by Peter and John I find interesting because I wonder, 'what was different that day?' They had walked past this man on countless other days, and not healed him. Why that day? I can only conclude that they discerned that it was on that day that God wanted to heal him, and on previous days He hadn't! Why? Only God knows.

And only God knows what'll happen when we start praying for people in Kibera on Feb 1st.

Clean hands

2010-01-12T20:26:00.001+03:00

So, we went through the teaching on the 'Healing on the Streets' prayer ministry model. Some laughs, which always helps, but the guys seem to have grasped some of the main differences between this method and how they usually do prayer ministry - lots of volume and lots of preaching.

We had a practice on one person which went well - no amazing healing to report, but it was great to see they'd taken the teaching on board. They struggled a bit to keep their eyes open when praying, but even I find it a bit unnatural to talk to God whilst looking at others.

All in all a very positive time, and the preparations continue. Banner should be ready in the next few days, stuff to give to people we've prayed for has been identified and is readily available, and we've got another teaching / practice session lined up for next Monday.

After that it's the real thing. Exciting, and I think I've made up my mind that I will be involved, rather than just supporting from the sidelines. I guess that means I'll be getting my hands clean?

My fasting is not slowing

2010-01-04T12:42:00.003+03:00

So, attempting to do training on the first day back after the Christmas and New Year break was not one of my better ideas. One pastor turned up 1 hour late, the others haven't shown yet. Consequently we have postponed the training till next week.

And that gives me more time to reconsider what I'm reconsidering, that is my decision that I and Emily shouldn't be personally involved in the Healing in the Streets ministry. I have been feeling that my decision may have been based on worldly wisdom, rather than it being what God wants. I've been feeling again that God wants me to be personally involved, rather than just supporting on the sidelines. Much as I would like to, I continue to argue with myself about why I should need to be involved. But maybe that's asking the wrong question. Yes, God can do it through Kenyans. Of course He doesn't need me to be involved. But maybe He wants to bless me by allowing me to see God working powerfully at first hand, through me?

Having fasted every Monday since the start of September, I had a break last Monday when we were away for a few days in Naivasha, and I ate. Interesting - I missed fasting. I'm not quite sure exactly what I missed about it, but my week felt different, not having fasted. And I was keen to get to today so I could fast again.

Having never fasted before, I find I'm still enjoying it, and I feel much more spiritually aware and alive on the days and weeks when I have fasted.

So my weekly fast continues.

God delights in me!!

2009-12-14T13:19:00.000+03:00

Praying for the people of Kibera again today: for God to send those He wants to heal; for God to continue to prepare the pastors on the team for their role; for the practicalities of the right site from which to operate; for God's Kingdom to come in Kibera; for God to be glorified through the HotS ministry; telling Satan he has no place in Kibera and that its people are covered by the blood of Jesus; for God's peace to flood Kibera; for freedom for the people of Kibera from all the things that have bound them; and there was probably more.

Looked at Isaiah 61, as poverty is a form of bondage that people need to be freed from, and God promises freedom for captives. Through healing and freedom, we long to see the whole of Kibera transformed into a place that is known as somewhere that God is glorified, where His peace reigns, where no witchdoctor can practice, where there is hope despite the poverty.

This week I'll be adapting the HotS training manual into something that hopefully will fit in the Kenyan culture. Then on 4th Jan we'll meet with the pastors and go through the training with them, and maybe practice a little on each other, or on some willing guinea pigs. Once that's done it'll be time to do it for real.

I had a wobble a couple of days ago when I started wondering if God would turn up when we do this, and I read Psalm 147. Verse 10 says 'the Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love'. And I thought, isn't it great how God uses the Bible to encourage us with the right words at the right time. My wobble lasted no more than 5 minutes before I had reassurance that God was delighting in me because I was putting my hope in Him and His love for the people of Kibera.

What better reassurance could there be than to know that God is delighting in me - nothing else matters!

Godly egg

2009-12-07T13:12:00.005+03:00

Yesterday's sermon was apparently about waiting. I wasn't around to hear it as I was teaching one of the kids' groups, but Jo reflected some of it back to me. I suppose the last few months have been a time of waiting, but not in an inactive way. It has all been about preparation, getting ready for what God is going to do.

It's been an exciting few months, and I have greatly enjoyed praying and fasting for Kibera, and for God to pour out His healing on the people of Kibera. But now the time of waiting and preparing is coming to an end. We are now only a few weeks away from when we will first offer the 'Healing on the Streets' ministry, and I've got no idea what's going to happen! Will the pastors involved follow the teaching? Will people come for prayer? Will anybody get healed? Will God turn up?

Much as I have the questions, I also have a deep sense of peace that whatever happens, I have been obedient to the part I believe God has called me to play in this. I believe that God really wants to bless the people of Kibera, and that Kibera will become a place where God is glorified, and will no longer be subject to the many evil influences and practices that go on there today. Yes, there will still be poverty, but there will be a spiritual richness, depth and wholeness displayed by more and more people as they are healed by Jesus, and as they come to experience the depth of His love for them.

So if I've got it right, God will be glorified. If not, then maybe I'll end up with egg on my face - but it will be godly egg!

A Lighter Me

2009-11-30T13:23:00.002+03:00

Due to Holiday Clubs in Kibera, this week's blog isn't particularly related to our preparations for the healing ministry. But I wanted to blog something that I feel was significant for me that I experienced last night.

The title of my blog - a lighter me - is not a reference to my weekly fast, although that may be a side effect, I don't know. However, last night I realised I was struggling to let go of an issue that had really been troubling me, and was starting to eat away at me. The theme of yesterday's service in church was 'surrender', and I realised I needed to surrender this issue to God, but was not sure how to achieve that. It's not that I don't understand the concept of surrender, and leaving things with Christ, it's just that I find it's all too easy to say the words, earnestly meaning them, and then as I finish my prayer to unintentionally pick the things up again and continue on, no lighter than before! So I was thinking and praying about this last night, and I found myself in Psalm 143, which is another cry for help from David when he's in trouble. I was struck by verse 5 in particular, when David says "I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done". It struck me that if I could bring my issues before Christ, then think about the times in my life when He's been with me, helping me, guiding me etc, maybe that would help me to focus on just how capable He is of sorting out my issues, and so enable me to finish my prayer, and turn away, without picking them back up again.

So, did it work? Yes it did. I was able to leave what had really been nagging at my mind, and increasing my stress levels, completely with God. I slept peacefully. Even today, when I've thought again about the issue, it's with a lightness of spirit. It's almost as if, even if I wanted to, I couldn't now pick up that issue and shoulder the burden of it myself again. I've truly been able to hand it over, and it's not my concern, or mine to deal with any more.

And all because I took my cue from David, and when in trouble I remembered the times God had been faithful to me, and in that spirit I handed over my present concerns and walked away without picking them up again.

So I am a lighter me - praise God!

Team formation

2009-11-23T12:48:00.006+03:00

Exciting day! We now have a team of local Kibera pastors, who all seem to be enthusiastic to work together for God's glory. They are Pastors Shadrack, Patrick, Alex, Jane and Justus.

Because of schools finishing this week, and the holiday clubs running for the next two weeks, we won't get together again until Jan 4th, but they are all very keen, and we finished today with a great time of prayer for each other. They will all spend time during the next few weeks praying and preparing themselves for this new ministry.

Some of them will struggle with the Healing on the Streets (HotS) model I'm sure. Some will naturally want to preach, or to pray in ways that don't fit the model. But we'll do some training with them, and some practicing, and then it'll be time for the real thing.

HotS is a very gentle form of healing ministry, and certainly focuses everything on God. So rather than praying long forceful and loud prayers for people, it's more about simply inviting the Holy Spirit to come, and gently but firmly commanding any sickness to go, in Jesus' name. In other words, it's not a naturally Kenyan way of praying!

All the pastors agreed that it would be better to start without any wazungus (white people) so that God and not us will be what attracts people to come. So that means our training on 4th Jan will need to be thorough. Maybe after some time we'll be able to join in too, but not to start with. We'll also try to get hold of a 'Why Jesus' pamphlet equivalent in Kiswahili that we can give to people who've received prayer, and although that's a part of the HotS model, it was suggested by one of the pastors today before I'd had a chance to say it.

Many of them will be fasting for the whole week of Jan 4th. As for me, I don't know - I definitely want to continue the daily fast once per week that I'm doing now, and I'll probably try and extend it that week. It won't be a bad idea after the excesses of Christmas anyway!

Although my fast will continue, these blogs may be erratic over the next few weeks. But stay with me for what I'm sure is going to be an exciting 2010!

Hope in the lament

2009-11-16T10:47:00.000+03:00

Lamentations. I suppose the title gives it away really - there's not much optimism in there.

However, I like the first half of chapter 3, and can relate to the man of verse 1. He catalogues all the horrors that have happened to Jerusalem, and then in verses 21 - 24 stands on the hope there is in God's faithfullness.

That's where I am. I have witnessed, and continue to witness, the despair and depravation in Kibera, YET I'm standing in faith expecting that God will show mercy and bring healing and hope to the people of this place.

And I'm not standing alone. We now have a small group of pastors joining us today for the first time, all desiring to see God move in power here in Kibera. Today I've got man flu, so I haven't been able to physically join with them, but I'm there in spirit, and it's exciting to know that others are catching the vision.

Next week we will be joining hands together as we continue to break down the strongholds of Satan in Kibera.

I'm glad I'm on the side that's already won!

Getting nervous

2009-11-09T12:22:00.000+03:00

Starting to read Lamentations today, as part of my preparations. I've only looked at chapter 1 today, but there are already many similarities between the people living in the ruins of Jerusalem and those living in Kibera. For example, v 11: 'All her people groan as they search for bread; they barter their treasures for food to keep themselves alive.' For many mums in Kibera, you could change treasures for bodies.

Kibera is a place full of every kind of depravity, full of destitute and desperate people, a place of much darkness. I long to see the light of God shining brightly here, and I believe that through God's healing power, His glory will be revealed in Kibera, and the darkness will begin to be pushed back.

I've also been praying about my role in all of this, and am beginning to think it may be to train and equip local pastors in the 'Healing on the Streets' model, and then to release them into this type of ministry. But I'm not sure yet, so will continue to seek God's guidance on this. It could just be that as the time approaches to start something, I'm conveniently finding myself a way out of being on the front line? Although I'd actually enjiy being involved, so I don't know. I'm also not sure if me being a mzungu (white person) will send the wrong message if I'm involved hands on - ie that God works through the whites, and that isn't a message I'd want to be conveying, even by accident.

So, I think the time has come to begin to get a group of pastors together to be a part of this. Pastors who can catch the vision, and who can commit to being a part of it, including the training, and a regular weekly healing ministry time. And once we're trained and equipped, it'll be up to God to turn up in power. And for us to deflect all the glory back to him. Sound simple, but as the time gets nearer, I find I have more voices in my head expressing doubts that what we're thinking of is really of God. So I'm having to just put my shoes of faith on, and walk blindly on, trusting that God is leading me.

But I am a little nervous!

What's my name?

2009-11-02T13:18:00.000+03:00

Today is the first Monday since starting this weekly fast that I haven't really wanted to do it. Doesn't help that I'm tired, and feeling a bit under the weather. And I feel HUNGRY!!!

Nevertheless (good word that) I am choosing to persevere. Today, I've been reading about the account in Genesis of Jacob wrestling with God. Good stuff though I don't think anyone is that clear on what is actually going on. But it's certainly a lesson in perseverance. Jacob refused to let go, even though his hip had been dislocated, until God answered his prayer and blessed him.

It makes me wonder whether I should do an 'all-night' prayer session - though the idea has no appeal, and I wonder how I'd stay awake! I suppose Jzcob couldn't really fall asleep as his all-nighter was very active and physical. Maybe I could no an all-night prayer walk in Kibera, but unfortunately it's too dangerous at night to consider that seriously.

So maybe, for me, the lesson to be learnt here is not about praying all night. Maybe it is about perseverance, about not giving up on a day when I'm not 'feeling' so enthusiastic about fasting, but demonstrating to God that I am serious about this, and that I will persevere, no matter what. Jacob certainly did, and received the blessing of God in return for his persistence.

What will I get in return for mine? My honest desire is to see God's Kungdom come in Kibera. To see the people there set free from the chains that bind them to poverty - and many of those chains are spiritual. So for deliverance, and for healing, and through this to see God glorified through the testimony of His transformational power at work there.

Jacob was blessed by being given the name 'Israel' - Prince with God, or he strives with God, or may God persevere.

If I could choose a name for me, it would be something like 'he sees God's power and love for those who have been forgotten'.

The Glory of God

2009-10-26T12:56:00.000+03:00

The concluding chapter of Piper's book today. Why does God reward fasting. Piper's view is because ultimately it is demonstrating a reliance on God, which must bring glory to God, and that is what God is all about - bring glory to himself.

I'm not sure where I am with this view, but there is enough evidence in history to prove that fasting is rewarded by God to believe that my fasting for the people of Kibera will too be rewarded. How it is rewarded is not for me to say. So whether or not God brings his healing to the streets of Kibera, or he rewards my fast in some other way, and maybe even a way I never see, I still believe it will be rewarded.

So, where do I go from here? Next week I may review my notes on Piper's book, or maybe I'll look to the Bible for inspiration - I don't know. This fast has so far been a time of preparation fir me, and I'm not sure when I'll know i'm fully prepared, or at least as prepared as God wants me to be. If I'm too well prepared, I guess I may be tempted to try to do stuff in my own srrength, a course of action that is doomed to failure, and that I do not want to take, as it will bring NO glory to God.

But I think my spiritual state is much healthier for this fast, and that may be enough. After all, pretty much everything we've done at TP has been done by us relying on God, so why should this next step be any different. I guess it feels more important and significant because it's on the spiritual plane this time - the other aspects of our work are very much dealing with meeting the needs of the here and now, not eternal things of the soul.

So, I'm excited, a little bit scared, feeling out of my depth but knowing that God is with me. And still feeling compelled to go on.

I believe God's glory is going to be seen in Kibera in a big way! And that's why I'm doing it - for the glory of God.

A work in progress

2009-10-19T15:26:00.000+03:00

How great is my desire for God. Does my soul 'pant' for Him as in Psalm 42? Does my soul 'thirst' and my flesh 'yearn' for him - Ps 63? Do I count everything as loss compared to the value of knowing Christ - Phil 3:8?

No. I guess I don't.

Do I want to? Am I brave enough to say to God that nothing else matters, only Him? To put complete faith and trust in Him?

No.

But I'm closer to being able to honestly do that than I was a year ago. Even than I was a couple of months ago when I began fasting.

I guess I'm a work in progress, and though I may well never get to that point of complete, total and utter surrender of every part of me and my life to God and His purposes for me, and I will continue to be satisfied in some areas, to some degree, by things rather than by God, as long as I'm not accepting mediocrity, but always striving for more holiness, more of God in my life, I guess I'm going the right way at least.

Butterman!

2009-10-12T11:24:00.000+03:00

Isaiah 58 today. A passage Jo and I know well, as it was instrumental in us setting up Turning Point originally. However, it's easy to skip over it now because of its familiarity, and that's not good.

Looking at it again today I've realised that some verses can be interpreted in more than one way; that there may be both a practical and spirutual aspect. 'To loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke.' v6. Some of this we as humans can do, and some we can go some way to doing, but some is for God alone. It is only He that can really 'set the oppressed free', true freedom is something that only God can provide. But we can partner with God, we can work at freedom from the chains that physically bind people.

And we can pray that God would free them from the cords that bind their spirit. That's what Monday's in Kibera are all about for me. Pleading with God for the souls of those forgotten or ignored by so many, but not by God. And v8 talks about the appearance of healing. I've always taken it to mean healing for the person fulfilling the right type of fast as prescribed in the previous couple of verses, but today I've been asking God to bring his healing to these overlooked and downtrodden people.

What's my part in this. To humbly submit myself to God, through my fasting to gain more of a hunger for holiness in all areas of my life, that when God remembers the people of Kibera and begins the transformation of their lives that I ling to see, I would be ready for whatever part in that God has for me.

My prayer is that whatever my part is I would be able to fulfil it humbly, giving ALL the glory to God. I am but a man. Or, to use my superhero persona, I am Butterman!

When, not If

2009-10-08T23:44:00.000+03:00

I'm already starting to think about what happens come Christmas, when the time I've committed to fasting comes to an end. Will I continue? Or will the youthful (I wish) enthusiasm I have for fasting have worn off by then, and I'll be happy to return to a life where fasting is absent.

Wouldn't Satan love that?! The trouble is, I know myself too well, and know that may well be what happens. After all, I'm no different really from the millions of other Christians for whom fasting is something they read of and hear about, but that it's not really for them.

And doesn't Satan love that attitude?! Jesus doesn't talk about fasting much, but what he does say begins with the words "when you fast...". It's not "if you fast", but "when you fast". Clearly it's something He expects us, as Christians, to do.

So why don't we? Or why do we wait, as I've done, until a specific point in our life when we feel we need to go that bit deeper spiritually with God to actually follow Jesus' teaching and fast? If fasting really is a way of getting God's attention that we're serious about something, why do we do it so rarely? What would the spiritual landscape of this world look like if more Christians actually did what Jesus expects us to by saying "when"? Why are we so happy with mediocrity, when God wants so much more for us?

How many of us have friends or relatives who don't know Christ, that we'd love to know Him? Why not fast for them? If fasting is what puts an exclamation mark at the end of our prayers, why not do it more? Surely with an exclamation mark a prayer has more chance of being heard and paid attention to? I guess this begs the question, how many of us expect our prayers actually to be answered? How many of us are expecting God to move powerfully in response to our plea? Or are we just praying because we know we should, knowing that God will hear our prayer because it says so in the Bible, but fully expecting to pick the problem back up and shoulder the burden of it ourselves once the "amen" is said.

"Cast your burdens on to Jesus, for He cares for you", easy to sing, but too many times I've sung it, or prayed it about something specific, said thanks God, then picked up that burden again, and carried on my way. But if I want to live as Jesus intends me to live, I need to walk on without picking it up again. I need to turn my back on that burden, knowing that Jesus has it now. The reason I don't is because I don't really expect Jesus to solve my problems. To be with me through them, yes, but not to actually take them away.

But what I am finding through my fasting is that my expectations of Jesus are going up! So I am expecting Him to come in power into Kibera, to heal people, to deliver people, and generally to let the people of Kibera know that they can cast their burdens onto Him, because He does care for them.

And as our housegroup now fasts each week for different issues, I find that my expectations of answers to our prayers go up. I am surprised if God doesn't answer, not when He does.

So, will I continue after Christmas? Will I make fasting a regular part of my life? Will my level of expectation continue, or diminish?

Truth is, I don't know. I know what I'd like the answer to be, but I also know myself! I think I, and many others, often treat Christianity in a selfish way - we're following Jesus for what we can get out of it. And that in itself is not necessarily bad. It's just that we don't realise that the more we put in, the more we will get out.

Is fasting contagious?

2009-10-05T12:50:00.000+03:00

Another Monday, another fast day for me in Kibera. This being the 1st Monday of the month there are also many Turning Point supporters fasting and praying for God's future for TP.

Last week at homegroup I shared about why I was fasting, and they all decided to introduce a weekly time of prayer and fasting for issues that people within our group are facing. We are concentrating on one or two issues, and expecting to see answers - it's exciting!

Today in Piper's book I've been reading about the importance of learning from others in history who have incorporated fasting as a method of supporting the ministry they are involved in. And one thing I wasn't taught in history at school is that in 1756 the King of England called for a national day of fasting, to avert a threatened invasion by the French. It worked!

We are continuing our warfare prayer in Kibera, and several of us have experienced some spiritual attacks in the last few days, so we definitely need to continue this type of prayer. It's great to know that, through Jesus, we already have the victory!

I'll end this update with a thought, again from Piper's book:

Fasting puts the exclamation mark at the end of our prayer!

The absence of fasting

2009-09-28T12:10:00.000+03:00

So I'm continuing my preparations for God's coming to Kibera by studying 'A Hunger for God' by John Piper. This week the few pages I've read have had a number of challenges, one of which being the question: what does the absence of fasting say about us? Now, this is my first period of fasting, and Piper suggests that not fasting suggests a contentment with the way things are, with the spiritual status quo, with the absence of Christ. Yet when we pray the Lord's prayer, we say 'your kingdom come'. It won't come unless we are earnestly seeking it, unless we hunger for it, unless we hunger to see God move in power here on earth. Fasting will not create this hunger, but it is a way of expressing it. And we can be more aware of our spiritual appetites when we're not in the bondage of physical ones.

Fasting is not a pacifistic discipline but rather a fearsome weapon in the Christian's armoury to use in the fight of faith.

And I have realised that we are under spiritual attack in Kibera at the moment. Many staff members are being distracted from their Kingdom work by family sicknesses and other things. This morning I spoke to all the staff about expecting such attacks, and encouraging them to put on the armour of God daily to ensure they are equipped for the fight. If we are seriously seeking God to transform this community of Kibera, satan won't be happy, so opposition is to be expected. But, we have the victory!

Pastor and I have been doing some warfare prayer today at the project, and I expect we will need to do this every week on our fast days.

We are earnestly seeking for God's kingdom to come in Kibera! And we invite any others to pray with us for this.

Come, Lord Jesus

2009-09-14T14:21:00.000+03:00

The bible ends with this plea. It qas also the cry of the early church, longing for Jesus to come. How many of us have lost that longing?

Through this fast I am trying to plead with God to 'come to Kibera'. To bring His justice to Kibera. To bring healing and wholeness to the people who live there. People looked down upon or ignored by so many, yet precious to God.

If I believe Jeremiah 29:11 for these people, and I care about these people, my natural response must be to plead with God to 'come into Kibera'.

But I need to put down my expectations on the manner of God's coming. If He chooses to come with healing, that's His choice. If not, and He comes in another way, that's His right.

It is not for me to dictate to God how he answers my plea. It is for me to make my plea, and continue to make it until it is heard and answered.

Like the persistent widow in Luke 18.

Strongholds

2009-09-10T22:47:00.000+03:00

Just got back from our homegroup where I talked a little about my weekly setting aside time with God to get a sense of His purposes spiritually in Kibera. We also shared about the spiritual attacks that Jo in particular has been experiencing.

It was good to share, and we got some serious prayer and sharing of Bible verses which was great.

And the realisation of how many spiritual strongholds there are in Kibera.

Daunting, but also exciting!

First Fast - the post

2009-09-10T16:37:00.000+03:00

Well I think the title's clever anyway. Completed my first day of fasting on Monday - no blinding revelations, but then Monday was a busy day showing people round in Kibera, then having them back at the house. So I spent a lot of the day watching people eat, either in Kibera or at home, but managed to not join in myself.

Maybe next Monday I'll get some time to spend with God!

A Hunger for God

2009-08-30T22:07:00.000+03:00

So, having thought for the last couple of years that God may want to do some healing ministry through Turning Point in Kibera, I now think that the time has come to start the ball rolling.

Over the last couple of months I have been thinking about fasting, and what its purpose is, so as to know whether or not to do some before jumping in feet first and just going for it. To try to answer this question I've started reading John Piper's 'A Hunger for God'. Even just the introduction has convinced me that I want to do some fasting prior to starting the healing ministry. At the moment I'm thinking that from September to December will be the time when I can maybe fast once per week and demonstrate my seriousness about this to God. And we'll see what happens...

2009-08-27T10:44:00.000+03:00

At the coast AND ONE OF MY PRIORITIES WHILST HERE IS TO START THINKING AND PLANNING ANFG PRAYING ABOUT HOW TO START HEALING ON THE STREETS OF KIBERA. SO NO SURPRISE THAT WE WERE AWAKE HALF OF THE NIGHT LAST NIGHT FIGHTING OFF WHAT WE CONSIDER TO BE A SPIRITUAL ATTACK. HOPEFULLY TONIGHT WILL BE BETTER IN TERMS OF SLEEP!