THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, JULY 30

Today’s scripture involves John’s vision of the New Heavens and the New Earth. In this portion of the book of Revelation, John specifically begins to tell us about the city of New Jerusalem. But before we begin with what John writes, I want to first manage our expectations concerning his description.

We need to first attempt to imagine how difficult a task this was for John. He had to try and describe something that is beyond our limits of experience, and to do that, he was greatly hindered in his description, because he had to use human words that we are able to understand. Think about how difficult this must have been for John.

Otherworldly Descriptions

In some ways, I think what John was trying to do must have been similar to what we would have to do if we were able to somehow speak to a baby, still in the womb of his or her mother. Imagine what it would be to try and explain to this little one what our present world is like – the world outside of the mother’s womb.

FOOD RECEIPTS AND REPORT FROM PASTOR JOEL

Dear Beloved Dad, Mum, Marquis family, Church and all Donors

Greetings in the precious name of Jesus our Lord and Savior, we are humbled once again when we remember how God has used you greatly for your help that you have sent for the children in  Orphanage in Kenya.

Thank you for the food and necessities.

KSH. 600000 food budget

Cooking oil =120litres: One litre cost Ksh. 450x120litres=Ksh.54000

Maize =655 kilogram: One kg =Ksh.290 x 655=190000

Vegetables 288kgs. 1kgs =Ksh. 160x288kgs=Ksh.46000

Rice=503 Kilogram: One kgs=Ksh. 250x503kgs=Ksh.125800

Unga ngano/baking flour 200kgs One kilogram =Ksh.160 x200 kgs=Ksh.32000

Salt 76Kgs=Ksh.7600

Beans 386kgs: One kilogram Ksh. 350 x 386=Ksh.135,000

Transportation Ksh. 9600

Thank you, God bless you all, we are praying for you all daily and we pray that God will supply for your needs and provide for these children here with us, our prayers to God who made heaven and earth who is our helper and sustainer keep us in prayers for the provision for the children to have school fees, food, clothes and clean water by the grace of God.

We are praying that God will provide for you all as well. God bless you all.

We love you and may God keep you all in good health. God bless you all. We wish you blessings that God has for us in heaven places. We are humbled for what God is doing, we give God the all the glory for the grace to continue.

Thank you Marquis family for making your way to Kenya, we pray for your journey back. We had  wonderful experiences, thank you accommodating our culture. God bless you all, real good.

Yours Son Joel and church/orphanage Leadership-Kenya

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If you would like to help the children of the Log Church Orphanage of Kisii, Kenya, you may make your check out to “The Log Church” and write “Orphans” on the memo line.

Send it to:

 The Log Church

PO  Box 68

Tripoli Wisconsin 54564

We now need to pay a wire transfer fee with every payment, which amounts to $50 each time, but other than that, your donated money will be used only for purchasing food, clothing, schooling, and other necessities of living. We wait until we have $4000-$5000 before we make the bank transfer to make each transfer more economical. Nothing is held back or diverted for any other purpose. Thanks!

RECEIPTS BELOW - CLICK "READ MORE"

KENYA TRIP JULY 2023 - VISIT TO THE SCHOOLS

I have to backtrack again. Yesterday I put on the post about the final day at the orphanage, which I too quickly assumed was Sunday. I guess technically that was correct, but the Marquis + Josh did not leave their hotel until Tuesday morning.

What did they do all day Monday?

Joanna’s post is below:

Monday morning we went to visit all 3 schools where the children attend. This was very

interesting to see how the kids attend school. It was very fun for our kids to be able to see their new friends in their school environment.

Whenever we would arrive at a school, the Kenyan kids would start yelling the names of my kids to connect with them. Each school treated us with suchhonor! They assembled all the classes together and wanted us to introduce ourselves, and say a few words, etc.

 

We all have so many thoughts and still taking time to process everything. Ben and I have been talking at length about so many things. This time visiting the orphanage was very helpful and impactful for us. It feels like since we've now had first-hand experience there, we are better able to consider and think about everything. There are so many factors and layers to this situation!

KENYA TRIP - JULY 2023: THE FINAL AFTERNOON AT THE ORPHANAGE

The Marquis family + Josh left Kisii at 4:00 this morning (Kenya time) to begin their trip back home. It was a short visit to the orphanage, but a very packed one and a visit that will not be forgotten, both for them and for the kids.

The following is Joanna’s final post:

 

Sunday afternoon after lunch, we had an impromptu dancing session with a group of the kids. They were very interested to learn an American dance, and so we taught them the simple moves to "Macarena" as that is just what we happened to come up with on the spot as something simple and catchy. 😅

Then they taught us some dance moves, and we had many laughs and lots of fun.

They wanted to learn more so Addison taught them the moves to "church clap."

 

 

Sylvia from South Dakota and her team, as well as Lois from Illinois and her ladies all worked together to make these feminine product reusable kits for the older girls at the orphanage and women of the community. They did a lot of hard work and preparation and made huge effort to deliver all these to me before we left on the trip! So thankful for their service in this way!!

 

We were able to pass out more sweets and treats and notebooks, markers, stickers, etc. As I mentioned before, the kids LOVED having their photos taken! They would constantly ask for pictures of us together with them. We also had a little fun with filters and their great amusement over something so simple was heartwarming!

 

It was hard to pull away at the end of the day from all the new friends we were getting to know better!!

KENYA TRIP - JULY 2023: A BUSY SUNDAY!

If you care to take notice, you will see that I changed the title of the previous post from “A Busy Sunday!” to “A Busy Saturday!”

It makes sense that the events on the post from yesterday happened on Saturday, since I did not know how they managed to get all that done after church. I know that the worship service goes on for 4 or 5 hours, so I was amazed that they could get all the things done in yesterday’s post in the afternoon.

It turns out—they didn’t. They played wiffle ball, soccer, made bracelets, and all the rest on Saturday.

Today’s post is about what happened on Sunday. 

Here is what Joanna writes:

Late Saturday night, Pastors Vincent and Joel came to our hotel to drop off the traditional African outfits they specially made for us! They must've worked hard as they only had taken our measurements that morning! We loved them! And of course they fit everyone perfectly!!

 

My kids were absolute magnets for the kids from the orphanage!! They could not stop touching them! They wanted to hold hands, touch their hair, and were just in awe of them. Everything the kids did they thought was funny. The older ones wanted to take many photos.

 

We were treated like royal guests and felt so honored! The kids were able to go on stage and dance with the Kenyan kids. Ben and Josh shared scripture and short messages.

 

As I mentioned, the service was very powerful!! It lasted for 4+ hours and there was much praise and worship and dancing. We are not used to such lively and charismatic worship! Lots of shouting and singing, etc. Then we actually witnessed several intense spiritual situations in which demons were cast out of several women

and the Holy Spirit was instilled in some of the other people who came forward. There was climatic and loud music and screaming and thrashing and fainting and we were humbled to be able to witness it all.

After service, we were able to provide a special meal for all the congregation for which they were very grateful. 

KENYA TRIP, JULY 2023 - A BUSY SATURDAY!

Here is what Joanna sent today:

Hope that your service went well this morning also, Don! Our service was POWERFUL!!! 🙏 🙏 🙏 WOW! So thankful we were able to be there to praise and worship and observe the Holy Spirit moving!!

Heading to the field! When we got there, Ben, Josh, and the boys went over to organize some sport games. Joel had told us ahead of time that the kids knew how to play wiffle ball (baseball with plastic bat and hollow ball). Well it seemed they did NOT know or understand the game at all 😅 Many laughs trying to explain and learn the game. They played kickball/soccer also.

While they were doing that, Claire passed out these doodle boards to the younger ones. You can write on them and then erase with a touch of a button. Simple concept that provides endless fun and entertainment as well as learning opportunities! She challenged them to draw different objects, and it was so fun for all! 

Then we passed out candy we brought along.

Sweets were like a magnet for the kids! They crowded around and couldn't get enough!

Next was meal time and they were able to eat in this tent they had set up specially for our visit

Next Levi passed out some more treats and then we set up a bracelet making station. 

This was a HUGE HIT!! I managed to snap this pic right when we set up and Westin started making a bracelet. Because very soon after, the kids swarmed and crowded around!! 

All ages loved learning how to make these and

couldn't get enough!! Crowd control was a bit tough! 😅

The kids caught on quickly! We only wished we could've brought more supplies for them!

Next we were able to pass out Bibles. We purchased several Action Bibles with the graphic pictures to go along with scripture. We also gave both Swahili and English Bibles. I think 18 in all!

ABRAHAM LIFTS HIS EYES - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, JULY 23

This week I was reminded of the time, many years ago, when my family and I were preparing for a move to Venezuela from our home in Wisconsin. In those days, I identified with Abraham more than any other Bible character.  Like Abraham and his family, that time in our lives was one of sojourning for us.

In order for us to make this move, we first were required to make many visits to churches in order to build a team of support. In the course doing this, we traveled many thousands of miles, staying in many different hotels and in many homes. We often spent long weeks living out of our suitcases. This is often the case in the life of a missionary.

After traveling to several parts of the United States, when we at last had enough support to begin our work, we still had one more step we had to make before we could depart for Venezuela. We were next required to attend language school in Costa Rica.

KENYA TRIP - JULY 2023: ARRIVAL!

 I just now received this text and photos from Joanna:

What a day!! We made it to Kisii town about 10 am. Our driver named Robert is very knowledgeable and has helped us a lot.

The amount of poverty on the drive from Kisumu to Kisii was very eye opening. And the driving was crazy! There were so many pedestrians and motorcyclists and it seemed like there were so many near-miss collisions!

 Joel met us at the hotel (Royal Davony same where you and Vivian stayed).

The staff is very welcoming, helpful, and friendly. I think we stayed in the same room as you did! But perhaps they moved in an extra bed for us in each room. 

Then Pastor Vincent came with 2 tailors that took all of our measurements for clothing they wanted to gift us.

When we arrived at the orphanage, the kids swarmed us! We felt like celebrities. They
wanted to constantly be touching us, holding hands, taking pictures together, etc.

 

We started with a full tour of the orphanage and church and spent time talking and connecting with all the kids. They were all so friendly and sweet!

KENYA TRIP 2023 - THE AZIMIO PROTESTS

For five days, the streets of the major cities in Kenya have been littered with burning tires, rocks that had been thrown at police, and burned-out cars. Protesters have continued to throw rocks, despite the fact that the air is heavy with tear gas fired from the rifles of the police.

The Kenyans are calling the demonstrations the Azimio protests. “Azimio” is a coalition of government leaders who are in opposition to the current government of the president, William Ruto.

The complaints of Azimio and the protesters are some new taxes that have been imposed by the government, and also the very high and quickly rising cost of living. Among these costs are the wheat prices, which have risen up 30 percent in the past year, and sugar, which up 60 percent. Much of this is probably the result of international conflict. Kenya and all of the Horn of East Africa gets much of its grain from Ukraine, so shipments of wheat, for instance, have been way down.

But the Azimio and much of the country are not convinced that all of the costs are beyond control of the government. To let their voice be heard, they have taken to the streets.

Azimio is led by the leader of the Luo tribe, Raila Odinga. The Luo are located in the western part of Kenya, just to the north of the Kisii tribe. The main city of the Luo is Kisumu, which is also the main airport that serves all of western Kenya.

Whether it is unfortunate or otherwise, our travelers of the Marquis family + Josh arrived in Kisumu from Nairobi this morning, Kenya time. Although they arrived safely, it is unsafe for them to them to continue by car up to Kisii at this time.

This is to be the final day of the protests, so we are praying that tomorrow (Saturday), God will open the way for them to drive to Kisii. Joel says it is unsafe to make the trip by night, since the road between Kisumu and Kisii is through the bush.

But Ben and Joanna and company are safe. They are in a hotel near the city center which is guarded by many police.

Thank you for your prayers for this family. They are doing well, but it is their first time in Africa and of course their first time to visit the orphanage.

KENYA TRIP, JULY 2023 - ARRIVAL IN NAIROBI

The Marquis family + Josh arrived in Nairobi this afternoon at 4:00 central time, but midnight Kenya time. They had a one-hour layover in Doha.

So, it is getting on toward 5:00 AM in Nairobi now (9:00 PM here). Their flight out to Kisumu in western Kenya leaves at 8:30.

This intrepid band of travelers are waiting at the airport in the same coffee shop where we waited when we last went—Paul Caffe, open all night. It a pretty nice place to wait. They have Wifi, and let you sit there forever nursing a cup of coffee. The food also is pretty good.

Actually, our flights when we last went were about the same times as theirs, so we waited about the same as they are doing.

Joanna writes that they got a little sleep on the plane, but one never sleeps so soundly. But I am sure that they will all do fine. Just look how happy they look!

Thanks for your prayers.

 

THEY ARE ON THIER WAY: CHICAGO → NAIROBI

The travelers are on their way, no doubt somewhere over the Atlantic now. With them they are brining 250 pounds of gifts for the children: bibles, sport equipment, candy, personal feminine products, and many more things. These are packed in 5 extra suitcases.

They arrive in Nairobi tomorrow at midnight, Kenya time, which is 8 hours ahead of central time, US. Nairobi is still a long way from Kisii. I actually do not know the plans to go to Kisii from Nairobi. They talked about renting a vehicle, but look at the size of that group! Plus luggage!

I will be interested to keep up with their time there. I know very little about what their plans are, so we will find out together. But I am so excited by the fact that they are on their way! I almost feel as if I am with them!

Prayer requests that the Marquis family (+ Josh) is asking for: Health, safety, and that ALL of their luggage makes it all the way to the orphanage.

WHAT JESUS DID NOT SAY - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, JULY 16

Today’s passage of Luke 4:14-30 is often called the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. It actually is not exactly the absolute starting of his public ministry to people, but it was here that Jesus announced what his true work on earth was to be.

By this time in his life, Jesus had left his hometown of Nazareth of Galilee. He was visiting cities and villages and already becoming quite a well-known teacher in the synagogues of the country. Wherever he taught, the people spoke well of him. The reason for this acclamation from the people was because Jesus taught with an authority that was his own, and not one that was passed to him simply based on the tradition (Matthew 7:29). This was especially bothersome to the Pharisees. In their eyes, Jesus did not possess the proper credentials to teach. He was not of their group.

INTRODUCING THE MARQUIS FAMILY

I would like to introduce you to a family who has been greatly involved with the orphanage, and who will be making a trip as a family to the orphanage—leaving in a little over a week from now. They are the Marquis family—Ben and Joanna and children Drew, Addison, Levi, Westin, Claire.

Although this family has been praying and also financially supporting the orphanage for some years, they especially became committed to the children there about one year ago.

I think that to tell you about it, it would be best to simply share an email that the mom (Joanna) sent to me on the 11^th of July of last year. Remember, the decisions that she speaks of in the email came only after the entire family: mom, dad and kids, had been praying for some years for the children of the orphanage.

Here is the email from Joanna, 7/11/22:

Thank you so much for your email!! Some big things have happened for us since we've last touched base. Drew (almost 15 years old) attended a camp with our church youth group. He experienced a very real calling from God, and he feels very passionate about it. He explains it as the Lord has told him to start a nonprofit for the Log Church orphanage.

Ben and I wanted to get your thoughts on this, and we also needed to educate ourselves and learn what this would mean or entail. Ben talked a bit with the lawyer at his company, and we also got clear encouragement from our youth pastor who has a lot of experience with this area.

To be a little frank, Drew feels like (and I agree) that even just a little awareness for some people in our circle would yield financial support and prayers that are much needed and would be much appreciated at the Log Church orphanage. He feels God calling him in this area.

Addison (13 years old) also went to the same camp. She has been very interested in missions work, and has been passionate about going to Africa in particular. She asked God to show her a sign that this was HIS desire for her and not just her own interest. She describes a very real and distinct "cool breeze" washing over her at that exact moment.

We cannot ignore these ways we feel like God is calling and prompting us!! As a family, we have been praying and are hoping to go to Kisii in summer of 2023. What can we do to become more involved in some of the behind the scenes that you do?

Hoping and praying all is well with you and Vivian. Sending love and prayers!!

So that is the email, and the trip she wrote about is happening in a little over a week from now. It will be quite an adventure for them, but as you can see, they feel quite strongly that God has called them to this work. Also going will be one of Joanna’s brothers, Josh Jast. I think that Josh must be about 21 or 22 years old.

It is of great joy to me that this beautiful family is becoming involved in the orphanage in this way. It has been my prayer from the very beginning of the orphanage in 2017 that God would raise us some younger people to begin to take on some of the responsibilities.

Vivian and I, as you know, are no longer 21 or 22 years old.

Please pray for this family as they set out on this trip. I hope to be able to have some updates and perhaps photos from them from time-to-time that I can share on this blog page.

NOTES FROM THE CHILDREN OF THE LOG CHURCH ORPHANAGE - MATHEW KIYONDE

I am Mathew Kiyondi: from Log orphanage Kisii Kenya {Sengera}. This is where I have been brought up and this is a place I call home.

My life in this orphanage facility has been so good and wonderful. This is the only place I found peace and joy in my heart when my mother abandoned me helpless!

It is a nice experience to stay together with other orphans and share ideas of life as a family. I am delighted that here we have a great opportunity to empower one another in spiritual matters and I have personally learnt how to relate with people of all categories through developing good characters and habits.

This home has given me hope and a bright future. It is a great privilege and honor to be part of the sponsored children in Log orphanage. Glory and praise to God almighty. Amen 

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If you would like to help the children of the Log Church Orphanage of Kisii, Kenya, you may make your check out to “The Log Church” and write “Orphans” on the memo line.

Send it to:

 The Log Church

PO  Box 68

Tripoli Wisconsin 54564

We now need to pay a wire transfer fee with every payment, which amounts to $50 each time, but other than that, your donated money will be used only for purchasing food, clothing, schooling, and other necessities of living. We wait until we have $4000-$5000 before we make the bank transfer to make each transfer more economical. Nothing is held back or diverted for any other purpose. Thanks!

HYPOCRISY AND RESPECTABILITY - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, JULY 9

If you follow the actions of Jesus through the Gospels, you will see that when he interacted with the people who were largely rejected by much of society, “the down and outers,” as we might call them, he was patient and kind to them.

Certainly, if they were living lives that were in some way unrighteous, Jesus did not excuse them of their actions. Indeed, he pointed these things out to them and even reprimanded them. 

However, if they were sincerely looking for freedom from the things about their lives in which they felt trapped, he explained to them the way to do it. This he did with gentleness and patience. This was the manner of Jesus if the people were honest with him.

You may think it odd, but the group of people for whom Jesus had little patience were the religious leaders of the day. Although there were some notable exceptions, this group of leaders, whom we primarily know as the Pharisees and the scribes, were not interested in seeking an honest truth. They were interested only in a self-righteous appearance. They wanted merely to be the recipients of admiration by the society of their day and perhaps to enrich themselves.

It was some men from this latter group who gathered around Jesus one day in order to find some fault with him.