Kenya Trip Article in Daily Republic

The following article was just published today in the local Fairfield newspaper the Daily Republic. Great thanks to reporter Ian Thompson for his work.

Prayers and donations are gladly accepted.

SUISUN CITY — The small sign greeting people as they leave the First Christian Church’s parking lot reads “You are entering the mission field.”
On July 19, 13 members of the Suisun City congregation will extend their mission of helping the less fortunate halfway around the world to a small village in western Kenya.
Pastor Steve Kiefer will be one of those going, putting into practice their belief that it is the work of Christians to take care of those in need both in the local community of Suisun City and far away in a small Kenyan village such as Shisisari.
The mission’s genesis occurred when Trisha and Anthony Isayi came from Kenya to settle in Suisun City and joined the First Christian Church of Suisun City five years ago.
Anthony Isayi’s story of his village’s extreme poverty and his need to help moved the other parishioners, particularly to help the population of 250 HIV orphans “who didn’t even have enough nourishment to go to school,” Kiefer said.
His village, Shisisari, is located in western Kenya not that far from Lake Victoria.
The Isayi family was already making efforts on their own to help by forming a nonprofit group called Operation Orphans International.
With the help of First Christian, they created a daily feeding program for the orphans “to make sure they have a good breakfast and lunch, and make sure they have a good education,” Keifer said.
Four years ago, Michelle Kiefer and their daughter Emma Kiefer went to Shisisari and saw the extreme need for themselves.
“For most of the orphans, the only clothes they had were their school uniforms and a lot of the children had boils. They were well fed only because we were feeding them for the past year,” Michelle Keifer said.
The schoolhouse was “a run-down, one-story building with classrooms with dirt floors,” according to Michelle Kiefer.
The primary mission of Michelle Kiefer’s two-week trip was to establish a rapport with the people, meet the orphans personally and to let the village know that First Christian’s assistance will be a continuing mission to help them.
While there, Michelle Kiefer was able to work with Engineers Without Borders to start building a well, lay concrete in some of the classrooms and put new tin roofs on some areas of the school.
On July 19, a 13-person team from the church that included Trisha and Anthony Isayi are returning to the village with clothes for all of the orphans, sports equipment and medical supplies to do vaccinations.
“The team is using vacation time and are digging deep into their pockets for the financial costs. I am so very proud of these people,” Steve Kiefer said.
Anthony Isayi left Thursday after ensuring each member of the team will be carrying one of the boxes of clothes when they leave for Kenya in an effort to cut down on shipping costs.
The clothes, dresses and shorts, were made by parishioners both here and from a parish in Florida
During his own packing Anthony Isayi stated he got part of his own education as a youth from the Peace Corps and took the goal of educating Kenya’s youth as his own. A large part of his reason for coming to America was to work as an informal ambassador for Kenya and help his homeland.
The July mission’s top project is getting the village a safe, fresh water source, according to Steve Kiefer.
Villagers presently draw water from springs “where mud and animals are causing people to get very sick,” Steve Kiefer said.
The plan is to improve and protect two springs for human use only and leave a third one for animal use.
One of the mission members will also be vaccinating all of the orphans as well as about 1,000 other people in the community.
“We will also be conducting a regional soccer tournament to foster good will and to offset some of the political fracturing in the region,” Steve Kiefer said.
The mission will also assess the needs for future groups with the goal of returning in 2013 with an even larger contingent.
Steve Kiefer stated all the effort to meet the needs of such a village so far away is part of the basic bedrock of why his congregation exists.
He states it is the work of Christians to take care of those in need both in the local community of Suisun City and far away in a small Kenyan village such as Shisisari.
“It is something that we can do and we believe honors God,” Steve Kiefer said.

Pastor's Perspective - Dude, Your Mic is On!

Dude, your mic is on!

Recently an unidentified Southwest Airlines pilot on a flight from Austin to San Diego began ranting to his co-pilot about flight attendants he had flown with on recent flights. With beep-worthy expletives, he unashamedly bashed fellow in-flight employees regarding their age, sexual orientation and weight. His foul-mouthed tirade was heard all over Texas air space due to a stuck-open mic! For over two minutes, Houston air traffic controllers could not communicate with other planes, because this captain’s rant dominated the radio frequency. A Southwest official stated that he was “deeply saddened” by the pilot’s “inexcusable language”, and that the pilot was currently grounded without pay.

This recent news story is a reminder that as humans - all of our mics are on!

Whether we want them to or not, people are listening to us. They are listening intentionally or unintentionally to every word we say. Not only do they hear every verb and noun, they also hear every exclamation mark and attitude behind it.

It is proven that careless words can initiate illness, destroy the best of relationships, distort personalities and even cause war. A Ginsu knife is not the only thing that slices and dices!

The Bible says many things about our words . We are told that the power of life and death are in our words. We read that the words we use are the overflow of what we allow in our heart. That our words are fickle, praising God one moment and cursing His children the next. James tells us that the tongue’s potential damage is immeasurable and untamable, and that it is a fire demonically fueled.

Knowing that our mics are stuck open, is there anything we can do to prevent regrettable red-faced situations?

My best advice is to deal with your words before them go public!

Before a revealing and potentially damaging sentence is spoken, it is an internalized thought. While it is still in the deep recesses of your cranium, ask yourself three important questions:

Is what I’m about to say verifiably true? (Or is it just gossip or hearsay?)

Is what I’m about to share needful? (Does this person really need to hear this?)

Is what I’m about to share kind and edifying? (Will this lift-up or tear-down?)

If what you are about to say fails to fit cleanly through even one of those question-filters, my best advice - swallow it!

Remember, each of us with the fruit of the Spirit called ‘self-control’ have the ability to run this 3-question checklist, no matter how emotionally stirred-up we might be in the moment.

Friends, it’s better to swallow it than be grounded by it. Just ask a certain pilot.

Pastor's Perspective - Nothing Even Comes Close

I was so blessed this morning to read this Facebook entry by our Tricia Isayi, co-founder of Operation Orphans International – “We spent the day yesterday packing boxes of clothes for Kenya. We completely filled eight boxes with 50 pounds of clothes. The orphan kids in Shisasari are going to be the best dressed!!! We still have medical supplies and new dresses, shorts, and shirts. Thanks for all of these blessings.”

Bill Hybels in his book ‘Courageous Leadership’ conveys the following powerful truths – “The local church is the hope of the world…Whatever the capacity for human suffering, the church has a greater capacity for healing and wholeness…There is nothing like the local church when it’s working right…No other organization on earth is like the church. Nothing even comes close.”

Over the course of the last several months, women and children attending two congregations 3,000 miles apart, have been serving selflessly in tandem to sew new clothes for approximately 250 HIV-affected orphans 10,000 miles away in remote western Kenya. The wonderful ladies of First Christian Church in Wauchula, Florida (onefamilyonefocus.com), my former ministry, joined our vision and efforts here at First Christian Church in Suisun City, California, and the result is just another priceless example of what God can do through His Bride for ‘the least of these’. These beautiful dresses and shorts sets will be personally delivered by our team of fifteen next month – all compliments of Jesus.

Huge thanks goes to everyone who sat smiling behind a sewing machine from sea to shining sea, motivated by the thought of smiling orphans and a smiling Savior. There is nothing like the local church when it’s working right. Nothing even comes close!

Pastor's Perspective - Grab a Blanket!

Is it me, or are we seeing a spike in influential people doing foolish things on the national stage? From current congressmen, to former governors and presidential candidates, to star entertainers, to mega-church pastors, and sports heroes, there is no famine of over-exposed celebrities falling into our headlines. It seemed at one time people ascended into the national spotlight, but nowadays the descending get water cooler prominence from sea to shining sea.

Since Eden we’ve all fallen – no exceptions. Simply put, fallen people fall. Some fall very loudly and publically. In a highly-connected society where we’re all carrying cameras disguised as mobile phones, documented falleness is everywhere around us. It is the stuff of checkout line magazines and sensationalized television. The saddest indictment is not that fallen people fall; the saddest indictment and commentary is that we like it! There is something fallen in us that enjoys other people falling – especially those who enjoy a certain slice of celebrity.

What is it? Do we somehow feel justified in our own falleness by the carnal publicized missteps of others? Does it make us feel like we’re somehow better, or at least, as good as? To quote the prophet Frank, regrets, we’ve had a few. So why do we relish in the downward spiral of others and engage in rock-throwing? As Christians, how should we respond and react to such head-wagging headlines?

One of the many things I love about the Bible is its honesty. It shares inspiring acts of faith, and, it shares embarrassing episodes alike, reminding us that it is a book about real people for real people. One of those embarrassing episodes is found in the story of Noah. In Genesis we read that when there were only eight people on the entire planet, one of them had a regrettable red-faced moment! After being used by God to preserve mankind, following the great flood, Noah planted a vineyard. From his harvest he made wine, got drunk, and passed out naked in his tent. Personally, I have seen the ‘Noah and the Ark’ theme used in baby nurseries all across America; but I have never seen ‘Inebriated Noah’ in junior’s first bedroom!

The Almighty used a faithful human being to help save mankind; yet, Noah was fallen and did something regrettable, something embarrassing, something uncharacteristic. Can you relate? Do you have a similar story? Ever worn the lampshade?

One son saw his father in this less-than-patriarchal state on the tent floor, snickered, and went to announce it to his brothers. In essence he Facebooked it, Tweeted it, and made it story one in the ‘Mount Ararat Gazette’! He couldn’t wait to share with others the poor decision his father had made. Later, Noah pronounced a curse on him for attempting to augment an already bad situation.

When the other two brothers heard about their father’s condition, they deliberately took a blanket and backed into his tent and covered his nakedness, refusing to look at their dad in that disgraced state. They in turn were blessed by their father afterward.

Friends, we’ve all been Noah. Likewise, we’ve all been his discovering son. We all have things we’re proud of and not-so proud of in our pasts. Some things honored God. Many other things didn’t. We’ve also been the first one privy to juicy information about the poor choices of others.

In those moments when others are clearly guilty, exposed, caught, embarrassed and vulnerable, as Christians, let’s back into the tent! I’m not suggesting covering-up sin, but instead, not perpetuating it for the carnal appetite and satisfaction of others. Our sinfulness cost Jesus Christ His very life. Why would we want to celebrate it in others?

So, when prominent people fall, put down the bullhorn, pray for them and their families and grab a blanket!