Day 2 - June 24 - Sunday at Naomi's Village

The day could not have started better than having breakfast served to us by the one and only Jeremy Callaway.  It was soooo Goood! 

On this Sunday together, We chose to attend a congregation in the community nearby called Mwi' Hungeri - a small congregation Cottonwood Creek has become very fond of over the past 4 years.  Along with many of the children from Naomi's Village, Bonface took our team over to worship with this amazing community and church.  Because of the recent rainy season, the roads are very difficult to drive, so half our team had to walk 3 miles to church.  Yes, imagine that - walking to church - it was so fun and great!  Just made a great experience for us all.

The worship time was God-inspired and God-ordained.  Even though us Americans cannot understand Swahili,  we definitely understood God's Spirit in the room and the power of God as we worshipped together.  It was so unique and simple.  It was confusing, yet inspiring.  Camille Williams shared her testimony, Girls lead worship together, and Keith got to preach. 

On a personal note - my life was changed 4 years ago in this building, so I have a very special place in my journey with the community of Mwi' Hungeri.  From Pastor Samuel, Auntie Grace and all the faithful men and women of this community, you are a testimony of faithfulness as a people of God, who put all of their trust in the Lord for everything.  Thank you for your example and how you are changing lives for eternity!

After worship, we stayed at the church for craft time and lunch, along with visiting the new homes God provided this community last year.  They were so excited and proud to show them to each one of us on our team.  What a blessing to be with them on this day.

Afternoon was spent at Naomi's Village catching our breathe from the morning and spending with the children.  Evening devotional was once again, a God-inspiring time for our team to share with the children, and tucking the kids in at night is a special joy only one can experience to explain.

We are all good, safe and experiencing God move among our team.  Our share time at nights have just been authentic and encouraging.  We are so thankful to be here to learn, love and share Jesus!

In Christ - Keith

#hopebegins
#cottonwoodfamily
#iamgoingnaomisvillage

Day 1 - Saturday, June23 - Philippians 2:4

Our team got off to a start in perfect fashion on our first day - Kenya Time!  Yes, our bus was planning on picking us up at 10am and did not show up until 11am, then we headed to ABC place for our traditional exchanging of Dollars into Shillings - which took another hour and longer and finally traveled through Nairobi, north to the Rift Valley Area.  This was exactly the plan God had for us because we were all enjoying our time together, building unity and friendship along the way.  Take a minute to see our pictures from the view over the Rift Valley.  Words cannot describe it!

Once we found ourselves entering Naomi's Village gates, we were met with the warmest greeting from the three amazing interns here at NV.  We took a quick pic, got oriented with the complex by Mark Sisler, then spent the rest of the day with the children of Naomi's Village with a bonfire and time singing, dancing and sharing life.  Lauren gave her testimony tonight and the Lord used it in a tremendous way to encourage us!  So proud of her.

Our passage from Philippians today encouraged us to share with one another, care for one another and serve one another, and man, the Lord answered our prayers.  The unity in our team is tremendous and the time we had today only shows us all what God is going to do the rest of the week.

Please keep praying for us as we look the the Lord and seek His heart together.

In Christ - Keith

Saturday, June 23 - Getting Started

What a beautiful morning in Kenya, Africa. The Lord has blessed our team with a great night sleep and we are about to embark on the rest of the week here in Africa.

Our devotional time today set the focus for our week together by reading Philippians 2 and looking to Jesus and following His example for our lives through serving others more than ourselves, for thinking of others more than we think of ourselves and serving others more than we serve ourselves - and to do it without grumbling or complaining.

Nairobi has given us the opportunity to live life today and to soak in the beauty of God's great creation.

Join us in praying for our schedule and day today as we journey to Naomi's Village in the Rift Valley area, go through orientation and most importantly - seek and love on the kids and have s'mores tonight, worship, dance and sing!! It is going to be a great day.

Please check in daily to read and see our pictures from our experiences we have while in Kenya this week.

What a Beautiful Name

What a Beautiful Name

This weekend in our worship service at Cottonwood Creek Church we are debuting a new song to our people called "What a Beautiful Name"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5GbDeQvYKU

This song was written a couple of years ago and is somewhat familiar to those who listen to Christian Worship Music or Contemporary Christian Music.  Even though it has been around a couple of years, this will be the very first time our church as worshipped corporately with it.

The foundation of this song comes from Colossians 1 speaking of the supremacy of Christ.

The Supremacy of the Son of God

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

Verse 26 of this chapter speaks to the concept of Christ being disclosed now to the people of God - CHRIST IN YOU!  The hope of glory is in Christ and Christ alone.  With all the pain, suffering, hardship and more that we experience in our lives, we are not alone because Christ is living inside of us as the hope of Glory!  

All of us encounter sin in our lives (Romans 3:23).  The sin we have can pull us away from Christ and cause us separation from His love in our lives, but the beautiful name of Jesus through forgiveness and repentance of sin bridges this gap so we can experience the power of God and share in His glory forever.  

Join us this weekend in worship as we experience the power of God moving and working through our time of worship and teaching.  We are praying and desiring God to move as we experience His glory together in worship.  www.cottonwoodcreek.org

Keith Tyler

Worship & Arts Pastor

Happy Father's Day - Day 6

Naomi’s Village Day 6– Sunday, June 18

Sunday around Naomi’s Village are very special.  Our entire team had an opportunity to worship with all the kids, Anties and Uncles.  It was also special because today was Father’s Day.  Uncle Bob Mendonsa, Bonface and other men leaders of NV were sung to by all the Anties and children.  McKinley was able to lead worship, Tori Grace gave her testimony, and Paul and Millicent from NV led for one of the songs as well.  After our time of worship, we broke into small groups and had “Sunday School”, where Patti, Laura, Dana and Bailey lead out with support from our entire team.  What a great opportunity to share Jesus with all of the children.

Lunch was really good as we had Squash Soup with HOMEMADE BREAD!  I think we are all working on carb overload!  It is so good!  Afterwards we played with the kids up on the soccer field, along with balloon games and more.  Truly, today was a great Sabbath for us – not a lot planned for us to do except hang out and spend time – KENYA TIME – with everyone.  We are preparing for a very busy next couple of days before we head home on Wednesday.

Please continue to pray for us all.  A couple of “issues” with tummys, but other than that, we are all doing great!  Tomorrow is Safe House again followed up by 3 Community Outreach  Opportunities with the families from Cornerstone Preparatory Academy.  It will be a fantastic opportunity for us to be in the community and share Jesus.

Happy Father’s Day – and a personal Happy Birthday to my son back home – Mitchell. 

On Mission Team 

Final Blog from Kenya

Dear Friends and Family,

One of my favorite items to do on each trip is to Blog and share about our experiences. If you have been following us in Kenya, you might be wondering why you have not heard from me since Saturday night. Well, God threw us a curve ball and I spent 3 days in the Kijabe Hospital with one of our team members, Jeremy Callaway. He had Kidney Stones and man did he suffer. So, with no Internet from the hospital and not good way of communication, I could not write you. Jeremy is back to his old self and doing great. Thanks for those who prayed for us!

So, I will quickly catch you up...

Sunday - worship at Naomis Village with all the children!  Afternoon of rest, then Keith and Jeremy went to ER. We have some stories to tell you about being admitted to a third world hospital. We got the best care in the country - truly!!!  Amazing doctors and care. God was looking out for us!!

Monday - Safe House in the morning where McKinley lead worship and Dana taught the lesson. These courageous kids had so much fun playing games and playing with crafts. Afterwards we divided into 3 teams to go into 3 homes of children from Cornerstone. It was called Cornerstone Outreach. Cottonwood Creek raised money for this ministry opportunity where you purchased beds, mattress, bench, table and solar lighting to students. It was one of the most impactful times we experienced. Thank you Cottonwood for making this happen. Lives are changed forecer.

Tuesday - Safe House the morning again where we shared the Gospel in our teaching time and mark kids prayed to receive Jesus. It was heartbreaking to leave them and continue to know God is in control of their lives. We thank God for this opportunity to be at Safe House!  Afternoon was spent shopping in Kijabe and final "see you later" events as we packed for the trip home.

Wednesday - woke up early to get to airport, but stopped off at the Giraffe Sanctuary on the way!  So much fun. Look at pictures!!!  Got on plane and now in Dubai waiting to catch out 15 hour flight to see all of you.

His trip has been unforgettable. Thanks for all the prayer and support. We love you and cannot wait to see you at 9:50am in the morning!

Bless you!  So good!!!

On mission team.

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Naomi's Village 2017 - Day 5 Update

Naomi’s Village Day 5 – Saturday, June 17

HUGE day filled with laughter, tears, joy and exhaustion.

Our team spent the first part of the morning talking about the cultural difference between the Kenyan and American way of living life, then reflected on Paul’s writings that tell us to win some (to Christ) we must become like them.  If we are ever going to relate to the culture and people in Kenya, we must learn from them, be like them and relate to them, then God can open up opportunities for the Gospel.  We practiced this all day long.  Thank you Lord for your faithfulness to your people today.

Morning games, crafts and soccer with the little ones!  3 hours of it!  We could not get enough of the laughter and smiles we got to experience during this time.  Face painting was the big hit, along with duck, duck, goose!  Loved the time of investing in their lives today.

Delicious lunch then we hiked 6 miles up 2000ft elevation to Kijabe – yes – it was a hike to remember!  Not only was it a difficult stretch for the team, but the sights were amazing!  We ended up at Mark and Liz Sisler home and they made us all kettle corn!  So good, then Bob Mendonsa got a birthday wish my getting drenched by water for a Naoimi’s Village tradition then sung to by the kids.  It was hilarious!

Bonfire was a fun dance party, filled with smores and worship, ending with the guys and girls dividing up for hang out time.  It was a long and amazing day to be with these kids. 

Worship in the morning then an afternoon of rest and preparing for the rest of the week.  We miss you family and thanks for the prayers!

OnMission Team