Saturday, June 20 at Naomi's Village - So Good

Welcome from Naomi's Village!

We spent the night in Nairobi, Kenya at Gracehouse Resort.  I think we finally got to bed around midnight (8am your time) and got about 7 hours sleep before leaving for Naomi's Village.  The breakfast at Gracehouse was fantastic.  It was a buffet with so many great options for us.

After a group prayer we set out to exchange our currency (which is 96 Shillings to $1) at ABC Market and then arrived at Naomi's Village about 12 noon.  After unloading our bags, getting situated in the Guest House, we united with Bob and Julie Mendonsa, the Founder and Leaders of Naomi's Village.  They were able to share a quick orientation with our group of 18 and then shared their heart for how God brought them to Kenya.  Their story is life-changing to hear, and we all have a true understanding of the magnitude of what God is doing in their lives, and how we have an opportunity to join God with the this week.

Out of all the people to get sick, yes, it was me (Keith).  I got a tremendous headache.  It turned into nauseousness and more!  UGLY!  MUCH BETTER NOW!  I am glad it was only me who got sick.  While I was resting, our team got the opportunity to play soccer with the Soccer Club and the ladies got to HOLD BABIES!  It was a great afternoon of getting acclimated with our new friends here in Kenya.

Tonight was very special as we gathered together - all 18 of us, the Naomi's Village staff and all 59 children, for a time of roasting marshmallows for SMORES and singing worship songs around the campfire.  For an hour we worshipped God and listened to his children sing beautiful songs of worship and praise.  I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life.

We are all exhausted tonight.  Jet lag should be gone after we get a good nights sleep.  Thanks for reading our update and look for tomorrow's entry around this same time.

So Good - Our God is SO GOOD! (Bonface)

Adios - Keith and Cottonwood Creek Team

WE LEAVE TOMORROW

Dear Friends and Family,

In preparing for tomorrow, my honest thoughts are - LETS JUST LEAVE!! We have prepared so well and are do ready to join God in Kenya!

Final request as you tread this blog is from Philippians 2:1-11

Imitating Christ’s Humility
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Might our hearts be unified as a team and our minds be set on Christ.  Thank you for taking this journey with us!  The next time you will hear from us will be in Naomi's Village!

Prayerfully yours - Keith and team!

TWO DAYS until Naomi's Village

Today was a big day for the trip.  After all of the tremendous effort and time to coordinate all the extra supplies for the children in Kenya (Thank you Debbie Webb for your leadership) we were able to pack 17 bags of supplies today.  So many of you donated your time and energy to make this happen!  THANK YOU!  It is going to be a tremendous blessing to give these to Naomi's Village. 

We pray for safety over these bags as we travel, that they might arrive safely to Nairobi and the Orphanage as well.

Our friends at The Parks Church in Melissa are at Naomi's Village right now.  We have seen pictures and are growing with excitement as we see pictures from their trip.  We will be doing different activities and projects from them, so our trip will be somewhat different.  Pray for them today as well.

As we move closer to our departure, we ask for your continue support in prayer for our team.  Here are the people going!  Please pray for us by name.  Have a great day!

Alice Buttner           

Mike Dobkins            

Sarah Dobkins

Naomi Fudge 

Milana Ingraham            

Kathy Lanza            

Jeni Maxton 

Matthew Osburn

Wayne Osburn 

Amy Page           

Cailin Page            

Keith Tyler            

Laura Tyler            

LaurenKate Tyler            

McKinley Tyler            

Mitchell Tyler

Debbie Webb

Phil Webb

Countdown to Naomi's Village

It is Monday - THREE DAYS before we leave for Kenya, Africa.  It is all a reality now.  Over the past year in a half, Cottonwood Creek has been planning for this trip.  It was cancelled in September of 2014 and rescheduled for 2015, and now it is a reality!  So many people have invested in this trip.  Not only the men and women attending the trip have sacrificed their time, money and energy to prepare, but many others have done the same through donations and more.  Story after story of people who have sacrificed and given to this mission - from donating soccer balls, purchasing Crocs for the orphans, providing medical supplies and clothes and more.  It is all a true blessing to be a part of.

As we prepare, here are our current needs...
1.  Prayer
2.  Preparation and Organization as we leave
3.  Prayer
4.  Boldness for us to stand in the face of adversity - whether climate, culture or circumstance
5.  Prayer!

Thanks for the time and we look forward meeting again soon.  Pass this along to those who will join us in Kenya as we are On Mission at Naomi's Village

www.naomisvillage.org
www.cottonwoodcreek.org/missions
www.facebook.com/cottonwoodcreekmissions?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

Preparing for Naomi's Village

Cottonwood Creek has the opportunity to come alongside a ministry called Naomi's Village in Kenya, Africa.  Over the past 2 years, we have build a relationship with the leaders of this orphanage, Bob and Julie Mendonsa, and after a while of planning and prayer, we are going to venture over 16 hours of travel to be On Mission in Kenya.  

Our team of 18 are extremely excited about the opportunity to learn from the leadership and culture, fellowship with the leadership and children in the orphanage, listen to the men and women of that area to gain an understanding for life in a different culture, and serve the Lord!

Our team covets your prayers for this trip.  We journey to Naomi's Village on June 18 and will be daily updating this BLOG as to how our day went and ho you can specifically pray for our time there.  We return from Africa on June 29.

Continue to pray for us as we care for the "least of these" in Africa 

Keith

Matthew 25:44-46
⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Transformed Devotional - Christ in You

Opening Prayer:
Pray that God would transform your mind today. Ask him to teach you how to live today through the Word of God - the Bible

Read:
1 Corinthians 2:16
We have the mind of Christ.

Thought:
How can the Bible tell me that I can have the mind of Christ as a believer in Jesus?  How can I understand what it means to have a mind that is from God?

1. Understand God loves you and has a plan for your life.
2. Understand that this plan is to help you, not to harm you and to give you a hope and a future.
3. Understand that when you accept God's plan for your life and believe in Jesus Christ, then He will actually help you with your plans
4. Understand that the only way to truly grow in your knowledge of the mind of Christ is to read the Bible and study it so you know the Lord better each day
5. Understand that your faith in Christ will grow as you trust Him with your life, learn from Him and follow Him with any and all decisions you have in life

So how can you have the mind of Christ?  Trust Him with your life today.

• Read Jeremiah 29:11
• Read John 3:16
• Read Romans 10:9-10

Response:
What did you hear as you read this short devotional?
What do you think about what you read?
What will you do in response to reading this devotional? Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.

Transformed Devotional - How to Change?

Opening Prayer:
Pray that God would transform your mind today. Ask him to change your character to be like God's character.

Read:
Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Thought:
What does it mean to CONFORM - to blend in, to fit into a mold, to look like something else. What does it mean to TRANSFORM - to change from one physical state into another, to change from the inside, which changes your outside.

When this verse speaks of renewing your mind by being transformed, it is literally saying that we are to change from how we were INTO something new and different.  If we conform, we do not change - we simply look the same.

So, if we desire to see true change in our lives as we seek God, then there must be a point of TRANSFORMATION - where you change from the inside out and it makes you look, act, think and live different than you did before knowing God.  God is the one that does the transforming - not you.  We can try to live a good life, act right in situations and strive to look good on the outside, but eventually, we will conform to the world around us. 

Want to change?  Then seek God and ask Him to change you from the inside out!  Ask God to TRANSFORM your life and make you new!  If you do this, the promise from God is that you will be able to discover God's will for your life!  How exciting is that! 

Response:
What did you hear as you read this short devotional?
What do you think about what you read?
What will you do in response to reading this devotional? Talk with God - share with him what you learned from this devotional.