WE ARE HAPPY TODAY!

I am so excited to bring you the March newsletter and REACH update. The team has

traveled from Migori to Nairobi and then by train to Mombasa, and the heart of a mighty God has been filling our days with joy throughout the whole month. We had a dental emergency in March, causing us to go two different directions, but God, in His goodness, turned it into more ministry. While Julie was in Nairobi, she spent time visiting and ministering at some of our partner churches. While Jim, Cleo, and I headed South to Migori, where we were able to minister to the children at Blessed Generations, one of our partners who has grown their orphan and underprivileged children’s feeding program into a full-blown Christian school.

We also met with a group of widows during our school visit, where God did several miracles, including restoring the sight for a woman who had a physical eye injury that had caused her blindness!

We also had an amazing six-hour super service in Migori with our friend Pastor Kapish at the Revival Fire Fellowship Center. This church is located in one of the tougher hit areas suffering from alcohol brewers, prostitution, and general poverty, but God. He is using this community of believers to set the captives free. An amazing story is that the women’s ministry leader in this community was once the bartender and host for an illicit alcohol club. After God got a hold of her heart, she became a light shining bright in the darkness of this ghetto area, setting people free from their addictions and lifestyle choices with the love of Jesus.

We had a wonderful meeting with Bishop Daniel and his wife Mercy from Tanzania. We can’t wait to see what God wants to do in Mwanza. We had a great service with the King's Tabernacle Miracle Church. Our friend Fredrick, whom we have known since 1989, invited us to come and meet his bishop and share the good news with the people in the village of Opoya. We had an amazing time at MLM Ogwedhi Migori. Bishop Mark surprised us with a visit and joined us for a wonderful service.

I was finally able to reunite with my beautiful wife, Julie, as we went to Nairobi for a meeting with Ben and his wife, Irene, from Children’s Fortress Africa. They are working in partnership with Nairobi County children’s services to help rescue children off the streets and repatriate them, if possible, to the village and families of origin.

In addition, we were able to go to Ongata Rongai to minister with one of our favorite people, Bishop Dan Ojijo. What a great time of encouragement and equipping the saints for ministry through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Next up, we boarded a train to Mombasa, where Bishop Madara picked us up from the train station. After arriving, we had an amazing meeting with the women’s group at the MLM Mewani church in Kongowea. Thank you, God, for your will, your way, and your heart for these precious women. Mombasa is a cultural city on the Indian Ocean where there are many people, religions, and new experiences. For the REACH team, it is a tremendous opportunity to become the light of Jesus to the Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and witch doctors living in the area. We have had three church visits and squeezed in an invigorating visit to Glory Christian Education Center so far on this trip.

The power of God is changing people's lives here in Mombasa and encouraging us at every turn. When we visited the school, we brought balls, jump ropes, as well as food stuff for the kids to eat. As we approached, the children rushed in on us, grabbed the food and toys then started singing a song in unison. “We are happy today, we are happy today,” where they danced and held the gifts up high, parading them around the compound. It was so inspiring that it became the name of this newsletter! We must remember no matter what is happening, in our lives we should be raising our voice to God, letting Him know we are so happy today because of the love He showed us in the gift of His son Jesus, and in our everyday lives we rejoice over the good gifts He is giving us!

Last week, we had an amazing service in the Mtondia MLM church. This church was planted right in the middle of a dark witch doctor community so that they could be the light shining bright in the darkness. When we left the house to travel there in a new car, it broke down two times. On the second failure, we grabbed a three-seater Tuk Tuk and traveled for an additional eight miles, crammed in like sardines. When we arrived in town, we had to take five small motorcycles to reach the service (about an hour late)! The enemy was working hard to stop us from making the trip. We had a quick prayer time and kicked the devil out of our travel arrangements. Then we were able to make it to the service, which was such an amazing celebration and a pointed victory for the congregation. We were all overjoyed with God’s faithfulness. The service and travel took nine hours, and we were exhausted, but it was such a great and joyous victory that we would all do it again tomorrow and probably will.