Hello from Eldoret, Kenya

Posted: March 10, 2010

3/11:

We taught on the Holy Spirit and it was followed by a powerful time of worship. God’s presence was real as people were prayed over, some wept and some praised God for how God was touching them this week.

Wayne and I are having a chance to talk with more of them one-on-one and we continue to be moved by their passion for God and the church and those who are in need around them, Please pray for them in the last days of this conference. They asked me time & time again to thank Mt. Bethel for sponsoring ILI in Eldoret. I am thankful to be here to be part of it.

Blessings from Kenya,

Carey

3/10:

The ILI conference in Eldoret, Kenya has been such a great time so far. The Pastors are very hungry to grow and learn more about Christian leadership. They are so appreciative for every little thing we share with them. Such humble and passionate hearts. I talked with one pastor today who started a children’s home when his wife was moved by 3 children who had both parents die in the same day. Such incredible faith in the midst of incredible circumstances. Please be praying for these pastors as God works on their hearts and encourages them in midst of situations that most of us can’t image. Wayne and I are doing well and so thankful to have this opportunity to share with them. Maybe someday I will have faith like so many of them.

Blessings from Kenya,
Carey

Honor Your Father and Mother

Posted: September 17, 2009

I just returned from Nicaragua where the children are without many things children should not be without. Many of them don’t have enough food, decent clothes, or an adequate place to live. We see images and hear stories about their poverty and are moved to want to supply these children with the needs to have a chance in life. So what will make their lives whole again? Money for food, education, a better way of life? Certainly all that will help, but their greatest need is not related to wealth or poverty. Some of the happiest children I have ever met live in poor circumstances. So what is the key? I think it can be summed up in a word, “relationships.” Those children with deep relationships, a faith in God, and a healthy relationship with a father & mother or a father/mother figure are the ones I see with joy on their faces. Those relationships bring a sense of stability and security to their world, but most of all a sense of love. We can see the effects when it is not there.

While in Nicaragua we spent a day with kids who had been sent to a children’s home due to parental neglect. The children’s home was wonderful, but the effects of years of neglect could easily be seen in the children. Much of the fear and anger was slowly fading but a desperate need for love was still obvious. It was on a bus ride to a local pool that I met Juan. He ran up to me, took my face and immediately pressed it against his. He had never met me before but within moments he was rubbing his face against my beard with a big smile on his face and then proceeded to sit down in my lap. The rest of the time, Juan was with me. He climbed on my back so I carried him in, and we played together the entire time, and then I carried him back out again. Never mind the bottom of the pool was covered with green moss or the water had more than its fair share of floating, unidentifiable objects in it. He was having the time of his life and so was I. We were built for relationship. Unhealthy relationships destroy life, but God’s love shared in relationship with one another restores and rebuilds life once again.

This Sunday we will be talking about the fifth commandment: Honor your Father & Mother. It’s not just about kids being good to their parents, it’s about the right relationships. God is looking to build a lifetime of right relationships so we can spread His love to others. As we open God’s Word Sunday, let Him open our eyes to how a right relationship with Mom & Dad is part of His plan of love, and how we can help those relationships that are damaged or broken.

I had a wonderful time with Juan that day, but that was just one day. Thanks to the ministry of El Ayudante (Spanish for “The Helper”), Juan has a great chance to experience the love of God.

Rev. Carey Akin

Taking Christ to the Nations

Posted: July 1, 2009

What do Kenya, Macedonia, Costa Rica, Estonia, Honduras, Romania, Scotland, and West Virginia all have in common? They are all places Mt. Bethel UMC is sending mission teams this summer. Ten different teams are preparing as I write this, to be God’s messengers throughout the world this summer.

We think of summer as a time of relaxation and a time to get away. Those are great things to do, but a number of our church members have chosen to make it a time to get away with God and to get away to serve others. During this summer God is calling these servants to care for those who are in need and show Christ’s love.

Here is just a taste of the kinds of ministry that will go on in these countries:

In Kenya we will work for the first time in the medical center we partnered to build in Kwambekenya. We will begin training pastors in evangelism & leadership as well as working in the schools, providing sports recreation and continuing with work projects.

In Macedonia they will be providing meals to the elderly through their meals on wheels program, as well as building needed facilities.

In Costa Rica we are doing Bible school for the children at a local Methodist Church and providing much needed structural repairs.

In Estonia we will be ministering to over 100 young people as well as providing an outreach program to the community with a camp meeting-like atmosphere.

In Honduras we will be providing medical care miles from the nearest hospital, as well as working at local elementary school, teaching Bible school.

In Romania, through Life Academy, we will be providing training for young adults who have no family in order for them to gain necessary life skills. They will also work with young children in rural settings and provide construction to local churches in need. We are sending another team to Romania to work with Deborah House, a home for abused girls. They will be doing repairs, providing Christian education to these women as well as those in a state orphanage.

In Scotland we will be doing outreach and relational evangelism as we minister to those in the community through sports and children’s activities.

In West Virginia, a team is going to help provide clothes to those in need and help this local mission as it goes out into the community.

With this long list I am still leaving out a number of things. I share all this with you, as Mt. Bethel members, so you can be in prayer for these many mission teams throughout the summer. Also, that you will know a little bit about how Mt. Bethel, through God’s love, is putting “Compassion Into Action” throughout the globe.

To read more about how God is transforming His people through a vision to put compassion into action, go my blog about “The Heart of a Church.”

Rev. Carey Akin

Video of May 24 Encounter Sermon: “No Fear: The Destruction of Fear”

Posted: May 28, 2009

Minister: Rev. Carey Akin

Scripture: 1 John 4:16-21

A Kenyan Field of Dreams

Posted: May 22, 2009

This past week God once again revealed himself in a fresh new way.  I am always amazed that just when I think I understand God’s ways, He throws open a window.  You realize you have just begun to understand the depth of God’s love and His grace. That is exactly what I discover at the ILI conference in the Samburu region of Kenya.

Although we have been partners in ministry with ILI since the early days of their ministry, my guess is many of you either don’t know who they are or may not have a clear understanding of what they do.  ILI stands for International Leadership Institute.  Back in 1998 God gave Wes & Joy Griffin a vision to use the biblical principles of His word to train and inspire pastors and teachers throughout the world, particular in third world countries, where little or no training is available.

Wayne Hiott and I attended a national summit in Nairobi, Kenya with pastors from all over the region and then boarded a small plane to fly out to the Samburu region. After landing on a dirt airfield, we drove for 45 minutes on less than desirable roads to the town of Maralal.  For the next several days we trained pastors.  As we taught, we discussed, worshipped and prayed together.  These pastors were ministering to the Samburu people, a semi-nomadic tribe whose predominant source of income comes from herding sheep, goats and cows.  It had rained two days before we arrived, the first rain they had had in seven months.  One of the pastors told me that a number of the live stock had died due to the drought and many of the people were hungry due to the famine caused by the drought.

I would have expected to meet people who were downcast and fearful of the future, but this was not the case.  Instead these pastors were full of hope & faith.  Our arrival was a sign to them that God was answering their prayers.  Their people were thankful and joyful as they greeted us with warm smiles and enthusiasm.

After a great week of training, the highlight had to be Sunday when we visited several of their churches.  From Maralal we drove out into what seemed like the middle of nowhere where we finally ran across a small newly built church.  But where were the people?  There was nothing around.  No visible homes and signs of people.  As we arrived at the small church, we could hear singing.  As we looked inside, we saw children singing to the beat of a Kenyan drum with a couple of adults leading them.  They were singing loud and strong and sang on and on as if they could sing forever.  Finally they came out of the church, greeted us and disappeared into the shrubs.  In a little while, across the long flat plains, we could see a man in a suit appear, seemingly from nowhere.  It was Pastor Jackson (he had been at the ILI training).  He told us he had walked from his home 7 kilometers away, something he was use to since he walked the 14 kilometers there and back three times a week.  He was so glad to see us, but where were all the people.  We were told that the children had to return to the herds several kilometers away so the parents could come and worship while the children, I would say from 5-12 years old, could watch the flocks.  After some time had passed people began to appear.  Once again, from seemingly nowhere, out of the brown shrubs came people one or two at a time, like a field of dreams they appeared with joy on their faces, excited to be coming to worship the Lord.  One lady appeared suddenly in her bright red wrap (traditional Samburu garb) waving her hand as she came shouting praises to the Lord.  The small wood church with a tin roof that Mt. Bethel members had helped to fund was beginning to fill.

Wayne shared a wonderful testimony as more and more began to appear. I was asked to preach.  I wasn’t sure what I had to share with these people who praised God with all their hearts in the midst of famine and hardship, the likes of which I had never known, but I did my best with God’s help to share a message of hope, as the pastor translated my words into Samburu.  As I preached, I could see out the window.  One by one, more people appeared in the distance and walked to the church.  This small church in the middle of a dry and barren plain was an oasis to the people.  Like the movie “Field of Dreams” the people would appear with such joy and excitement to this placed they longed to be.

I saw God in a fresh way that day.  They weren’t blessed because of what they had.  They had very little and much of what they had had been lost due to the drought.  They were blessed because they had gathered to be with their Lord. Together they shared in His presence, they experienced his comfort and heard of His hope.  They were a people of faith in the true sense of the word.  They were a community of faith in a way most of us can’t imagine.  Wayne and I were humbled to share in these holy moments with them.  It’s my prayer that God will send the rains to the Samburu.  But it is also my prayer that I will come to have a faith and a passion to worship our Lord like the people of the Samburu.  That day I came to see what faith is all about in the midst of the wilderness in their “field of dreams”.  Just like the words from the book of Joel, they didn’t see their situation defined by their circumstances, but they trust in a God of hope, a God of dreams, a God of visions.

“It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.  -  Joel 2:28

Rev. Carey Akin

Video of May 3 Encounter Sermon: “Free From Fear”

Posted: May 5, 2009

Minister: Rev. Carey Akin

Scripture: Romans 8:15-17

Free From Fear

Posted: May 1, 2009

no-fearMost of us don’t think of ourselves as fearful people.  But when we exam our hearts, we find something quit different.  Questions like, what will I do if this happens, or how will I get by in this circumstance?

Most people seem to live in a preventive mode.  In other words, we live our lives motivated more to prevent bad things and alleviate our fears rather than being led by a compelling vision God has given us.  The sad part of this whole situation is that this is just the opposite of why God made us.  We were created to live a life of deep faith and intimate relationship with God.  This leaves fear far behind and takes us on an amazing journey where you and I get to be part of God’s plan and part of God’s family.  In Romans 8:15-17, we are told we “did not receive the spirit… of fear, but (we) received the Spirit of sonship.”  Amazing!  God tells us that there is nothing to worrying about, nothing to fear for those who belong to God, because they are God’s children, and God looks out for His children.

Some people get confused because it doesn’t seem like God is looking out for them.  The truth is that God’s love chooses not to prevent pain but to walk through it with us, just as Jesus did on earth through His relationship with the Father.  It is not always easy to understand, but when we walk through fear, pain, hurt, disappointment with Him as children, He changes us into people of faith.  It is no longer about getting our way or escaping our pain but simply about being with Him.  God has no fear, only peace, love, joy, hope, and the list goes on.   It is not an easy path, but it is the best path.  Even more than this, God tells us it is really the only path to take because it is the only path that leads us home.  Not so much home to heaven (although that is true) but home to Jesus, where we find peace and no fear.  When we choose this path and stay on it, we come to understand that we were crazy to ever have fear because God has NO FEAR. (none, zero, zip)

God wants us to be people of “no fear” so that a hurting, fearful world will know which direction to go in life, and come home to Him.

Come join us this Sunday in Encounter as I preach about you can be “free from fear” in your lives.

Rev. Carey Akin

Video of April 19 Traditional Sermon: “A Resurrected Life”

Posted: April 20, 2009

Minister: Rev. Carey Akin

Scripture: John 21:15-23

A Resurrected Life

Posted: April 17, 2009

So often, I see in my life and in the lives of others, a life that doesn’t match up with the life that Jesus tells us is available to us in the scriptures.  We talk a lot about the resurrection of Jesus and how it has released us from sin and death.  And yet in the everyday world, many times it just isn’t there.

I am not that bothered that all Christians aren’t perfect or even that they fail many, many times as they walk with Jesus. (I am the poster child for that.)  What troubles me is that, as God’s people, we often live as if a resurrected life doesn’t exist.

We like the idea of being saved, but being resurrected is a whole other thing.  The resurrection happened so that we might die to ourselves and be resurrected to a new life.   Through the Spirit that belongs to every true believer, we are able to follow Him each day more and more closely.  Then, He will be able to use us for His kingdom work.   He will be able to use us to witness to His love and mercy, heal the sick, care for the poor and the hurting, worship Him and Him alone, so others will see His glory.

God’s heart is that each day we might die a little more to ourselves and claim this new, resurrected life.  I am so thankful that Jesus died on the cross and rose again so that we might have new life.  But I am broken hearted (and I’m sure God is even more so) that all too often, we don’t experience this life.  We don’t experience it because it is something we believe in our head, but we don’t allow it to become the passion of our heart and the expression of our actions.  When I think about what Jesus did, it is incomprehensible. It is even more amazing that Jesus allows us to have a resurrected life with Him.  The least we can do, and the best we can have, is when we choose to walk with Him each day and die more and more to ourselves.  If we will make dying of self and living in Him the passion of our heart, then we will live the life He created us to live.  Every time I experience a little more of this resurrected life I ask myself why I waste so much time living for me. I pray that we would live as people who are resurrected and see God’s new life.

Romans 6:4  – We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Rev. Carey Akin

David Mugo

Posted: March 2, 2009

As I write this today, I received some very bad news.  A close friend of ours from Kwambekenya, David Mugo, died in auto accident traveling in a matatu (small vans that are used as taxis).

David was the community representative for Kwambekeya, our partner community in Kenya.  He lived in the community and was brought on staff by 410bridge (our missions partner in Kenya) to help the community.

During my last trip there, I prayed over his new born baby along with his wife.  He was so excited about the small house they had recently built and incredibly proud of his new baby.  He made sure we had time to walk by his house, so he could share his joy and pray for the new baby.  One of my last memories of David was of all of us running down the road in our work clothes to meet the group, and he began laughing so hard as he made fun of the way I was running in my mud boots and heavy clothes.  That was David, full of life and fun and joy with real hope for the future.  He shared his plans to expand his house (about the size of my kitchen) and about how the medical center would make such a difference and save so many lives.

As I write this message, I remember why I wanted to be the Pastor of missions at Mt. Bethel – “relationships.”

The more I get to know God, the more I can’t help but care about other people the way God cares about me.  One relationship at a time, God has changed my heart.  I smile when I remember John in the children’s home at Havilla who is always the first to grab my hand when I show up.  I remember as I talked in the back of a van as we traveled through India with a young pastor who, like David, had a new baby, and I heard of his dreams and how Jesus could make such a difference in India.  I remember standing along side an older Bolvian man as we pulled a cable across the river so that someday soon they would have a bridge to cross the river safely, and I remember sharing my water bottle with him in the heat as we looked at each other with the satisfaction that comes when you know you have worked hard together to help someone in need.

I remember talking with George with a big smile on his face at a leadership training school in Uganda (International Leadership Institute) as he shared with us how this would help him so much as he returned  to Soroti, a remote region in the north where he ministers to Orphans, the elderly, and those with HIV.  So many names and faces, one at a time, God is helping and God is using to help someone else.   Relationships is what God is all about: relationships make all the difference.  

That is why today is so hard.  I wanted to see David raise his baby and love on his wife and help the people in his community for years to come.  But I have this comfort and so do all of those who knew David.  David loved Jesus, and now he is sharing with Him in the greatest relationship of all.  

Today is a reminder to me of how fragile life is and how precious it is.

So as we go into 2009, it is my prayer for myself and our church that we will be all about relationships.  Just like David, we will love God first, love our family like David, with so much pride and joy, and love those around us like he cared so deeply for his community so that they would have hope.

Dear God, 

I thank you for David, a man with very little in this world but a treasure in heaven. Help us to live as he did, as one who loved you, loved his family, and loved others.  Comfort those who are close to him with your grace.  Amen

Rev. Carey Akin