I seldom post much besides payer updates and occasional photos of interesting things within the ministry and our personal life living here in Africa. This is one of those exceptions and is just some random thoughts bouncing around my brain.

Occasionally someone mentions the sacrifice we have made to be on the mission field. Hah!

While in Turkana a couple weeks ago, after having already spoken in two churches in 43C heat, a friend and I decided to go for a swim in Lake Turkana. We needed to hire a couple local fishermen (for $1.50) to to paddle us out to a safe area. As we bobbed and cooled off in water flowing in from Ethiopia I commented that most people will never get the joy of doing what we were doing. It was just a simple joy to float with a friend. We only had an hour or so because we had to meet some Turkana pastors for an early dinner punda and damu, but even that is a joy to consider breaking ugali with pastors from an unreached people and enjoy a meal in their home.

As we were still enjoying the floating in Lake Turkana we both came to see that we feel sorry for those that have not experienced all we have been able to enjoy as we make this so called "sacrifice." Truthfully, we have great gain, not great sacrifice. I have to imagine it is similar, though only in the smallest of ways, to what the writer of Hebrews meant when he said of Jesus, "...for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross..."

Certainly the Father made the largest sacrifice by killing His only begotten Son. Surely Jesus sacrificed by making "...Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men." to humble Himself and become "...obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." I think it was C.S. Lewis that compared the incarnation to being a greater humbling than a man becoming a bug. And there is no doubt that that the Holy Spirit, being fully God, made a sacrifice as He indwelt Jesus. Even with the great sacrifice, the Bible speaks more of joy within the Godhead than suffering.

I think when when we consider the joy before us, the suffering and sacrifice seems to pass away. When I read 2 Timothy 4, I just want to weep, and confess that it has brought me to tears on multiple occasions. It is an incredible record of Paul's suffering in interpersonal relationships (read 2 Cor 11 for physical suffering). Even amidst the heaviness of Paul's last earthly written words of suffering are gems of testimony that he still had joy that the gospel was going out. I somehow think he did not consider it a sacrifice in the sense we use the word today.

I'm not sure where our personal and ministry lives begin and end and have absolutely no desire to investigate that issue. All I can say is we have absolute joy across our spectrum as Haley and Jackson go to a better school than they ever could in the States, we have deep relationships with people we could not meet in the States and we have the blessing of seeing God do amazing things daily. Until being caught up with Jesus, there will be no greater joy than seeing and taking part in Acts 29 being played out all around us. We have had the incredible blessing of watching firsthand and up close as God has planted two churches, seen hookers repent and "pastors" get saved. We would not trade that for the world!

As part of the Christmas holiday God gave us a gift of a couple days of camping near Lake Naivasha with our friends the Bascoms. It is another example of what we enjoy living in Kenya that we could never have in the States. We enjoyed sweet fellowship with Christians we love and respect and could talk about everything from dispositionalism to planning our daughter's joint high school graduation party.

Naivasha is about 90-minutes from our house and just inside the Great Rift Valley. It is mostly a community living off the lake by either fishing or using the water to irrigate huge hothouses of flowers to export to Europe. Though Kenyans do not understand it, all the Americans here love that we can buy roses for our spouses for about $3 per-dozen.

Part of our safari (journey) was to take small boats out to Crescent Island and walk among the animals. On the way we saw many islands of hippos and a pair of fish eagles near the landing on the island. Haley and Clair walked among the giraffes and Jackson, Sebby and Alex enjoyed seeing a half eaten gazelle carcase.

What sacrifice?

Calvary International Fellowship

Compean Missionary Page

Here is a link to a recent article in the Times of London that,in our observation and opinion, hits the nail squarely on the head. Mathew Parris is the author and claims to be an atheist, but his comments about what is needed in Africa are exactly right.

Here is the subhead and a couple graphs, the remainder can be read by following the link...

Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem - the crushing passivity of the people's mindset.

Those who want Africa to walk tall amid 21st-century global competition must not kid themselves that providing the material means or even the know how that accompanies what we call development will make the change. A whole belief system must first be supplanted.

And I'm afraid it has to be supplanted by another. Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation may leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.

Calvary International Fellowship: An Atheist Wrote This?

Compean Missionary Page

Dear Friends,

Please pray as the building project continues. We have been hung up with legal red tape to connect CIF’s water tank to the water source. Please also pray for provision and safety as we continue.

Please thank God with us for a great couple of Christmas services. Last Sunday afternoon we had our special Christmas service and for our normal mid-week Bible study we fired up the generator to show the Jesus Movie. Lives were touched. Please pray for Jesus to return in 2009, but if He does not that CIF would be keep busy making disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and then teaching them to observe all things that Jesus commanded us.

Krismas Njema Na Heri Za Mwaka Mpya,

Ed

Calvary International Fellowship: Prayer Update

Compean Missionary Page

Thank you for praying for the trip to Turkana. God blessed in many ways. Though my primary reason to safari to the desert was to help a fellow missionary, I had the great pleasure of witnessing God work among the unreached tribe. Bible studies in two villages were organized into operating churches with national pastors. That is a huge thing among unreached peoples. I could go on and on, but please know God is calling people to Himself from yet another tribe.

Calvary International Fellowship: Back from Turkana

Compean Missionary Page

Meet some newcomers to Shepherd's Staff...

We are happy to report that the Lord has provided a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in a safe area for us to live. Thank you for all of your prayers on our behalf to find more permanent housing. The apartment is located about 15 minutes south of Kampala in a quiet neighborhood. It is very near to the MAF Kajjansi Airfield where George will be building a new aircraft hanger.
A new shopping center has opened up within walking distance from our apartment. We will be able to do all of our shopping and banking there. This will really help us to save in fuel costs. Diesel is now about $6.50 per gallon! Two good coffee shops have opened as well in the shopping center. We continue to clean and make ready the apartment. We hope to begin moving in this weekend. We also have to purchase basic furniture and a stove. The Lord continues to provide in unexpected ways for our every need.

Equipping the Saints: Answer to Prayer

Fellman Missionary Page

Please keep praying for Haley Compean. Below is an update from her mom, Kelli.

Dear Friends and Family,

Today we learned the cause of all of Haley’s symptoms and poor health.  It is not Thyroiditis.  The results of her MRI showed a very small pituitary adenoma.  This is 90% accurate so that means there is still a 10% chance it is something else.  What does this mean?  It means she has a very small, non-cancerous brain tumor which makes up 20% of all brain tumors diagnosed.  It is very curable with surgery, done through the sinus passages. 

At this point we have not yet spoken with her doctor so we don’t know how urgent the surgery is, if it can wait, or for how long.  Likely it will mean a return to the states for the surgery to be done there.  We are not considering having any kind of brain surgery here but you never know what will open up. 

Please pray.  We are very optimistic and praise God that if she has to have a brain tumor, this is a good one to have.  In some ways it is all very surreal but we have peace and know that God is going to carry us through this.  Even Haley is more concerned that this will interfere with the coming hockey season and her active senior social life, than the implications of having a brain tumor.  Please pray for continued peace, for good communication with the doctors and for facilitating appointments across continents and oceans so that we are not wasting time or resources.  Please also pray for provision, wisdom and good relationship with our insurance company who has already proven to be kind and quick responding.   Pray also that our family will continue to be at peace with each other and be open and honest with each other.  Praise God and pray thanksgiving for the wisdom of the doctor in ordering what I had thought was a wasteful and expensive test. 

Happy Thanksgiving and Blessings to you,

Your servant,

kelli

Calvary International Fellowship

Compean Missionary Page

At the request of Rev. Daniel Doe, Gary and I, along with a team from his church in Monrovia, ministered one-on-one discipleship to a group of leaders from the Baptist Association of 17 churches in Lower Nimba County. Details will come later

“What we are sharing with you this week, my people, is not a program but a way of LIFE; for we are living in a spiritual war against the spirits of darkness and cannot win that war by a program, but by living every day EMPOWERED by the Lord Jesus Christ. We must each day put on all God’s armor, so that we can stand against the power of the Evil One who is fighting to destroy us.

‘Through Jesus Christ only we can have victory over Satan. God’s Word says…’My people, be strong in the Lord and in the Power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against all the tricks of the Devil.

‘For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.(Ephesians 6: 10-12)

Gary & Ruth Newsletter » We Are Here, My People

Luukkonen Missionary Page

Dear Friends,

Please be in prayer for Haley. We thought we had come to the end of doctors visits, but in the last week her symptoms have gotten much worse. The endocrinologist is not ready to diagnose her with thyroid problems yet, though that seems to be were everything is pointing. He wants to rule out all other possibilities, and we appreciate the his looking at other possibilities,  but when he suggested a MRI we realized how serious this can be. Please pray that God would touch Haley.

Please pray as we continue with the building project. The landlord that Calvary International Fellowship currently rents from has begun tearing down the church building leaving the place in shambles. Please pray as the building begins the warfare is heating up. Please pray as we do our best to get out of the current building an onto our own property. Please pray for safety and security as the church works on building a meeting hall. We believe God is directing us to get the children’s ministry building foundation poured and a roof up to begin meeting in. God willing we should be able to do that by January or soon after. As we meet in that hall we’ll move begin the main sanctuary.

Shalom!

Calvary International Fellowship: Prayer Update

Compean Missionary Page

God used some visitors to bless us with a quick safari to Sweetwaters in Central Kenya. We were able to go on three game drives and Kelli came up with these images with her new point and shoot digital camera.

Calvary International Fellowship: Some of Kelli's Pictures...

Compean Missionary Page

CIF gathered with visitors from Calvary Chapel of Camarillo for an outreach geared around performance. Above, some of the CIF Angels perform a song and below, visitor Tom and sings a duet with CIF's own Brian. People performed dramas, songs, dances, scripture memory and other other artistic endeavors that glorified God. The outreach finished with a gospel presentation.

Calvary International Fellowship: AMP --Arts, Music & Poetry...

Compean Missionary Page