“It wasn’t what I expected, but it’s what He intended.” That’s my trip summed up in one very short sentence. It was challenging, undoing, heart-breaking, heart-warming, and full of His grace at every turn!

Here is a small glimpse into the trip…Kenya

It started with the adventure of sitting in a plane on the tarmac as we watched our next plane take off without us. Weather adjusted our plans, but the Lord saw to it that we quickly got out of a very crazy Dulles airport. We flew over Baghdad, Iraq and into Dubai. We flew 13 hours, overshooting our Kenyan destination by 5 hours. (Sometimes getting to our destination involves the “long way,” doesn’t it?)

Our time in Kenya included a Sunday meeting, a pastors’ seminar, and a safari. What a humbling opportunity to speak to pastors in Kenya. I taught on the subject of worship and found myself in a place where I couldn’t use “worship music” to speak on worship, but instead really draw from the “new song” that exists in each one of us. This new song goes far beyond style of music, language, tempo, nationality, or anything else. It made me realize how dependent we’ve become on the “known songs” that have been written for us, versus the “new song” that He has written in us. We’ve become very song-based in our worship, not Savior-based. (That’s enough on that subject for now.)

The people were so gracious and giving. I was struck by their kind hospitality. I spent time teaching the pastors and also meeting with the women. They love to praise God and do it with exuberance as you can see in one of the video clips on the “Pictures and videos” page. They also pray with everything that they are. In all of this, however, there is no substitute for worshipping Him for who He is. I heard a phrase while I was there that has really stuck with me. “In praise we’re occupied with our blessings, in prayer we’re occupied with our needs, but in worship we’re occupied with God.” A lot of my teaching included the occupation with God in worship.

The safari was great! Eleven lions – 9 up close and personal! (They were resting after their morning meal, so thankfully we didn’t look too appetizing.) The giraffes were elegant, the zebras cute, the buffalo intimidating, the hippos lazy, and the monkeys playful. All in all, His creation was breath-taking!