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[testimoniesofgodsgoodness]

https://anchor.fm/graceandfaith/episodes/Salvation-in-East-Park--Southampton-ebk0fd

[testimoniesofgodsgoodness]

Rob and I have started to do a podcast which we’ve entitled “Renew the Mind”. These podcasts are simply recording the discussions we have together, when we meet up in Southampton City Centre. It will give you insight into what we believe and what we are doing. What we do is the confirmation of what we believe. We would love you to join us. To have fellowship. Don’t allow fear to dictate your actions. Perfect love drives out fear. When Rob first invited me to join him back in January 2015 I accepted on the basis that I just watched! And that’s how I started. Today I love going out and meeting people sharing the Good News. It’s fun doing what Jesus did.

[testimoniesofgodsgoodness]

Michael and I went to East Park in Southampton this morning.

When we were leaving the East Park car park a homeless guy called Adam was begging in the ticket machine area. We said hello to him and introduced ourselves. He stated he was a Christian on hard times. He had a painful gum. We laid hands on him and the pain left him. He admitted the healing with surprise. Talked to him and then left giving him a little money and our leaflet, inviting him to meet up with us next Tuesday.

We met and spoke to various people but Magid stood out. Majid, a Pole, first informed us that he was a Christian and a believer but changed his tone after we shared a testimony of God’s grace and power resulting in miraculous healings. Majid then said he didn’t believe in all that. His reason been because of an inability to access NHS care when he was seriously ill. He had gotten care in Poland through his mother’s help, as she sent him medication from his home country. He stated that he didn’t believe in God because of his harrowing experience. He is presently homeless, unemployed and sleeps in his car. We offered to pray with him for his needs, he walked away from us. We however, commended him to the Lord Jesus for His grace and mercy as we parted from him.

[testimoniesofgodsgoodness]

Kenyan Journal Update

I’ve just spoken to my friend Johnston on the phone. You may remember that on my last day at WVA Johnston brought his son, Paul, for ministry. Paul had a very thin right leg and used a stick. The leg had recovered from a serious infection a few years ago, after Trevor and I ministered to him. And you may remember I took the stick off Paul and told him to walk unaided. Well today Johnston has told me that Paul is still walking unaided and the leg has grown much stronger. Thank You Jesus!

And I also ministered to a parent of one of the children who suffers from epileptic fits, called James. In one of his past fits he fell and broke his jaw. Johnston tells me that he has had no fits since and his jaw has realigned. James believes he is totally healed. Johnston told me James would like a Bible in their local Lou language. Consider it done James. Thank You Jesus! These are wonderful testimonies of the goodness and power of God, which is fanning the flames of spiritual revival.

[testimoniesofgodsgoodness]

Kenyan Journal

Tuesday 19th February 2019

Woke up early to watch the sun rise. It was stunningly beautiful.

David, Georges neighbour, was already digging up the earth next to the school, beginning the process of making bricks for the building of the next classroom. It’s quite astonishing how skilful these people are. I’ve already shared a video of David at work.

George turned up and we talked for a bit. George told me that David wants to move back to some land he owns near Makongeni church. George explained his idea of using this land to in part build a playground, and the rest to be used as farmland, growing food for the school. Trevor and I had tried a few years ago to ensure the children ate fruit whilst at school but the cost became prohibitive. And that was when we had less than 200 children! Now we have 515, and when the last classroom is built we will have close to 600. Having our own farmland made sense. We could be self sustainable, and teach the children how to farm at the same time. Was this Gods plan?

God has spoken to me, increasingly of late, to not limit Him. That He is a BIG God. Nothing is too difficult. So think BIG. So this opportunity of buying David’s land is thinking BIG. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all our needs will be met. I woke up this morning finding myself meditating on that very verse. Matthew 6.33.

After breakfast I finished packing my things, cleaned up the house, as best I could, and prepared myself for receiving people wanting to say goodbye and asking for prayers etc.

It turned out to be a busy morning, culminating in Johnston bringing his son Paul for prayer. I first met Paul three or so years ago, with Trevor, at his hut, up the road. He had a very badly infected leg with some sort of cancerous disease. I laid hands on him then and the infection cleared up. The cancer left.

Today, his leg is fine but thin. He still had a walking stick but was getting around quite well. But his walk with God was stuttering. Quite disappointing really with what God had done for him, plus both Johnston and his other son Peter were strong in the Lord. But Father told me that His grace would break through. Just lay hands on him and leave the rest to God. So I did, speaking LIFE and Wholeness into that this leg then God told me what to do. I took the stick from Paul and went into George’s house and left it there. I then came back and explained to Paul that his leg continued to be weak because Paul was not exercising it. He needed to walk unaided. He needed to trust God not the walking stick. So I told him to walk up and down the compound unaided, which he did slowly. I then told him to continue walking unaided and his leg would fully recover. And off he went walking unaided into the village. His Dad, Johnston, was very pleased and I look forward to a good report.

I then said goodbye to everyone, the children were on half-term, so I had said my goodbyes to them and the teachers yesterday, and about noon the taxi arrived and off we went to Migori ready to catch the bus to Nairobi. We stopped off at Florence Hotel so that I could get a much needed shower and we also ate there, chicken and chips! It was heavenly! I’ve attached a video I took at the hotel of a huge pelican standing on top of the unfinished building across from the hotel. The pelicans love perching on the highest points in Migori.

It was nearly over. Another Kenyan adventure. My faith was sky high. God had done and is doing awesome things. And I knew that this was only the beginning....

[testimoniesofgodsgoodness]

Kenyan Journal

Monday 18th February 2019

This morning the parents of the school came to George’s compound for a meeting with me, the teachers, and the children.

It was a great time as I reiterated the vision given to George and touched on aspects of the school that needed improving. In particular I talked about the classrooms, some of which had not be finished off to a high class. You could probably see what I mean in the videos I’ve shared of the buildings. The toilets are yet to be completed. When you have 515 children you need more toilets. And you need to divide the girls from the boys. This we are doing and currently the school has nine working toilets for the children and three for the teachers. Another three are incomplete and need completing. I touched on the need to complete the staff room to give the teachers the space to mark the children’s work, and have their own meetings, and a place to relax, as well as store space for books. There is also a need for half a dozen more chairs.

Then I covered the future. I explained that the need for a secondary school was less important as it had become clear that the government had provided national secondary schools for the cleverest children in Kenya. And this type of secondary school was free, paid for by the government, because most graduates go on to university and become professionals in commerce, etc. Thus the country benefits greatly. Then there are district secondary schools were bursaries were given to children from poor families. Many children from this level also become professional people. Then there are local secondary schools were children were educated to a high level and went on to fill blue collar type jobs. Results from exams taken by children being educated at West View Academy are showing an usual success rate. We are blessed with excellent teachers who are passionate about the school and it’s rubbing off on to the children. We believe that many graduates from West View Academy May well achieve National Secondary School status, so reducing the need for building our own secondary school.

This will enable us to concentrate on the primary school (age five to sixteen) and gradually we can improve the facilities. There is a need for the children to be educated in computers. Most children at national level will have a basic understanding of how to use a computer. We must prepare our children accordingly. The pre school children (aged 3-5) need a playground providing swings and see saws, and climbing frames. The school also needs a bus of its own to pick up children who live far away, and drop them off at night before it gets dark. School trips to Migori to see how the town functions would be a first for most of the children, who have rarely ventured outside the village. Trips to Lake Victoria would benefit them, and there will be a need to travel to other schools as they become more proficient at various sports.

This last week we put in electricity in three of the classrooms to enable the oldest children to come to the school for prep. At home they are distracted by parents that want them to do chores and work on the farm. These same children are also coming into school early to enable them to study more, and this workload is a strain in them as they walk home late, walk to school very early and get little sleep. These children need, ideally, a dormitory so the can sleep during the week at the school and get more much needed rest. This extra study is desired by the children, and the teachers are fully prepared to work longer hours to ensure that as many children as possible graduate to national secondary school level. This dormitory, I told the parents, could also be used as a dining hall, and as a conference centre during the holidays thus earning the school much needed cash. The kitchen also needs improving.

Finally I handed out prizes for the winners of the single wicket competition. One for the the winner of the boys (Jared) and one for the winner of the girls (Neemah). And then both winners played each other and I gave out an engraved trophy I had bought in West End last year, to Jared. He was grinning from ear to ear.

Kenyans love ceremonies so there were many speakers after me but it was a lovely day, and the children of West View Academy were blessed. I finished the event with prayer and then the children went back to school. It was early afternoon by this time.

The rest of the day was spent talking to parents, teachers, and ministering to the sick. Tomorrow we leave late morning for Migori to catch the bus back to Nairobi for the plane back to Blighty. Time has flown by and God has been true to His Word. It never returns void.

[testimoniesofgodsgoodness]

Kenyan Journal

Sunday 17th February 2019

This morning I went to Makongeni Church for 8.30am and set up some worship songs which blessed those members who were there. Played some Bethel music and Paul Baloche. At about 10am I was asked to teach the members and I taught on Ephesians 6:10-17. The Full Armour of God. It was a powerful message and I was excited to see a positive response.

Afterwards I asked if anyone was sick and about nine people came forward , half standing proxy for family or friends who were unable to attend. Sicknesses ranged from stomach ache to cancer and all were healed who were at the church. The proxy people I have yet to receive a report.

A lady called Margaret turned up just before I started teaching on the full armour of God. She has a ministry called God IS Able. She comes from a very wealthy family, runs a hotel near Tanzania and has a husband who is a politician. I found this out after the meeting. Apparently God told her to drive to Makongeni Church and she didn’t want to go because of the distance. She decided to go to Migori instead to a church she oversees there, and asked a friend, who is an international singer, to go with her. Her friend told her that God wanted them to go to Makongeni so Margaret got the message. I love the way God speaks to us! And have since found out that Margaret met Trevor, Jack, Ben, and Nicky back in October 2018. Now I realise that God wanted Margaret to meet us all and know that our heart was committed to the village.

The church service finished around 2pm and aI walked back to the compound and had some late lunch and a rest before showing the film “Revelation” to George and his daughter Pleasant, in the evening. That projector is coming in very useful!

[testimoniesofgodsgoodness]

Kenyan Journal

Saturday 16th February 2019

Today we spent the morning visiting the sick in their homes. Sickness such as TB, stomach pains, headache, cancer, and malaria. All were healed immediately apart from a man with TB. He is the brother of Kennedy, a teacher at WVA. No obvious improvement but His Word says he is healed, so I await a good report.

In the afternoon I went to Makogeni Church and taught members about Spirit Soul & Body. Not many there in truth, but those that did attend seemed to understand the message. In the evening I had intended to run Toy Story to the children at the church but heavy rain persisted so I had a very welcome early night as tomorrow was going to be busy.

[testimoniesofgodsgoodness]

Kenyan Journal

Friday 15th February 2019

Woke up at 4am to the sound of children’s feet running past my bedroom window! The senior children were returning to school early for extra study. video attached showing the children having a good break.

By 6am I decided to get up and set up the cricket video presentation of the 2009 Test series England v Australia. I thought the cricket enthusiasts within WVA might be inspired by watching professionals play the great game. Only the 21 children that had entered the cricket competition were invited but I ended up with about fifty children. I think they were all inspired because they were very quiet, in awe, through out. Afterwards we had the West View Academy Single Cricket Competition 2019. 10 boys and 11 girls entered the competition and I decided the winner of the boys would play the winner of the girls, for the overall trophy, pictured here:

Jirad won the boys competition, and Neema for the girls. Jirad narrowly defeating Neema in the Final. There is huge potential amongst both the boys and the girls and my hope is the school will have a school team to be proud of in the years ahead. I’ve decided to help them that we should install a cricket net. There non available in Kenya, so we will have to make our own.

Interestingly, half way through the competition a girl came to see me to say her friend had a fever. I stopped the game, laid hands on the girl and the fever left her! I was so encouraged to see that the children were freely asking to be ministered, when sick.

The afternoon comprised of meeting a builder to discuss all the outstanding jobs and provide a quote. It turned out he was one of the sons of Margret who received her sight back on my trip back in October 2017! We agreed he would provide me with a quote on Monday at the gathering of all the parents. We met in the staff room and a parent was seeing a teacher and George asked if I would pray for him (his name was James) as he had epilepsy and a broken jaw from a fall during such an attack. I laid hands on him and nothing obvious happened. In faith we expect a gradual recovery.

[testimoniesofgodsgoodness]

Kenyan Journal

Thursday 14th February 2019

Today we went out into the countryside to visit the sick in their homes. This time George and I travelled from area to area on his motorbike. It was fun!

The first home we visited was owned by a relative of teacher Joseph. When we arrived there were a number of people who needed to be healed. It turned out to be Five, suffering from various diseases, stomach pains, pain in the side of the body, unable to walk, headaches, and other diseases. All were healed.

I spent all day visiting people in their homes who were either sick or wanted prayer for specific problems.

[testimoniesofgodsgoodness]

Kenyan Journal

Wednesday 13th February 2019

My first task, after a breakfast of porridge and tea (I’m assuming you wonder what I eat in Kenya - I still struggle with Kenyan food so I bring with me powdered meals and add hot water from the kettle) was to complete the setting up of the classroom for the showing of Toy Story.

We divided the children into three showings and squeezed each group into the first classroom - that’s about 150 children! Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves though the younger children did after awhile lose concentration so I stopped the film to let them go back to school. There was plenty of laughter, but every so often I would stop the film to explain what had happened, wondering if they understood what was going on.

The rest of the morning was spent giving out teddy bears to the preschool children, thanks to Judy Sweet and her team of knitters. They were all thrilled to bits. Afterwards I had some lunch (packet soup).

In the afternoon I spent quality time with some of the teachers talking about our faith and the future of the school. It was a very productive time as I had neglected the teachers on previous visits.

In between I had an opportunity to use the prophetic gift all believers have (a special thanks to Mark Iles who has been so important in teaching me how to walk in the prophetic) to speak prophetically into peoples lives who came to visit me.

Below are short videos of each teacher...

[testimoniesofgodsgoodness]

Kenyan Journal

Tuesday 12th February 2019

George and I arrived in Migori at about 6.15am, and we immediately went to Florence Hotel so that we could have a shower and some breakfast. Afterwards I went to the bank to obtain some Kenyan Shillings, and then to the local supermarket to buy some bottled water. We also visited a cabinet maker who was building a coffin for a young girl who died of Malaria three weeks earlier and whose parents go to Makongeni Church, a local church in Chungni where I have taught. The coffin would be finished by midday when it would be taken to West View Academy for the children to view the body, which was a bit odd, I thought at the time.

We then found a taxi to take us to Chungni, to West View Academy. We arrived about 10am to a wonderful greeting from the children, who stood either side of the road waving at me as we drove up to them. I visited each class to say hello and then returned to my hut to unpack and have some lunch.

After lunch I had a meeting with the teachers which was encouraging for everyone. That meeting finished about mid afternoon and shortly after, the coffin arrived with the dead girl. There were many people on bikes and the mourning family were in a 4x 4 carrying the coffin. It was to me anyway, a bizarre occasion with the coffin taken off the vehicle and opened to reveal the eleven year olds body. Every pupil was then instructed by Moses to walk by the coffin, giving their respects.

And then I sensed God wanted me to awaken the young girl. I’ve never raised the dead, not many have of course, but I knew that God wanted me to do just that, or at least try, and after obtaining permission from her father I laid hands on the dead girl and commanded her to wake up, in Jesus Name! Nothing happened. I persisted but there was no sign of life. I persuaded myself that it had been three weeks since her death, which was too long. My genuine desire is to be moved only by the Word of God, and He told us that If we believed we would raise the dead. So I will not give up!

I was then visited by two men who wanted to talk to me about correct doctrine! I thought this was also bizarre but God had a plan. Their names were Johnston and Patrick. We spent over an hour together and I could see that God was giving them fresh revelation. It was a special time together.

After that I prepared the first classroom for tomorrow’s film that I was going to show, using my iPad, projector, and projector screen that I had brought with me. The room had only just been installed with electricity that evening, on my earlier instruction, so the timing was perfect, and everything worked! Not always the case in this part of the world. We set the screen on one of the classroom walls with very efficient heavy duty sticky tape I had also brought with me from the UK.

All was ready for the following morning. I was very tired so went to bed quite early. Sunset is about 7.30pm. What has God got in store for us tomorrow...