There we were at the corner of two dirt paths bustling with activity. The air was thick with smoke from nearby open fires and the smell of the corn and potatoes cooking upon them. Well-worn speakers blasted the sounds of Pastor Mike’s keyboard, mixed with a heavy dose of static hiss, as another pastor led chorus after chorus of praise music. A crowd began to gather. Our “open-air” had begun.

An “open-air” is an outdoor revival-style program aimed at attracting a crowd and then sharing the Gospel with them. They are very common here in Kibera, but Saturday was he first one we had been a part of. All week long, we spent our mornings preparing dramas to present during the open-air. We talked about who would introduce dramas, who would share testimonies, who would preach. And now, the time had come.

As the pastors continued their choruses, I prayed for the Holy Spirit’s touch. I asked God to be with us, in the midst of the crowd, touching hearts and bringing souls into relationship with Himself. This was the day of salvation.

After the singing, we presented our dramas interspersed with testimonies. Both dramas were original works created by fellow World Racers; one from our dear Laura, and one from Sarah Cruz of the Blue Team. Both dramas depict Jesus freeing people from various types of bondage and welcoming them into a new life with Him. Kim and Friske testified to the power of Jesus Christ in their lives, as their words were translated into Swahili by Pastor Jackson.

After all of this, I had the honor of preaching from God’s Word. My plan had been to preach from John 3, Jesus’ visit from the Pharisee Nicodemus. However, God had other plans. I started in John 3, but as soon as I touched on the necessity of being born again, I found myself launched into a bare-knuckled evangelistic plea. Propelled by the Spirit, I talked about how everything is insufficient to get us into heaven except for the blood of Jesus. I talked about how the Father stands with His arms wide open, waiting for us, desperately desiring for us, to come home to Him. I talked about the peace that comes with a relationship with Christ, and about how sin leads us to death, but God’s free gift is eternal life for those who will give their lives to His Son.

As I spoke, I felt the weight of 2 Corinthians 5:20, which says: “We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.” The Lord was imploring these people to be saved, and He was using me to do it.

At the conclusion of my time we gave an invitation to receive Christ, which was accepted by two men. We prayed with these men and rejoiced at the great miracle of salvation along with them.

But God was not through.

As more praise music played, I looked around and noticed that nearly every one of my teammates was engrossed in conversations with people in the crowd. I prayed for them, that God would use their words for His glory. I later found out that because of these conversations, four more people put their faith in Jesus that day.

While my friends ministered to the crowd, I was involved with one of the two men who came forward. He was a little inebriated, though not what one would call drunk. He told me some of his story; how his brother had died just a couple of weeks ago, and how he had left his own neighborhood hoping to find work on the other side of Kibera. He had no job, no family, nowhere to stay. He was scared. As he spoke, his glassy, red eyes filled with tears.

I couldn’t find any words to comfort such pain. Not knowing what else to do, I embraced him and pulled his head to my chest. He wept and cried out to God for help, for relief. I prayed for him with everything in me.

After several minutes, he pulled his head away from my tear-soaked shirt. He said he had peace, and he was confident that God would provide. He also said he was glad to have become a child of God today.

It’s moments like this that make all the stress, strain, and hassle of a trip like this worth it. To see God touch a life. To grieve with someone, to comfort them with the love of Jesus Christ. To be faithful in sharing the most important message that exists in life, the message that God loves you and wants a relationship with you. That is what this trip should be about. That is what life should be about.

So, as we were wrapping up with a couple more songs and some dancing, God gave us one more surprise. A Massai man happened up out of the crowd. He had not been present for the dramas or the preaching, but he heard the music and joined in the dancing. He danced with such joy and energy. And after several minutes, he told one of the pastors that he wanted to follow Jesus. The pastor was a little surprised, but overjoyed. He explained the Gospel to the Massai man in his language and asked if he understood and wanted to receive Jesus. He said he did.

So, within moments, our group was huddled around the Massai man as he knelt on the ground and gave his life to the Lord. God won him, not through preaching, but through rejoicing. He saw Christians rejoicing in their Savior and wanted to join them. Perhaps there’s a lesson in that for all of us.

So, after one week of ministry, we have seen at least 15 confessions of Jesus Christ as Lord. The fields are indeed ripe for harvest.

It's so great to be here in Kenya.  Finally, a chance to get away from the distractions that come with travel, tourism, and big-group living.  Finally, a chance to pour myself into ministry.  It's like a breath of fresh air!

It seems our main focus here will be evangelism, both through door-to-door visitations and open-air revival-style events.  In addition to this, God is challenging us to love and care for the poor of Kibera, especially those who lack money for food and schooling for their children.

Yesterday was our first door-to-door experience.  We went out in three groups, each with a pastor from the church we are working with, to visit people in their homes in a section of Kibera called Olympic. 

As we walked there, one of the pastors ran into a woman who goes to his church.  She asked him to come and pray for her, so he and a portion of our group went with her to her nearby home. 

Meanwhile, Pastor Jackson and I began talking with a woman named Rebecca there on the street.  Rebecca was a Catholic, but she said she did not know if she was saved.  She said she wasn't sure that someone COULD know for sure.  Pastor Jackson and I shared the Good News with her: that Jesus died for her sins, and that she could know she was headed for heaven for sure if she would only trust in Him for her salvation.  After several minutes of discussion, Rebecca told us she desired to give her life to Christ.

We hadn't even got into the neighborhood we were targeting, and already the Holy Spirit was brining new believers into the Kingdom!  What an awesome God we serve!

After arriving in Olympic, we prayed and split up into three groups.  Katherine and I went with Jackson.  We were supposed to spend an hour visiting homes and sharing the Gospel before meeting up at Jackson's church.

Well, our group spent more like two hours visiting homes, and in that time we saw another four people come to Christ.  In fact, every non-believer we invited to accept Christ said, "Yes!"  Every one of them!  We also had the honor of praying for a couple of women who were believers in difficult circumstances.  It was truly a day of blessings.

Please pray for these new believers: Rebecca, Caroline, Caroline, Stephen, and Edie.  They need our prayers for protection from the Enemy and the support of local believers.  Pray they come to church this Sunday.

On Saturday, we are supposed to be having an open-air event in this same neighborhood.  We have spent our mornings all this week preparing dramas to present at the event.  Please pray that everything would go smoothly with the event, and that many more would come to Christ through our meager efforts.

I'm so excited to see what will transpire in the weeks to come, and I humbly thank God for including Kibera in the path of discipleship He has me on.

Oh, and for those that don't follow college football, my Trojans KILLED their opponent and are now ranked third in the country.  We're idle this week, so no Game Day preparations need be made.  FIGHT ON, TROJANS!!

I know I'm a half a world away and all, but I would be remiss if I didn't take a minute to wish my beloved USC Trojan Football Team the best of luck in their latest bid to stand atop the world of college football...AGAIN.

We open our season Saturday night with an away game against the Razorbacks of Arkansas.  If anybody back home thinks about taping it for me, they would make me very happy indeed.  I will be sporting my USC gear (and not shaving) on Game Day, and I would advise my Trojan brethren worldwide to do the same.

Oh, and the picture?  That's our new starting QB, John David Booty.  He has waited in the wings for three years, and now he has his chance to show the world what he can do.  And that he shall, on the way to yet another Pac-10 Championship, and maybe...just maybe...another National Title.

And now, please rise for the singing of our beloved fight song, "Fight On!"

Fight On for ole 'SC!
Our men Fight On to victory!
Our alma mater dear
Looks up to you!
Fight On and win for ole 'SC!
Fight On to victory!
Fight On!

We’re back in Cairo after ten days serving in Quissia, a rural town smack-dab in the middle of Egypt. We’ll be here in Cairo for a couple of days of debrief and preparation before we head off to Kenya to begin our next phase of ministry.

Our time in Quissia was both challenging and interesting. I found it challenging because we were serving within the context of the Coptic Orthodox Church, a body with a long and treasured heritage, but unfamiliar ground for us Protestant folk to be sure. I found it interesting in that we were able to find a great deal of common ground: our love for our Savior, our gratefulness for His sacrifice, our desire to serve the body and to take care of orphans and the poor. In these, we were united with our Coptic brothers and sisters.

During our time there, we were fortunate enough to stay in the house of Bishop Thomas. The Bishop was very hospitable to us, and upon his return from a speaking tour of the U.S. and Canada, he made time to talk with our group, sharing his insights on church unity, what it is to truly be “in Christ,” and the ever-increasing danger of the spread of Islam. I found the Bishop’s thoughts on all of these topics thoroughly fascinating, and I’m quite sure that if he had continued to talk indefinitely, I would still be there listening.

On the topic of church unity, Bishop Thomas said that it’s not about being identical, but about being united in spirit and in purpose. It doesn’t matter that you worship one way and I worship another. What matters is that we are united in our desire to love and serve our Lord.

Amen, Bishop.

And it was in this spirit of unity and love that we served the people of Quissia during our time there. For me, I was blessed to work at a boys orphanage most mornings, and then I did a variety of other things in the evenings, including speaking at youth meetings, sharing stories from our travels, performing our drama, and leading a bible study.

I was even asked to teach a class on how to make a CV. My response was something like, “Sure, I’d love to. Just one thing, though…what’s a CV?”

Turns out a CV is a curriculum vitae, which is what speakers of British-English call a resume. I am something of an expert in this field, as at one point in my life I had six different jobs in five years. I wrote a LOT of resumes. The class had about thirty students in it, and it went pretty well. I even taught a second session on how to have a great job interview.

Throughout our visit, the Christians of Quissia were wonderful to us. Their hospitality and their eagerness to share fellowship with us were overwhelming, humbling, and very welcome. Thanks to everyone we met there.

As we stand on the verge of our final three months in the field, we are faced with some challenges. Money is beginning to become a distraction. Katherine and I are right on target (thanks again to all of you who contribute to make this work possible), but there are a few World Racers who still need additional support. And with some expensive travel costs on the horizon in Africa, the need is all the more immediate.

All of the American World Racers have decided to band together to make an effort to get every World Racer fully supported. We are currently about $16,000 away from this goal.

So, I ask you to consider making a donation to one of the World Racers who are the most in need (Ashley, Casey, Jessica Friske, Kim Kinsley, etc.). Go to their blogs, check out what God is doing in them and through them, and see if the Lord might move you to contribute to this work.

That’s all for now, folks. Peace out.

This one was intended to be a post on the Red Team site, but we're locked out of that one at present.  So, for the moment, the post resides here.  -Ed.

As I’m sure you all know by now, our itinerary has changed. Due to ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, we have decided to reroute. So instead of retracing the steps of Jesus in Israel, we are retracing the steps of Paul across Greece and Turkey.

 Our journey began a couple of days ago. We took overnight ferries from Split, Croatia, to Ancona, Italy, and then from there to Patra, Greece. The ferry to Patra was an interesting experience, as we ended up sleeping in our tents on the deck of the ship. We even had bible study out on the deck as the sun went down. How cool is that?

We arrived in Patra yesterday and spent the night there, and then journeyed by train to Corinth this morning. Of course, we paid a visit to the ancient city.

Ashley played the role of tour guide, since she visited Corinth two months ago. Her knowledge and passion for seeing the Scriptures come alive blessed us all.

We walked among the piles of ancient stones and fragmented columns, as the Acrocorinth – a huge mountain upon which the Temple of Aphrodite once stood – loomed over us. We tried to imagine what it must have looked like almost 2000 years ago when Paul walked these streets. As we strolled along the agora, we pictured the shops that once lined each side of it, among them perhaps the tent-making shop of Aquila and Pricilla that Paul worked in during his year and a half in Corinth (see 1 Cor 18).

We also saw the bema, a tribunal building in which Paul may have faced the Jews who accused him of blasphemous teaching.

As we stood in the town square and read the Scriptures, we came across one special passage in which God gave Paul a word of encouragement:

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." -- 1 Cor 18:8-9

God had many people in Corinth. They were our brothers and sisters. They walked these streets. And one day, we will get to meet them and hear their stories in heaven. What a blessing.

Lord, may we heed the word You spoke to Paul here in Corinth. Let us not be afraid, let us keep on speaking, let us never keep silent.

Now, on to Athens!

These past couple of weeks have been some of the most difficult I have thus far encountered on this trip. Though Phuket is filled with natural beauty, and though there are many fun things to see and do, none of that matters much, because I find myself overwhelmed by the spiritual darkness of this place.

For three weeks now, I have been unable to hear the voice of God. I do not feel His Presence here at all. Katherine observed that it seems like we checked the Holy Spirit at customs. Old sins and struggles and temptations have resurfaced here, warring against my soul in a constant and on-going battle. Hope is hard to find and even harder to hold onto.

Katherine and I have also struggled as a couple. For some reason, we have incredible difficulty communicating here (we believe it’s spiritual in nature). This interference recently led to the biggest fight we’ve had in many months. We’re okay now, but we are both very much looking forward to the day we leave this dark and disheartening place.

I don’t like being the one to rain on the parade of sunshine and smiles that usually fills the pages of everyone else’s blogs. But those who follow the World Race -- especially those of you who are considering applying for next year -- need to know the truth. This trip is hard. It’s hard on emotions, hard on relationships, and hard on your spiritual life.

Of course, the fact that it’s hard is part of what makes it great.

But nevertheless, in these dark days, I am learning to cry out along with the Psalmist…

“ Will Your wonders be made known in the darkness? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But I, O LORD, have cried out to You for help, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.

O LORD, why do You reject my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?

--Psalm 88:12-14

I had a real Job 40 moment a couple of days ago.

We were preparing to defeat the Brown Team at mini-golf, taking a few warm-up swings with our rubber-coated putters, when Paul calls out, “Um, guys? There’s an elephant down here on the sidewalk.”

I turned to look, and sure enough, there was not one, but two young elephants out in front of the mini-golf place, posing for pictures and being fed by the tourists. I couldn’t resist the urge to go see for myself. Though it would delay the game a few minutes, I had to take time out for this unusual circumstance.

Within moments, I was standing face-to-face with a creature more than eight feet tall, watching it eat fruit from the hands of passersby, petting its trunk.

My mind immediately went to the words of God in the fortieth chapter of the Book of Job:

“Behold now, Behemoth, which I made as well as you; He eats grass like an ox.

Behold now, his strength in his loins And his power in the muscles of his belly.

He bends his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are knit together.

His bones are tubes of bronze; His limbs are like bars of iron.”

--Job 40:15-18

Now, I am of the opinion that the Behemoth is actually a pre-flood brontosaurus, but that’s a discussion for another time. The point here is that I was faced with this enormous animal, and I could only see the wonder of the Creator. What an imagination God has to make a beast this large and powerful, to place such destructive capability in its muscular trunk and in its thunderous feet, and then to make it use that awe-inspiring trunk to feed itself with fruit and plants.

But the wondrous imagination of the Creator is not only on display in the exotic and unusual. Consider the beauty and grace of the horse, the delicacy of the butterfly, or the perfection of the rose blossom. All of these are testimonies of the creativity, artistry, and passion of our God.

Katherine and I didn't get to share our adventures back in Bangkok with you all, so here’s something I’ve been meaning to post for a week or so.

Think of it as a blogging meatloaf: sure, it’s not as fresh as it was a few days ago, but if you reheat it and put some barbeque sauce on top, it's still pretty tasty.

Anyway, back in Bangkok, Katherine and I took a day to venture up the river and see some sights in the older section of downtown. Among the things we decided to check out was Wat Something-or-Other, an ancient Buddhist temple that features a huge statue of Buddha in a reclining position. He's sort of laying on his side with his head propped up on his elbow.

Laura refers to this pose as the "Sexy Buddha," which amuses me.

We bought a ticket to see this thing, and I was thinking, I’ve seen some big Buddhas on this trip already. What’s going to be so cool about this one?

It was about that time that I turned the corner, entered the temple, and…whoa!

Holy Indiana Jones! That thing is enormous!

I know it probably doesn't come through in the pictures, but this thing was huge. Trust me, I was there.

We walked around the Temple of Doom for a while, noticing the intricate artwork. The Buddha's feet are inlaid with detailed mother-of-pearl engravings. Every wall surface of the temple is covered in beautifully painted murals.

I reflected on the level of craftsmanship involved in creating all of this, the long, tedious hours of painting tiny little details on a wall three stories above the ground. I expected that pity for the laborers would surface in my heart, because their hours of labor were in vain: fruitless gifts to non-existent gods. But instead, I found myself admiring them a little. What devotion they must have had. What oneness of purpose. What a hunger to please the one they worshipped.

We aren't like that so much. We get upset when our worship service runs fifteen minutes over. We look for ways to keep from doing extra work at church. The idea of spending hours doing tediously repetitious tasks in the service of our Lord would make most of us cringe and run the opposite direction.

Why is that? Could it be that these ancient Buddhists were more devoted to their fake god than we are to the Real One?

Lord Jesus, light a fire in your people to love You more, and teach us to pour out our lives in serving You. Amen.