Back In Costa Rica...... for now...

Dear friends and family,





I am back in Costa Rica, safe and sound. The outreach is complete and the students are now graduates. They will be heading out over the next days and weeks. All of them have different homess to return to and have been away from their family and friends for a long time. I also have some plans for what is to happen next. I will be taking a bit of time to rest and recover from the craziness of life that has been the past 3 months until I begin another big adventure that will last until early August. The details still need to be worked out, but this is the basic outline of what will be happening. I will begin a journey through South America that will eventually bring me to the YWAM base in Buenos Aires, Argentina. My method of travel will be bus. The route will be along the West side of South America, bringing me through Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile until I arrive in the final destination... Argentina. I will be connecting with the local YWAM bases in each country during this journey. This time of travel will be done with three purposes in mind...

1. To build connections with the different ministries along the way, in hopes of having contacts for future work.
2. To document the work being done by these different ministries, what their vision is, what their history is, and what their needs are... so that they can be connected with others who can support their ministry.
3. To allow God to expand my world vision and to see how much bigger He is than I already know. This will be a time of big growth in my life as I see how God is at work in the lives of others.

A close friend of mine has donated a video camera to help this become a reality. As soon as that camera arrives I will leave from Costa Rica and start the journey to Argentina. I would have loved to return home to Minnesota earlier, but God has really put this on my heart and I cannot be disobedient. I will need support in prayer and finances as this is quite an undertaking. I will also be away from home for 4 months longer than originally planned and that means I don't have funding for those four months. I just know this is right though. I am excited to see how God will be at work during this time. I don't know all the details yet, but as I do I will keep this updated. Please pray. Prayer is essential. Peace.

-=Leshan=-

or

-=Andrew=-

Last update from Kenya....

Dear love Ones,

Our ministry portion of the outreach phase has been completed. We had the amazing opportunity to live among and minister to the Masai people. We walked long distances to peoples homes built of earth, stick, and cow dung and shred the gospel with many different people. We also had several teachings and messages at different church services. During this time over 50 people made the decision to accept Christ as their Savior, and many other seeds were planted during this time. the Masai are such a beautiful people with a very rich and vibrant culture. I hope that god continues to redeem them and that they can continue to worship God as Masai. And they do worship God.. It is amazing. A true celebration of God in their lives, a time filled with dancing, singing, and jumping for the Lord. I was honored to spend time with these people. I was even given a Masai name "Leshan" pronounced like "Ga-LATIAN". It means... "like the rain". Maybe this will be my ministry name just as Saul was changed to Paul. I hope I can live up to that name and continue to be "Leshan", bringing life to dry and dying areas. The rest of our time in Kenya will be used as a time of debriefing for the DTS students as they prepare to return back to be with their friends and family. Once again thank you for all of your prayers and support as this time of ministry comes to a rest. God has been able to do an amazing work here. As for me.. God has a plan for what I will do next.. but i am going to save that for the next update. I will be returning to Costa Rica on the 21st and from there inform you on future plans. Peace.


-= Leshan =-

Hey! New Update!

Dear Loved Ones,

So far we have had a somewhat eventful time in Kenya. We thought we might have some malaria in oiur group. praise God, that was not the case. However one of the possible vicitims was the 2 yr old son of my co-leaders. we had a little scare, but things are settling down now. Our time has been filled with many different opportunities to serve the YWAM bas in Athi River. We have also had the opportunity to minister at different schools and even a hospital. We will be working with a church tomorrow where a sermon will be presented in spanish, then translated into english, and then again into swahili. It has been amazing to experience all the different cultures and see how God is at work in so many ways. Many different groups have come through The Athi River base; Americans (North and Central), Europeans, Africans, even some Canadians. It has been great to have the opportunity to hear from all these different people. to find out what they have been learning and what their future plans are. God is much bigger than we know, and this has really helped me to see that all the more. We still have much more ministry to help with. We will possibly be ministering with different churches, schools, hospitals, and orphanages this week. We also plan on being in a Masai village rom the 10th through the 15th. The Maisa are a nomadic indigenous group, and that time would be very different than anything we have experienced so far. Please continue to pray for us as we continue serving our Lord in Kenya. Peace.

-=Andrew=-