Please Pray for Crossroads

I am writing from Kenya to bring to your attention a serious issue facing our church, Crossroad Fellowship. 

It seems there is going to be building of apartments on the land in front of and surrounding the church property. Last week builders constructed a fence and told us that our property boundary wall was inside their property! 

Gary talked to the architect and the builder of our church and both men assured him that our fence was on our property line. Now it seems that one of the men that represents the construction of the apartments as he was on our church. We would call that a conflict of interest. But here with enough money a bribe can be paid and we will be at fault even if it is not our fault! 

The man building the apartments and his family are not opposed to pay as many bribes as necessary to get their way. But God can intervene. So please pray for this situation to be resolved and for God to get the glory in it! 

A Short Return to Kenya

Dear Praying Friends, 

Gary had a good report from the doctor this week and we made out plane reservations to return to Kenya on January 23! We are only going to be allowed to go for 5 weeks because the cardiologist here says he wants to see how the labs in Kenya will handle the weekly blood draw to check his blood thinner levels. When we come back they plan to do extensive checkups here to see if everything in Kenya was handled correctly and if so, then we can go back for a longer period of time. 

We are so thankful to the Lord for allowing us to be able to go back to Kenya! But it is kind of like the first time we went, kind of apprehensive, yet excited. This will be the first time we have gotten to see the finished church building, the official home of Crossroads Fellowship! 

Our Pastor, David Woods is going to be in Kenya during our time there. We are excited about that because Park Chapel has partnered with us in building Crossroads Fellowship. 

Thanks for standing with us, our partners in ministry and thanks for all the prayers on our behalf. But please don't stop praying! Of course, the most urgent request is that God will keep Gary safe  in Kenya with him being on the blood thinners. 

We love you and appreciate you all, you are blessing to us! 

Gary &  Jean

Update on Gary's Health

Just wanted to update you on what is going on with us. First note, our new website at http://www.crossroads.or.ke  We ask that you take a look and see what God has accomplished and how he used you in prayer and financial support. All Glory to Him!  

Also I wanted to give you an update on Gary's health. He went in for the nerve root block and they were unable to complete the procedure because he went into A-Fib. This week he had three episodes and on Wednesday I took him to the VA Hospital in Indianapolis. They kept him overnight and ran some tests. There was no damage to his heart, but he is still in A-fib. We are not sure why he continues to have these episodes. He is still on blood thinners, and that seems to be working for now. They need to shock his heart back into rhythm, but he has to remain on the blood thinners for a least another 3 weeks. 

Also, Tina, our daughter-in-law, has been found to have a second blod clot in her lung. She is unable to work full time, but now that Nathan is out of college for the summer, he is working full time. Also, they have launched a website called http://visionsbysmiddy.com, which showcases Tina's photography and Nathan's furniture design. 

Hanna is taking a course in summer school and working more hours. 

We love and trust the Lord. Jer 29:11 

Continuing to Grow

Crossroads Fellowship Church continues to grow and with the building being finally completed, the members are enjoying their own place to worship the Lord. Some of the members report that there is landscaping taking place as well as the parking lot reaching completion. There has been a temporary building completed for the Sunday School program, however, plans are to build on to the worship center and complete a two story education building. God miraculously supplied all we needed for the worship center, so we know he will provide the money for Phase II. 

The marriage of our son Nathan to Tina (Okken) Smiddy began the year 2008, with all of us traveling to Arizona for the wedding. Hanna, along with Tina's brothers were all attendants in the wedding. Even Gary and Tina's father, Tim participated in the ceremony. As is typical in weddings in Kenya, Gary paid cows to Tim as a dowry for his daughter. It was quite a surprise to everyone that attended! 

Although it is difficult for any missionary kid to come home, Hanna is adjusting well, working a part time job and learning to balance college, work and life in the States. She is in a Christian organization on campus, which has helped her spiritually, and she has made some friends along the way. 

It has been difficult to decide when to write this letter as we seem to once again be in God's waiting room. Gary had an MRI in January and it showed that he has four vertebrae in his neck compressed with never damage at each one. Surgery seems inevitable, however, we will not know definitely until April. We have been waiting a long time for all the testing and appointments to take place and this may delay our return to Kenya. Please pray for Gary and this situation. It has been a long time since you have heard from us, so we wanted to write now rather than wait for an appointment. 

Thanks for your financial support and prayer. What a true blessing you are to us! May God Bless You. 

A New Year, A Fresh Start

Greetings from the States!

As many of you already know, Jean and I were seconded from Lighthouse for Christ Mission to our own ministry, Crossroads Fellowship, some three years ago. What that meant was we were able to devote all our time to building up Crossroads Fellowship Church. Because Crossroads Fellowship began a new church and set up three feeding centers , it became necessary for CF to be registered in Kenya as an independent mission separate from Lighthouse for Christ.

The Kenya government granted Crossroads Fellowship Ministries its own legal registration as a Christian mission, and I am happy to let you know that we have now been registered in the US as well.

We want to thank Reverend Timothy Ghrist, Mission Director of Lighthouse for Christ Mission, and its Board of Directors for their support and direction for the past seventeen years. We were given the freedom by these men to start Crossroads Fellowship Church and the feeding centers.

Lighthouse for Christ will transfer any monies left in our account to our new account under Crossroads Fellowship Ministries.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

Thank you for your prayer and financial support through the years. God Bless You!

Greetings from the States

It has been quite a long time since we have written our Kronicles and therefore apologize for our tardiness. Obviously, we are writing to you from the States. As we reported in our last update, we did arrive on July 18. Hanna's graduation was such a testimony to the Lord's work in herself and her class. We thank God for this accomplishment in her life!

The whirlwind in which we found ourselves before we left Kenya continued for two months after our arrival in Indiana. Even after we reached our destination we still had to live in a temporary house from July until September , thus we are experts at packing and moving. Our children are also no strangers to packing up and leaving someplace! Somewhere in the past decades we have learned that truly our home is in heaven and not on this earth! One begins to dislike posessions! Ha, only kidding!

We are so thankful to Brandywine Community and Park Chapel churches for arranging the housing for us! The mission house that Park Chapel owns was occupied by another missionary family upon our arrival, so families at Brandywine provided a temporary home.

Since our arrival we have gotten Hanna a Learner's Permit to drive and have been practicing with her driving back and forth to school. This month she should get her license so she can drive herself! She seems to be adjusting to college life at IUPUI and the demanding schedule of school and work. She is thankful for her Verizion cell phone so she can keep in touch with her friends from RVA!

Nathan is getting married on January 4, 2008 in Arizona. His fiance is Tina Okken, also a former RVA graduate. The two of them will live in Indiana until Nathan finishes his degree. The whole family will go to Arizona on Dec 15 and stay till the wedding. Tina's parents, Tim and Jan Okken are former missionairies from Rwanda and Kenya whom we have known and been friends with for nearly thirty years!

Only four days after our arrival we took a trip to Tennessee to see Gary's mom who had been extremely ill for some time. She went home to be with the Lord only a week later. All four of her children were with her when she died.

Gary and I have had a number of opportunities to share the ministry God has given us in Kenya. We are available to come and share with you too! We thank God for your partnership with us in the Gospel of Christ! Your gifts and giving have sustained us. May our Lord be praised!

Church Grand Opening

We are pleased to announce that we are now having services in our new building.

Merry Christmas

As we go through the Christmas season here in Mombasa, we suffer with the heat at 90-100 degrees everyday; but this year it seems even worse because we are having an El Nino season so the humidity matches the temperature.

In spite of the weather, we are so thankful that the God of the Universe left Heaven to come as the Baby Jesus, being born in a cold barn with shepherds and sheep as witnesses. The magi came bearing gifts foretelling of his death, which gives all who believe and confess their sins eternal life. Praise God for Jesus sacrifice!

The Smiddy family is once again fragmented this holiday season with Nathan in the States. He is a junior at Herron Art Institute at IUPUI with a major in Furniture Design. With school, work and junior high ministry at Park Chapel Christian Church he is extremely busy, but he will travel to Phoenix for Christmas to visit the Okken family and see a special friend.

Hanna is a senior and has already been accepted to several universities but has made no definite decision. She will return to the States in July 2007 to begin her studies in Political Science. The Rift Valley Academy Girls Basketball Team went undefeated this year. Hanna was once again the starting center and leading rebounder in her league. In January when she returns to school she will begin her Field Hockey season as starting goalie. She also has a heavy academic load.

Jean has been leading the ladies ministries in Bible Study and hospitality. She is also teaching Sunday School and serving as the church Treasurer.

Gary's schedule is much the same as in year's past: preaching, leading men's ministry, teaching at Faith Bible College in Tiwi and overseeing the land preparation for the eventual building of our new church. In addition he is having a lot of knee problems. His right knee must be replaced. We are hoping he can make it till we return to the States this July. Please pray for him.

We have been so blessed to watch God move and build His Church here in Mombasa. We have been witnesses to lives changed and built up in the faith. We so appreciate all of you who hold us up to the Throne and make it possible for us to be here on your behalf. Mungu awabariki! Which means God Bless You in Swahili.

Thanks for all your love, prayers and gifts of support throughout the year. We pray for you and yours that this Christmas will be filled with the love of God and may you enjoy your families as never before.

In Celebration of the One Who is Everything! Have a Wonderful Christmas and Blessed New Year!

Trying Times

Greetings from balmy Mombasa, Kenya where the palm trees sway in the wind and the sea is white capped on azure blue expanse to the horizon! What a calming effect on one's spirit! Rare is the opportunity to take the time to sit and admire that wonder of God's universe and experience that calming within. The demanding agenda keeps us absorbed in the work of the church and related ministries.

Jesus said, "I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it."

Because trials seem to be a way of life over the past several months, not just for Gary and me but for our whole pastoral staff at Crossroads fellowship, we see God building his church in a way tat only he can do.

In May Gary had stabbing pain in his chest area to his back. He convinced me it wasn't a heart attack, but we contacted the doctor and tests followed. After being tested here in Mombasa and several hospital stays later, we went to a cardiology in Nairobi. Gary was diagnosed with Pericarditis, an infection and inflammation of the heart lining. The first "attack" was two nights before the Carrels from Brandywine Community Church were to arrive for a 10 day visit. During their visit Gary was in the hospital two times, but the Carrels were gracious and Bob, who is a Construction Manager, was able to work with our architect and really helped in several areas of planning the building project. We were able to show the Carrels our three feeding centers, two primary schools and the land at Vipingo on which we are building another feeding center, church and primary school. The feeding centers have all come about through Manna Worldwide and the donations of several churches around the world.

In June and July we had four more visitors come: Mark Anness, Chris Bramble, Pastor David Woods, and of course our son Nathan. Pastor Dave preached the graduation message at Tiwi Bible College and again at Crossroads Fellowship's fourth anniversary celebration. 556 people attended the celebration and four received Christ that day! We had a fantastic time of fellowship and fun while they were here. They also had the privilege of seeing all the feeding centers, the building site and Vipingo.

For the duration of the month of August, Claudean Korff, also from Park Chapel, was here. While here, she worked as a Tiwi camp counselor, taught VBS, and spoke to the ladies Bible study group. We spent many hours in preparation for VBS cutting out the items for the crafts each day. On most days, we ended up having 67 kids. They had a grand time!

Gary was ill with bronchitis three times over the course of the visits. This was due in part to his medication which weakened his immune system. He has had such a trying time with his health.

Still , he preaches every other week and is in charge of the work being carried out on the CF property. He spends much of his time dealing with contracts and government offices getting the site prepared for "phase one" to begin. He does counseling and teaches a men's Bible study on Tuesday nights.

I work in the Women's Ministries program, teach Sunday school and the ladies Tuesday night Bible study, and work during fellowship time after church.

Please keep us and Crossroads in your prayers. Thank you for all your continuing partnership in all of these ministries! We appreciate and love you!

Exciting Things are Happening at Crossroads Fellowship!

The joy of serving the Lord is our strength and brings us much excitement as we continue to serve Him here in Mombasa, Kenya. He has done great and mighty things among his people at Crossroads Fellowship Church and Crossroads Fellowship Ministries.

For many months we have continued to seek your prayers for the purchase of the land for the building of a permanent church. On the advice of some of the donors, the pastors and deacons have pursued getting two acres of land. As you know, we have had much difficulty in finding land which someone would sell to us for the purpose of building a church. But finally, we have found and purchased 1.5 acres and placed a down payment on the final .5 acre. (We could not afford to buy all two acres at one time.) We really praise the Lord that He has provided the land, and in faith we trust that He will provide the additional money we need for the remaining .5 acre.

Right away men began clearing out the brush and cutting and digging upi tree stumps. A well is being put in by an organization called Living Water. The group goes all around the area digging well to provide water to various area that have little sources nearby. The cost to Crossroads Fellowship will be minimal. Praise God! We are moving ahead.

We are also rejoicing that Crossroads Fellowship Ministires has now been registered with the Kenya government. That means we have the right to buy land, build a church, plant other churches and recruit missionairies. We are very excited about this because, as it turns out our ministry is alreadcy expanding. Some months ago our co-pastor Jim Horne was able to purchase 5 acres of ground in Vipingo with the help of donors.

In fact, some of you may remember Carol's school- St Joeph's House of Hope. The students have been moved to another government sponsored facitily. The orphans were also transferred to another Christian ministry. This is because the buildings were not up to goverment standards and schools and orphanages are not allowed on private land.

This ministry will now come under CFM and will be rebuilt to government standards with a Manna Center, which will not only feed the students, but other needy children in the Vipingo area. Carol will still be involved in the school as an Administrative Assitant and a Board Member. Also, this will be home to our new daughter church, Vipingo Crossroads Fellowship, which will be led by a Kenyan pastor.

Future needs will unfold as we continue in these ministires. Here we are not only trying to get land to "occupy" but we are in the process of building a new school as well. BUT GOD IS ABLE!

Gary has been meeting with a small group for prayer at 6:30am daily. He is also teaching a men's Bible study and will soon be teaching at Tiwi Bible College. Plus he preaches every other Sunday and is overseeing the work on the land as well.

I am teaching a women's Bible Study regularly as well as leading Sunday School once a month. In addition, I have been involved in team led Women's Ministries at CF. We are in the process of changing the the Bible Study format as well as setting up a mentoring program. Pray with us for these women that God lays on their hearts. We are looking for 3-4 Kenyan ladies to join with us and become a part of our team.

Please pray:

for Wisdom for Gary, Jim and Bobby to lead CF
for God to bless and provide for the new school to be built and used for outreach
that God would provide the additional 45,000 for the last half acre
that God would raise up lady leaders as we form a Ladies Ministry Group
for Nathan and his school reponsibilities that he would finish well in God's strength
For Hanna as she completes her last term of school which begins April 24 and that she too would finish well in the strength of the Lord
For all that Gary and I as well as the other pastors are involved in

Thanks for all of your prayers, emails, cards and gifts. You are loved and appreciated by us. May God Bless You All!

Happy Land Owners

Sorry I haven't written to you in such a long time. A lot of exciting things have happened recently. In Tiwi, we have a Bible College and several Manna Centers. Manna centers are feeding centers supported by Manna International. One such center has been put up and already there is a church plant along with the feeding center. Two more feeding centers are being built on the South Coast from Mombasa.

Crossroads has obtained land for a primary school and church. Our Co-pastor Jim Horne secured the funding of rhte church building and school. Since it was paid for entirely by donors the title deed belongs to Crossroads Fellowship Ministries.

Attached are some pictures of the land.





I hope you all are well. Many blessings to you!

Merry Christmas

"An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lorrd." - Luke 2:9-11

Thanks be to God our heavenly Father for that unspeakable Gift to us!

Greetings from Mombasa Kenya! Compared to last year n Indiana, Christmas in Kenya just doesn't feel the same. It is very hot and humid. Some days the temperature and the humidity are the same! IN our house the temperature gets to 88-90 degreees so you can guess how it feels outside in the sun. But such is Christmas south of the Equator!

We just wanted to send you an update of what we are doing and the many things which have happened since we have been back after our year furlough in the US. For the most part, we have picked up where we left off, especially at Crossroads Fellowship Church. Beside preaching every other Sunday, Gary leads a prayer and short Bible Study on Tuesday evenings. The prayer time has been sweet. Gary has also been doing a lot of counseling and helping individuals in the church. He and his co-pastor Jim Horne, are working on all the paperwork to try and get Crossroads Fellowship Ministires registered with the government.

We are still in the very slow process of trying to buy property for the church. Many of you have been praying with us about the land. Please continue to do so. By American standards this is unbelievable that it has taken so long; but by Kenyan standards this is nothing. We haven't waited very long at all! We have made some progress with the papers we need from the government but unfortunately there are still more remaining. The church Elders are now in charge of raising funds to finish paying for the last on-half acre and to actually build the church.

Jean is no longer working at the Lighthouse for Christ Eye Center. Although her health is pretty good, she tires easily and cannot handle going to work everyday. She continues to keep the church books and has been teaching a ladies Bible Study. Recently, we had the Impact Youth at our house. This is our teenage group of kids from CF. Hanna was a great help as she organized and ran all of the games. One other Saturday Jean led a group called the Crusaders (ages 20-30) to teach them about first aid and handed out first aid kits that we had left over when the group from Park Chapel came. The Crusaders took up the challenge of learning the "script" about first aid. They did a great job of teaching and handing out the kits. They seemed to catch the vision for this ministry. In fact, they are now challenging CF members to bring toothbrushes and toothpaste so we can go out to that village again and distribute them to the extremely poor.

OUr family is grateful to all of you for your gifts of support, your love, your prayers ans all of the ways you minister to needs. May God bless you richly. May you a most blessed 2006, if the Lord delays.

Your Co-Laborers for Christ,

Gary Jean, Nathan, & Hanna

Back Home Again in Mombasa

Greetings to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! I thank my God every time I remember you and ask Him to bless you.
As I sit at my desk looking at the calendar and thinking about the past months of spring and summer, I try to visualize what the autumn season looks like in your area. Here in Kenya people don't have any idea what that word even means. There is the rainy season and the dry. No one here can imagine what it is like to see the beautiful fall foilage of the trees as they turn a golden, red, or orange. After the past year spent in our home town in Indiana, we can now see those brilliant colors in our minds. As beautiful as they are, the leaves begin to fall and then the work begins: rake, rake rake, until the blisters appear on your hands! You begin raking in October and you really don't finish until the end of November. But what a beautiful picture of God's creation: He is the One that told the trees when to drop their leaves and put them back on again in spring.
After having an eventful year in the US, we are settling into the routine of living here in Kenya once again. Every time we come back, it is only a few days and it's as if we never left.
Gary arrived in early June and got the house back in order and prepared to receive not only Hanna and I, but also, a 12 member team of people from the States. The team from Prak Chapel Christian Church went to three venues to teach first aid equip each person with their own first aid kit, as well as toothbrushes and toothpaste for their children.
One place we all went was St. Joseph's House of Hope. The school / orphange there was started by Carol, a member of Crossroads Fellowship. Carol had a vision to give kids from really poor families a place to only be educated, but as be fed once a day. Crossroads Fellowship partnering with Carol in order to build a schoolwith block walls, concrete floors and a tin roof. The current building has walls made of mud and stick, dirt floors and a roof laid with palm leaves. It is exciting to see what God will do over the next several months.
Mothers of children who attend the school came to be educated in first aid practices. While several of the team members taught the mothers, the children played and learned Bible stories.
The same teaching was done along side Dr. Kiage, an Ophthalmologist had set up an eye camp, sponsored by Lighthouse for Christ Eye Center. Patients received eye exams and also teaching on first aid.
The third venue was at another Lighthouse for Christ Church, hosted by Pastor Jarrod Okeno.
We were so blessed to have the team come and minister in a way we could not ourselves. They were a blessing to all who met them.
We have finally put a down payment on a piece of land for Crossroads Fellowhsip Church, but we are still waiting for 3 government documents which can affect our getting the land. Please pray with us about these needed permissions from the government. Until now we have been met with major opposition to "building a church in this area."
In prayer only can we stand against the attacks of the evil one!
Thanks for your continued support and prayers.