By God's grace I was able to travel back to Kenya for nearly a month in March. The report? A+ in every category. Indeed, things are continuing and progressing in a way that makes me marvel. God has given us continued favor with the government, the communities the Pastors and Ministry Leaders of the slums. This year we doubled the teaching schedule in both Nairobi Bible Schools. students now have 4 opportunities to attend their classes. We immediately attracted an additional 85 students. Enrollment now exceeds 256 Pastors and Ministry Leaders, along with 35 Unregistered students. In addition, we now have 21 Pastors and Ministry Leaders learning in the new Bible School in Tanzania. Surely a Season of Harvest is upon us...in the very midst of tremendous local restrictions due to the "pandemic" agenda. Indeed, within a week of my departure, Kenya Invoked another 60-day lock down. And yet the Ministry continues! It's beyond astounding. It's Miraculous.

This year we have doubled the teaching schedule in both Nairobi Bible Schools. Students now have 4 opportunities each week to attend their class.

Miracles are in our midst. But too often we mischaracterize them as "good luck", "perfect timing" or being fortunate. Christians do not operate in the realm of luck, fortune positive thinking or metaphysical synchronicity. Those are idolatrous imaginations and "doctrines of demons."

We Belong to a different Kingdom under a different King. As such, we can and should expect Miracles from the hand of God.

A "Miracle" can be defined simply as a Direct Intervention of God in the affairs of mankind. While we understand that God does not change, we often act like Deists; believing in a distant god who is uninvolved in the daily affairs of humanity. Surely that is not the God of the Bible. And not the God we serve. God knows, God cares, God is intimately involved in the intricacies of life. The slum Pastors have a popular saying...

"If there are no Miracles today there is no tomorrow."

Pastor Protas believes in Miracles. And he just added more to his list. It happened when I saw him in March. Pastor Protas lives in the massive Kawangware slum with his extended family. Five of his eight children live in Nairobi with him. In addition, a granddaughter and a destitute member of his church resides with him as well. Eight people in a two-room slum dwelling. His wife lives upcountry caring for Protas' infirmed mother. She also cares for the other three children. It's not unusual for split family situations in Nairobi. Much of it comes down to incredibly complex and difficult circumstances that defy superficial evaluation. In most cases it's a Miracle to simply survive another day. Literally. What we consider an inconvenience can become a life changing catastrophe for destitute slum dwellers. One sickness is all it takes to kill a parent... of wipe out months of wages treating an illness. You then become late on your rent. The next day you're locked outside of your slum shack. The landlord locks you outside and your possessions inside. All repossessed immediately and legally under law. In a matter of days, you go from minuscule savings to homelessness. It happens every day in the slums. It's our God of Miracles Who watches over the Pastors of the Least, their families and ministries.

Pastor Protas got the urgent phone call. "Papa, our house is on fire!!" When Protas arrives in mere minutes it was already too late. As with most slum fires, it spreads like a wildfire. Fire conducts the heat to the iron sheets...causing the next shack to spontaneously combust. And the next one, and so on. Certainly no fire brigade exists. No piped water is available. The only hope it to tear down your iron sheets as fast as humanly possible. And bring everything out of your shack without hesitation. Everyone scrambles to save himself, his family and his possessions. Neighbors and passerby's rush in to "help". When you go back to find your things on the ground.. more often than not they are all gone. Stolen by those you thought were helping you. It's a story every slum dweller has seen, if not experienced firsthand.

"When I Arrived six homes were already destroyed. By God's grace, everyone in my house escaped. That was the first Miracle, Brother Paul."

"My family struggled hard to pull out some of out belongings. But it all ended up being stolen. We lost everything except the clothes we were wearing. We are wearing those same clothes today." It was true. And that was not the half of it. On the next day, Pastor Protas still came to Bible School.

"These things we lost are only things. But what I get at the Bible School I cannot replace."

"Some church members found us a temporary place to stay. That was the second Miracle. We thank the Lord for that. It is one room only for the eight of us...but we are not homeless."

Then Protas told me a story I'll never forget. Perhaps most of all because every word of it is true. "The first thing I looked for was my briefcase. That's where I keep my Bible and all of my notes. From Two years of classes at the Bible School. My daughter told me it was taken out of the house. She handed it to someone in the ensuing chaos. It was never seen again."

"Of all the things I wanted to rescue, that was the only one thing I truly needed. I can't tell you how devastating it was. I know whoever took it thought there was a computer or money or something valuable in it. All it has was my Bible and notes. I was so upset I couldn't focus on anything else. All my hard work was lost. All that time taking careful notes to teach others was completely gone. I prayed,

"God you know the hairs on my head. You know my thoughts before I speak. You know the names of the stars. And you know who has my bag. Please have Mercy upon me!"

On the third day, a woman called me and said,

"Pastor, I have your Bible. And your bag."

I didn't know this lady. And she didn't know me. She found my bag discarded in a trash heap about 300 meters from my home. She found my name and number inside my Bible cover. That was Miracle #3. Not only that she found it, but that she returned it to me. We met at my church. She handed me the bag and said,

'I knew that this was the property of a man of God. I must do my utmost to return this bag to him.'"

When I opened the bag, there was my Bible! The same one that had survived the the last house fire I had 4 years ago! It was the ONLY THING that survived the fire. God has shown me how much he cares about the Ministry of His Word. He has preserved this one thing above everything else I thought I needed."

"It's a Miracle, Br Paul. Truly a Miracle."

"You know that found things are never returned in a slum. And that the thief would at least keep the bag. But God preserved His Word for me. I can't tell you how much this has grown my Faith. And touched the heart of my family, and our congregation."

"And by the way...there was one more Miracle: ALL of my Notebooks were in the bag!"

Surely a Direct Intervention of God in the affairs of mankind. A Miracle in our midst.

We should be eternally grateful...but not surprised