Kings in Africa

Rene and Thalia

Roll Arena

do more time in between their that's what I meant.

Okay, so I just want I want to introduce somebody to you. I'm going to call Joel up and

I'm sorry. I'm still confused by that one.

Well, that's a long conversation. Nice. Khakis

Toy stuck in my head all day. I'm about as our goal bring message this morning goals and his family are missionaries in Africa. He's going to give you a ton of more details. So I don't want to talk about that too much. But if you want to pray for you before you start I need that absolutely, thank you for his family for their hearts of service to you and their willingness to go literally wherever you call them. We thank you for his message this morning. We just asked you even now to speak into his into his ear that we hear his voice but your message Verizon this morning. We thank you for all that you do but especially we just want to lift Joel and his family up to you. We pray for your protection on them as they continue their their home stand and has the return to Africa. We just ask that you bless them and mighty ways and use them in my tea. We pray this in Jesus powerful name in amen. Thank you. I did not pick that. I'm not sure where that came from. But apparently there must be a story behind that. I'll find out later. Good morning.

We have had we were here in August, right is that when we're here last and we set out from here on a journey of visiting churches and friends and family 21,000 miles miles not kilometers miles. We made it back here safe and sound we had an opportunity to speak out a number of churches like this and speak with a lot of different people and just sharing what we've been up to for the last five years. We are Joe Lorena King. We have two children Renee. Our daughter is 16 in our son is 14 and we live in Africa. We live in Kenya. We've been there for about five years. Our relationship here is my beautiful wife. Lorena is the daughter of friend burn kuzio. So those of you if you're new here and you don't know that that's that connection. So we've been here at River of Hope number of times over the past. 19 years something like that. Maybe not here 19 years, but something like that. We were married for 19 years over in Kenya start off with just a quick geography lesson here of where we're at. There's Africa most recognized that

This is East Africa and central Africa. This is mainly where we operate we live in Kenya, but we operate up in South Sudan Uganda Central African Republic and the Congo a little bit down in Tanzania, Tanzania.

I can't see that one there. So the red. Right there that's where we've been for the last four years. It's a place called Loca chokio when we first went over to Kenya. I'm a pilot and a mechanic for a mare Africa Inland Mission Africa Inland Mission has been in Africa for about a hundred and eighteen years. They've had missionaries and they're all over Africa. We mainly operate in this East Africa area out of a little base in Loca chokio when we arrived in Nairobi Kenya and we spent a year there learning a language or getting a little bit of the language getting used to living in a third world country getting used to Flying and working on airplanes and a remote area mainly learning to work with the people that God sent us there to work with and to love the African people. After we spent a year in Nairobi, we went up to Loca chougule. That's where that little. Is This Is Our Land.

Throughout everything that we've done in this journey. It's been interesting to feel or see how God has moved us in different ways. The first man would move was to move to Africa. I told God about 10 years ago. I didn't want to go there actually have that story. I think you guys have probably told that story here before asking me about 10 years ago. Why you so afraid to talk to me and my answer was I'm afraid what you're going to ask me to do. I'm afraid you're going to send me to Africa and we work through that and he did and then once we got over the Africa, I feel God moving us again and saying why are you so afraid to talk America? I'm afraid you're going to move me up to look at your with you. And that's what he did and look at yogiyo has been home for four years and it's out in the middle of nowhere Google Map it sometime and you can see the desert comes right up until Okeechobee you it's hot. It's dry. It's dusty. This picture right here is a little deceiving the we have some people that come by and work around the house and they're watering those plants quite a bit turn around a hundred eighty degrees and you look out. Not a hundred eighty degrees, but it's about 215 degrees and it's desert it is dry. But Loki has been wonderful Loki has been home. And that's where we've been for the last four years when we were back last time. We told stories total how to stories of just amazing work and seen God move in a lot of different ways. One of those stories that we told about was about the treasure solar Bibles you guys remember these this is a solar powered device that has an audio Bible on it in different languages. This one right here is in an English, but we have them in turkana. We have them in. Rendalia. We have them in Somali. We have them in Arabic. We have them in a lot of different languages and we work with another organization called World Mission Distributing these devices never stopped to think about it. But how many people Don't read and write in a third world country, but they can hear and they can listen to the word of God and their own language and we distribute thousands of these devices into the bush area. They don't have power to charge us us a normal electronic device solar panel. I don't sit around in groups of 10 15 20 people and they'll listen to the word of God hours. When we came back last time we told stories about Lorena's ladies. This is the honor group ladies and she's going to come up and she's going to share some of those stories of amazing movement with these ladies. This is a group of ladies were unfortunately in where we live in our area men will marry a wife will have three four five children and if a son isn't born that man will then leave go find another wife and leave that woman in these children to fend for themselves. And so a mission organization came in prior to us and they all these businesses are making jewelry. There's a bakery and they've got some other stuff and soul Arena teaches these ladies send Bible study every Monday and so she spent the last four years with this group of ladies in the back. You'll see when you came in there might have been some jewelry back there. That's part of that Ministry. This is jewelry that those ladies have made and we're going to take a hundred. One of those proceeds anything that anything that gets bought Christmas gifts or anything like that will take 100% of those proceeds back to Kenya with us to support these ladies next. I told stories. This is one of my favorite things that I do I take and go out into South Sudan and I pick up young pastors out of these little Villages and I'll load a 14 seater plane with young pastors and I'll bring them out of the Bush and I'll take them to a university of Bible College where they can learn from Western professors on theology on disciple-making on how to prepare sermons how to reach the people that God has sent them to reach and how to do it most effectively who better to reach these people than their own people. Their own young men their own pastors. And so we go out and we support these young men. We pull them out of the Bush for 3 months at a time and we take him to this University where they get trained up and then we get a tape and I'll tell you what

there's nothing more fulfilling. To drop some of these young men off in these Villages and see the welcome that they received from their own people because they know those people know that these young men are coming back with treasure you're coming back with gold they're coming back with just something so valuable and they're going to share it with him. It is extremely rewarding to be able to work with these men and these these families for these people in these areas next slide up in the remote remote areas in Africa. There's 3600 3600 people groups and Africa alone. Over a thousand of those people groups have never heard the word of God.

I've never heard the word of God a lot of people say why why have they not hurt? Why has somebody not gotten to him? I have flown over thousands of miles of eastern central Africa. And it's very obvious why they haven't heard. I look down as I'm flying long. I'll look down and I see Village after Village after Village only connected by little Trails. No roads.

There's thousands of people out there that haven't been accessed and haven't been reached with the word of God points. Because we can use those airplanes and we can land on top of 6500 foot mountains. Meryl in out there 6,500 feet We land on top of those mountains with those airplanes and we can bring in supplies. We can bring in building materials and we can build a mission station up there and we can then support those missionaries on that mountain and they can go down into the valleys and up over into the other one and they can start reaching and they can start preaching the word of God making sharp finding these young men the week and then fly out and try not to be pastors and bring back in and continued support. There's roads are some roads around South Sudan and area so we fly, but I get reports all the time on how dangerous those roads are there's Bandits out there. There's Bandits who want your stuff and we can't afford there's so few missionaries. We can't afford to be sending our missionaries out on those roads. We had missionary shot up. We've had to go in with our airplanes and land on roads to evacuate them out. We use airplanes to be able to get into these safe areas and we can spread the gospel. Old stories about taking some of these missionaries after they've been in there for three for five years and moving them out to other areas. And leaving the young men in the churches that they started to continue that work. God is moving God is moving dramatically in eastern central Africa and it has been a privilege is been honored to see next door. Sometimes God moves for tragedy. When interesting last couple years, we had some stuff happen. This young of this right here is a funeral that we were in involved in back in September last year. We had a shooting behind our house. A lot of you guys probably heard about it was in one of our newsletters. We had a shooting behind her house. Where a young man and three of us cohorts came in and shot up the school a boarding school of national kids seven students were killed 17 were injured. One of the first boy that was killed Was A Boy by the name of Peter Peter was very close and dear to us. He was an orphan boy from his parents and died a guardian family had kind of taking him in along with all of their children, but they didn't have money to send them School. We got acquainted with them. We start working with him and who is sponsored him to go to school and I'm amazing young Christian man would come to the house all the time anytime that he had a test coming up and just pray for him or he's come by I need to work for us or do work for me really got to know Peter.

Peter was one of the first guys ain't timer Revival would come into town. Be one of these young men. They would go out into the different Villages around our town and bring in all the youth and then he would do translation read encourage them or pray with them. He would teach Sunday school at the AIC Church South Africa Inland church. Love Jesus love Jesus, and we asked why in tragedy when I ask why

I got a chance to speak. They actually the chief of the village that we live in asked us to speak. at that funeral

after that happened

the town I think saw us a little bit differently. We're one of the only white families and will control you about 2,500 people. There's three white families in that town. That's three missionaries. And they always looked at us with a little bit of distrust. Why are you here? Who are you and it's been a long road of trying to break into different parts of this community in different parts of these family. But after that funeral and they saw us mourn one of theirs.

It was an amazing Dort amazing opportunity to share with them Jesus. And a love of Jesus and that we love everybody we love each of them just as Jesus loved us and we were able to share that story with a lot of them. We became friends with some of these young boys that were in this next line This is a young white boy name of Emmanuel Emmanuel lost his leg and not shooting. But through the love of churches and supporters and people back here in America North America. We're able to get a manual of safe surgery to remove the damaged leg. And then we're also able to just a couple months ago. He received his prosthetic like Village knows what happened they know that we're there to love them because of Jesus. sex life

December 2016 December 23rd, a merry took three airplanes in to Northern Sudan Northern South Sudan and evacuated out all of our missionaries are there. There's been fighting had broken out the missionaries that we had up in that area. It's been the last three days hunker down and there cinder block homes underneath the windows as bullets through through through through their house the bolts were aimed at them. They were aimed at their just kind of caught in the crossfire between the Sioux tribes. There was a tribe that was a host community and then a refugee community and some stuff at broken out about the the land and distribution of the land and so they were angry at each other and they started fighting and our missionaries were caught in the middle the UN was able to come in and settle the area just long enough for us to bring three or planes in and pull them out for the next 2 weeks mabon became a war zone. Hundreds of people were killed thousands of people dispersed into the bush are missionaries had no idea what they would expect when they got back in there. Bimonthly or next couple months later. We were able to start getting a couple of the assessment teams back in and I flew the first assessment feedback team back in there. And when I came back they said there's nothing left. The house is everything that the built the structure was there but anything in it that wasn't bolted down welding down or cemented down was gone. They said they couldn't even find a pencil to take notes. Everything was taken. The Clint of the DM the school the Water Project their homes. But these missionaries were bound and determined to go back and finish what they started. A year later so so over that next nine months or so. I started taking in these small teams and they start to continue with their work. We'd taken a plastic tables. We would take in plastic chairs anything that was light. It was easy to get into the airplane to start putting these homes back together December 2017. Why was it on call Okeechobee is the closest Air Base to these people and these missionaries and so we're on call to go back and possibly get him again. December is dry season. And so when dry season come around it's been raining dry season comes around and they can start moving people can start moving around on the roads up there until we were worried that the fighting would break out again now that they can move around. So December 2017. We were on call waiting for possibly go back and get the small team that was up there. I'm we had about 20 missionaries in there at that point and

about January was about January 15th or 6 somewhere first week of January. I went back in and I start hearing stories from the missionaries there. I said hey how what what happened? What how did Christmas go? And he said you wouldn't believe it a couple days before Christmas. One of the tribes sent a choir delegation over to the other tribe. fishing praise and worship in Christmas songs You got to be kidding me and said the very next day. Tribe then reciprocated and Center Choir delegation back. They spent the next week in Christmas celebration. And a big part of it had to do with that pastors holding.

Those missionaries in going back to finish the first mabon Bible. and their language

I put on a scripture Pastor asked me what verse what verse I would like. And one of the verse is that we've been using this whole time back has been John 10:10. The thief comes to kill steal and destroy but I have come that they might have life and life to the full.

We look at tragedy all around us. We look at things that happen all around us. We can look at it when it happened up there in the bond originally. How tragic we look at what happened to Peter how tragic? But take a look at what came out of that tragedy. This Village this community of thousands of people. Now have the word of God and the scripture in their own language how many of us take this for granted how many of us have this and how many different versions on her phone? How many have a Bible in just about every single room of our house? I've been in villages and places around Africa were pastors will take one Bible. They have one Bible and they will pull out very carefully and very respectfully, they will pull out a series of books of the Bible. And then the next Pastor will take a series of books. And then the last Pastor will take a series books a mill preach on that section of that Bible.

And then they'll trade him around. Having a Bible in your language. Is precious that's a big reason why we're there?

I think you were the worship team when we were here this summer and August. I'm pretty sure it was here cuz you guys sing a song Come To The Altar.

The last verse of that song come to the altar is where the cross while you wait for the crown. Tell the world of the treasure you found. I was so encouraging. I took that with me and we spoken about 14 different churches over this last time back and I use that so thank you for that encouragement appreciated that but think about that bear the cross while you wait for the crown tell the world of the treasure you found.

That's why we're there where there is an extension of you. You guys have helped sundus you guys have help support us you guys have prayed for us. Thank you. These stories are as much your stories as there are stories because you guys have been a part of these people lives by being a part of our Lives. I want to come up and share briefly about the honor group ladies. They had had a fantastic growth and let her share those

And they are.

Good to be home.

So El Cholo's out and he's out flying around in to sell sit down and all these different areas the kids and I pretty much stay and look at yogiyo. Iranian both do an online high school teachers in America and Canada. And so I pretty much facilitate what they're doing and then work at these ladies.

The girl that they've had in the last 4 years.

Has been amazing people ask me. What's your favorite thing about being in Africa? In wintertime you might think it's sunny and warm not my favorite thing. It's nice. That's not my favorite thing. I think my favorite thing by far.

Is having my life count for more than I ever thought it would.

And quickly followed by Watching God do things that can only be from him being on the front lines and seeing him move in ways that can only be him. It's not by human power. It's only God power. When I first started working with these ladies four years ago, they were like kindergarteners. They were fighting they were bickering. They couldn't get along to save their lives.

I felt like Judge Judy they would come up and they say the Rena and they tell one would tell their side and the other would tell their side and I like you apologize you forgive go back to work. But they learned over time they learned how to trust each other. You know, these ladies don't trust other women woman came along and stole their husband away.

Are they learned that they can't trust each other? These are your sisters?

A couple of years ago the lady in the middle. She's in the gray. Her name is Mary and she's the oldest lady in the group. She came to to bible study on Monday. And then prayer time she she asked for prayer. There was a young mama in her Village that had given birth and when she gave birth she was no longer able to speak.

Haven't been medical beforehand before we went admissions. I was wondering if she made it maybe had a stroke and so I asked you know that the Is her face doing okay is her arms or legs doing? Okay, is she operational? And Miriam says yes. Yes. She's she's moving just fine. She just can't speak I said, okay, so she's taking care of her her baby. Yep. She's taking care of the baby. I said what? How old is the baby? She goes to five or six months? I'm thinking to myself if she had a stroke after five or six months, whatever is done is done. We're not going to get. It's done. And I took a step back. We prayed for the MoMA. The next week I asked Miriam. How's the mama? Miriam looked at me? Like I was crazy. She said someone that does not speak.

And again, I just took a step back and I said Lord, what do I do with this? In my mind, I know she's not going to be speaking again. But Miriam heart is breaking and that culture. They only they don't read and write the only way they can communicate is By Word of Mouth by singing to their children.

This baby girl would never hear her mama's wife. I'm broke. I'm parked at the Lord. What do I do? I thought the Lord thing pray again, but pray differently. I don't speak in tongue, but I did pray differently. I prayed that if if any evil had come in between that mother and daughter relationship, but that would be removed. And that perfect Godly relationship between mother and daughter would be restored. The next week Miriam came back, and she was crying. I don't cry. They had so much hardship in their life. They don't cry anymore. She came up to me and she said through the translator the mama she speaks. And the important thing was that this happened in front of all of the ladies that's so they were learning the power of prayer for a group of ladies who felt powerless. I've had things taken from them. To realize that their heavenly father does see them he hears them and he can do something about it with huge there. Their prayers opened up. They were finally letting God into that that deep place in their heart of longing and desire. They've been shut off for so many years.

And then fast forward another couple of years. 2 after Peter passed away in the end after the shooting.

The town was shaking the women were shaking. These were their babies their children their own. As well as a teacher on Monday morning, and I said Lord, what do I do? What do I teach? I couldn't just continue on we've been jumping through the Bible. I like I can't do that. What do I teach? I felt the Lord saying teach them about fear. Teach him about their identity in Christ. and so I went in And I thought about that there was a new lady in in the group that day.

Her name is Mary. She came in and she was sitting in the front but she was hunched over. She didn't look up the entire time. She looks horrible. She's the lady in the gray thing in the purple skirt.

So at the end of it, she was introduced. I'm she's a Christian, but she where she lives in her Village. She's surrounded by groups of people who were practicing witchcraft around her, and she felt that they were coming to kill her multiple times a night. She wasn't able to sleep she every time she went to try and eat if I like throwing up. She wasn't eating she wasn't sleeping and she finally just said through the translator. I can't take this anymore. And so I looked at her and I smiled cuz I realized why God and had me teach about identity that day. And I said to you did you understand what we were teaching today? And she just looked so I went through it step-by-step of what it meant when she accepted Jesus into her life and into her heart how because Jesus is Lord of her life evil and Witchcraft has no authority over her evil has been defeated including Witchcraft and I step through that again with her until she understood and then I prayed for her. And as as I prayed she should start to cry and then her whole body started to shake. And I asked you honestly translator to go in and check on her and make sure she is okay and you just went and put her arm around her.

Talk to her for a minute and then she looked up and she said Mary says that she felt that you believe. And I said we praise God and the ladies before I even they were praising God and and I said, yes, we praise God but I turned to Mary and I said you need to understand the evil will try to come back there is in the village where we live. There is a crazy amount of Witchcraft and I said that you will try to come back but I gave her one of us older Bible. And I said you need to learn more about the word of God. Children how to use it and I said when the evil tries to come back you need to tell it to go you have the authority Jesus Christ gave his authority and it's through that is already in you that you can push back that that darkness that evil. And so she came back the next week. She was upright and her face was glowing glowing and she was walking she was approaching and she didn't even need to say a word. I was like She did it. She did it. She came up and through the translator. She said the evil did try to come back. It came back in the night just like you said she said but she she reached over and she reached for the solar Bible and you press play and she said and that I remembered what you said about Jesus that Jesus is in me and to tell it to go. So I think all she did was like oh, but you said it left just like you said and so for me that was again. This was in front of all the ladies and I thought They finally they finally graduated their past the kindergarteners that were there when I first started they've learned how to love each other. They learned how to care for each other. They've learned how to make disciples. I've learned how to stand firm on the word of God and kind of like how Paul would come and he would teach for a few years and an episodes are fellow by and then he would move on kind of feel like that's what we're doing as well. Y'all finish up. I can't do we don't we don't tell these stories for to dramatize at all. What we do we chose these stories because I think they're great examples of what Jesus said in John 10:10. The thief comes only to kill steal and destroy I am so sorry. Isn't that the worst?

I would be like any worse if I guess if yours went off, right?

Where Jesus says I come that they may have life and life to the full.

When you look at tragedy when you look at things are happening Satan is doing everything he can to destroy this world.

You take a look. See y'all got to move it. Maria was talking about we feel like we might God might be calling us to move again. When we were first one over there five years ago. We said we'd be there for four years and we see how we are doing. We still feel like God still has something over there Force. Absolutely positive about that. We check in regularly, but we do feel that with the where the the ladies are in Lorena's Ministry. We feel that we're the kids have come to where we're at in in the village War at other teenagers all the teenagers go off to boarding school. And so there's not a whole lot of teenagers are form. We've been talking to our leadership with a mare. I think we might have hinted to this a little bit when we are here in August, but it has been confirmed that the the leadership's looking at where a mare is operating mostly and where our ministry partners are operating. We fly for about 70 different Ministry there in East and Central Africa in a lot of them. I can go to the next slide. at one more a lot of them are moving farther to the West over into Central African Republic in the Congo. There's a lot of territory over there were never had missionaries in it, and we're trying to get missionaries and we're currently getting missionaries on the ground in these areas. And so with a lot of prayer and a lot of guidance from our leadership, they've asked us to go over and head up a team over in arua Uganda. And so when we get back, we'll head back in January January 3rd. We leave here. We'll get back in Nairobi for about a week and a half get kind of settle back there and then we'll head up to Loki and we'll pack up our house there and Loki and and then move over to arua Uganda and so be praying for that be praying for us. There's a lot of logistics that are involved with that. There's a lot that goes on we want to make sure that we leave look at Yogi. Oh well. With love these people. They have loved us. We want to leave there. Well, there's missionaries that are going to be staying in the area to continue some of the work that we've started and some of the work that we're doing. So they're not going to be laughing forgotten. There's there's people that are still at the local church is doing very well there as well to leave you with just one challenge real quick. Take a look over the last year.

Coming up on Christmas time is good time to reflect over the last year. How is God been trying to move you?

In what ways has God been trying to move you in your life? Chances are it's probably not Halfway Around the World Africa. Is for young ladies or sister or maybe yes. Maybe yes.

The fields are ready, but the workers are few.

Maybe it's just stepping into a

a different work roll. Maybe it's stepping into a Ministry maybe a stepping into being a part of a worship team or being a part with the youth maybe it's not difficult conversation with the neighbor. Maybe it's having a difficult conversation with somebody at work. How's God been trying to move you this last year?

But I challenge you to look at what's kept you. removing cuz we're usually the ones that are in the way of God trying to move, right? God doesn't get in the way of himself. We get in the way of God trying to move us to do what he's called us to do. I challenge you take a little bit of time this week spend some time German. Write down. How has God been trying to move you? And what obstacles have we allowed to get in the way of him being able to use us for his will?

Take a look at tragedy. Has there been a tragic events in your life this last year, then we get overwhelmed by the tragedy of it and the loss of what it might be and we failed to look. Sometimes it where God is in it.

Are two months ago. I lost my brother.

Still working through that. But I'm working through it and looking at what is God doing with that? even song I can't tell the whole story but He was in a helicopter accident off the coast of Alaska. Helicopter at four people on board went down into the water hit the water broke apart. There's a 14 year old boy sitting in the back the pilots. My brother wasn't flying. My brother was just a long for insurance reasons is very experienced helicopter pilot, and the owner had bought the helicopter didn't have as much experience helicopter hit the water broke apart. The pilot son 14 year old son was in the back when it hit it broke apart and sent him outside of the helicopter. He woke up in the water still strapped to his seat. With his head resting on the rotor blade. He was able to unbuckle himself from that seat swim to shore climb up the beach and into the woods to collapsed lungs and spinal injury. Shot in the woods for 10 hours. Mildly hypothermic until the Coast Guard helicopter came over in the dark. He was able to get down out of the out of the woods onto the beach the helicopter shine a spotlight on him found him medavakkam into Anchorage where he went right into surgery 3 days later. He walked out. You can't tell me.

God doesn't have a plan for that young man's wife.

pray for Aiden pray that he will see even the loss of this tragedy loss of two incredible husbands. And another young boy.

pray for those families who pray that Aiden sees The hand God had on his life. I hate to leave it on that know but I challenge you with that. I hope that's okay you guys. Thank you so much for all of your support. Thank you so much for all you have done for a family for just loving on Fred and burn and Garnet. You guys are amazing. We hear amazing stories about you guys all the time, and we love you so much. So, thank you and