Greetings from Kenya! Debbie and I have been back in Kenya for 4 weeks and we hit the ground running. We can’t tell you how wonderful it was to walk into our new home, unpack one time, sleep in our own bed, turn on the coffee pot and just look out the windows to such peaceful and beautiful surroundings. We are surrounded by wonderful neighbors in our Lakeview Estates community. What a joy and blessing. It is so wonderful to have our team just “across the street” as since our arrival we have been in non-stop meetings and decision making and shopping. With everyone and the CMM offices only a short walk away, things have been so much easier and convenient. We are blessed. Kenya Presidential Elections Kenya held its Presidential elections on Aug. 9th and the winner was announced 7 days later after all the votes were tabulated. The losing party felt that the election was stolen and have taken their case to the Supreme Court. Within 14-21 days arguments will be heard and then the court will rule. For the most part the nation has remained calm and is back to normal while the petition is being heard. Please continue to believe with us and pray that once a decision is made that peace will continue to prevail. Construction Updates and Event Dates We want to update you on the progress and plans as they stand now for the next few months and into 2023. We were hoping to dedicate our new facilities during a conference in September. However, our contractor recently informed us that due to several reasons our auditorium will not be available for meetings until December. The rest of the various buildings will be completed by the middle of September and some in early November. We will be able to host smaller meetings this fall but not be able to have a large conference until the auditorium is completed. So we have moved the dedication of the new facilities to March 13-17, 2023. We will launch our first semester of the Bible college at the end of January-February. We will conduct our second semester in June and the 3rd semester in September. We are also planning a marriage conference the first week of July and another leadership conference in the first week of September. Today we met with our staff for several hours and it was so much fun to start planning conferences again! Also, mark your calendar for our MB banquet Nov. 1 at the Bowden in Keller, Tx. Container. Another great testimony and blessing are how things went with our latest container arriving in Kenya, then on to customs and then finally to CMM. I wrote all about it and posted it on Facebook. If you missed it, I have copied it below. It is a must read. Enjoy! So grateful for each of you and your support. We are so close to seeing the dream come true! Ronnie and Debbie Container Story After sending containers over the past 19 years this last one was not only one of the most challenging but also the one with the most miracles and favor! For those helping us send this last container in June are familiar with the challenges to get it loaded and shipped. After delays, shipping date changes, no truck drivers available, and extreme heat, it left Texas. However, this container arrived on time to Mombasa then in record time to Nairobi. It arrived the day before the Presidential election which meant many businesses, schools, etc. closing for possible chaos aftermath. Our wonderful clearing agent, Beverly Maina, started the customs and inspection clearing on Thursday. This container was the highest valued container we have sent and in most cases they find items to add additional charges after we have already paid standard custom rates. This one could have lit up the “extra charges” lights but after a short inspection they released the container with NO additional fees! This is for sure a blessing. After the container left the port headed to CMM, the truck driver took a wrong turn in the town near CMM and got trapped in the open market with so many people and traffic that he could not maneuver. He had to stop and wait but he stopped on an incline. He was leaving the truck to find a mechanic as his brake system wasn’t functioning properly. After he got out of the truck it started to roll backwards (30+ tons) toward the market filled with people, open air shops, etc. By the Grace of God, the truck turned slightly and smashed into a car and the driver running after it was able to prevent more damage. The police came and “arrested the truck” and towed it to the local police station…approx. $200,000+ value of goods…where it had to stay overnight. The sea container traveled over 12,000 miles via water, land,by rail, by truck and then was arrested 3 miles from CMM! Since starting construction at CMM, our team had gone to the local police station to introduce ourselves and who we are. That led to us meeting the senior overseeing officer and started a good connection and relationship. That led to Sam Karanja and Joel Chola Mnjala even having the senior officer’s cell number. So after the container was towed to the station Sam called the officer who made sure all was well with the contents and it would be safe. He said the truck was arrested but not the contents and we were free to come the next morning and remove them! Another blessing as sometimes things aren’t safe at some police stations. We all had to release this situation to God so we could get some sleep in order to be ready for the next day. Sam organized for about 10 guys to come to help us unload the container at the police station, load it into rented trucks, take it to CMM and offload again. Around 10:00pm all the container goods were at CMM with nothing left, stolen or impounded and without a forklift, pallet jack or a nearby McDonalds. What a journey with this container that contains thousands of blessings for the pastors, CMM and many others that are not even aware yet! To God be the glory!!