More Pics from Africa

Pastor is on his way home and he says he can't wait to see everyone at Wed. night service.Thanks for all your prayers. God Bless!!!

August 29th Last Day to preach

Today is the last day. I am going to preach this morning in our newest church. Then we head back to the mother church for lunch and a celebration of its 5th anniversary. My flight for home is at 11:30pm tonight. Thanks again for all the prayer warriors in the prayer chain. The work here could not have been done with out you. It was a real pleasure and blessing traveling/ministering and serving with Pastor Bland from Cortez. The world would be a better place because men of God like him. Thank you Pastor Jones and Pastor Paul for the invitation and opportunity to go. I would like to thank my wonderful church for your financial investment and for lending me to Africa for 3 weeks. You will be rewarded. devil - you lose!

Thursday August 26th

We had a very victorious day today in the conference and got a breakthrough!!!
Thanks for all your prayers.
Pastor Blake

Thursday August 26th

Thanks for all your prayers Pastor is doing better today. Here is another pic from Pastor.

Wed. Augusst 25th

Please be in prayer for Pastor Blake he caught a food bug and is needing to be lifted up in Prayer.
Thanks

Hey everybody, the conference started today in Kenya. There was much opposition, including my iphone getting stolen right out of my hand, from in the backseat of the car last night. I ran after him but I couldn't catch him.. he ran into a sewer drain and disappeared. The worst part for me of that was all my pictures and videos were on it from here in Africa. But, the devil is defeated and I am not going to allow that to rob me of my joy. We got dominion this morning after praying as Pastors together and we feel the victory!! We are heading back to night service now! Thanks for your continued prayers Prayer chain. Just a few more days, please stay committed! Thats what I preached on this morning by the way, Commitment! Love, Pastor

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Monday August 23rd

Hey everyone. I got to talk to the congregation yesterday for missions Sunday and it was so wonderful to hear them shout for joy! I have been hearing GREAT reports from the VWO Denton church of attendance and salivations. I guess I better stay here and start a church since its doing so well with me gone! haha. I'm very proud of yawl, thanks for your faithfulness to GOD! We got back from the Congo with no problems, although I would never want to go through that airport without knowing somebody. its crazy, its a real ordeal.. Pastor Bin has a disciple in the airport that helped us coming in and going out and it was still a little un-nerving.. wild infrastructure. I got back to Hampton House in Nairobi which is a missionary run place for Americans to stay. Its more of a dorm room, but everything is clean and i got some clothes washed, much needed after being in Congo where everything was sandy.. Sunday morning I went to the Church here started by Pastor Jones son, Pastor Paul 5 years ago and it was great! I was preaching while you were sleeping!! It would have been around 2-3 AM for y'all in Texas. We had a powerful service, and the alter was full and I pumped them up for the conference here in Kenya that starts Wednesday. The people were very friendly and it was very nice to be back where English is spoken because I was able to talk with some of the people. In Congo there was almost no conversation because of the language barrier. Here in Kenya they speak Swahili, but most speak English too. SO i preached and they translated in Swahili. I felt like they understood the message better too because of that. After service, Pastor Chris took me to the Nairobi National Park, which is the ONLY wildlife reserve in the WORLD that is in the city. It was great. We got to drive in our car, and it was like our own safari. We got to see giraffes, a Rhino, Gazelles, Birds, Impalas, Wilder-beasts, Ostrich, and the most important- 2 lion's. Sometimes people go there and don't see any animals, we saw a lot. And the lion came 5 feet from the car. I will post pics when i can!! Today is a free day so I am going to go see some of the city, and get my suits cleaned. I will talk to you again soon. Were half way through prayer chain, don't stop and don't let your guard down!! love you all!

Sunday August 22ndUpdate

I'm back in Kenya . We had a great service this morning and I'm looking forward to calling the church at 10:30 your time right after prayer to talk to the church AND take up the offering.
Love Pastor Blake

Saturdy August 21st Pastor has arrived in Nairobi, Kenya

Made it safely back to Nairobi, Kenya.. Drinking some java with Pastor Chris. I feel like I'm back in civilization!!! The Congo was a trip.

Pastor is getting ready to leave Congo and heading to Kenya

Pastor said they had an Awesome service tonight when they finally got there. They were running late due to traffic, in a car with no ac and it was very muggy out. They had a thousand people tonight it was another powerful service. Power is out again so no internet. Pastor is heading back to Kenya.

Thursday August 19th

Spoke to pastor He said that he did get a good night sleep last night and he says the weather is very muggy today. They are stuck in a traffic jam on there way to the church and the service started half hour ago. Please be in prayer for them today. God Bless

Update from Pastor August 18th

Hey all, its Thursday night, I am posting some more pics and a couple videos so you can feel like you are here with me. God continues to move mightily in the conference. I preached again tonight. The attendance grows with every service, which means more people standing outside. I'm very tired tonight, gonna try to get some rest.. love you all!!! Blessings, talk to you tomorrow.

Pastor Blake in Africa

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Pastor Blake update Aug. 18th

I'm back at the hotel. Power has been on for 2 days now so no problems with Internet and water, got a nice hot shower which was a blessing. The sessions this morning were awesome, pastor Safari from Kenya and Pastor Bland from Cortez preached great messages on "Being Teachable" and How Judas Failed". The attendance is growing everyday. It's funny, the host Pastor Ben Moussa said a lot of times in Congo when a church does a conference and advertises guest speakers from out of the country, the Congolese will wait and see if they really come because a lot of times they don't. So, now that they know were here, it's building!! This afternoon i talked to the Nairobi, Kenya head church during their service and pumped them up for the services Sunday. We travel the 5 hour flight back to Kenya Saturday. Tonight was Powerful. I preached on "The Power of Joy". I felt the Lord speak to me Monday night His people here needed Joy!! The response was awesome.. Many people got saved! Then I prayed for people with the spirit of suicide! The Altar was full which was sad, but the devil was exposed and defeated!! The church was so full, people were standing, and there were lots of people on the side road listening! I will post some more pictures too. I'm only posting ones from my IPhone because I don't have the cord for camera. Love y'all, thank you again prayer chain!! Do not grow weary in well doing. We are in this together!!

Wed. August 18th

Leaving out for another day of conference, I preach the evening session tonight! God is gonna move today! Sleep well USA> Thanks for continued support prayer chain- I love you

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Message sent via Text / No Internet

Hello on this Tuesday, it is 4 in the afternoon. yesu alingi bino minigi (Jesus loves you very much in Lingala) Sunday morning I preached "The Drought is Over", the rain of the holy spirit fell and 25-30 people were saved. I prayed for the sick and many were healed. Last night the conference started and this morning I preached the first session followed by Pastor Safari from Kenya. Sorry I have not posted anything the electricity has been out in the whole country for a week, so no internet, I am texting this to you. We are resting in the home of a member of the church between sessions instead of driving the hour each time. Love you all and Thanks for all the prayers Pastor

Bon jour.. Here in Congo they speak French and mostly Lingala. No English at all. There a select few who do including my interpreter this morning. I found out when he was translating that Lingala was the first official language but when it was formed, words like car, computer, etc. didn't exist so they had to add French words for them so it's a mixture!! I thought that was very interesting. They also have around 250 tribes in Congo and each tribe has it's own dialect. I have posted a few pictures but i tell you words cannot express what I see!! I will do my best to give a description. Remember too that any pictures i have taken have been very discreet because if they see you taking pictures they will take your camera. I wish each of you could Just ride down the road once with me and you would NEVER complain about anything again. We are so blessed. Let me put it this way, if you were to go to the poorest place in Dallas it would be middle class here! Take your worst day and it would be a good one for the Congolese! We are blessed!! I have seen poverty in Costa Rica like this, but it was only in certain areas. Here, the poverty Is everywhere! I'm not talking bad about the country, just what I see. Garbage is everywhere, layer upon layer, cars are trashed, there are hundreds of Mutatas- public transportation (picture a VW van) with people crammed into them and hanging outside. Fires burning everywhere, piles of garbage with people going through them collecting. Roads are a mixture of sand and asphalt. Not lots of cars, mostly the mutatas crammed with people. But oh when I stepped in to that church.. It was a piece of heaven. People were so well dressed, there was so much order and respect in there. There was such a joy in the people and such a deep love for God. The church probably holds 800-1000 and it was packed with a couple hundred seats on the outside that were full as well! I preached "The Drought is Over" and the rain of the Holy Spirit fell and the altars were full! Well, I better stop before I preach. Conference starts tomorrow.

Pastor sends his DEEP Appreciation for the prayer chain, for your sacrifice and commtiment and He really feels it!! And today is When the spiritual warfare starts 2 Corinthians 10:4,5 when I Begin to minister!! Thanks

I'm up and praying and gonna do some exercise, I brought my resistance belt with me to work out in hotel! Last night was good, I got good rest despite the power going off about 5 times and staying off till about 6 am this morning! I went to sleep about 4 pm yesterday ( never done that before) and woke up wide eyed about 1 am for a few hours then went back to sleep for a couple more! Jet lag is a real thing, you figure I just changed times Again yesterday coming to Congo from Nairobi! So I'm all messed up. Another thing that's really weird is having my family on 3 different continents! I'm here, Karla n Desi are in central America and Kristen is in North America!! Feel very distanced! I love my girls!! Well, I have to get ready to go preach my first service this morning, but not before a hour ride from my compound in downtown. It has a jail feel here, we are in a compound with guards and we really can't leave our rooms and I hear this big gates shutting and opening about every 20-30 min.. Interesting. Love yall

Pastors Pics from Africa

Hey everybody!! Love and blessings to you!! THE PRAYER CHAIN is on my mind.  It's been very neat and powerful To stop at any given time here day or night and know someone is praying for me. I actually will whip out my phone and look at my List of who's praying for me and I pray for them as well and bless them! Right Now I'm still fighting jet lag, it's 1:30 am Sunday morning and I'm wide awake. Went to sleep at like 4 pm because I didn't sleep last night at all. We just went through another time change from Kenya to here. It's wierd, i almost feel like I'm in jail. This hotel is in like a compound with heavy security and we cant go out. And every 20-30 min there's this Loud noise from the main entrance opening and shutting! Pretty wild! I preach at 9 am this morning, gonna be a ride!! 

Pastor Blake

Pastor made it to Congo

I made it to Congo.. Safely, but not without drama. Kenya airways didn't give us our baggage claims and if it wasn't for the Pastor Bin Moussa having some guys "on the inside" helping us we wouldn't have gotten it! This place is crazy., it's like nothing I have ever seen. It Is another world..

Pastor boarding plane to Congo

Pastor Blake Posted this on his FB at 10:40pm. Fixing to board plane for Congo!!! Im tired.. I couldnt sleep last night... ugh.

2nd Update from Pastor

Had a good day of rest in Nairobi, exchanged some money for Shilings, to pay for room and bottled water haha. Ate dinner, Italian-safe haha. The only thing weird is the driving on the left side of the road and VERY slow moving traffic.. Kids are also banging on windows asking for money. Well I'm done for today! Thanks again Prayer Chain, I feel it and I'm looking at the list and praying back at you!! Many blessings!! Trying to go to sleep early for 4:45 AM flight to Congo- God is gonna move and I'm on the move! See ya in Kinshasa.
Pastor

1st update from Pastor Blake

Hey church family.... Habari Yako (hows it going) I am alive and well in Nairobi, Kenya East Africa!

I got in just fine, everything was smooth and only delay was in Dallas..
747 was REAL nice. leg room wasn't any different but it was BIG: I was
able to walk around the whole thing full circle and did that quite
often, another blessing was on both flights I had the seat next to me
empty!!Bwana Asifiwe (Praise the Lord)  Pretty good food on plane and
service too, especially KLM the 747 flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi.

I did sleep off and on the whole trip, never for a long time, but good in general!

My only drama was We did land in Nairobi with no electricity, I was very glad that they told us that AFTER we landed and not before haha!! had to have some culture shock.. There was a long hour wait or so to get my Visa $25, but luggage was ready and so was my ride to be picked up. We drove on the left side of the road so I was sitting where I would normally drive, that's weird!!

Now i really haven't been out in the day yet, so its not a fair assumption
yet, but my first impression is it SO MUCH like Costa Rica, vegetation,
round abouts (circle stop lights basically), people everywhere, type of construction, etc.. climate VERY
similar. even the vegetation. So i feel at home SO FAR.. I will be going
out to the streets here in a few hours to change money and get
acclimated and then I will get a better feel!

I'm staying at a Missionary compound called the Hampton House, which reminds me of el
instituto biblico in moravia, Costa Rica. its 100 shillings for an 40 min on the internet, which
is about a dollar lol..

Then, tomorrow at 4:45 AM we leave for the Congo.. ME,
Pastor Bland and Pastor Safari from the Church in Nairobi.. I'm hearing
monkeys somewhere in the background as I write this!! haha. right on
cue.

Well, that's all for now.. I want to thank ALL OF YOU who are praying in the prayer chain ... I FEEL your prayers!!! The pastor here said the people are very excited and have been praying and fasting on Tuesdays and the youth have been having all night prayer meetings on Friday nights!

Love you all, you are sleeping now!!! I am awake!! I don't know if i will have internet access in the Congo so if I don't you will have to wait until the 21st, but I'm hoping I do. I will be sending pics as I can. Gotta go!!


Pastor Blake

Pastor Blakes SAFE arrival to Africa

I received a text from Kristin that Pastor made it ok to Africa and he is doing good. Please stay tuned for the next update. God Bless!

Pastor Arrived in Houston

Pastor arrived in Houston at 2:35 and boarded his plane to Amsterdam on time around 3:28.

Day 1 Pastor flew out of DFW to Houston

Pastors flight to Houston to connect to Amsterdam was delayed which would have made him miss his flight to Amsterdam, they tried to put him on a direct flight to Amsterdam from there, which would have be good. But he was able to board his normal flight to Houston.