CCL's first Kid's Camp

Recently we were blessed to have a Kid’s Camp for the kids of Calvary Chapel Lakeside. We were excited to see that Pastor Stephen had a heart to minister to the children of CCL during their Holiday break and as it is common here to have a sort of kid’s camp or what many Americans might call a VBS, plans began to unfold in that direction. As time began to rush by we started talking about what it might look like and how it might run. Our great friends and fellow missionaries Steve and Dianne Warn who work with Agape are well seasoned in putting on camps for kids and have a passionate heart for the Lord and the Gospel. In working together it was our hope to put something together that would be a sort of model that CCL could use in the future. After a leadership meeting, choosing and planning curriculum, finding leaders and volunteers, prepping the craft, lessons and teachings and one last three and half hour meeting, the camp called, “Decide to be Different” began on a Thursday. We really didn’t know what to expect as far as numbers but had planned for around 60 children. Since many of the boys have gone home for the break, Agape graciously allowed us to use their grounds to hold the camp.
In true Kenyan fashion many children arrived late but the amazing part was we reached 60 children immediately and the number started climbing. We quickly started rearranging groups and finding other leaders to take groups. The number grew to 80 and then to 90 and by the end we had about 100 kids. There was a huge excitement as worship began and the kids sang with great enthusiasm. A memory verse was shared, puppets performed a skit which was led by Pastor Stephen and some of the older youth, and a great teaching was given. The children then broke into groups for different stations. There was a game station, a memory verse station where they played games to learn the verse for the day, a response to the teaching station and a craft station (which I, Peg, got to run). The children would line up and when the whistle blew they would march to their station singing the theme song that Matt wrote. Not only did the children love the song, they got points for how well they did their transitions, so needless to say the transitions went smoothly. Every station was visited by everyone and then we all gathered together to see what team won the most points for the day as well as who the “king” and “queen” were for the day. These children were honored for their good behavior by sitting in decorated chairs and having crowns put on their heads. They were also served lunch first sitting in their chairs.
For the craft, the Lord gave us the idea to use bottle caps that had been pounded out flat to make a necklace. The bottle cap represented themselves. The first day the memory verse was 1 Corinthians and we taught that being new creations in Christ means we are different than who we were before. This went along with the lesson of Daniel deciding to be different by purposing in his heart not to eat King Neb’s food and “contaminate” himself. (Daniel Chap.1) We emphasized that as new creations in Christ we needed to decide to be different from the world. This day the kids painted the bottle caps artistically symbolizing a new creation.
The second day the story was the “Fiery Furnace,” and the memory verse was Joshua 1:9. Each bottle cap had a hole in it at the top and we talked about how the hole represents the trials and difficult times in our lives. We reminded them that we are new creations when we are in Christ, but we are not without trials. We talked about the trial of Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego going through the fiery furnace and how God was with them so they didn’t have to be afraid. The string of the necklace represented God and as we threaded the string through the necklace, we shared how just like God was with Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego in the fiery furnace and saw them through that trial, God will see us through our trials and hold us up just like the string holds up the bottle caps. Then we shared as we tied a knot in the string, how when we go through trials it brings us closer and tighter to God. The necklace was to be a reminder of what they had learned. This day the kid’s threaded the string through their bottle caps, tied the knot and then wrote the letters, D for decide, T for to, B for be, and D for different.
Something great happened the night before while Matt and I were in our kitchen preparing for the “string,” day. I discovered that the string, made mostly of plastic was not tying and staying tied. I began to get frustrated knowing the younger kids would never be able to get their necklaces tied. My amazing husband had an incredible idea. He showed me how the plastic would melt together when the knot went through a tiny bit of fire. Amazingly the knot became super strong after the melted part dried. I was thrilled with the idea and knew the kids would love the fire analogy, so after we demonstrated the tying of the knot, we put the knot through the flame of a candle. As we did it we talked about how when we go through fiery trials it brings us even closer and tighter with the Lord. When the kids finished their necklaces they each brought up their necklaces to be put through the fire. It was a fantastic object lesson.
For the third and final day, we didn’t have a craft but instead had adults spend time with the children and pray with them. The verse for the day was Hebrews 4:16 and we talked about how we can go to the throne room of grace with confidence and pray anytime and anywhere. For the rest of the time adults talked and prayed with the children in small groups. It was during this time that many children gave their life to the Lord. I had the privilege of leading one girl named Millicent to the Lord. She was an older girl and very emotional. She really wanted to be “saved” and seemed to understand what the Bible said. Please pray for her and that we would be able to reconnect with her as she came from across town and we weren’t able to get a contact for her.
It was so encouraging knowing that there were children who received the Lord as their Savior and were also hiding scripture in their heart during those three days. Something else that was a huge blessing was how we were really in the background and apart from running the stations and worship it was the Kenyans doing the camp. We also had several people come from church to volunteer which was very exciting. We truly praise God for a wonderful time and the lives that were saved and for His Word going forth. We trust it will not return void and thank Him that He allowed us to be a part of something so sweet.

Part 2 Thank You for the Blood

Relieved and ever so grateful that Joelle had been delivered safely and was beautiful and healthy, I turned my attention to the next stage of delivery. I had remembered with my firstborn that the placenta came out fairly easily and so I wondered after two tries and a couple of injections why this placenta was not coming out. I could tell there was a bit of concern on my doctor's face but doctors are always serious when blood is involved. Smile! After the third and incredibly painful try to deliver the placenta, I knew something might not be right. When my friend AC told me to give her my hand because they were going to put in an IV, I knew there was trouble. Shortly after the IV was in, my doctor came to my side, took my hand and in his very, sweet, gentle Indian voice told me he couldn’t get the placenta out because it was “stuck to the uterus wall.” He told me he had to take me to the “theatre” (the term here for Operating Room A.K.A. OR). I asked him if I really had to go to the theater after all that hard work and all that natural work, and he answered me with a sad yes. I aksed immediately if he would have to cut me open to get it out and to my and Matt’s relief he said, “No!” But he did tell me he had to put me under.

For one split second, I thought would panic but because I knew I had no other choice and knew God was on the throne and in total control, I decided to trust Him. Several people were moving quickly preparing me for the trip and Matt was off with baby. There two very sweet people who helped me transfer my tender body onto a gurny and I will never forget the sweet man who wheeled me to my destination. His calm, sweet voice was a comfort I needed before I entered a very chaotic environment. I chose to keep my eyes closed so I wouldn’t see anyone looking at me nor the sights around. This proved to be a great choice because the hospital was under construction so in order to get to the OR, I had to be wheeled OUTSIDE and quite a distance. Giggling to myself of what I must look like, the Lord began to put worship songs on my heart and I began to sing. My friend AC was quickly by my side, and promised me she would stay as close as possible. That was a huge comfort and I smiled knowing I was loved.

As I entered the OR room that was incredibly noisy and bright (even through my closed eyes) I was so grateful for the amazing peace I felt from the Lord. My doctor came to me and for a brief moment I opened my eyes to ask for water as I was desperately thirsty. I was met with a, “No please!” from my concerned doctor. I later learned that I was loosing a lot of blood and he was anxious to get the procedure done to stop the bleeding. I was wheeled into a corner that was sectioned off by what seemed like a curtain in my quick glance. There were people buzzing all around me and when I opened my eyes to see who was near me I saw two men in green masks and quickly decided keeping my eyes closed was still best! I began to sing from my heart and out loud. With what seemed like a quick examination, I was wheeled speedily away but a problem arose. My arms were attached to things that were still attached to the wall in the corner. Not only was I still attached to the blood pressure cord, my IV had been attached to the wall and anymore pulling might have tugged the needle out. As my arms were being stretched above my head, people were calling out in their Kenyan accents, “Wait, wait, she is still attached!” I almost laughed out loud thinking this couldn’t be real.

When I knew I was in the OR room I was comforted again by a sweet lady who turned out to be my anesthesiologist and my doctors wife. She kept telling the men handling me (the ones in the green masks) to remember I was a person and a patient and to me more gentle. I was in total agreement with her feeling the tenderness of just having birthed my girl. I continued to sing and knew the Lord was present with me and there was nothing to fear. On a 1, 2, 3, I was lifted onto to the hard, stiff operating table. There was one more chance for a panic moment feeling the hard table and imagining where I was but the Lord continued to fill me with His peace and put the song, “Thank you for the blood” on my heart. The chorus says, “Thank You for the blood, thank you for Your Son, thank you for Your love, thank you for Jesus.” I kept singing with my dry mouth and as the sweet anesthesiologist told me she was going to put me to sleep, I asked her if I could keep singing. She replied, “Oh yes, it is comforting me!” I knew I wasn’t the only one feeling the chaos in the Theatre. Smile! The last thing I remember was singing the last line, “Thank you for Jesus!”

All glory to God, everything went smooth and well and when I came to pleading for water, I could only speak Kiswahili. Now, I am learning the language and can speak a little but I am by no means fluent, so to be able to only speak Kiswahili was amazing. I really didn’t start speaking English until I was fully awake. Ha! A friend told me she thought it was more in my heart than I knew. When I thought about things later, I thought how funny it was and how cool it was that God had put that specific song on my heart. I could only imagine what my doctor thought as I sang, “thank you for the blood” as he prepared to fix a blood issue. My sincere prayer is that he and his wife would know the cleansing, powerful, loving blood of Jesus Christ and always remember the peace that filled that theatre that day. All glory to our mighty God!!!

When Matt came into our room with our little girl, she was all dressed in cute clothes wrapped in sweet blankets that had been given to us as gifts from friends in the States. Daddy had done an amazing job through it all and we were so happy the Lord had faithfully brought us through. What a Mighty God we serve!

Peg for The P4

God's Delivery

I can do all things through Christ who Strengthens me! Philippians 4:13 Part 1

(Disclaimer: This is the story of our getting our Joelle Joye into this world…..labor and delivery details will be included. This is mostly for family and fellow mamas but it’s a beautiful testimony to our Lord Jesus Christ and His power and might!)

There are so many verses I could pick to start this blog but I think this verse captures the essence of our experience that we have had and are yet still having. Like any other 1 am in the third trimester, I hoisted my rather large belly up from bed to use the bathroom. As soon as I stood I realized something was very different. Either I had not made it to the toilet or Joellie was telling me it was time to come. As water gushed upon the wooden floor of our friend’s guest room, I prayed Kenya Grace our firstborn would not wake up. As I waddled to the restroom I called gently for Matt to wake up. He did sit up in bed but did not move. I called him again less gently and said he needed to come immediately. As he stumbled to the bathroom he stood over me silently just staring and not moving. When I told him my water broke, he didn’t even flinch. I told him again, “Babe, my water broke,” to which he replied, “I have to pee.” I knew the only adrenaline in the room was mine and that before any major contractions started I better get going to get us out of the house.

Back in the room as I searched for my “well prepared” hospital list Matt continued to just stand in the middle of the room not moving. Finally, I told him, “I need you to start moving and fast!!!!” Somehow I think he finally woke up and realized what was happening. After gathering our things, leaving a note for our girl, and being prayed for by our friend, we headed out into the streets of Nairobi a little before 2am. It was a bit of an eerie feeling being on the roads here in the middle of the night when crime can be at it’s peak but our mighty God protected us and we made record timing to the hospital. This was truly a gift from the Lord as traffic can be terrible and no one likes traffic, especially a woman going into labor. The contractions hadn’t totally kicked in so we parked in emergency met our dear friend AC who was already waiting for us and walked a good distance to the “Princess Zara Pavilion.”

I don’t think the nurse on duty really thought I was in labor since I was rather talkative and smiley but she gave us a room (in the next wing since maternity was full) and helped us to get settled. We had a few Kenyan moments like the nurse asking me if I had any “feelings” and I proceeded to tell her what my cramps were feeling like. Turns out she wasn’t asking me about “feelings” but “fillings” in my teeth. Ha! (There were several moments like that.) When the nurse checked me, I was 50% effaced and 3 cm. “Ha”! I said to myself, since I had been at a 3 for several weeks now and since I still wasn’t feeling anything super strong Matt, AC and I decided to try to nap. As the lights went out I found myself needing to breathe a little through what I now knew were contractions. After an hour of laying down I decided it was time to get up and try another position and AC informed me my contractions at that point were about 5 minutes a part. (I had this feeling she was not napping but listening to my breathing and sure enough, she was. Smile!) Any request we had for the nurses seemed to be taking a long time so we just decided that we’d move to the next phase right where we were at. Off went the warm clothes, on went the cool top and I found myself making company with the bath room sink which was rather sturdy and a good companion and the moaning began.

When the nurse realized I was entering hard labor she insisted we move to the labor room, wondering how quick this baby may come. After one good contraction we hustled down the hall and into the next wing and just about made it to the room when another contraction hit. The wall then became my companion and worked rather well till I could get to the friendly, green ball in the labor room. It was now about 6 am and unfortunately the ball did not work for me like it did with Kenya Grace. It was a nice resting place, but standing and rocking and burying my head into my pillow on the bed while I did tribal moans and groans worked well for at least the next hour. When AC made a phone call to the nurse and said my contractions were one minute a part I knew we were getting closer and I was getting tired. I knew I needed to try a different position and as we three experimented using the wall, all fours on the ground, even the chair, it was clear not too much at that point was going to help much.

The nurse came in and did a check after 7am and I was fully effaced and 6-7 cm’s dilated. Matt had already been reading me scripture which encouraged my heart so much but I was thinking he was going to need to do it again as I knew transition was ahead of me and things were already getting intense. My amazing labor coaches began to really exercise their muscles as the only way I could “relax” or find some relief was to fall completely into them and let them hold my 180 lbs plus and try moaning. After a short time on all 4s on the bed, I needed the bathroom again. Once in the bathroom I decided I wasn’t going anywhere and after two more contractions of hanging in my coaches arms and finding no relief, I realized my little girl was coming and no one was going to stop me. Smile! I remember hearing AC say to the nurse, she’s pushing! The nurse replied “She can’t, she has to stop, we have to get her on the bed.” That nurse was not my friend at that moment and I remember just baring down and letting out what I thought would be a good tribal moan but alas it was a scream. As the pushing took over and my body took over I had a moment of not believing what was happening. I felt flooded with peace and knew I wasn’t going to die but had no idea how I would make it through the pain.

AC and Matt managed to get me to the room and I remember hearing the nurse tell me I needed to get on the bed. I was ready to punch her, good thing Matt and AC had my arms. Just kidding! Well I did think of it but don’t think I would have ever done it. Somehow, someway they got me on the bed. Time was around 8am. I began pushing and with the pushes came the screams. I was told to stop so they could do the requested episiotomy and after being told to push gently I remember feeling like I would literally tear in two. With an intense scream and a mama bear growl, Joelle Joye Pottenger was out into the world covered in creamy vernix and blood. She really looked like strawberries and cream! Oh, what a wonder and truly the Lord from the hour we went into labor, to getting to the hospital, to the care, and strength of the Lord to bring this little girl into the world so safely and with no complications for her! (I have to add especially for a mama who praises God for epidurals and didn’t use one. Smile!)

As we pondered for at least two weeks whether to take some action in getting Joellie here, the Lord continued to encourage us to wait, and trust in Him. It was a word we continually received though we confess we waivered in resting in it. When I finally made the decision that God would bring her in His timing and in His way, and we would not interfere and that I could do all things through Christ, even wait…………………………………she arrived. All Glory to God!

Part 2 to follow (Peg’s Theatre Adventure!)