We All Need a Drink

Driving down the road, seeing the beggar with the sign; “Why lie? I need a drink” evoked two immediate responses. One was appreciate the honesty, and two was ignore it.

The beggar’s sign came to mind as we discussed writing our year-end letter. Suddenly the Word of God revealed the truth of the sign through Jesus’ story of the woman at the well. We all need a drink.

In John 19:13 Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

We are mere beggars, ushered to the throne and securing a mansion in heaven through grace by faith in Jesus alone. Many of us don’t want to present ourselves this way. Instead of the flawed, beat up beggar dependent upon Christ alone, we project a successful image – whether in our family, career or ministry.

Having just completed Thanksgiving, we are reminded it is good to count our blessings. But do we recount our blessings with the emphasis on us (the receiver) or God (the Giver)?

We resolve to embrace our helpless state and our need for a drink from Jesus. This is the way for eternal fruit in ministry, as Jesus says in John 7:37-38: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." The most amazing feeling we have all experienced is for streams of living water to flow from within us onto others! In The Rock, we see it overflowing into and out of the lives of the Africans we serve.

Through the Rock, God has accomplished much this year with your gifts. We have poured it all out. Like the story of the widow who used her last flour and oil to prepare a meal for the Prophet Elijah, our cup is empty. We don’t know who God will use to fill it. We trust He will use people like you to fill it again just as God filled the widow’s cup repeatedly. Then we will empty it in His service and become mere beggars again.

Why lie? We all need an eternal drink. If God desires streams of living water to flow from you by standing with your brothers and sisters in Africa through supporting our ministry with The Rock, please embrace the blessing.

Merry Christmas!

Mark and Margaret

"All The Far" God Has Brought Us

God is good. All the time. Because that’s His nature! What a joy to see my African friends on a recent trip and experience, in their local vernacular, “all the far God has brought them.”

A highlight was attending the wedding of Emmanuel and Sarah. Emma was among the first graduates of The Rock’s Uganda scholarship program and the first to get a job where he regularly gets the opportunity to share the Gospel as a nurse. Now he’s the first to get married.

Our other scholarship students are stepping up in leadership on campus. Two were elected class representatives and another is in charge of “campus welfare,” which is advocating for the spiritual and physical needs of the student body.

Great strides also are taking place in Kenya, where the men involved in the business development and discipleship program are thriving. One sure sign of spiritual maturity is reaching out beyond ourselves and these men have grasped a passion to “take their city for Christ!” They are excited about mentoring and discipling outside their group as well as helping to build an orphanage.

God knew I needed all the encouragement He provided on this trip. Ministry remains a spiritual battleground and we face constant challenges in ministry and finances.

Returning to the U.S., I was ready to hit the ground running in preparation for our major event of the year Nov. 19, “Lifted – Songs and Stories of Triumph” featuring Dove Award Winner Steve Green in concert and a new documentary based on Psalm 40 entitled “A Firm Place to Stand.” Tickets start at only $5 with a 20 percent discount for groups of 10 or more so please go to rockoutreach.org to get yours now. There is an option to have dinner with Steve before the concert. This is meant as a ministry outreach for Christians and nonbelieving friends. It is an excellent opportunity for families, church groups and social groups to enjoy an economical and inspiring evening together.

Such an event is a lot of work and, frankly, can be a little scary in putting together, especially when it’s in the Eisemann Theatre of Richardson which seats 1,500. But, refreshed by my African friends, I feel the Holy Spirit encouraging me, “Enjoy, Mark, and just see what I am going to do!”

Abundant Fruit in Financial Drought

The drought is upon us, but the fruit is flourishing. In our case, the drought is a steep dip in financial support (both ministry and personal) while the fruit is an abundance of strong African disciples stepping up into Christian leadership.

It is like Jeremiah 17:7-8:

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."

We are nourishing our roots in God’s stream. He is encouraging us by the amazing fruit of the ministry as we wait for Him to bring the rain to end the financial drought.

Ben Kisiki, a Ugandan Rock scholarship student who has lived with us this summer while interning at Liberty Institute, is a huge encouragement. Ben was a bright light at Liberty, a Christian advocacy law group. “Ben is hard working, intelligent, well-spoken and committed to the constitutional law issues we work on,” writes Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel. “Without reservation, we would recommend him for a legal position.”

In addition to his exemplary legal work, Ben has challenged many with his strong Christian faith and commitment to the Bible.

Then there is Ken Mollo, another Rock law graduate who recently went to work for The Rock in Uganda. Ken is leading our cooperative agriculture program with Uganda Christian University. He has a passion for evangelizing the workers in the fields and also helping teach other indigenous ministries professional agricultural techniques as a means of attaining self-sustainability.

Ken is a born leader who also oversees John Mugowa, our Rock scholarship coordinator. John suggested a discipleship camp for our new incoming scholarship students. He and Ken are working together on a four-day conference later this month on an island in Lake Victoria for the eight scholarship students.

Here are some of the topics they are developing on their own initiative:
-The Rock Creed (see posting below) for initiating new entrants.
-Team work and team building, one body many parts. (1 Cor 12:12-30)
-Finding our identity in Christ: Building self esteem (1 Peter 2: 9-10 ); (Psalm 139:14) I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
-Redeeming time for the days are evil: saving time to maximize academic and spiritual efficacy at campus ( Eph 5:15-21)
-Personal budgeting and Financial Management: Being good stewards of God’s gifts…even our monies.
-Personal and Public Etiquette, cleanliness is next to Godliness.

In addition to the scholarship students, the Holy Spirit is at work in our leadership of the men’s discipleship program in Kenya.

Daniel Omondi, chairman of the Rock-trained Kingdom Builders who seek to do business and life God’s way, has a passion for reaching more men. Recently, 52 men responded to his invitation to be discipled by the 10-member Kingdom Builders group in his church. Joseph Musungu, Rock East Africa program manager in Kenya, has a vision of 500 more men being discipled in the next year.

Peter Otieno, a young Kenyan pastor, is growing in leaps and bounds as we equip him and his church to be self-sustaining in the primary school we recently helped them start. Peter also is excited to oversee an agricultural project we expect will provide funding for a new mercy home for children in his village.

There is more but I won’t go on. We would really appreciate you standing with us financially as God yields the fruit in The Rock.

The Rock Leadership Creed

All: We commit to develop fully our God-given abilities to serve Him and our country. We believe as leaders:

Leader: The best leader …
All: … is a great follower of Jesus.(1 Samuel 13:14)

Leader: A leader leads …
All: … by example.(1 Corinthians 4:16)

Leader: A leader does everything …
All: … as if unto the Lord, not men.(Ephesians 6:7)

Leader: A leader serves …
All: … rather than being served.(Matthew 20:28)

Leader: A leader considers others …
All: … more important than self.(Philippians 2:3-4)

Leader: Without Jesus …
All: … we can do nothing.(John 15:5)

Leader: With Jesus …
All: … we are more than conquerors.(Romans 8:37)

All: We stand on The Rock of Jesus.

Rain Shows Reign

The Rock’s recent agriculture opportunity is reminding us of God’s sovereignty. We are praying that the 20 acres we cultivated in cooperation with the agriculture department at Uganda Christian University will generate enough cash to help fund several of our scholarship students this fall.

We planted beans and maize and now we wait and pray for God to provide the rain and do the growing. He indeed is the Lord of the harvest who reigns over all. We can do our part correctly, but only He can produce the results.

The Lord is impressing upon us this is true in all aspects of The Rock ministry. We can teach discipleship and leadership to the children, scholarship students and business people of our flock, but only He can fill their hearts.

The documentary we are producing of God’s miraculous deeds in the lives of Africans we serve can win awards and accolades, but only God can use it to draw people to Himself and to prompt people to stand with The Rock’s passion for discipleship and leadership training.

We can pack the house with 1,650 people for our Steve Green Concert Event for The Rock Nov. 19 at Eisemann Performance Center in Richardson, but only He can make the event a Kingdom success.

Our radio show at 5 p.m. on Mondays on KWRD 100.7 FM in Dallas can share great stories and testimonies, but only He can use them to change and bless lives.
We believe God is calling us to a higher level of worship and praise of His sovereignty and might.

We want to praise Him continually and depend upon Him alone. One way we are doing this is through an increased emphasis on prayer. If God would call you to stand with us in prayer, please email me at marknoblin@rockoutreach.org and I can tell you of some exciting ways to pray and get involved.

And please pray for rain in Mukono Uganda for our crops! We need a good harvest to help raise a portion of the $13,000 required for the term beginning in September for nine outstanding young men and women in our leadership/discipleship scholarship program.

-- Mark

Mark's Testimony Aired on KWRD 100.7 FM

Grace Amidst Heartbreak

Grace in the midst of heartbreak jumped out in two stories from my recent trip to Africa. One of our Kenyan friends told how he carried his father into hiding in a corn field for safety amid tribal violence.

And God used a Rock Ugandan university student to win 13 souls for Jesus spontaneously in a desperately poor village where his hopes of finding even the smallest shred of information about a mother he has never known failed.

Daniel Mwangi, featured in a Rock documentary film based on Psalm 40 which I coordinated with a professional film crew on the trip, told a terrifying story of the tribal violence that took place after Kenya’s last presidential election.

He was in his village hiding with his family when all the men were told not to sleep but stand guard all night. “I never have fought and I didn’t know how to use the weapons but I had to defend my family,” he said. He was loaded down with large rocks and arrows. The shouts began and the waves of attack began by trained enemies. He heard screaming as houses were looted. Then the second wave came behind to burn the homes.

Quickly Daniel thought of his father who was old, sick and unable to move. He ran to the house with some friends and carried the dad who was screaming in pain to a nearby maize field to hide him. All the time Daniel prayed for the Lord to protect his father and family. “Be very quiet my father or you will be killed,” Daniel told his father.

Then he left his father and joined the other men to defend the village. The burning and looting continued up until his father’s house then it stopped. After the intruders retreated, Daniel ran to the field to check on his father, finding him safe and unharmed. This was just one of the many miracles told by Daniel as part of the testimony of what God has done in his life.

After spending a few days in Kenya we moved on to Uganda to film John Mugowa’s testimony. As we traveled from the bustling border town of Busia, past Jinja to the small village in the middle of a sugar cane plantation, we discussed with anticipation what we would discover. John so desired to find out more about his mother and we thought if I asked some questions possibly the villagers would be able to fill in the blanks. Unfortunately we went away without the answers. No one remembered her or even her name. His grandmother didn’t even know how to find out where she was buried.

It was so sad for John and he even said, “it makes me want to cry to go back to the past but somehow it can heal when you face it.” His extended family was so happy to see him because it had been ten years since his last visit. His younger sister clung to him and it broke his heart to leave her behind. He wanted to help her so bad and promised to try to help as he could. She had no shoes and her little feet were eaten with giggers (like our chiggers). Her clothes were dirty and torn. It was a picture of what John’s life had been like before as a child and my heart really felt for him as I could no longer hold back my tears.

I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me that some people listening to us wanted to hear the Gospel. I mentioned it to John and together we shared our faith and hope in Jesus and how they could be restored also. First I shared how being “born-again” was accepting and believing that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead and all we had to do was accept what he did for us and consent to follow Him. Three older ladies agreed and I lead them in prayer as they gave their lives to Christ.

John noticed several of the children raised their hands wanting to get saved so he explained the Gospel to them. One thing impressed me about what he said: “Do not agree to do this just because of your friends doing it. Do this because it is in your heart and you are serious about Jesus.” Ten children came to him and prayed together to follow Jesus.

As I looked at their innocent little faces, their bare feet and torn clothes I knew God had amazing things ahead of them and tears of joy formed in my eyes. We didn’t find out about John’s mom but God had a different purpose for our visit. He wanted us to bless the villagers who wanted to be born again. So we were blessed beyond what we expected as we just obeyed what the Lord wanted to accomplish that day.

“This is one of the most memorable days of my life,” said a member of our film crew.

Watch for the Nov. 19 premiere of the documentary at the Hill Performance Hall at the Eisemann Center in Richardson, Texas, preceded by a free concert by Steve Green.

-- Margaret

The Painful Side of Leadership

Recently I began reading a book The Painful Side of Leadership, Moving Forward Even When It Hurts by Jeff Iorg. When I saw the book at the church library I thought this would be a great resource for our university students in leadership in Uganda so I checked it out. As I read the book I knew why God wanted me to read it. Christian leadership is hard and many times painful not only for our pastors but also missionaries, NGO leaders and also anyone who stands for Biblical principles. All are on the front line and will experience criticism, misunderstanding, betrayal of people you never thought would betray you and many other difficult experiences. Life is full of surprises and many times things are not what they seem on the surface so we need to be very discerning and as the guys in Uganda say "observe the actions so we know". They apply this to the ladies they are interested in as they discern what kind of lady they may want to marry.

The book talks about very practical leadership topics from painful circumstances, to painful relationships, to painful choices and finally the conclusion that covers Hope-God's Gift to Hurting Leaders. We all live in a fallen world and don't have things figured out. We do what we can and we also mess up. The book covers many things that are mistakes where we bring pain on ourselves. I'm learning alot. The book covers it all in a real way and I found it very encouraging not to be alone.

As we raise up disciples who are sold out to the Lord wholeheartedly, life will be challenging and we need those around us that share the passion. It is lonely when we stand for principles and leaders need people to stand with them in these turbulent times full of compromises to please man.

In Uganda and Kenya we are constantly faced with corruption, short cuts, inabling ungodly behavior. But it is also in the U.S. and getting more challenging. It may seem too tough as I mention these things but I have been on the wrong side of God's wrath and I have a very strong fear of the Lord and don't want to go there ever again. It is far worse than any pain in ministry.

If you are in leadership in your family, at work, church, in the community or other places I recommend this book because it will open your eyes and give you a sensitivity to the pain leaders experience. Even with one pastor's family, they experience difficulty with a stalker and after several years the law enforcement agency asked them if they wanted to go into a witness protection program with changed identities. They declined. I was horrified that things would be that bad but persecution comes with ministry.

All things being said we are "more than conquerors" and we need to focus on the prize. It is true what the Bible says about the end times and things getting worst before they get better. But to me it is all worth it when I see the joy of the Lord in the faces of those that have a chance for something better.

Thanks for standing with us and allowing me to ramble on about the things that are dear to my heart. We value all our dear friends that are committed to the vision and ask for your continued prayers.

God Does the Growing

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (1 Cor. 3:7)

At The Rock, we have been doing plenty of planting and watering – literally in the fields of Uganda and Kenya as well as figuratively in the lives of fellow African believers.

Even as we see God making things grow, we need a continued groundswell of prayer that the crops of disciples and legumes will increase and amaze.

Here is some of the current harvest:

• Ben Kisiki, a Rock law scholarship student and coordinator of our university discipleship program, has received an internship in the U.S. with the Liberty Institute. He also has been invited into Uganda schools to teach Godly principles as a counter to UNICEF’s campaign to present single sex partnerships as an acceptable lifestyle choice.

• John Mugowa, another Rock scholarship student studying IT, is #1 in his class and preparing to take on Ben’s leadership role in the university discipleship program.

• Pastor Peter Otieno, a young man mentored by our partner Bishop Paul Oselu in Kenya, is blossoming in organizing his small village church and community to launch a preschool and agricultural project. Both of these income producing activities will lead to a home for children in his village.

• Ken Mollo, a Rock scholarship student finishing his undergraduate law degree this month, is serving as coordinator of a Rock partnership with the agriculture department at Uganda Christian University. We are renting land from the university and using their agricultural expertise to grow crops which will lead to a Christian agriculture extension, teaching discipleship and self sustainability to students and other African ministries.

God gets all the glory and we are preparing to share His praise with a bigger audience as Margaret leads a film crew to Uganda and Kenya this month. Dubbed “The Psalm 40 Project,” the team will produce a documentary movie from testimonies of Rock participants illustrating God’s redeeming nature.

We are keenly aware that all of this activity is a direct affront to the enemy who has placed many snares in our path. That’s why we covet your continued prayers, for “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

Putting the Horse Before the Cart

Margaret had one of those AHAA! moments. If The Rock wants self-sustainable mercy homes, why not do it in that order: FIRST demonstrate self-sustainability, THEN build the home.

Perhaps we have been getting the cart before the horse by first opening the mercy homes, then trying to assist our partner ministries in Africa to make the homes for needy children self sustaining. Once open, we have found it challenging for our partners to launch income producing activities.

Deliverance Church, our faithful partner in Kenya, gladly has taken on the challenge of creating economic activity to support the ongoing operation of a future home. We are making great strides.

Pastor Peter Otieno and wife Millicent of Deliverance Church in Bouye Kenya are excited to see villagers rallying around the project. They are backed up by Bishop Paul Oselu, also of Deliverance Church in Kisumu, and his wife Perez. Bishop Paul mentored Peter from a boy and was raised in the small village where Peter now pastors.

The Oselus have had a vision of a home for children in the small village for years and jumped at the chance to speed things along by embracing the opportunity to work with The Rock to develop income-producing activities.In the process they are developing a new way of thinking as they develop skills in research, cash flow planning, project management and implementation.

Early this year we discussed starting a preschool for the community; cultivating four acres; and building a home for orphans. Perez and Peter assembled a committee of villagers and church members, including a member of The Rock’s local businessmen’s group, to steer the projects.

The leadership team developed a budget showing income and expenses for the first year of operation of a new preschool. The community donated part of the resources and The Rock donated some of the startup funding. Forty students were required to be enrolled so the preschool could support the teacher salaries from tuition by the students’ parents and fees to sustain it going forward independently. By March they have 50 students enrolled and they are carefully monitoring their budget and the school is doing very well.

Next the team wanted to develop an agriculture project for the four acres of land that was donated by church members to help support a home for orphans. After researching the different types of crops and the potential income they could produce, they decided they could be profitable in the first year if they planted maize and soybeans. Also irrigation plans were made to minimize risks. In March we are planting the first crops which will lay the foundation for providing food and support for the home which we hope to build in the near future. Kingdom Builders Development Group (Kenya businessmen who receive discipleship training and no interest loans as applicable from The Rock) has agreed to help construct the home.

“We are learning many new things and excited about the way forward and the team has taken ownership of the project,” says Pastor Peter. “We are thinking more creatively in the way we do things.“

Catching God's Tailwind in Uganda, Kenya

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I just got back from a whirlwind visit to Kenya and Uganda with our Rock chairman, Dan Vick. So much was accomplished in so little time that I’ve told friends it was as if God put a strong tailwind at our backs. (Actually, I had prayed for a tailwind crossing the Atlantic as we only had one hour for a connection in Paris to Nairobi. God provided!)

Here are the highlights:

· We prepared to launch a joint agricultural program with Uganda Christian University to promote self-sustainable mission projects and teach discipleship at the same time;

· We encouraged and taught our Uganda university scholarship students on accountability while readying the second generation of student leadership to head the group;

· We took decisive action to improve the academic performance of children in Rock-sponsored mercy homes by placing them in an excellent school with a strong emphasis on academics, structure and discipline;

· And we taught Rock-sponsored businessmen in Kenya on dealing with adversity and managing cash flow while also providing individual business and spiritual counsel.

While God enabled us to achieve many practical goals which will have a long-term positive impact on those we serve in The Rock, the things that stick out in my mind are much more personal interactions.

I was delighted to see a marriage completely restored which had been threatened by tribal tensions and violence in Kenya. Daniel Mwangi and his wife (pictured at right) are restoring the business which was destroyed during violence two years ago and grinned as they said that despite their earlier separation during the tensions, their marriage is now stronger than ever. They credit God and counseling from Joseph Musungu, our Rock East Africa program manager.

It was heart- warming to hear one of our newly-wed businessmen share with Dan that Dan’s advice for the young man to call his new bride during the day to tell her he was thinking of her was the best advice he had been given “and it gets me a very good reception when I come home at night.”

We counseled, laughed and commiserated with a couple of our Rock scholars who are facing communication challenges with their prospective fiancés because of their busy schedules. It was a great opportunity to mentor them and discuss God’s design of men and women.

Dan also told of his high school friend and football teammate Bobby to the boys in the mercy home. Bobby always was looking for a good time in high school and never studied. Years later, Dan, who had started his own successful business by then, ran across Bobby, who was working as a laborer on the loading dock. The boys, who needed the pep talk, got the message. Then they thanked us sincerely for loving them and caring about them enough to expect more from them and to put them in a better learning environment.

-- Mark