Mr. and Mrs. Future Jonathan Pelts are heading to Nairobi in January 2012!

HERE WE GO!
It is official! Olivia has been accepted into Africa In-land Mission's counselling internship at Tumiani in Nairobi, as well as into Ambassadors in Sport's team! We cannot believe how God has just had his hand in all of this as we have had to go through a HUGE process of Olivia having to get approved through AIM (even though they don't allow new married couples to go onto the mission field until after a year of marriage), as well as getting approved by AIS (which has they same policy), and her school approving the internship in order for her to get credit for it.

After starting the process in July, getting engaged in August, and the Lord really working in these organizations, we are all clear to start fundraising and preparing to head to Nairobi together in late January! Right now the plan is for me to come home two days before Thanksgiving and move back and forth between Bluefield, Denver, and Dallas to be with Olivia as we make final preparations for the wedding and moving, and spending time with both families.

You can ask any counsellor what are two of the biggest stressors in an individuals life and they will say moving and marriage and we're doing both! HA HA! We both know that what we are about to embark on is not a walk in the park, but an amazing opportunity, first to grow in our marriage and second to pursue our passions together. When Olivia and I first got together one of our greatest concerns was how would we be able to pursue our passions together, and little did we know what the Lord had in store for us.

We are excited as well as nervous about what the future holds for us, which is why we cannot do any of this on our own. Besides trying to build our financial support team, we are also in need to build our prayer team. We could not do any of these things without continued prayers from our families and brothers and sisters in Christ. Of course we do need to raise additional support to provide for both of us while we are on the ground, and if you would like to support us on either a one time gift or monthly donation we would greatly appreciate it, but if there is no prayer, no work can be done. Thank you all so much for fighting for me these last few months as I have been over here alone, but now I ask that you fight for Olivia and I as we begin this journey TOGETHER! Thanks so much for your love and encouragement.

In Christ,
Jonathan and Olivia

Thanks Wheaton for the Sweet Memories

Well it is hard to believe that one month has flown by since I last saw Olivia and on top of that, the Wheaton team has come and gone. After months of preparation and getting everything lined up, the team came, they saw, and I would definitely agree that they did more than any of us had ever imagined. They hosted 3 football clinics, played four friendlies with KPL teams, a village team, and a drug rehab program, put up a fence around one of our new churches that we're building, and walked through the slums. But on top of all that they did, they left their name all over ICC and AIS. From their financial donations that will help us provide either a greenhouse or catering business so we can give the Petra Boys a job, to their countless donations of boots, jerseys, clothes, and shoes. The community of Nairobi has either experienced something so rare and so Christ-like by this team, or hopefully they will feel that presence by the Petra Boys, Kickers Clinics, and the staff here who was impacted by them.

I do have to add that one of my favorite memories since being here was when the team traveled to Shuka to play a village team and not only was it fun to play again, but to see an entire village come out and support their boys was a special gift. They lined the entire field and went nuts when their team would either miss an opportunity or give the ball away. We ended up winning 3-1, and even though it's not really cool to see an opponent score, it was really a special moment to see the whole community celebrate and going completely nuts. I will never forget seeing guys with pineapples run onto the field trying to sell them after the goal, or people hugging and starting to chant in their native tongue.

Thank you Wheaton for coming here and doing a fantastic job. Your attitudes were amazing, you came in prepared to be flexible, and ready to serve wherever you were called to serve. God did some pretty amazing things here and the cool thing is that their not going to stop there. He will continue to be faithful with the donations you left, the people you impacted, and I am so blessed to be one of the guys who can write to you and let you know what's happening on the ground. Stay strong my brothers and know that you have a fan in Nairobi who will be cheering you on, that is after you play Covenant. Cheers boys.