THE CALL TO FAST

THE CALL TO FAST
January 5th – 9th 2009

“So we fasted and petitioned our God …and He answered our prayer…for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. The hand of our God was on us and He protected us from enemies and bandits along the way.” Ezra 8:21, 23, 31

We live in unstable times where everything seems to be shaking. (Haggai 2:6-8) Governments and economies worldwide are in great transition and turmoil. Violence abounds in the nations. The enemy of our soul has left no stone unturned and many of us have felt the tremors of his wrath around our own families.

Yet as we journey through these times we need to quiet our soul before the Lord; to lean heavily upon the Rock of our Salvation who will never change or be moved. His stability is solid and eternal. When we seek Him, humbling ourselves with prayer and fasting, it strengthens us and sharpens our spiritual senses to the Lord’s peaceful presence and His direction. We will all need more of both in the coming year.

Vapor has seen many doors of opportunity open up before them. The ministry has grown dramatically in the past year. The Kenyan center saw a great increase in the number of kids registered for soccer after the unrest there and many have come to the Lord. That center is now under a leadership transition as the director moves into a new role as missionary to Togoville, Togo. It is a land filled with voodoo and people in desperate poverty! The new Vapor center in Togo West Africa is scheduled to begin in February or March.

Vapor now has a home base in Alabama with new offices built by a generous donor. They have also added new volunteer staff: David and Danielle Gardner along with Ed and Patti Arterbury; and paid staff Dustin and Jolie Rosner. God’s favor has been enormous!!!

The coming year has expectations for even more expansion because the field of souls is ripe for harvest. Bret and Trishia Ralston are scheduled to lead a running ministry in Ngong, Kenya; Vapor also plans to launch a child sponsorship program called Hasmin’s Friends and expand Kids – 4 - Kids to more churches. We all want this growth to be directed by the Lord.

Ezra paused for a time of prayer and fasting before embarking on his journey to bring an offering to the Lord through dangerous lands (Ezra 8:21-23). If we are to join the Lord’s work by bringing an offering during these tumultuous times and/or by laboring in the harvest of souls, we too should pause and humbly make our requests known to Him before embarking on the coming year.

With this in mind, Vapor is calling a fast from Monday, January 5th to Friday, January 9th, 2009. Please mark your calendars and consider joining us as we seek the Lord in whatever capacity you are able whether it is for one or all of these days. Those who have joined us in the past have said it was life changing and powerful.

Vapor's Physical Address

For those who wish to donate physical goods please send to...



Vapor Sports Ministries
100 Technology Loop
Sylacauga AL 35151



Thank You.

East & West - Vapor Sports

This is the first of a divided report on Vapor Sports in East and West Africa.

East Africa: Kenya
Vapor Ngong- Running

Projection:
Mid June ’ 09
-We plan on launching a center for humanitarian aid and running ministry in Ngong.

Prayer:
-For Brett and Trishia Ralston who will be the missionaries building the center.
-Funding to secure the land and materials necessary.
-Advance “tilling of the soil” from a spiritual perspective.

Vapor Kawangware- Soccer

Micro-business:
-We have 3 active micro-businesses and 2 coming this month Lord willing.
-Micro-businesses cut the resources required from the states and will eventually make our operating centers self-sufficient so we can use funds towards new centers.

“[things] have greatly improved in the department; the well and other units like the furniture store are also responding well… We have developed monitoring and evaluation procedures at all micro business units, we have installed a strong cash box and our revenue [has increased]…” –Peter Wine, Vapor Sports KMBA (KMBA: Kenyan Micro Business Administrator)

League:
680 young people are experiencing life change this season through the league, many have become Christ followers. We are still however dealing with the deadly realities of working in slums. This month is no different.

“two boys in vapor lost parents; Michael Kigatua under fourteen lost his mother on Sunday eleven mid-night and David Gateri whom we sponsor lost his dad the burial was Wednesday October 29th …” -Johnstone Bukachi, Vapor Sports KCEA (KCEA: Kenyan Child Education Administrator)

We greatly appreciate your prayer and support.


Life is short,

Micah Mac

Thank You

Celine has officially been released from the hospital and is recovering well at home with her family. Samaritans Purse played a huge role in coming to Celine’s aide. Samaritans Purse is truly making an impact around the world, and we are so grateful to them for their gracious help in this emergency situation. May God continue to bless their entity and expand their territory for the name of Christ.

Below is a letter from Christian:

Dear friends,

I just want to greet you in the name of Jesus Christ our savior!
As you know the last 2 months have been very challenging both for me and my entire family, I take this opportunity to thank each one of you for putting aside your time and pray for my wife who was in hospital.

Now she is out of the Hospital since Sunday 27th and she is recovering well. Your prayers have played a very huge role in my wife's case and we once again say thank you.

May God bless you all and don,t stop praying because the Devil is always at work.

CHRISTIAN NKULIKIYE AND FAMILY.

In conversation with Christian, he persistently stated that God has done a miracle. He said there is no doubt in his mind that God healed his wife, and that no one could convince him otherwise.

For it is God and God alone who deserves all glory and honor and praise. Thank you for your prayers and precious support towards Celine, Christian, his family and Vapor Sports Ministries.

Celine's Recovery

Samaritans Purse unofficially reported that Christian’s wife Celine, was to be released this weekend.

Due to some technical and logistical issues we will not have a full report from Christian until Wednesday.

Saturday morning we had a very positive conversation with Christian and all that he reported was positive.

Your prayers have been appreciated and we look forward to giving you a full report soon.

Life Is Short.

Optimistically Waiting

Christian relayed to us today that the doctors were doing some final tests this week.

Tentatively, the doctors project that Celine could be released this weekend and would get to return home to her family.

Early next week, we plan to have a full report posted.

Thank you for being diligent in prayer, we are continuing to pray and praising God for sparing Celine’s life!

More Progress!!

Today we received good news that Celine has been released from the general ward of the hospital and has been placed in a private hospital room! We praise God for the continual progress that Celine has been making.

The doctors explained that the reason Celine was having trouble breathing and spitting up blood was from a severe case of pneumonia. They explained that it was increased due to her complications from child birth and her inability to have adequate movement after her delivery.

Besides other female problems that they have found and are currently trying to treat, the doctors found that Celine has a medical condition called Fistula which interferes with the proper workings of some lower organs, including the female organs.

Thank you so much for your continuous prayers. God Is Good, let us continue to pray for Celine as physicians are working to treat the multiple problems they have found. Christian, baby Monica, and the family appreciate your faithful prayers as well.

Good News!

09/20/2008

Today there was good news.

Christian relayed to us that his wife Celine had been released from ICU and was now in a lower room of the hospital. This is very good news and means she has been stabilized. The doctors will be continuing to run more tests as they have several diagnosis in mind.

Thank you for your prayers….Please keep lifting her up to our Savior.

“Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail, they are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.”
(Lamentations 3:22-23)

Please Join Us In Prayer!

09/19/2008

Dear Prayer Partner,

We at Vapor Sports Ministries, especially Christian and Celine appreciate your prayers. As we have previously reported, Celine, our Kenyan Administrator’s wife, has been placed in ICU and in desperate need of prayer. We will continue to keep you updated daily through Vapor’s blog on her condition.

Yesterday, after contacting one of our Vapor Directors, Kirk Nowery, who is the COO of Samaritans Purse, it seemed doors were beginning to open. Micah explained to Kirk Celine’s situation and that she needed help fast. Kirk quickly went to work and a Samaritan’s Purse doctor, stationed in Kenya, went to Celine’s aide. Through this connection with Samaritans Purse, pressure was being put on Kenyatta Hospital to quickly give more attention to Celine. Celine is now in stable condition and showing improvements.

This morning, Christian, Celine’s husband, called. He said in a refreshed and excited voice “Guess where I am?”

He said, “I am buying food for Celine.” The doctors had taken the breathing machines off and Celine had begun asking for food.

Christian is praising God for her improvement, but urged us, “Don’t celebrate yet….keep praying.”

Through out your night tonight and your day tomorrow, please remember our precious servant Celine in your prayers. A mother to three beautiful girls, a husband to a Vapor Administrator, a Sunday school teacher, and dear friend to many. We have placed a picture of Celine sitting with her family on the Vapor Soccer fields in Kwangware Kenya from this past July.

“The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:18

It Hit Me Like A Wave....

“In the heat of the moment things get very intense and we pushed thru strong but it is later in the calm that it hits me like a wave.” - Micah Mac

As I told you before I have been so dismayed by the horrible nature of some of the poverty, spiritual darkness, and unreal human abuse that I could not put it into words. We sat Monday night and wept and prayed together. I do not want to go into great detail but I know you are waiting for some kind of news.
Christian was not feeling well – by Monday evening it was getting bad – by yesterday he said he never had felt as bad as he was and he was shaking, knees week, and fever. I took him to the hospital in Ghana yesterday. He had multiple issues; from worms to bad allergic reaction & infection, but the most dangerous was malaria. He has a strong case of malaria. We exchanged our emergency funds as they were out due to the situation at the border.
The baby is healthy but Celine his wife is going back into surgery today. The need to rework the incision and put more stitches in as things are not healing right. The scan yesterday showed she had what they are calling pneumonia in her chest. Christian was too sick yesterday to be as frustrated to get home as his attention had to turn to getting better, he is really worried about his wife but thankful people are praying.
The human suffering and corruption in certain places in Togo and West Africa is very heart retching. We were caught in a mess on Monday at the border where Christian and a guy we were trying to help were really mistreated. Because all my papers were so square I was pushed thru and on the other side for 3 hrs waiting. He was so shook up by the time he came thru that he began to cry when we found a taxi, which is very big for him. He was left with no choice but to pay the officials bribe for his passage and the American we were helping. On the other side of the boarder I was trying to help 2 Liberian refugees who were pleading with me to aid them as they felt a white man as an advocate would help their case. What I saw them go thru and tried to help them with at the border and what they had been thru was sickening. Severely harassed, money stolen, and almost all there belonging were stripped. This does not count the horrible things they faced earlier where one of them was beat so severely that he had to have a blood transfusion.
In the heat of the moment things get very intense and we pushed thru strong but it is later in the calm that it hits me like a wave. We covered there transport to Accra Ghana after they bribed their way thru the border though they have every right to legally pass. We also gave them half of the clothes that we had and half of the money as they were heading to a refugee camp where repatriation in starting. We are now using my visa at a hotel that took it and that is why we have internet.
I was a little confused monday and tuesday – but as I reflected on Rom 12 we feel we have done the right things, no matter how hard to decipher friend from foe, as best we can. Audrey I miss you and love you but am so glad you are not on this trip as I would not want you to see some of the evil.
We feel that in light of all we have seen multiple centers are very necessary, as who will change the climate if not Christ in the next generation.

Life is short, Micah Mac