Support me Through Sponsoring a Kilometer of my run in the Nairobi Marathon

A marathon. It is one of the greatest running events in the world. It’s also a sign of personal achievement and determination. Last fall I ran in the Kansas City Marathon. Last week I began training for the Nairobi Marathon 2011. The race will take place on October 31, 2011 through the streets of Nairobi. Running has slowly become a passion of mine over the last 10 years. Only recently did I begin to get “marathon” serious about it, however.

I now have just under three months till I depart for Kenya. Many people have already given generously to my cause, and I am thankful beyond words for their kindness and generosity in doing so. I also have a few “deputation services” lined up in the next few months which will also help to continue to show God’s provision in this journey back to Africa. Good grades have also provided some vital scholarships for school fees while I take classes from Nazarene Theological Seminary online whilst in Kenya. But, the bottom line is that I am still in desperate need of continued support from family and friends.

A marathon is 42 kilometers. I have a challenge for you. If 42 people pledge $100, or in other words if 42 people sponsor a kilometer of the race, I will have a good chunk of my remaining funds raised for Kenya. You can feel free to sponsor more than one kilometer if you like. One question: Will you team with Roland and take him to Kenya? Whatever you feel led to do, please see the below information on how to support my trip to Kenya.

Tuition Expenses

Tuition expenses for the 2011-2012 academic year will be roughly $9,000. Support for tuition expenses is tax-deductible. While living here in Kansas City, I have a job to help pay for tuition, but as I go to Kenya, I won’t have a job, I will be doing mission work and studying full time. If you’d like to help with Roland’s tuition funds please send monies to:

Nazarene Theological Seminary

Attn: D. Martin Butler

1700 East Meyer Blvd.

Kansas City, MO 64131

Make sure to place “365m Scholarship: KENYA” on the memo line.

Non-Tuition Expenses

This includes everything from travel costs to Kenya, insurance, room and board, etc. The average flight to Kenya from Kansas City comes in at around $2100. If you’d like to help with Roland’s non-tuition expenses, please send monies to:

Nazarene Global Ministry Center

Attn: Molly Cole

17001 Prairie Star Parkway

Lenexa, KS 66220

Make sure to place “ROLAND TEDDER 365M KENYA” on the memo line.

Those who are part of the Church of the Nazarene will receive mission giving credit for their local church for funds donated towards Roland’s non-tuition expenses.

Online Giving

The 365 program is teamed up with Nazarene Mission Corps. You can check out my Nazarene Mission Corps website at http://web.nazarene.org/goto/rolandgoestokenya

Purchase Fair Trade Kenya Coffee From me, Support my Year in Kenya

Many of you know that I will be venturing to Kenya next year with a program at my school called 365M. I will be a missionary apprentice whilst still taking classes online from my school here in Kansas City, MO. My year in Kenya is not cheap, yet I know that God has called me and I can't turn away. You can support my trip to Kenya through purchasing some of the best coffee in the world! I am selling fair trade coffee beans for $15 per 1lb bag for Kansas City locals, and $20 for those outside of KC. I have purchased the beans from a company that pays Kenyan farmers at least 50% higher than the base fair trade regulations, sometimes as high as 100% or more. Not only are you supporting my trip to Kenya, you are providing a fair wage for local Kenyans. E-mail me at roland.tedder@gmail.com if you are interested!

I'm headed to Kenya next year!

Family and Friends,

Starting September 2011, I will be investing a year at Africa Nazarene University (ANU) in Kenya, just outside Nairobi. You are invited to “go along with me” on this jo

urney of faith!

Each journey begins with a single step that eventually leads to a divergent point. My life journey continues with my most recent divergent point coming in the form of a letter from Nazarene Theological Seminary (NTS), saying “Congratulations, you have been accepted to Kenya.” NTS in Kansas City, Missouri, is where I have been pursuing a Master of Divinity degree. It offers a program called 365M in which NTS students are sent to countries all over the world to minister and be educated in a cross-cultural setting.

Last year I was approached about joining the 365M program going to Ireland. While that would have been a fantastic experience, I hadn’t been released from my life and studies in Kansas City just yet. However, when the opportunity for Kenya opened, I applied. It was really a “no brainer” for me since I am a dual citizen between the U.S. and South Africa. I also went to boarding school for four years at Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya, an hour away from Africa Nazarene University.

While I had my heart set on going to Kenya, I needed to make sure it was God’s desire as well. For several weeks I prayed for God’s leadership. One afternoon I was reading in the Gospel of Luke. I had been taking a class on Luke at the seminary where we were discussing God’s hospitality. The God we serve is a God who practices hospitality with his creation. His Son Jesus replicated this hospitality as well. Now, it is our turn to be sent out to show hospitality to others, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus sent out his disciples—whether they were ready for their mission

or not, whether they had materials to take with them or not. That afternoon, I knew that I, too, was being sent. Like it says in Luke 9:62, I can’t look back, for if I do, I am unfit for the Kingdom of God.

My assignment in Kenya will be:

--Teaching (both at ANU and via extension education in rural areas)

--Ministering in Ongata Rongai, Nairobi and other areas

--Building relationships with local students

--Ministering under Dr. Rod Reed, the deputy vice-chancellor at the university

--Taking online classes from NTS

--Embarking on many other journeys

I ask you, as I begin this new journey to Kenya, to partner with me in prayer. Prayer is a vital part of ministry and I feel strongly about it. My prayer is that the people of K

enya will be open and willing to hear the gospel through our friendship, testimonies, and shared experiences. So please be praying for God’s work already being done in Kenya and our work that lies ahead. Please pray for me as I prepare for this journey that will help shape the rest of my life. During my time overseas, I will be updating a website that you can follow at http://web.me.com/roland.tedder. If you prefer to go directly to the blog, check out http://web.me.com/roland.tedder/Roland Goes to Kenya/Blog/Blog.html. There will be pictures and weekly updates about the ministry being done in Ongata Rongai and beyond.

Not only would I seek your prayers, but your financial support if you feel led. Since I will be living overseas and will not be able to work at a paying job, I need to raise money for my year-long ministry by August 15, 2011. May I ask you to pray about financially investing in my overseas ministry. The cost of this journey is over $10,000 for the entire year. My previous life steps confirm God takes care of me—always. I am extremely grateful to, and blessed by, those whom God has prompted to support me financially. Thank you in advance for your contributions of prayer and financial support for my endeavor in Kenya. They will be thankfully accepted and wisely employed.

If you feel led to financially support my journey to Kenya, please choose from the contribution channels listed below.

Grace and Peace,

Roland Jerry Tedder

If you feel led to financially support my journey to Kenya, please use the following contribution details:

TUITION EXPENSES – for the 2011-2012 academic year will be roughly $9,000. Support for tuition expenses is tax-deductible and can be sent to:

Nazarene Theological Seminary

Attn: D. Martin Butler

1700 East Meyer Blvd.

Kansas City, MO 64131

Be sure to designate “365M Scholarship: KENYA”

NON-TUITION EXPENSES—includes everything from travel costs to Kenya, insurance, room and board, etc. The average flight to Kenya from Kansas City is around $1700. Monies for these expenses may be sent to:

Nazarene Global Ministry Center

Attn.: Molly Cole

17001 Prairie Star Parkway

Lenexa, KS 66110

Be sure to designate “ROLAND TEDDER 365M KENYA”

Those who are part of the church of the Nazarene will receive mission-giving credit for their local church for funds donated toward these expenses.

ONLINE GIVING

The 365M program is teamed together with Nazarene Mission Corps. You can check out my Nazarene Mission Corps website which has information on how to support me online at http://web.nazarene.org/goto/rolandgoestokenya.

Note:

My goal is to keep in contact with as many people as possible who want to know my steps since I believe God is pointing me toward full-time ministry overseas. My 365M steps are a big part of that journey. If you would like to be placed on an email list to get updates from my adventure, please email me at roland.tedder@gmail.com. Please let me know how you would like to keep up with my life steps in the journey God has placed me on for Him.

post lenten reflections 1

this year i decided to do lent a little differently. part of the reason for that was because i didn't really think of anything to give up around lent time. another was that i wasn't theologically ready to do so. as i contemplated lent and what it means during lent, i thought about how necessary it is for followers of Christ to have the same attitude outside of the lenten season that they do during lent. part of lenten theology is giving up something that you have a lot, or think you can't live without, in order to think of Christ and his ultimate acts of self denial in going to the cross. Jesus utterly denied his will when he went to the cross. as a human being, he wanted life, not pain and suffering. thus, why he asked God for God's will, not his.

so, with that, monday i began a post-lenten journey. my goal is to make the way of the cross ever more evident in my daily life, not just forty days before easter. there are several things which i am attempting to give up this year. it will be a task which goes against my will, and that is my goal.

in these first few days of my journey, one of the biggest ideas which has been floating around my mind comes out of the book of philippians. there we see a verse which says do nothing out of selfish ambition, but in humility consider others above yourself. how utterly revolutionary of an idea! how many followers of Christ actually live this out? my guess is not many. i most certainly do not. however, i've tried to let this pass through my mind often in the last couple of days. i pray that it is not just often, but always.

the journey continues,

rjt

It isn't well with my soul

Suffering. It's a fact of life. Everyone will go through it at some point or another. The main reason we go through it is because we weren't created for death. God breathed his very life into us so that we could thus enjoy his creation. We weren't created for sorrow or tough times either. That wasn't God's intention when he created us.

Recently, there has been a lot of suffering going on in several of the facets of my life. This year, I've known several people who died from cancer. I also know several more people diagnosed with cancer. And I know several who have continued their journeys through cancer. One is a seven year old boy with a twin brother and two young sisters. Another is a twenty something lady. I also know of several friends who have recently lost their jobs.

This really hit home this lenten season when our seminary president's wife found out her cancer had returned. Our seminary community was devastated. Today our president preached his final chapel service at NTS as president for he and his wife will be moving to California to be near to family during this time of what will probably be her last days on earth. She was there today to listen to her husband preach. As we began to sing, I couldn't look over at her and at the same time sing the lyrics to a him proclaiming that was fine with my soul. Yet, at the same time I was deeply moved by it.

The reason was because she and her husband could sing those two hymns. They knew that whatever their lot, God had taught them to say, it is well with their soul.

In moments of pain and moments of sorrow, we aren't ever promised that things will be easy. Our lots in this journey through life can be down right miserable. But the fact is that we have a God who journeys with us through those moments of infirmity or destruction. I don't understand why, and I am still learning to say it is well with my soul. But today, I was moved by two people who can firmly say in the face of sorrow that it is well with their soul.

I will be living in Kenya next year...

I've been accepted into a program at my school called 365m, a program through which students are sent all over the world to do mission work and take classes all at the same time. Check out my website at web.me.com/roland.tedder for more info!

I interrupt this normal blogcasting moment to ask a favor:

I really love rugby. My favorite team is the Natal Sharks. They are in a rugby tournament called the Super 15 with other teams from South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. The tourney kicks off in two weekends. There aren't too many places to watch it here in the states. One of the last places to do so was Fox Soccer Channel. They are thinking about discontinuing their coverage. Please send them an e-mail through http://msn.foxsports.com/feedback and ask them not to do so. If you have a heart, if you are human, if you have two hands, heck one that can still type, please send them a message!