Mike McClenahan

Today we washed cars and sold baked goods to raise over $7000 for Emmanuel's school in Ghana for disabled and abled kids. Ten percent of Ghana's population is disabled, and most are destined for begging on the streets.  That's what Emmanuel's fate would have been, if not for his mother's words to him, "You will not beg, God has a purpose for you." Not only has Emmanuel not begged (his story is told in the DVD "Emmanuel's Gift") but he has become a challenged triathlete and has created a foundation to help kids in his home country.  KidsGames is learning about his foundation and the school we are raising money for. Emmanuel's dream is to have disabled and abled kids in the same school so kids are "mainstreamed" from the beginning.  700 preschoolers to sixth graders are participating in KidsGames at SBPC , which includes a "sport" (basketball to slot cars to scrapbooking), a compassion project (Emmanuel's sch...

This weekend Amy and I are in Calaveras County, in the small town of Murphys, to celebrate Kendra and Keith's wedding. We are privileged to be a part of another chapter in Kendra's life. We met Kendra in 1990--she was 15 years old and part of our church senior high fellowship. Amy led her small group. We saw her graduate from high school and college, be in love, marry and have children. We also saw her walk through a year of her husband's cancer and eventually his death. We flew back from sabbatical a year ago to be with Kendra and to lead his service. We prayed for Kendra, along with hundred, maybe thousands, who knew her and wondered what life would be like with  10 year old twins and a 12 year old daughter. God has answered those prayers in so many ways. Not in a magical make-everything-all-right king of  way, but in the hard work of grief, conversations, tears and struggle.  In the midst of this chapter of her journey she met Keith--a single dad who had never marri...