Latest News
August 19 - 2008
Well, we have moved into our final temporary place until we leave for the beginning of our adventure to Africa in December/January. We are now in Los Osos which is a small town just south of Morro Bay. Keep us in prayer as we adjust to California Time and also to a new place.
July 24 - 2008
Life Change in Process
We have officially moved out of our little home in Cayucos and have turned in the keys. It has been a wild ride this month as we moved out and prepared for our trip. God used a VBS (Vacation Bible School) theme to show us that we are truly in the process of a life change and a lot of work and emotion comes with that. But we are excited to see all that God has in store. As we write it is the night before we leave for the 3 week women’s trip. We are so excited to be in Kenya and introduce our little girl to her new country. We are also looking forward to seeing many of our friends over there and prayerfully getting a closer look at what life will be like living there. We appreciate your prayers as we travel!
July 20 - 2008
Well, we are moving again... and this time for only 3 days before we leave for Africa. After our 3 week trip there we will come back and be living with friends (the Jenisons) in Los Osos. We are in a season of change, and God has granted us grace upon grace. Please keep us in prayer as we travel, and especially for our daughter as she adjusts to time changes and climate changes. We will do our best to keep you all updated while we are in Kenya.
January 13 - 2008
We have just returned from the Calvary Chapel Mission's Conference in Murrieta, CA. It was such a joy and privelage to be there. Kenya Grace did so well and we were so encouraged and exhorted in our walks with the Lord as well as for the furture. We are officially beginning our preparations to go to Kisumu a year from now Lord willing. As you know things are pretty unsettled there, so we are trusting God for His perfect timing. As there is much to do to prepare for such a life change, we appreciate your prayers. Kenya Grace has not been feeling so well these last days, so we appreciate your prayers for her as well. :) We will be updating our news section as well as blogging as consistently as we can, so please check often if you are curious about our journey to Africa. God bless you!
January 03 - 2008
We are deeply saddened by the events taking place in Kenya right now. It breaks our hearts to see a country we love so devesitated and under attack. We have been in contact with most of our missionary friends and they are currently safe. Please continue to pray with us for the saints over there as well as for peace between the two main tribes and for violence to stop. So many still need Jesus. This is not the Kenya we know and these events will have devastating effects on a country that was once a refuge to so many. Thank you for standing in prayer with us.
December 28 - 2007
We had a wonderful Christmas down in Carlsbad with Grandma & Grandpa Botts & Mor-mor & Papa Pottenger. Kenya Grace loved being doted on, and as could be expected, was often more fond of the wrapping than the gift. If you want to see a video of Kenya Grace talking on Christmas night, go to our download section. May God bless you all this coming year!
November 08 - 2007
Happy November and 6th month birthday on the 15th to Kenya Grace! We can hardly believe she is almost six months old. Time continues to go by so fast. She is getting so grown up already. She is gaining roll after roll on her precious little thighs, and her tummy too. She is getting so long, that we sometimes look at her in her crib and have a hard time remembering she was ever a newborn. She is now officially rolling over in both directions, sitting up on her own (she topples over every once in awhile) and is more flexible than mommy. Mommy's favorite is when she grabs her feet and sucks on her toes. :) Daddy's favorite is to throw her in the air and receive the million dollar smile she produces on her way down. Our house is full of all sorts of sounds, including growls and roars and ooos and ahhhs, and screams at different octaves. Overall we have a very happy girl, as long as mommy doesn't give her any food that hurts her tummy (great weight loss diet). Our continual challenge is getting her through the night and finding enough sleep ourselves. We quickly learned as Mor Mor puts its, "The only predictable thing about babies is that they are unpredictable." :) We are learning to roll with the unpredictable patterns in our household and rejoice through the challenges and laugh and relish in this amazing journey. Updated pictures will be in the picture section soon and mommy and daddy blogs will follow.
August 11 - 2007
It is already August and we can hardly believe our little girl is 3 months old. Time is passing so quickly! We understand when other parents of grown children tell has how quickly life goes by.
We are fairly adjusted to our new life and absolutely love being a family! It is such a joy to watch this miracle change daily and grow before our very eyes. Having our new little one has really slowed us down which has been a needed blessing. We have more family time together and have been able to see many of our friends and family this summer. We are looking forward to fall and Peg being home with Kenya Grace and the continuation of this amazing adventure. For more updates check out our blogs and pictures. :)
May 23 - 2007
Announcing the arrival of our baby Girl!
Born: May 15th 8:30 p.m.
Weight: 8.4
Length: 19 3/4
Healthy, Happy, and Blessed!
For labor and birth information check Peg's Blog.
May 03 - 2007
We are moved and getting settled into our new home and awaiting the arrival of our daughter. It has been an amazing season and we are looking forward to the next. It also is amazing how much stuff two people can have, but we are praising God for this move in that we have been able to purge and clean! As of this Sat. we will officially be done with moving all the stuff! It feels so good and is wonderful to be settling in. Our new town is so fun and definitely small. People are friendly and talkative and we even got a visit from the mailman personally to check on our new mail box. This is going to be fun! Did we mention that we are a block form the beach and can hear the ocean at night? God is so good! As far as Kenya Grace is considered, she is still growing and we are waiting to see if she comes on her own in the next few weeks. If she is not here by the 21st or looks like a 9 pound-er the doc says we'll look at getting her here. Peg is not working which has been so nice and so we are enjoying the time we have as we await God's timing.
April 14 - 2007
God is so faithful and good! We have found a place to live and will be moving to Cayucos, a cute little beach town near Morro Bay, Sat. April 21st! We are so excited as God has provided an amazing deal in a wonderful, little 1, bedroom house near friends. We are ready to settle in and get ready for our Kenya Grace's arrival. We have been showered beyond imagination and feel so blessed by all the people who are celebrating this new life with us. We will try to post an update on the growth of our little girl as it appears she is a big baby! :) Thank you for all your prayers! We are looking forward to the new journey ahead.
March 17 - 2007
2 Months and our baby should be arriving!!! It's almost like Christmas, in the sense that you know that you're getting an incredible gift, and you can't wait to see what it will actually look like in your own hands. We are currently house hunting and constantly seeking God's direction about where He wants us to live for the next season of our lives. Both of us are learning to surrender daily.
February 25 - 2007
Praise the Lord, we have been home safely for 4 days now! It felt really good to get off the last flight and set our feet down. We are still adjusting to the time change and feel a little jet lagged, but are doing our best to get back into the swing of things. It has already been a blessing to process our trip and debrief with friends. God blessed us, protected us, and guided us! It was truly incredible. It has been such a blessing to know how many people were praying for us. It is teaching us to live more expectantly! :) Thank you again for your part in this trip and please continue to pray for our health and rest as we transition back. And please continue to pray for direction for the furture as we settle into our new life with our little one due May 14th. We are so grateful for all of you! God bless you!
February 20 - 2007
We have arrived safely in Amsterdam and were blessed with bulk head seats and the flight went fairly quickly since we slept most of the time. We found some comfy seats here at the airport and are going to enjoy a little breakfast and then will be on our last flight home around 11:00ish our time. Again thank you for your prayers! We love you!
February 19 - 2007
Our Kisumu trip ended with complete blessings and we were all in smiles and so stoked. We returned to Nairobi yesterday and spent some time running errands and see the family here. We had a wonderful Indian dinner and this morning spent time with Ed Compean a friend and pastor here and a new friend Paul who is a Pastor training up pastors in the slums. It was a blessing to hear how God is using them and encouraging to hear their advice and encouragment for the future. We had lunch with Vicky and Andrea at Amani ya Ju and are now packing up and heading out to dinner and then ou flight at 10:45 tonight. We knew that this trip would go fast, but not this fast. It will be hard to say goodbye but we are returning home filled, blessed and excited to process everything. Thank you, thank you for your prayers! We are excited to see you when we get home.
February 17 - 2007
Kisumu
Well we just spent alomost an hour typing out a news blog just to hit the wrong key and loose the whole thing, so we will try to capture everything we can. :)
We have been so incredibly blessed on this trip with many divine appointments. Upon our arrival at the little airport that is surrounded by beautiful, lush, green, vegatation, Elizabeth (Liz) found us a taxi. It turned out the driver Nicholas was a born again Christian and has become a huge blessing to us. We learned through Nicholas right away that this land has been evangelized and that there are many evangelists but no teachers teaching the Word. Nicholas has been so helpful!
We couldn't get ahold of a contact we had here and so we sent them an e-mail to let them know we were here and had brought items for them. They ended up calling us an hour later and invited us to a speical Valentine dinner for the missionaries in the area. Robbie and Elizabeth had connected with some friends that Liz hadn't seen in years and so we let them connect and went to the dinner. Steve and Diane are missionaries from CA who work with Agape Ministires, ministering to boys on the streets. They came and picked us up and we went to a beautiful place on the bay for a wonderful dinner. We met many missionaries, most who are much older and have been on the field for much of their life. One coulple we sat with pastor a church here and Steve and Diane said of any pastor they would want us to meet, it would be this one Eric and his wife Gloria. We talked about so much over the course of the evening, including life here in Kisumu, the church here, the needs, the blessings and challanges. They all were such an encouragment to Matt and I and we learned a lot. Again that teaching and discipleship are so needed. It was a fun evening and we loved getting to know Steve and Diane. They too have been a huge blessing to us.
It turns out that the church Eric and Gloria pastor is the same church that Liz went to when she lived here. She got saved there and spent much time there. Eric and Gloria had been living back in the States at the time she was there and the church was not doing so well. She had been praying for it's health and had heard so many great things about Eric and Gloria and she was thrilled to know they were back. What a small world. It turns out that their overseeing pastor is the same pastor who oversees Randy Nash's church in Los Osos. He is also out here for a visit. The world gets smaller.
Steve and Diane took us out around the town and to visit thier Agape ministry's children home and school. It was about 100 kids and it was a great compound and wonderful to see Steve and Diane interact with the kids. We then went to Liz's church (Eric and Glorias) and it was such a joy to watch her as she toured around. She got saved there, baptized and spent many hours there. She escpeially liked seeing the library where she said the smell was the same. :) She took her husband to see where she lived and even saw some friends.
We had lunch at Steve and Dianes and had a beautiful time of worship and prayer. We even got to stay for a women's missionary Bible study where Peg and Liz enjoyed watching the women interact and study the Word. The guys hung out with new Kenyan friends and continued to worshipped. The afternoon ended with watching a funeral parade ( a common practice here ) and a down pour of rain. Thank you for those who are praying for the weather. Yes, it does get warm, but we have been so blessed with bearbale weather, even rain. The people here say this year is cooler! Yeah Lord!
Matt got to go otu with the Gordens to visit Liz's grandma and they took food and supplies to her little village. The drive was suppossed to be 5 hours but turned out to be only 2. Her grandma was blessed to see her and Matt got to video the whole visit for Abby to see when she gets older. Please pray for her grandma's salvation. They learned that her heart is still hard towards the Gospel and please pray for food for she and her village. Their crops are not producing and Liz's grandma is sick adn can't work. This was hard for Liz, though she was so blessed to have the visit!
We have loved having time with the Gordens. We ahve had sweet times of devotions and prayer and God continues to knit our hearts together. Today was a relaxing day for everyone. We went down to a beautriful bay where Matt and Robbie took a boat our on the lake and saw hippos, eagles, impalas and a water snake. Liz and Peg and Abby sat in the cool breeze and fellowshiped over lunch.
We are healthy and doing well and so grateful for the prayers. Peg is growing daily and feeling the baby move stronger and stronger. Please do not stop praying. Please pray for protection, wisdom and discernment and for our communication. We plan on seeing Steve and Dianes' Sunday service on the streets tomorrow and then go to Liz's old church. We will fly back to Nairobi on Monday morning.
God bless you and thank you again for loving us and praying. We would love to hear from you if you want to e-mail. We will try to check a few times before we leave on Tues our time. :)
February 13 - 2007
We are just completing our 4th day in Nairobi! We have been incredibly blessed and are feeling your prayers. We have been able to visit Imani twice and see the kids and surprise Mama Faith and Uncle Tom. :) Both were excited to see the "belly" since Faith had prayed for this baby on the top of the Ngong Hills. Our first visit was to take a visiting Pastor out and other visitors to see Imani and our second visit was to take a medical ministry called HEART out. Both trips were huge blessings. The first trip was a bit much for Peg as the weather was close to 90's and the traffic out and back to Imani was terrible. After a cold shower and some rest, Peg's little hobbit feet returned to normal. We prayed for cooler weather the next day out and God blessed us with rain and even hail. So thank you for the prayers for cooler weather. :) We were able to watch the kids practice their areobatics and choir and dance. It was a special treat. Monday we went out to visit the Masaai ladies and it was so wonderful to see so many women at Bible study. We were able to greet them all from the ladies of our church and send them their love. They really liked that. A huge praise report is that not only are the women doing well, three husbands have given their life to the Lord! Answered prayers. We have been staying with Vicky which has been a huge blessing. We have had time to rest, adjust and have sweet fellowship with her as well as help her unpack and move things around since she has just moved in and her husband is currently in Sudan. We are meeting wonderful saints over here and head out tomorrow for Kisumu. Tonight we are at Robbie and Elizabeths'. Please continue to pray. We are feeling your covering and thank you! The adventerous part is just ahead. God bless you!
February 09 - 2007
Hey Family
Peg and I had an adventurous day today! First off we had a blessed fligt from SFO to AMS with 3 seats and only 2 of us to fill them (this gave extra room for the baby :) ). We are praising God as it was a blessing to have the extra space and easy access to the frequent bathroom trips.
Once we arrived in Amsterdam (a little ahead of schedule) we decided to brave the cold weather. Peg in her PJ's and flip flops and me in a T-shirt and long sleave over that. As you can imagine we made our first stop a place to buy a couple beanies and a sweatshirt for Peg.
We walked the markets (like a downtown walking thoroughfair) had lunch at a fun cafe, and made a visit/tour of Anne Frank's House; it was really something. (Peg had seen this a long time ago "cruise ship days" and they had made a lot of improvements since then). We then snaked our way back to the train station stopping every so often in a warm shop to keep Peg's toes from getting frostbitten (okay maybe it wasn't that bad, but it was pretty cold). We made it safely back to the airport and are still living to tell the story. (Even the Baby has been kicking).
We are both tired and ready to sleep on the flight to Nairobi.
Thank you for your prayers, we are seeing them answered.
Got to get to our flight now!
Love,
Matt, Peg & Baby
January 23 - 2007
Well, we have some surprising news! After our ultrasound yesterday, we now know what we are officially having............... IT'S A GIRL! Needless to say we were very surprised, but so blessed! She appears healthy and we are already in love! More to come.......
November 26 - 2006
We now have pictures from the Ultra-Sound up in our Pictures Section... The Dr. said Peg was about 13 weeks along but the Ultra-Sound shows that we might have been in our 14th week. It sure was a blessing getting our first glymps at this new little one in our lives.
November 14 - 2006
Well, for those who haven't yet heard the good news, the "central coast Pottenger's" are expecting a baby! Peg has just entered her 13th week, which gives us an approx. due date around the 21st of May. We are excited for all that the Lord has in store in this upcoming season, knowing that He is in perfect control and He has a perfect plan for us in all that unfolds. We are hoping to hear/see the heartbeat tomorrow with an Ultrasound. If you think of it, we would appreciate all the prayers we can get for this time of change and adjustment (i.e. primarily the addition to our family, but also things such as Peg not working, moving to a new home, etc.)
October 02 - 2006
Well, Fall is here and with that ushers in a new season of change. The smells of fall, the cold brisk mornings and evenings, the hustle and bustle of a busy schedule, the occasional rain shower that passes overhead, the treas that begin to change color and carpet the floor of the surrounding woods with a beautiful tapestry of orange, yellow and brown. And amidst all the change we all begin to look forward to the coming of "new life" in the Spring.
August 24 - 2006
Hello there!
Well it wasn't very nice to leave the last blog in London and then not leave another one. We arrived home safely and have hit the ground running. It is good to be home but apart of our hearts are still in Africa. :) We have adjusted pretty well from Jet lag but are still hitting walls throughout the day. The Lord is faithful though! Matt is back to Shoreline full force and I (peg) am back to work helping my partner set up our room and prepare for our Kindergarten Tea and first day. Pretty exciting and lots to do. Please pray for us as we adjust to yet another schedule and school year. We are excited for all the Lord has. If you are a supporter of Africa, please look for a newsletter in the mail soon! God bless you!
August 19 - 2006
Arrived here in LONDON safely. PTL Everyone seems to be doing well. Thank you for your prayers. Security is tight as you can imagine but all is well. Pls continue to pray and pls lift up our lost luggage for Robbie......still not sure where it is. Flights are as is. God bless you!
August 17 - 2006
Well, wish we had more time to blog this morning about all that God has allowed us to do in these last few days, but we are headed out for our last day. For a quick summary, we had an amazing day with Pastor Ed and Kelli as we headed out into a very poor area of Nairobi and prayed for the family and home in which a new Bible study will be starting. We met in a tiny room and had worship and a study and then took Chai and chocolate and visited with several local people. Two were there who were not saved and were very open about it and one even said he was a "possibility." The day was spent sharing Jesus' love with them and His Word and as well as sharing the Gospel in teh surrounding community. Some had the joy of spending time with many children playing games and telling Bible stories while others received the hospitality of the locals. We ended the day with Mexican food cooked by Kelli and were so blessed. Yesterday we went out to Robbie and Elizabeth's property and worshiped and had devotions and dedicated the land to the Lord for His work with the Maasai. Then we headed to the a meat eating lunch followed by a game drive where we were blessed to see many animals in a short amount of time. It was incredible...rhino, giraffes in the road, baboons....etc. We also got to witness to the driver who is close to coming to know Jesus. His name is Winston. Please pray for him as well as Lucas and Gladyis..that they would all surrender and accept the free gift. Today we wrap up by visiting a ministry called Amani ya Ju and then will do some shopping and see what else the Lord has in store. Please continue to pray for us as many of the team are tired, physically, emotionally and some spiritually. Please pray for health as we are now feeling different aliments. Lastly please pray for the safety and smoothness as we travel home and for the team as we reflect on what God did, showed us and taught us. We love you and THANK you for your prayers.
Here is the FLIGHT INFO!
Nairobi to heathrow- British Airways 64g leaving at 11:35 pm ( our time Aug. 18)Heathrow to LA - British Airways 279G leaving at 10:05 am (London time Aug. 19) We are due to arrive in LA at 1:05 pm Aug. 19th. Tom Bradley Int. Terminal
Please check BA for any changes and if we hear of any changes we will try to post here.
August 15 - 2006
Hujambo family and friends!
We continue our adventure in Africa with more camping and loving on the kids and mum of Imani. Today as we write it is Tuesday evening our time. For many of us the time is flying by. We enjoyed a restful and down Sunday fellowshipping at Living Waters and then potlucking with the fellowship as it was their one year anniversary of holding Sunday services and it was their first baby dedication. (Abby, Robbie and Elizabeth's daughter was dedicated too) We then stopped at a fun shopping market where we got to see two of our Maasai ladies from the conference. What a joy it was to see them there and they were so excited to see everyone. Our next stop was to Vicky and Ramsey's house (missionaries here) where we relaxed, took in fresh air, saw pictures of their wedding and had a Thai meal. :) It was sweet fellowship for the team and time we had not yet had. We presented Ramsey with his guitar and he was SO blown away and excited! Matt and he went outside on the porch for a little lesson and to play together. We ended the night with lots of worship. Monday we packed up and headed out to a beautiful place called Blue Post where about 20 of the Imani children were. These were the 3-4 year olds like Cynthia and Ngadi...for those of you who know them. :) It is where Mama Faith brings the children for fresh air and rest from the city. The children were so excited to see visitors and there was A LOT of loving going on. We had lunch (always so good when we are with Imani) and then headed for a hike with Mama Faith. We were in Hippo territory and tried to find some after we learned that one had been shot after coming up to the camp (if you didn't know hippo's are the most dangerous animals here...as Vicky says they will eat you alive. It took 9 bullet shots to kill the hippo.) We learned there was still a mama and her baby. After lots of cutting banana stalks with machetes (ask the boys) we headed to the water falls. Mama Faith was so relaxed and we she thanked us so much for getting her out there because she said her body was telling her slow down but she just couldn't because there was so much work to do. This woman is an amazing woman of God who has 650 children counting those who have grown up and left Imani and are now married. She makes a huge difference in the lives of so many people here in Africa. So it seems it took 17 muzungus to get her out to this beautiful place so she could rest. Praise God. Not only did we get to enjoy the beauty and hike, some got to do jungle playing like walking behind a huge waterfall and swinging on vines, or in Peggy's case sliding off one. (she's Ok) We returned to camp and did Bible study with the kids where we did skits and Jordan and Luke taught. We did a fun Drime with hip hoppy music and danced and prayed with the kids. We ate an amazing dinner of duck which the boys on our team had killed personally with instruction from Mama faith. WOW! It was great and we ended the evening with our team meeting and worship and turned into tents for the night. This morning many of us started the morning by helping Mama Faith bath the kids, dry them, oil them and dress them. We got to play with them and then we headed to Imani B back in the city where we played with more kids, and Erica and Lindsey castrated a goat and trimmed hooves. We did Bible study with these children too ( skits and explanations) and then our famous Emerald did Gymnastics for the kids and had a competition with Imani's head acrobatic leader. The children loved it!!!! Several people went out today to share with people in the streets and had some great conversations. Tomorrow we head out into the slum area and will see what God has for us.Please pray for health as some are starting to feel some ailments though everyone's plumbing is regular. That is the Lord! :) Please pray for strength and excitement as we wind down and please pray for personal quiet times. It has been challenging fir many to get alone time. Please pray for receptive hearts as we share with people tomorrow. We love you all and thank you for your prayers. We will try to blog one more time before we leave. Mungu Akubariki!
August 12 - 2006
Hujambo friends and family! It is difficult to even know where to begin? We are all well, though a little on the tired side as I write. We have watched God do AMAZING things and we will do our best to share a little about them. We experienced a lot of warfare before the conference. It seemed the enemy did not want the Maasai conference to happen. Our VBS leader got sick, a brand new projector to show the Jesus film was burning and blew the bulb as soon as it got turned on, 2 accidents with our matatu (bus), and a feeling of oppression. However, we prayed the night before, and watched God answer ALL of our prayers.
The conference was incredible. It was such a privilege and honor to be out there in Jeremiah's village. He is the chief of this particular Maasai tribe and is born again! The area was about 2 hours from where we are staying and was absolutely beautiful! We took the love packages with us, tents, and some over night things. There were about 40 women who came from all over! ( most had to walk miles!) There were several teachings and incredible worship, while the men worked preparing food (peeled carrots, potatoes, and made chapattis,) and got water. These are jobs only the women do and the women have NEVER seen the men do these things. You should of seen their faces! In addition, the rest of the team did an incredible VBS with the children. Not only did they get to hear the Gospel and God's Word, they were kept occupied, so their mothers could hear the Word! We ate the food they worked so hard to prepare and fellowshipped though we could not speak each other's language. That night we set up the projector and screen and showed the Jesus film in Maasai. Some people there had never seen a movie ever! It was amazing. The second day, we started earlier and could feel the warfare again. However God is so victorious! Emerald shared her testimony, which was extremely powerful and convicting to the women. There were more teachings and Erica got to share about taking care of their animals. She is now known as the animal doctor. The children were blessed with team members spending time with them and showing Christ's death on the cross. The guys on our team got to spend time with several Maasai men and had amazing Bible studies and conversations. Jojo had the privilege of leading a visitor to the Lord then followed up with a Bible study.
Elizabeth (the native missionary here) was adopted into the tribe and ordained with beautiful beading. At the end of the conference the leaders were blessed with gifts and the team an exhortation by the chief. The women were so blessed we came out and it was so sad to say goodbye.
Today many of us went on a 10 miles hike with the children of Imani. It was beautiful and so great to be with the kids outside in God's creation. We have also been able to spend a little time at the children's home and in fellowship with Robbie's church Living Waters. It truly is incredible here and God is doing amazing things. The team is incredible and united and we are feeling your prayers. No one got sick at the Maasai, the flies were tolerable, not too many bug bites, we survived a freezing night, and we have been safe. Thank you for your prayers! Please pray for strength, as we are tired. But we do have a bit of a Shabbat day tomorrow. The rest of the trip is focused on the kids at Imani and with Ed and Kelli and their ministry. We will write more when we can. Until then, please know there are many more stories and we are aware of what is happening outside here. We are trusting the Lord with our return home and expecting to be traveling with ziplock bags. Thank you for your continued prayers. Mungu Akubariki!
August 07 - 2006
Testing!
August 07 - 2006
Hujambo! We have arrived safely and with amazing favor. God's hand is amazing and we had smooth travels and arrived with almost all of our luggage. Only 10 missing but some came today. (mon.) We were able to fellowship at Living Waters just after we landed and had an afternoon of trying to keep our team awake. This is included a wonderful trip to the Giraffe center. Wow! Today we ventured into a huge market place to buy produce for the women's conference. We were quite the spectacle (17 muzungus walking throughout!) We met many people and met many Christians who are born again|! Praise the Lord! Today will be preparing for the conference. Please pray for energy, unity, and surrendered spirits to the Lord. Mungu Akubariki! Thank you for all your prayers. We are feeling them. Till next time.
July 04 - 2006
Aloha! We have been home from the islands for over a week now and have hit the ground running. We had an amazing trip and Jen's wedding was by far one of the most incredible weddings we have ever been to. :) We are currently down at the Botts' house celebrating the Fourth of July with family and then we head to LA to the Kenyan Embassy to get our visas for the Africa trip. We are also having tea with someone from the Embassy so please pray we would be whatever God wants us to be to this person. For information about Africa, please read below. For thoughts about our Hawaii trip, please check out our blogs. Pictures soon to come! Aloha and Mungu Akubariki!
June 03 - 2006
Africa News
Jambo friends and family. We want to take some time to let you know about our upcoming trip to Africa. We leave August 4 and return to the states on the 19th. We are leading a team of 17 who are excited, love the Lord and ready to experience a life-changing trip. This year we have some amazing ministry opportunities. We will visit our precious friends at Imani and hold those growing babies and continue to share the love of Jesus with them. We hopefully will get a chance to help the nannies with their work as well as the children which provides wonderful opportunities to fellowship and in some cases witness. We will also be spending time in one of Africa's worst slums. Some of our missionary friends have started a church there and we are hoping to come alongside them and encourage the growing church as well as share the Gospel with those who have listening ears. We will visit our Masai friends once again and this year hold a two day women's conference and a VBS for the children. We are taking some needed items for the women and hope to be able to help them with their bead work as well as minister to the men of the tribe. Finally we are looking forward to serve our missionary friends serving in Africa. Our prayer is to bring refreshment and encouragement and to love on them. Please be in prayer for our team as well as these amazing people we get to serve. Feel free to view our blogs for more upcoming information and please check this site as we will be posting regular NEWS about our trip. Mungu Akubariki!
March 12 - 2006
March is here!
Only 3 more months this weekend and we'll be together in Hawaii family! Yeah! In Swahili we would say, Buena Asafeeway! The nights are coming later as the sun shines brighter and this evidence is a beautiful reminder that spring is on the way. However, we have seen pretty interesting weather here in California. It just snowed at Mom and Dad Botts' house! Amazing. Almost looks like Michigan. Well, not quite but close!
New blogs on the way. Thanks for the new fun ideas Amy! :)
February 11 - 2006
Happy Valentine's Day To You!
It's hard to believe it's February and then March and then April and then May and then JUNE! That's the special month for us Pottengers and it's right around the corner. August is a big month for Matt and Peg because we are leading a team to Kenya, Africa. So things lately have been focused on planning the trip. Praise God for His faithfulness and leading. Schedules have been busy but this Saturday was restful and rejuvenating as we stayed in our PJs till 3:00p.m.! :) Could always use a few more days like that. :)
January 24 - 2006
Normal Schedules & Routine
It is so nice to be back in our routine and have normal schedules again! Matt is busy at work again and beginning to coordinate the next Africa trip and Peg is back to school and discipleship with a little more time to be a wife. We enjoyed a wild and fast trip down to Disneyland to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary and were blessed with a few extra hours together on Monday! We are enjoying life!
January 02 - 2006
Happy New Year! 2006
We had a wonderful Christmas with our families as we celebrated together in sunny Carlsbad! It was so good to be with family, even if it was for just a short time. Now that we are home, Matt is transitioning back into work and a normal schedule while Peg enjoys a couple more days off. :) Check for new blogs and enjoy the fresh start of a new year!
December 09 - 2005
Matt is currently in Israel with Jen and I am enjoying some extra time. Hence this new news. :) To see info about Matt and Jen go to www.israeltrip05.blogspot.com
Our Friend John Michael is keeping a current blog of their trip and so far they have been there a day and going on their second night. :)
Matt may blog here too and with some extra time, I too will try to blog more. :) John we need a new topic! The swimming one was great!
November 26 - 2005
As Thanksgiving is over, we now officially dub this "Christmas Season" (as I'm typing this the "Christmas time is hear" song is playing on my computer from the Charlie Brown Christmas). My wife so wonderfully set up Christmas decorations over the past couple weeks so that I could have a longer Christmas time, as I'll be out of town for 2 weeks in December. Check the blogs for our thoughts on Thanksgiving!
November 13 - 2005
Happy Fall Everyone! Can you believe it's almost winter. Star bucks already has their eggnog and gingerbread lattes and bath and body works has been Christmas even longer. Matt and I are actually home and writing together. Our last few months have been extremely full with work, conferences, ministry, bug invasions, an engagement :), retreats, weddings and the passing of two loved ones. We do manage to sleep and eat well and have really enjoyed biking together. We just started reading The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe together in preparation for the movie, though Matt will be in Israel when it comes out. I may have to see it several times. No crying here. Any other fans out there? Currently we looking forward to Thanksgiving with half of the Pottenger's and Kyle's family. Check out our Blog section as we are actually updating them.
October 06 - 2005
Invasion of the bugs!!! Check out Matt's Blog on what he came home to on the night of October 6th. Also check out the pictures to see what these little critters looked like!
September 10 - 2005
Matt's headed out on Monday for his favorite Pastors Conference, held annually at Mt. Hermon in the Santa Cruz hills. It's always a time of rest, reflection, inspection, vision, and fellowship. After that Peg will join him for a couple days of a SCC staff prayer retreat in Pacific Grove. We pray that it will be the rest and refreshment our marriage and lives need before heading into a busy Fall season. Please pray that God would grant us that rest in Him!
August 30 - 2005
Praise God for His faithfulness and strength and love. It seems there sure is a lot going on for the Pottenger family and extended family, but it really seems that God is showing us how mighty He is. And mighty He is!!!! It's been a few crazy, very full weeks for us, but we are beginning our fall schedule and beginning our routine, which includes part time work for Peg! Yeah! Maybe, more time to blog. hee hee
August 19 - 2005
We have some new pictures up of our Sunday afternoon this past week (8/14) with our good friends John Michael & Abra and Jack & Jinell. There are some awesome shots of the sunset and the rock. Check them out and Enjoy!
August 03 - 2005
Bwana Asa Feeway! Praise the Lord we are home safe and sound! We are adjusting back to our schedules and slowly but surely will get information out about Africa. Check Peg's Blog for new information and know that more is on the way. Pictures too!
Spent a great weekend with family (Potts and Botts). Good to catch up and just visit. Missed John and Amy tons!!! Matt busy this week filling in for Pastor Tonye as he is on a mission trip with his family and team to the UK.
July 25 - 2005
Habari? How are you? It is Monday Africa time as I write and we are about to have dinner and go to the airport. We can hardly believe our time is over. It truly goes so fast. It is difficult to sum up this trip in one quick e-mail, but we promise to write more as we get home. Make sure to check in a few days and check in our personal areas.
It has been incredible and it is always sad to leave!!!!! Our hearts have truly united with the people and children here and they feel like family. A quick sum of the last week would be: Wonderful times at Imani with the children......changed locations part way through but continued with the same work....laundry......cooking....shucking corn kernals........taking care of babies and loving on children. It has made us grateful for technology and modern devices but also gave us more of an appreciation of these people hard work! Wow despite our weakness, they really seemed blessed to have us there helping and working and smiling....One Sat. 10 of us went for a hike with the children of Imani........wow.....it is called N'Gong Hills and really they seem like mountains, and there 7 of them....It was an intense hike and just when we thought it was over, it kept going.....the view was so incredible, but more importantly, the time with the children was amazing. I got to see one of the girls I connected with last year....she not only remembered me but lit up when I got off the bus........as we hugged and hiked and laughed and quoted bible verses, and sang worship songs, she told me, "Auntie I missed you so much.....and Auntie I pray for you..." WoW the amazing part is I pray for her all the time and here we are worlds apart and lands apart but the Lord totally untied us and kept us close. Matt walked with a boy who for 2 hours told him Bible story after Bible and Matt was able to encourage him and impart the wisdom the Lord has given him for His Word........It was such a good reminder that God uses these short trips...money never could have bought time with these children or the encouragement or the love lavished on these children.....This was true of our entire trip.........There are stories after stories........we spent a Sunday doing church in a Maisa village and getting to know the people who cooked fresh goat for us and loved on us so much........we went to a hospital where a precious Imani boy has a bad diseases and he does not get visitors, we got to sing for him and the other children on the ward and do our Drimes which allowed us to share the Gospel....the mothers were so encouraged and it seemed that we were able to share maybe even to some Muslim women.......God used our Drimes and Doug to share the Gospel message in the streets of some very poor people, located near the church and through this, about a hundred people returned with us to the church service.....so many of them were children....it was amazing........Matt has taught so much and has blessed the people immensely. Boy, does the Holy Spirit flow through him here in Africa! :) One time was at a Bible study and the other at a very Pentecostal church....both messages were such a blessing......our Sunday at the Pentecostal church was with the Imani children.... and then we played with them and ate lunch and danced with them and then watched one of their amazing shows...so sweet and goodbyes were hard....so much harder this time.......and now we are returning with touched hearts, more love for Jesus, and an amazing Awe of our God!!!!! We have watched Him do, amazing things...things we could have never imagined!!!! So excited to share more and see what the Lord has in store for us. More to come! Please continue to pray for health and the adjustment back! We love you and miss you! Mungu Akubariki!
July 15 - 2005
Jambo! We are here in Africa and in fact, it has been three days. We arrived African time Wednesday and settled in to our apartment and united with the New York team! What an amazing God we serve! Our first day was orientation of Africa and our apartment. It was also a time of prayer, worship and devotions. This team loves the Lord our God and is all about His Word. Needless to say, God has united us. We were blessed with amazing sleep and the energy we have needed.
Our first day out, after devotions, prayer, worship, time together in God's Word, we headed out to a Masai village where these precious people live dung, scrap metal houses, and live very primitive lives. Wow, they were so hospital on our arrival and we went through the village greeting everyone, young and old. Jinell Jennison and I (Peg)were invited in to the house of a young mother, named Beatrice. Beatrice had us sit down, one on a chair and another on a block.......(you think our house is small...) and then took beautiful bracelets that she had made and placed one upon each of are arms. It was amazing and we wanted so desperately to communicate by language, but we could not, as they have their own language and we only knew the greeting. Amazingly the Lord allowed us to communicate through eyes, touch and smiles. We worshiped as a group and the women started by singing an amazing song as we all sat out on a grassy area. After worship, our team spread and out and just ministered to these people. Some sat and did bead work to help these women earn a living...some played soccer with the young men, some played with the children and loved on them. It is so hard to put into words this experience, but it was truly amazing to spend time with these people. Many of the women are believers but are in the process of really knowing the Lord. Some of the men are believers and Matt got to connect with one man who was on fire and ministers to his village. I think that he was encouraged by the men in our group and they got to pray for him.
Elizabeth is the missionary who started this mission and told us that this is so important for these people because they need to know white people who love Jesus and are not there to exploit. Because of this no pictures were allowed, but the pictures in our hearts will last forever. The women were so tender as we left, saying we love you and thank you. Wow! Please pray for them especially that these women would follow God's Word.
Today was Imani and it was incredible to see the babies grown and see the children from last year. Will write more later. Today for Matt and I was take care of babies and laundry day. Tomorrow may be more time with the children and an outreach before church. Please continue to pray for health and unity and that we would be so sensitive to the Lord.
Must go, but we thank you for your prayers and love! Mungu Akubariki! God bless you!
May 09 - 2005
If April Showers bring May Flowers, then what to May Flowers bring? Well, some might say Pilgrims but I beg to differ. I say they bring Pollen :)
We've had quite a wet spring here in Cali which has produced some amazing wild flowers around our front porch. School is nearing its end for Peg... only a month left. As for Matt, he's gearing up for a couple speaking engagements, one at church while our Pastor is in Nigeria, and one at the Calvary Chapel in Paso Robles on May 22nd while their Senior Pastor (Steve) is on vacation with his family. We hope to get some more pictures up of the beautiful flowers around our house. Check back in soon!
March 16 - 2005
Spring is here in California and we even had a few days that felt like summer! If it weren't for the family of gophers living in our garden, we would have some beautiful pictures. Matt caught one the other day, with the dog here Jake. Maybe he'll blog about it. :) We are so excited to be with family soon! We can't wait for Easter weekend!
February 21 - 2005
In case you've not yet seen them, we have put new pictures up in our pictures section. They are of our flight with our good friends Donald & Chrissy Lesicka. We traveled all along the central coast from up by Hearst Castle and down to Santa Maria. Enjoy the beauty God has created... some of the shots are astounding (and we even saw some whales, dolphin's/sharks, and such).
We'll be putting up some things about Africa Soon, so come back and check in soon. - Matt & PegFebruary 15 - 2005
February! Wow! The Lord is good! Peg is mending and Matt is working hard to keep his back in place. On Valentine's day we were blessed to go flying with our friends, in their Cessna 4 seater plane. It was incredible!!! We flew up the coast, then down and over to Santa Maria for lunch and then back. We saw 5 whales! Yep, 5! And schools of dolphins and sharks! It was amazing. The coastline was breathe taking and the green hills with splotches of mustard were unreal! What an amazing God we have to give us such beauty and what great friends to allow us to see it from above! :)
January 24 - 2005
If you have time, and appreciate flowers, take a look at the new pictures of some of the flowers outside our house now... they are beautiful. Praising the Lord for a sunny beautiful day in California. (Sorry, not trying to rub it in to those cold weather folks... i hear a storm is coming through sometime early this week). - Matt
Ps. I'm also figuring out how to use all the little special functions on Peg's new Camera... hence some of the close ups and "artsy" shots.
January 08 - 2005
Seeing as that most of the family has added something on their part of the website today... I'm glad that I logged on to do the same :). We thoroughly enjoyed our time at my Brother and Sister-in-law's house for Christmas. We had a spectacular white Christmas and many fun and fond memories with all the family together. We have also enjoyed celebrating our 2nd anniversary this past weekend and weathering the California storms. We live in a beautiful canyon that has waterfalls that flow when we get enough rain. (9 that we've counted on our way to our house). Please check out our pictures section to see the pictures of 2 of the falls.
- Matt
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