Greetings Family, Friends and CMOI Supporters!

Everyday in Kenya we find ourselves learning new things about our faith and ourselves, not to mention the people we are here to serve. Probably many of you imagine that “things” here are very much different than they are in the U.S. To some degree that’s true. It’s perpetually summer, the majority of people don’t have cars, few have electricity, fewer have their own water source or flush toilet, virtually no one has a computer, food must be purchased daily and costs a fraction of the price in the U.S. Drought and famine, malaria and AIDs, corruption and abuse by government officials on all levels, all are very real and daily concerns. Giraffes, baboons, zebra, ostrich, countless beautiful birds, savannahs, mountains, deserts, flowers and fruit trees, cloudless nights when we can see the Milky Way and billions of stars, all reflect the amazing gift of God’s creation to this land. Definitely things are different here, but not the people. Sure they dress a little differently, shake hands incessantly, eat different food, speak different languages, but at the heart of every person we meet is the same longing to be loved and valued, to find his or her purpose in this wide world.

We will never learn all of the customs of Kenya, let alone every intricacy of its 40+ tribes. However, all we really need to know to share the love of Christ with them is that His love, sacrifice and grace are universal. Often a Kenyan will ask to touch our skin or feel our hair, expecting that it will feel smoother or somehow different from theirs. Often a Kenyan will share a belief about the U.S. being the land of milk and honey, where there is no crime, no corruption, no hard times, no poverty, no lack of anything they deem good. So many of them are amazed to learn that in the U.S., just as here in their country, men and women are the same as they are. All of us suffer the same when we are sick or lacking a basic need like water or shelter. All of us worry about our family members and must work hard to build good relationships with each other. All of us must lock our doors at night and guard against those who would do us harm, because everywhere human sin is the same. Just as life in this world, in sin and apart from Christ, doesn’t change based on one’s ethnicity, neither does our need for His redemption. What an opportunity we have to share the Good News with the people here that Jesus freely offers this redemption to all of us! Sometimes we think our white skin is a hindrance to our ministry in Kenya, but Jesus is teaching us how to use this “obstacle” as an open door to people’s hearts. Thank you for continuing to pray with us as we discover more about the universal truth of Christ’s love and how to bring that truth to the lives of people here. We encourage those of you in ministry in the U.S. to examine your hearts with us as we remember that the only thing that truly matters in our ministry is leading people towards a new and deeper relationship with our Savior.

Stacy and I have received numerous letters from friends and family and these are great treasures here in Kenya. Some of you have sent checks directly to us here in Kenya, which we’ve had to put in envelopes and mail back to the CMOI in the U.S. We don’t have a bank here in which to deposit American checks. Please send all checks to CMOI with “Brian and Stacy Cloud” in the memo line. Others of you have wanted to know of a way to send us “fun” money, or money that we could use on ourselves. You can send that money to Rhonda Cloud at 23673 Ridgemont Ln, Elkhart IN 46516. My mom will let us know when she receives any money for us, and we can withdraw funds through our debit card. Still others of you have asked about care packages and what you could send. We suggest sugar-free drink mixes like Crystal Lite or Kool-Aid products. Not much in Kenya comes sugar-free other than water, so we’ve been missing these the most. Spices are also used daily since our selections of food are limited, and the only way to have variety is to “spice things up!” Blends of spices are best such as: Italian, Cajun, lemon pepper, seasoned salt, Ranch mix, taco seasoning, pasta sauce mix, soup mixes, etc. There is no need to rush items to us since they will be dry goods anyway. You can use the slowest mail method possible and save a lot of money.

We’ve started to feel much more at home here in Kenya and seem to be less and less homesick as time goes by. We’re grateful for each of you and all you do to make our ministry here possible! The Lord has been stretching us lately, which at times is very uncomfortable, but we’re glad that He’s pushing us into new areas in our lives and maturing our faith.

Easter Sunday we joined the Sultan Hamud church for a joyful service and Brian shared the morning’s message, which challenged each person to consider his or her own response to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Easter celebrations in this area begin in earnest on Good Friday. The local church held an open-air meeting in the town and then an hours-long revival service at the church on Good Friday. The Sunday service was made more special because we shared in communion for the first time in Kenya. Communion is very personal and also a time to join together as one body, Kenyan and American.

March 25-26 we welcomed 16 alumni to the Bible College for an alumni reunion. We had been expecting about 40 graduates to attend, but Easter weekend is a difficult time for pastors to be away from their congregations. Friday night we shared in special

fellowship and a beautiful meal, then Saturday morning we got down to business. Principal Paul Kisoso shared the vision of CMBCI, Brian shared a challenging message from the Bible, and Dean of Students Julius Musyimi charged the alumni with the task of fully involving themselves in the ministry of CMBCI. In response, the graduates elected a new Board of Alumni and began the task of developing their own vision, mission and goals to see the ministry of CMBCI grow. Each graduate was given a survey to complete before they left that asked questions about their current ministries, future goals and ideas for growth at CMBCI. All of them are using their education at the local church level, most in pastoral positions. Many of them described flourishing ministries to their communities as well. Francis ChaCha, a 2004 graduate of the first English class, pastors a recent church plant at Emali and supports his own local church in his hometown of Ntimara. At his core Francis is an evangelist. He works full time as a police officer, a position that allows him to minister to the most corrupt branch of Kenyan government. He has so earned the respect of his leaders for his integrity and faith in Christ that he is allowed time off for his many other ministry endeavors. Francis is working towards developing a program for police chaplains and now serves as the Chairman of the new Board of Alumni at CMBCI. He also desires to further his education at CMBCI when it at last offers a degree program and seminary level classes.

Leadership at CMBCI currently has a vision for attaining accreditation with the Kenyan government and also desire to offer advanced seminary level courses. In addition they would like to develop satellite campuses to offer short intensive courses to pastors who aren’t able to travel the distance or take the time off to attend CMBCI full time. Many short-term goals are being set to achieve these long-term projects. One of these goals is to further develop the library at CMBCI (a requirement for attaining university status in Kenya). Shelves were built by a team in 2002 and are waiting to be filled with books on Christian living, theology, pastoral and counseling ministries, prayer, worship, church history, etc. We know there are churches and even individuals who have literature collecting dust in the U.S. and we are hoping you will help us to give those old books new life here in Kenya. If you’re interested in assisting with this project the first step is to begin collecting books and financial donations to help offset the cost of shipping the books. We have contacts in Indiana who will be able to organize the shipments in the most cost effective way. Most of the books will be shipped by boat and then be transported from the coast to the Bible College. Sometimes the shipments can take up to six months to arrive, so we encourage you to begin collecting books as soon as possible. Any questions about this project can be directed to us via email at clouds2kenya@yahoo.com or snail mail at PO Box 230, Sultan Hamud, 90132, Kenya. A more specific list of needed books can be provided if you contact us.

CMBCI is currently in the process of hiring another full-time professor. Please be praying with all of us that the person God wants to join our team will be made known to the administration. All of us are very excited that it is now possible to add this position to our faculty team. Thank you for your prayers and financial support, which have provided this opportunity. We hope to introduce our new team member within the next couple of months.

In the month of March, your donations made it possible to purchase some much needed equipment and supplies for the Bible College kitchen. Our head cook, Josephine Wanza, models Colossians 3:23-24 that says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Josephine believes she has been called by Christ to serve at CMBCI, which shows in her dedication to her work. Josephine has been with the Bible College since the beginning and is the most thrifty and resourceful employee at CMBCI. She uses every item in the kitchen until there seems to be nothing left of it and then when any other person would condemn the item to the trash pile, she finds a new use for it! Most of the equipment in the kitchen has never been replaced thanks to the resourcefulness of our head cook. Items provided for the kitchen included: spoons, plates, additional serving bowls, towels, serving trays, padlocks, sieves, cooking utensils, a thermos, and much more. Having a properly equipped kitchen can help alleviate some of the burdens of cooking, which are heavy in Kenya where charcoal is used for most meal preparation. Josephine and all the Bible College students and faculty say “Thank You!”

April 3, the current English class resumed for it’s fourth 3-week term. Eighteen students (three women and fifteen men) registered and one more gentleman was expected. A year ago this class had only 11 students. CMBCI is growing! Our most important financial need at CMBCI is student sponsorship. Each of these nineteen students is responsible to pay approximately $125 USD per year. That’s only $375 for a Bible College education. Of course, it costs much more than that to keep the school up and running. We invite you to sponsor a student for $25 USD per month. That money keeps food on the table, lecturers at the podium and water in the showers (among many other things). If you’re interested in sponsoring a student, please return the enclosed sponsorship form to CMOI, 5495 Sinai Rd., Bristow, IN 47515 or send an email to cmo@psci.net.

Rain has begun to fall in Kenya. Herdsmen are moving their cattle home, farmers are planting their crops, and families are working in their gardens. Continue to pray with us that these rains will last through May so Kenya will reap a bountiful harvest in the coming months and this too-long famine will end.

Thank you for praying and supporting the ministry of CMOI. Thanks be to our God who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created.” James 1:17-18