Brackenhurst Ministries

Newsletter
Spring 2011
Dear Friends,
For months we have been introducing new team members as well
as new ministry opportunities as they unfold. However, it is only now,
when we are all in Kenya, that I am able to comprehend the magnitude
of what the Lord is in the midst of doing with Brackenhurst Ministries.
David Preston is settling into his new role as the Director of Operations,
where he hopes to strengthen the leadership that we are able to provide
for our 13 team members, each of whom is seeking to make Jesus known
in Nairobi!
In this newsletter, we hope to further connect you to the vision of
Brackenhurst Ministries, particularly that of our student ministry and Rock Gym. By September we hope
to open the BlueSky Rock Gym, in the heart of Nairobi’s “Little India,” where it will be an awesome tool for
building relationships with people who do not know Jesus. Also in September, our largest ever student
ministry team will be in the schools, diving into ministry with students.
We are so excited about all that the Lord is doing in our midst. More than ever we are in need of
your partnership! We need to raise $130,000 in capital for the Rock Gym as well as $15,000 each month
to cover general ministry expenses. I know that the Lord, who has been faithful to provide us with so
many willing hearts, will also provide the resources we need to enable them to do the work He has
called them to. Will you consider giving? And will you continue to spread the word about the work that
Brackenhurst Ministries is doing in Kenya? Thank you so much for your prayers and support as we move
forward.
Blessings,

Meeting Students at their Point of Need

One of the amazing things about our Savior is the example He sets by meeting us where we are.
We don’t have to come up to Him, He came down to us. In our student ministry, we seek to fol-
low His example by meeting the kids where they are.
Recently, one of our team members was giving a student a ride home after Bible Study when the
student began to open up. “Her parents (mother is a lawyer volunteering with the United Na-
tions and father is a she-can’t-remember-his-title-but-he’s-pretty-important for the United States
treasury) put a lot of pressure on her to achieve academically. She cried as she explained that
she knows she’s smart and is a good student, but wants to know, “when will they just be proud
of me? When will I be enough?” She explained that she’d just had a meeting with mom and a
teacher and felt totally embarrassed and unsupported by her mother. This is a young girl who is
on the honor role, wins horse shows, led the cheerleading squad, is involved in student govern-
ment and other clubs at school. She is successful in many ways. I know her parents are proud of
her, but in that moment she needed someone to usderstand how she was feeling. I felt her pain
and tried to encourage her as she shared a struggle that is common to many of her peers.”
In student ministry, we celebrate the small victories. It is difficult to earn the trust of a teenager.
Especially the ones who move to a new country every two to three years and whose hearts get
hardened by friendships that come and go and busy, high-achieving parents. Our prayer is that
the Lord would enable us to earn the trust of and be a mentor to each of the students He puts in
our lives, and above all we pray that each of these students would come to faith in Chirst.
 Planning for Student Ministry Expansion
This August we anticipate having 4 team members whose primary role will be student ministry,
with another 6 who will be working with students in conjunction with another ministry role. With a full
team on the ground, we are planning to expand the work that we are doing. We are so thanful that the
Lord will enable us to impact more students for the Kingdom in the upcoming year. We are planning to
continue to develop our work at the two existing schools, as well as move into a new school this fall.
Even though the arrival of summer means we won’t be in the schools over the next couple of
months, we will still be very much engaged in student ministry. Students from all of these schools come
to camp, so the summer months provide opportunities to develop relationships with students outside of
the school setting. Once school starts again, our team will have relationships that they are ready to build
on. Here is a snapshot of what we are planning for in August.
The Missionary School
We’ve had people serving in the missionary school for all 11 years that we’ve
been in Kenya. Many of these kids love the Lord and Kenya and are learning
what it means to live out their faith. Sadly, many of these kids are also angry
or resentful at their parents for making them live in Kenya. One of the prima-
ry ways our team serves in the school is by helping coach sports. Outside of
school our team leads youth group on the weekend and spends time devel-
oping relationships with students.
We hope to continue to pour into students lives in this school and reach
them through youth group. However, our primary goal at this school in the
upcoming year is to reach out to the kids that are not youth group kids, the
ones who are running from the Lord.
The International School
If you were to describe the International School in one word, it
would be diverse. The students and teachers are from all over the
world and they have students that are followers of all of the major
world religions. Their parents are leaders at the United Nations,
various Embassies, or in the business world, so it is accurate to say
that these students are the next generation of world leaders.
We serve this school in a lot of different ways, which allows us to
be on campus. We substitute teach, tutor, help with the drama
department, and coach sports. Off campus, we have a Bible
study that meets each week. This fall we will be able to have
more people serving on a more consistent basis. We hope to
move towards having a weekly outreach event for these students
at the Rock Gym.
The British School or South Asian School
Since Kenya is a former British colony, there are many British ciriculum
schools in Nairobi, we may expand our student ministry to the one
that we have the most established relationship with. However, we
are also aware that the proximity of our Rock Gym to the South Asian
schools may open the door there. As our staff gets to know campers
from these schools this summer, we are praying over which school
the Lord would have us in this September. We are also aware that He
might open the door to be in both schools.
Initially, we plan to volunteer with sports teams and provide adven-
ture programming. Once we get started, we will be able to see what
other opportunities to serve the school are available. As we develop
relationships with students, we look forward to the opportunity to
start outreach events.
 Rock Gym to Open in Nairobi's "Little India"
How will the Rock Gym support and further the mission of
Brackenhurst Ministries?
The ultimate goal of the Rock Gym is to provide a place that will
allow all of our ministry areas to more effectively join forces to
reach people with the Gospel. For over 10 years Brackenhurst
Ministries has used adventure-based, experiential programming
as a platform by which to build relationships and share Christ
with people from all over the world. Through Camp BlueSky and
BlueSky Adventures, our team has had the opportunity to im-
pact thousands of lives and build many, many relationships that
both take people deeper in their walk with Christ and introduce
people to Jesus Christ. However, our team has always lacked a
ministry hub in Nairobi. Our programs are run an hours drive
from the city but most of our relational ministry takes place in
Nairobi. Not only will the Rock Gym give us a base to connect
with people for adventure, it will also provide us with an ideal
space to host ministry events.
Not only will the Rock Gym be a
great way to build relationships, it
The Highlights: will also serve as a ministry base for
• The 6,000 square foot Rock Gym is going our work in Nairobi.
to be located at Diamond Plaza, a popular
hangout spot in Nairobi. How will the Rock Gym serve as a ministry
• The gym will have several climbing areas, base?
including some just for children, a spot for • The Rock Gym will be located in the heart
birthday parties, a multipurpose room, and of “Little India” where we will have the
will house our administrative offices for both opportunity to interact with Hindu and
Camp BlueSky and BlueSky Adventures. Muslim businesspeople, young adults, and
• The Rock Gym is scheduled to be fully opera- families. Operating a business in an Indian
tional by September 2011. community will afford us countless op-
• The estimated cost is $110,000 to cover portunities to be salt and light on a a daily
building and start-up expenses. basis.
• You can follow the progress of the Rock Gym • The Rock Gym will work hand in hand with
at www.jamrockclimbinggym.weebly.com. our student ministry, serving as a base for
this ministry. We will be intentional about
creating time and space in the gym for stu-
dent events. The plans for the gym include
a designated youth area which includes
seating and a stage so that we have a large
space to hold outreach events.
• As the first and only rock gym in East Africa,
we see enormous potential for the gym to
attract a wide variety of people from the
international community. Our desire is to
share the Gospel as we build relationships
with gym members, occasional climbers,
and other business owners in our area.
• With all of the BlueSky programs operating
out of the same, well-known site, the per-
ception of BlueSky will be improved, widen-
ing our sphere of influence.

Help Us Tell Our Story!
HERE'S AN EASY WAY TO HELP! Would you help us im-
prove how we tell the story of BlueSky/Brackenhurst? We
are partnering with a non-profit that helps improve the
communications of organizations like ours. Will you fill
out this brief, anonymous survey? Please type this URL
into your browser: www.surveymonkey.com/s/BlueSky_
survey <http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BlueSky_sur-
vey> . Please complete the survey before Wednesday,
June 7, 2011. THANKS!
Camp BlueSky is Here!!!
Opening day for Camp BlueSky 2011 was Sunday, May 29th.
Please be praying for all of the campers that will be coming to
camp this summer. You can also pray for the staff (photo on
right) as they seek to share Christ with each of these children.
In addition to camp, we’ll have 2 volunteer teams from the
Atlanta area this June. The first group will be from Southside
Church a second team will be from First Presbyterian Church of
Peachtree City. These teams will be working with the Western
Project.
You can follow all that is happening at camp and with the
voluneer teams this summer on our blog, www.brackenhurst-
ministries.blogspot.com.
Giving Just Got Easier
In response to several requests that
we’ve had to offer recurring monthly
giving, it is now available on our blog,
www.brackenhurstministries.blogspot.
com. In the left hand sidebar, you will
see “Make a Recurring Monthly Dona-
tion.” Click on Subscribe and Paypal will
walk you through the setup process.
Once you have set it up, it would be
helpful for us if you emailed admin@
brackenhurstministries.org and let us
know the person or project that your
donation is intended for. Thank you so
much for supporting this ministry!

Brackenhurst Ministries
900 Westpark Drive
Suite 300
Peachtree City, GA 30269