The Treasure In Africa

Jesus teaches us that where our treasure is there will our heart be also. During the summer of 2004 our daughter found a great treasure that has captured her heart. A missions trip sponsored by The Masters College took her to Uganda. She had the joy of seeing the light of the Gospel enter the lives of young students and to experience rich fellowship with African believers. This summer she had the opportunity to return for a 2 month mission with Heather Kusunoki. As a result, our family had the pleasure of discovering Safe Harbor International. Safe Harbor is the missions arm of Calvary Chapel of Rancho Santa Margarita and is headed by Heather's father, Pastor Gary Kusunoki.

Two weeks before joining with the Kusonoski's to send off our daughters, Heather's mom Carol invited Eileene to join a group of women who were planning a trip that included doing a conference for women in Northern Uganda. Given a chance to see Carly and experience the land that had become so much a part of her heart, Eileene was packing her bags almost as soon as she put down the phone.

During a Safe Harbor training session, Carly mentioned that her dad played percussion. It just so happened that they were looking for someone to join the two lone males on the women's trip. Calvary Chapel was sending their worship director Glenn Kishi and he was excited about having some assistance in doing training and teaching on leading worship. Dads, however, do not just pack their bags. They ask all kinds of silly questions like; how much is this going to cost and what will I be doing there? The bottom line, though, was the treasure of the cross of Christ. Was that treasure going to be selfishly and safely kept here in the United States or did it belong in Africa? The Holy Spirit's patient persuasion of a very reluctant short term missionary answered that question. The entire Payne family would now be in Africa.

This web site is provided to share with our friends and family the experience God so graciously gave us in Africa. What we cannot show you, however, is how this trip has changed our hearts. Yes, we carried with us the treasure of the Gospel of Christ but we were overwhelmed by the riches we found in those who know Christ in Africa. We love you all and pray for you.

Note: This site will be updated as we receive pictures from other team members. We have no pictures of our wonderful visit with the Safe Harbor staff in Nairobi. As we continue to reflect on the trip we hope to add some additional thoughts. We also want to find some way of expressing our deep thanks to the Safe Harbor Staff in the U.S. and Africa who served us on this trip. If you have questions or comments you can email us at bpayne@linkline.com.