August Monthly Report

 

August 2015

Furlough has begun

  It has been a crazy month for sure and at the same time a great month. We arrived in Arkansas and after attending our church here in Monticello we headed north to see our families. We had two weeks to see our families before school started in Arkansas for the kids so we were moving. We were able to see our families in Indiana and we made it all way to Maine to see my dad as well. It was so good to see our parents and brothers and sisters, although it would have been nice to stay longer.

 

              After our quick trips to see family we were back in Arkansas in time for the kids and I both to start school. We will be in the states for the entire school year then we will return to Kenya in July, Lord willing. This is the first time ever that our kids have attended public school so please keep them in your prayers. They are doing well so far and enjoying the newness of it all. We are so grateful for school system here in Monticello.  

              Putting the kids in school is also the start of transition for Josiah especially. He will only be with us in Kenya one more term before he will have to return to the states for college. Attending public school this year is a step towards preparing him for this transition. We have several other steps in this transition process over the next three years to try and help our kids make the transition into US life. Please pray for God to give us wisdom.

Furlough Home

         We also have a house to live in thanks to Mrs. Paula Gathings who has been a part of our East Kenya Missions team since we started. Mrs. Paula moved this last year to Louisiana to take care of her aging parents who needed assistance, which left her house empty here in Monticello. She graciously offered to let us use it while we are here on furlough. Words cannot express our thanks and appreciation.

              Several families in the church also had the house full of food and furnished for our needs before we ever arrived. Our EKM chairman Ben Higginbotham spear headed getting everything organized and in order. He is AWESOME! It was so nice to just move in and start living and working. We are very grateful to our church Pauline BC for purchasing a mini-van for us to use while we are here on furlough as well. We praise God for all His provision.

 

Back to School

              This furlough is going to be very different. I am attending the Missionary Baptist Seminary in Little Rock working in their specials Masters program. I felt like I needed to take some time to “sharpen my axe.” In Kenya we are constantly pouring into others and teaching with little time to be poured into so this is an opportunity to be poured into.  I want to be sure I am equipped to meet the needs of the work as well as our team.

              I attend classes this semester on Tuesday and Wednesday 8-12 and Thursday nights 5:45pm-10pm. The classes are amazing and I am learning so much. It is a heavy load with all the reading, writing, and traveling back and forth from here in Monticello to Little Rock(1hour 45 minutes one way) so please pray for me and our family as I go to school as well. I really believe that this time invested in education will be of great value to the ministry and I am thankful to the Missionary Baptist Seminary for the opportunity.  

 

Furlough Scheduling   

             

              We have been working on our furlough schedule and it is filled until January already. We are focusing on our supporting churches and trying to visit them all while we are in the states.  Unfortunately Kenya and the kids will not be able to travel with me to see most of the churches since the kids are in school. We want to apologize in advance for them not getting to come. They love traveling with me, but it is just not possible. 

              We will be continuing to contact our supporters and trying to fill our schedule up until our departure. Our plan now is to return to Kenya the first of July 2016. Please pray for safety as we visit the churches. It is such a blessing to be able to go to say thank you personally and rejoice in everything God has done this past three-year term. We are grateful to all those who are a part of our support team.

Upcoming Furlough Appointments

September 20 Victory MBC, Madison, MS

September 20 Emmanuel MBC, Bogalusa, LA

September 27 Peasant Valley MBC, Batesville, AR

September 27 New Testament MBC, Lonoke, AR

October 4 Cypress Ave MBC, Marion, AR

October 4 Victory BC, Cabot, AR

October 8 Missionary Baptist Seminary MTM

October 11 Hyde Park MBC, West Monroe, LA

October 17-18 Hillcrest BC, Ackworth, GA

October 25  Nothcrest MBC, Andrews, TX

 October 25 Westwood BC, Odessa, TX

November 1 Harmony MBC, Ponca City, OK

November 1 Lakeview MBC, Spiro, OK

November 8 Florence Blvd MBC, Florence, AL

November 8 Skyline MBC, Madison, AL

 

Furlough Contact

James Taylor PO Box 417 Monticello, AR

Phone (870)723-7640 missionarytaylor@gmail.com

Taylor Tribe

      

 

We started the month out in Bangor, Maine with James’ dad, James and new wife.  We were glad to have a quick visit to meet Lysa and her two kids.  On the way up we stopped at Niagara Falls to stretch our legs.  Once we got to Maine, we spent a couple days just hanging out.  It was fun swimming in the freezing cold lakes, buying fresh Wild Maine blueberries, and taking our first ride out on a Lobster boat.  We are so proud of James and how far he has come.  We love seeing him with a fresh start in life.  Our time with them was short, but we had fun.  On the way back to Indiana we stopped in Hershey, PA at Hershey World to stretch our legs.  It was a fun little stop.  We ate chocolate and even made our own chocolate bars, which was a really neat activity.  When we got back to Indiana we went camping with James’ mom, Joyce, brother and sister-in-law, and sister.  It was fun relaxing, playing games, hiking, and swimming. 

            Once our time in Indiana was over we headed straight to Arkansas to get ready for school.  It was bit hectic trying to get everyone signed up and make sure they had everything before the first day of school but we did it with a lot of help from Pauline BC and the kids’ adoptive families.  When we got to our house there was a crowd of friends gathered and the whole house of stocked with everything from toilet paper to a freezer full of deer meat and other foods.  We cannot thank our church enough for all they did for us to help us get settled for this furlough time.  It is going to be a lot different.  The kids are in public school for the first time ever and James is in seminary full time for the first time in 15 years.  Our travel time as a family will be limited but we know God is going to use this time to refresh us and grow us so that we can minister more effectively. 

            Speaking of public school, the kids are adjusting well.  They come home everyday talking all at once about how much fun it is, how crazy some kids are, and how they enjoy most of their classes.  We are glad they have this experience to help them transition and see what life is like in America in the school systems.  It is definitely opening their eyes to a great need in so many kids’ lives for loving parents and godly values.  We send them to school each morning praying they will be a light of hope and love to those they interact with. 

            Everyone keeps asking me what in the world I am going to do with my time.  And the honest answer, besides laundry and dishes, is I don’t know.  My first priority after my relationship with the Lord is James and the kids. So I plan on doing my best to take care of them and help them as they are the ones with the busy schedules.  I want to be the voice of peace and restfulness in our home.  I am truly enjoying it so far.  I love having a mini van, watching my kids get on and off the bus each day, making lunches for James, and yes, cleaning the house.  It is for a season, but I am going to enjoy it for these few months that we are here. 

            We celebrated some birthdays this month as well.  We got to Maine on my birthday, James’ dad had a cake waiting on me.  Lydia turned 11 on the 23^rd and Sarah turned 9 on the 27^th.  Lydia wanted a monster high cake and Ms. Ashley came to celebrate with us.  Sarah wanted a Frozen cake which took on a very melty look when we got to the park for her party.  It was fun.  These kiddos are growing up so fast.   

            Thanks for reading and praying.

July 2015 Monthly Report

 

July 2015

516 Missions 2015 Kenya

                  This year we had an awesome 516 Missions team that did a lot of work! We were busy the entire trip and for sure impacted eternity. There were several projects where we were involved. There is no way in this short report to list everything that we did but at least you can see it in pictures.

 

Basketball Camp

              We did a basketball camp at Mreroni Primary School that is only about a half mile from the newest church plant, Grace BC Midiani. The school was small compared to other schools where we have been in the past, but nearly all the students come from Muslim families so it was a new experience for our team. God blessed as we gave out nearly 250 Bibles and all the kids in the school heard the Gospel message during Bible time. Pray for the seeds that were planted. We take heart knowing that God’s word does not return void, whether it is the written word or spoken word.

Midiani Building

  We also were able to help build a building for Grace LBC Midiani. The church had the poles in the ground and we put the roof on. We are so grateful for Brother Mike Vickers who designed the roof and lead us in building it. We also cut grass, put in a floor, and installed a baptistry. Our ladies filled the baptistry and got a lesson in carrying water on their head that I am sure they will not soon forget.

Farming

 

We took one day with the team and went out with Clayton to one of his Farming God’s Way test fields to work. We spent the morning pulling up stumps and cutting grass to help prepare more of the field for planting next season. It was a long hot day of work that helped all of us appreciate the work that the people do every day just to survive. We also passed by Gertrude’s house to see how Clayton’s test field was doing. It was awesome to see the success that she was having in her fields and to see her harvest her first ears of corn, which she gave to Clayton and Lindsey.

 Worshiping and Teaching

  We had great worship services with Singuaya LBC and Grace LBC Midiani. It was especially awesome to worship with the Midiani church in the building that we all built together and to see Pastor Elly baptize 17 people in the baptistry we put it. There were around 160 that attended the services at Midiani. I think that the basketball camp near the church, the cinema, and the building project generated a lot of interest in what the Grace LBC is doing.

 

Immediately following the 516 Team our family departed to begin our furlough. Please pray for our furlough as we share all God has done this term and say thank you to our faithful supporters.

Upcoming Furlough Appointments

August 16 Eastside MBC, Minden, LA

August 16 New Liberty BC, Garland, TX

August 23 Baring Cross MBC, Arkadelphia, AR

August 23 Sweet Home MBC, Prattsville, AR

August 30 Pauline BC, Monticello, AR

September 6 Lead Summit, Gulf Shores

September 12 Shadyland MBC, Smackover, AR

September 13 Wises Chapel MBC, Pineville, AR

September 13 Bethlehem MBC, Kirby, AR

September 20 Victory MBC, Madison, MS

September 20 Emmanuel MBC, Bogalusa, LA

PO Box 299 Monticello, AR 71657

James Taylor  PO Box 811 Malindi, Kenya 80200

Phone (870) 723-7640 missionarytaylor@gmail.com

 

Taylor Tribe

     

 

This month we spent the first two weeks preparing for furlough as well as for the 516 Missions team.  Thankfully preparing for the team is pretty easy now that we have shopping lists, schedules, and housing down to a science.  Preparing for furlough was another story.  The Straders will be staying in our house while we are away, so we had to put all of our personal belongings into one room to make room for the Straders’ personal belongings.  The house with all of its furnishings including dishes are there for them to use, but we wanted to make sure they didn’t have to worry about being crowded or taking responsibility for our junk (I mean treasures).  So we put many things into boxes and closets in the school room.  However, just about the time we thought we were done our landlord called to inform us that an exterminator was coming to spray for termites.  This was terrible timing, but a very necessary treatment.  So after feeling good about cleaning everything out and having things organized for them, we completely destroyed it all by taking everything out of the cabinets and putting most of it into our gazebo for a day and a half while they fumigated.  The Howells and the Straders had to do the same as their homes were also treated.  The termites have been a terrible problem for a couple of years now.  Although it was very inconvenient, we agreed because of the damage the termites have been doing to our homes. 

                  We also hosted all of our friends from Mombasa for the fourth of July one last time before furlough.  It was really great to be able to catch up with them, since we’ll be gone for almost a year; and when we get back, some of them will be on furlough. 

                  We had a great time with the 516 team.  It was a smaller group than usual, but it was nice to be able to get to visit with each of them.  We were super glad that we didn’t have to camp out in the village.  There is a cheap but decent and clean hotel in Miritini for only $10 a night where we were able to stay.  It was nice to have a good shower in the evenings after a long day at the camp and at the church building.  We crammed a lot into the time the team had.  It didn’t feel like we stopped the whole time.  But I think the Lord blessed all that we did. 

                  Usually when the teams leave we crash for a day or two, but this year we couldn’t.  We were leaving just two days after the team, so after they left we made final preparations in the house and in town.  The day before we left Abigail became extremely ill with amoebic dysentery and a bacterial infection, which landed her at the hospital with an IV.  Our doctor was amazing.  He treated her very quickly and aggressively making it possible for her to get on the plane the next day although she was still pretty weak.  We are thankful for Dr. Yunis taking such good care of her. 

                  There is no rest for the weary.  We hit the ground running here on the stateside as well.  We had just a couple of weeks before school starts to run up north and see our family.  We got here Friday evening, went to Pauline Sunday morning and headed to Indiana on Monday.  My sister was getting married on the 31^st and James was officiating the wedding.  We spent the last week of July making final wedding preparations.  The month ended on a very happy note.  We had such a good time with my whole family at the wedding.  We laughed and made many memories.  I’m thankful for the time God gave us to just laugh and have fun. 

                  Thanks for reading and praying.

June 2015 Monthly Report

June 2015

Raburns’ Departure

  We started the month with saying good-bye to Lynn and Brenda Raburn. They were with us for two months. Brother Lynn worked very hard while he was with us preaching, teaching, and encouraging the churches. We are very thankful to be partnering with Lynn and Brenda with World Missions Ministry and for their partnership here with East Kenya Missions. The classes that Brother Lynn recorded on video in the past and continues to do in Swahili are awesome. Through the videos, he and Brenda continue to be a part of EKM even when they are on the other side of the world. Please pray for the Raburns as they continue to labor for missionaries and missions globally. Also, don’t forget that the World Missions Seminar dates have changed for 2016. The seminar will be held April 11-22 at Faith BC, North Little Rock. 

 

516 Missions Preparations

             

              John, Clayton, and I have been investing a lot of time on planning and preparing for the 516 Missions team that will be with us in July. The team will be working with the new church in Midiani and missionary pastor, Elly. We will be doing a sports camp at the school that is a quarter of a mile walk from the church, putting in a baptistery, and building a roof for the church. We have been working with Elly on plans and communicating with Brother Mike Vickers, who will be coming on the team, about supplies for building the roof.  Ben Higginbotham will be leading the team this year and has prepared the team on the U.S. side.

                  We are very excited to come alongside Grace BC, Midiani and Pastor Elly. Elly has done a great work in Midiani, and it has truly been awesome to see the Indigenous principle in action through Elly. He and the church in Miritini, and now in Midiani, have a vision and a heart for the gospel being preached. We are hopeful that the 516 team and EKM team partnering with them to do this camp will encourage and energize them.

Furlough Preparations

              We have spent much of this month making preparations for furlough. There is a lot that goes into shutting things down here and getting things ready on the U.S. side. We are blessed to have a team of support both on the ground here and at our sending church Pauline BC to help us. We will be departing July 23 right after the 516 Missions Team leaves. We will be in the States for almost a full year for our furlough. During our furlough, we will be seeing family and visiting supporting churches. I will be attending the Missionary Baptist Seminary working on my Masters Degree, and our children will be attending school in Monticello.

              Ben Higginbotham has been working with several others in our church to get us set up in Monticello, AR. He has also been communicating with folks in the school system to help us know what we need to do to register the kids. Mrs. Paula Gathings from our sending church is providing our family with a place to call home while on furlough, and we cannot say thank you enough! Our church has also bought us a vehicle to use while we are in the states. We are so blessed to have Pauline BC as our sending church and friends who believe in what God is doing through this ministry, helping us and sacrificing to see it succeed.

                  The team here on the ground has also been helping us prepare for furlough. I am so thankful to Brother John Strader for his hard work, many hours, and patience to help us put together a presentation that we can use in the churches to show all that God has done the past three years. Also I am grateful for our Missionary Helper, Ashley Johnston, and all the hours of work she has put into making picture books that we can put on display as we visit churches. We appreciate Clayton connecting us with his mother-in-law, Tammy, to help with our prayer cards and magnets. We praise God for everyone on the team here and how they have come together to help us with presentation preparation and even packing up our house.

  Please pray for our family and for the rest of the team during our upcoming furlough. We are looking forward to sharing with the churches all that God has done and express our gratitude for their support. We also are excited to encourage and challenge the churches and individuals to consider how they can partner and participate with missionaries. The Straders and the Howells will be continuing here on the ground in Kenya during our absence. Pray for them as they continue with language learning and culture adaptation. Pray that this year will be a great time of growth and preparation for the future of EKM as we look at reaching the unreached North of Malindi.

PO Box 299 Monticello, AR 71657 

James Taylor PO Box 811 Malindi, Kenya 80200

Phone 011-254-713289014 missionarytaylor@gmail.com

 

Taylor Tribe

 

We said goodbye to old friends and hello to new friends at the beginning of this month.  Lynn and Brenda left at the beginning of the month and then we enjoyed hosting our new friends from Garissa.  The guys met the Witt family while they surveyed the North and invited them to come for a visit.  They have four very sweet little girls who played till they were exhausted with our kiddos.  We had such a wonderful time.  Jason is quite the chef.  He cooked several excellent meals for us; and Rebekah his wife was so kind and easy going, we hit it off first thing.  We spent a full week with them enjoying fellowship, some worship time, and even picking their brains about reaching the unreached in their area.  My only regret is that we won’t be here this next year to get to know them better.  We do, however, look forward to the next year when we will be able to meet up again with them as we look to our future ministry in the North. 

We had lots of birthday cake and ice cream this month.  James celebrated his birthday on June 7.  We had cake and ice cream that evening after fixing him some barbecue ribs.  Josiah’s birthday was on June 8, so we had a sort of retro Super Mario Bros. video game party.  I made his cake to look like an old Nintendo game controller.  Our whole team dressed up like characters from the video game.  I love that our team gets together to do silly things like dress up and be creative.  It’s a fun way to step out of work mode and just enjoy our fellowship.  Next we celebrated Ashley’s birthday.  Ashley has actually celebrated 3 birthdays in Kenya.  Ashley loves anything nerdy, so we made that the theme of the party.  It was very fitting for the teacher.  We all dressed like nerds and I spent the whole day making a cake that was the periodic table.  It was a lot of work, but it’s something I really enjoy and so it was a labor of love.  Everyone had a great time.  Needless to say we may have all gained a few pounds this month from all the yummy sweets, but we’ll just stay off the scales for a while. 

We are still in furlough mode, but mostly done with all the packing and sorting.  We knew we were hosting the 4^th of July cookout with all of our friends from Mombasa so we spent the end of the month making sure we had most of the work out of the way.  Our goal is to be able to just enjoy the last couple weeks here without of the stress of packing, especially since we are leaving just two days after the 516 team leaves.  I admit to having very mixed emotions about this furlough.  It feels like our EKM team is just getting settled and starting to work and it’s time for us to leave.  Although we need furlough and the time to see family and supporting churches, it feels like we are just beginning.  We are, though, looking forward to this next year of refreshment as well as the direction God is going to give as we look to the future. 

My sister received the results from her scan, she is leukemia free once again.  I thank the Lord for giving her strength through her chemo.  This round, although stronger, seemed a bit less hard on her.  I am really looking forward to being within driving distance of her this next year. 

Thanks for reading and praying.