Gearing up and Steps forward

Another week has gone by here on the coast. I was able to speak with all of the pastors last week to at least see how they were doing. Thursday evening we attended the Bible study here in Malindi. Godfrey did a good job teaching. I think he will continue to teach for little while longer. While we were visiting after Bible study Josiah ran down to see Richard’s mama. She had called during the day and asked if he would come by. He said that when she saw him she broke down and started crying. Josiah was so sweet he said he just hugged her. He told her that we would come by on Saturday and visit with her for little while.

I spent much of the day on Friday getting my computer set up. When we came back from the states I brought back a new computer. Of course that means there’s a learning curve and to be honest it has been a little bit annoying. However I think when it’s all said and done it’s going be much better. I also took a couple of hours of time and waded through thousands of pictures to pick out pictures of Richard that we had so that we could get them developed for his mama. Going through all the pictures reminded me of how much of a part of our family Richard was.  There were tons of birthday parties that he was there for, Christmases, New Year’s. It was so good to look at the pictures but at the same time it made me miss him all over again. Friday evening we had a great family night and of course had some tacos.  I also did some rearranging in my office to try and make it not so cramped.       

Saturday morning I spent the morning finishing up my sermon for Sunday. After lunch we headed to the church for the normal church workday. Before we went into the church we walked up to see Richards mom and visit with her for little while. We took with us a bunch of pictures that we had developed of Richard to give to her. When we got to the house we were greeted by Mohammed, Richards’s stepdad and when his mama Esther came to the door she began to cry immediately. She hugged Kenya and just wept out loud. It was so sad… our hearts broke for her.

Esther just lay next to Kenya and cried sometimes very loudly. I think the kids were a little shocked and maybe even Sadie. Once she composed herself a little she told us about his last night. Richard knew he was about to die and told his mama to give Josiah and Samuel some special things and to try and thank everyone that had helped with medicine and the hospital. It was heart wrenching to hear of a 14-year boy preparing to pass from this life and thinking of others. He was such a fine young man! She said he just went to sleep…

Before we left Esther took Josiah into Richard’s room and gave him a couple pair of tennis shoes and a crossbow toy we had given Richard for his birthday. She also gave Samuel a little gaming system that Richard used to bring over from time to time. Josiah broke down and wept after going to Richard’s room and receiving these items. Josiah loved Richard so much! We all prayed together then we went back up to the church.

We had a good turn out at the church to clean up to get ready for Sunday. We made sure the Baptistery was ready because there was one that we knew of to be baptized. Once all the work was pretty much done the men met for the new Saturday fellowship meeting that the guys started while we were gone. We had a great turn out with Ricklynn, Nicholas, Peter, Geoffrey, Kleopus, Martin, Godfrey. We prayed together then I brought a devotional thought. We talked for a little bit about growing as a church and I shared with the guys that Brother Scott always said, “a church stops growing when it costs too much.” I explained the cost is not just financial although that is an area we need to grow in but also in our time and commitments.  We had a great meeting. Starting next week we will meet for about thirty minutes then do phone visits and house visits. The choir met at 5:30 at Kleopus’ house to prepare for Sunday.

It was a great day of ministry. I am so glad to see the men taking steps in leadership and having a desire to grow. I spoke a little about some changes in Sunday School also with the men but one step at a time. Pray for the Malindi church and the men that God is raising up. I really want to invest in them and I need wisdom to not miss the opportunities.

Sunday we had a great service with two Baptisms. I preached a difficult message on being Sunday only Christians. I almost backed out of preaching it but the Lord would not let me. The message went well and I think that it struck a cord with several. There are a lot of young people in the church that have tremendous potential if they will submit to the Lord. In the evening we had a good worship service singing with I - Worship Home and listening to a Sermon. 

Monday was our normal day off except that the kids had to do school. In the past we let the kids take off school and have a day together but Sadie said we needed to do school on Mondays to be done with school on time. The kids were not too happy about it but they will be glad when they are finished on time without being pressured. We still had a good afternoon playing together and watching a movie.

Tuesday was my office day and I got some work done but not a lot in the morning because I had to take the dryer apart when it stopped working. I discovered that the belt that spins the drum is all stretched out and needs to be replaced. Not too bad of news since we were afraid it was dead only bad news is we can’t run down to Sears and pick one up. Kenya tried later in the day to get one at an appliance store but they did not have anything and were not much help especially since it is from the States. I also met with Karate and one of his friends for a couple hours. It was a good visit.

I was able to make a few calls get the update started and send out some emails that needed to go out. I closed down the office at 5:30 to go play with Josiah and spend some time with him.

Today the power has been out all day starting at 8 sharp. I still managed to get this update done and finances caught up. Lord willing I will get out of the office tomorrow to go see Alphonse, Juma, and Daniel.

Well that about covers all that has happened for the most part this past week. We will be picking up Jonathan West and his family on Saturday to be with us for the next few months. Pray for them as they come in. I need to communicate with Brother Hopper to confirm Jonathan’s schedule and make sure we have him all set up. Sadie is really doing great with the kids and already we are seeing improvement in the kids school and attitudes about school. Kenya is still staying busy running for me and getting some much needed things done around the house that she has needed to do but not had time to do. She plans to spend some time the next few days getting things ready for the Wests.