April 8-18
It has been a busy week and a half since my last update. We
have gotten Lynn and Brenda all set up in one of our guesthouses. There were a
few things that needed attention but I think we have most of the problems worked out. Brother Lynn came to help us put some more
studies on video. Brother Lynn’s Swahili is still amazing. He has been gifted
with languages for sure! Brother Lynn will be specifically teaching through the
book of Hebrews.
Brother
Lynn and I also had a fellowship meeting this past weekend with all the leaders
of the churches. We had representation from all the churches and one of the new
Bible studies. We started the meeting on Friday morning and went through
Saturday afternoon. Rather than have specific teachings I asked several men to
preach messages with the exception of Elly who I asked to do some specific
teaching on Missions.
We had six
preachers the first day and ended our meeting at around 7pm. It was a great day
and most of the men did a good job preaching. We also heard from all the
churches about how they were doing, special prayer requests, and plans for the
future. It was very encouraging and challenging to hear from all the churches.
Kenya and Brenda did great helping with chai and meals.
The second
day of the fellowship meeting we had three more of the men preach. I also
preached and cast vision for the future of working in the North. Brother Lynn
also challenged the men about reading their Bibles and gave them ways to read
their Bible in 30,60, and 90 days as well as in a year. We had a great time
visiting and being together. It has been a long time since we had an
opportunity like this. I think everyone had a great time and we were able to
reconnect with the men after being gone for the World Missions Seminar.
We attended
services in Malindi on Sunday this week again. Brother Nicholas asked me to
teach Sunday school and Brother Lynn to preach again. We both appreciated the
opportunity and nearly melted because of the heat. I specifically wanted to
attend Malindi this week so I could attend their business meeting. Several of
the church members requested me to come because of an issue the church has been
dealing with for the past three months.
I rode the motorbike
so that I could stay for the business meeting and everyone else could go on for
lunch. We ended up being at the church until almost 5pm for the business
meeting without taking a break. It was a heated meeting about how a situation
was handled in the church. I offered suggestions on how it could have been
handled and addressed other comments made during our discussion. Once we got
through the original reason for me being called upon the church uncovered that
their 90% of their funds had been stolen. The church entrusted their funds to a
member selected by the church but they ended up dipping into the church's funds
for personal use. It was a punch to the stomach to say the least. The meeting
ended on that note basically with everyone being in shock including me. Pray
for the church in Malindi as they work through this situation and for the one
who took the funds. My heart was broken when I left the meeting… even as I
write I am still in shock concerning it all.
On a
positive note Clayton came in on Sunday afternoon with Lindsey, Ashley, and
Kali. Kali is Lindsey and Clayton’s puppy. Kenya made dinner for everyone so we
could celebrate their return.
Clayton and I made a trip North this
week also and went as far as Hola to do some initial survey work. In May we
have plans for an official survey trip with John Strader, our Pastor Chad
Graves, Ryan Copico, Aaron Johnson, and Darren Clements. With all the violence
in Garisa recently we thought we needed to go north and see with our eyes and see
what the situation was on the ground for ourselves. We had a great trip and learned
a lot. The trip helped us also with our plans in May as well as understanding
the travel conditions.
We traveled
straight to Hola which took us about 3 ½ hours on some pretty rough road. One
observation we made was that there is about an hour and a half drive of no man's
land between Garsen and Hola. There literally are no villages or permanent
homesteads. This helps us see that there are two distict areas North of us
among the people groups we have been praying for. There is the Hola side and
the Garsen side. We drove through Hola and had lunch then came home. We did not
have any official meetings or anything like we plan to in May, but it was
good to “see” the area and get a feel for security.
On our way
out of Hola we had a flat tire as the result of a nail. There always has to be
a least one issue with our vehicles every trip but at least it was a small
thing. Not to brag or anything .....but we changed the tire and were back on the
road in 9 minutes and that was without trying. BOOYAH! There were two of us but
whatever…
We noticed a military encampment on our way in to Hola and on our way back we
were stopped at the camp and picked up two soldiers that were heading back down
to Malindi and Mombasa. The soldiers were with the border patrol unit and have
both been in Garisa and Mendera for the past several years. We were able to ask
them questions most of the way home and it helped us understand the area
a little. Talking to the soldiers was an awesome way
to get information about the areas of the people groups who need the gospel and to make some great connections for the future. Clayton
also got the details on the possibility of registering a gun in the country but
that is another issue.
I was
suppose to go to Singwaya for a youth
meeting on Thursday but was unable to go because I did not have a vehicle.
Clayton was in the field with Daniel and our Land Rover is still in the shop. I
jumped on the motorbike to head out to Singwaya but realized that it had some
electrical problems. I thought I could fix them quickly but that is never the
case. There is always the job within the job. I went to town with Brother Lynn and
picked up the spare we needed, after the fundi rewired it to “work” for me. I
ended up shorting out the electrical system and brought the bike to the fundi
to fix the electrical and while he was at it the brakes were sticking and we
needed a new chain. Thankfully the repairs with spares were a whopping $22 and
we were able to pick it up before Bible study in Malindi. Brother Lynn and I
went to Bible study and had a good turn out. The day was not as I had planned
it but I enjoyed visiting with Brother Lynn and helping him out in the
afternoon.
Clayton and
I spent Friday together working with Alfonse Maitha for a day in Mjomboni and
Mangangani. The church members in Mangangani donated trees for the Bible study
in Mjomboni so they can build a building. Alfonse asked us to come to transport
the trees to Mjomboni. We were more than happy to help. We spent the entire day
carrying, loading, and off loading trees. It was a hard day of work but it will
help the new Bible study take a step forward. We got to eat at the Jambo Cafe and have King burgers which I included a picture of. Pray for the church in Mangangani
and the Bible study in Mjomboni.
Today
Brother Lynn started his lessons on Hebrews. We came in early and worked out
the videoing set up so the studies will not only benefit the few who come to
the studies but also for the other students that are not able to be with us and
future students. Little by little we are building up a great library of studies
with multiple teachers. The studies today are going great and Brother Lynn is
doing amazing. We are so grateful for him and Sister Brenda being with us for
these two months.
Kenya has
been working on our other guest house to get it ready for when John, Amber, and
Ellanora Strader return from language school. We ran to Mombasa one day to buy
a small refrigerator, toaster oven, and table top stove. I think everyone has
chipped in a little to help. I know one day Lynn and Brenda helped quite a bit
on moving things and setting things up.
We are so grateful for the compound we live on. It allows us the ability
to house visitors and teams alike not to mention it is beautiful.
