February 2015
Admin
and Maintenance
December and January were awesome
ministry months full of activity and being in the field. The result is a lot of
administrative work, things to repair around the house, and maintenance on the
vehicles. Once the last of our guests left at the end of January, we tried to
catch our breath a little and even get caught up on some office work.
Clayton and I did some renovations on the
mission compound this month. The big one was putting in a 2000 liter water tank
so we can ease our water issues we keep having. We quadrupled our water on
site. We also plumbed in another washer so there are two washers on the
compound for our families and all the groups that come over.
I spent a lot of hours in the office
working on updates and preparing for the five classes and three sermons that I
have for the World Missions Seminar and Pulse Conference in March. Kenya also
spent many hours preparing for four classes that she will be teaching the
missionary wives. We are looking forward to teaching, being taught, and the
fellowship with all the other missionaries in March.
VEHICLE WOES
No month
would be complete these days without some vehicle issues to work out. The A/C
went out on the van so it went into the shop, and we had to take the Land Rover
in because it was blowing oil everywhere. Thankfully, the motor bike was
running fine; so Clayton and I could run into the villages and still get work
done. The van was not too hard of a fix; but the Land Rover, well let’s just
say the shop is redoing the rebuild they did. Lord willing, we will get it all
sorted soon.
On a side note to the vehicles, Clayton
and I went and looked at an off road buggy that we are considering purchasing
for our trips to town and out to Singwaya. The buggy is a 2013 model, street
legal, and will do 100 KPH. The suspension is crazy awesome. We are considering
purchasing one to save on the wear and tear of our vehicles especially to Singwaya.
We once used the motorbike for trips like this, but the roads have gotten so
bad and the sand traps are incredibly dangerous. The buggies cost about $8000, but
we are confident that they will pay for themselves in what they save us in wear
and tear on vehicles and our bodies.
World Missions Ministry Partnership
We are very excited about partnering
with Lynn and Brenda Raburn in the World Missions Ministry. I thought it wise to let everyone know that
this does not mean we are leaving Kenya to pursue this ministry. We are
dedicated to the work in Kenya and excited about all that the Lord is doing on
the coast and the regions beyond. God is continuing to add to the team and we
are gearing up for future ministry among unreached people groups to the North.
We are starting a
transition time over the next four or five years where Kenya and I will begin
to take on more and more responsibilities from Lynn and Brenda until we are
leading the ministry. Kenya and I are doing much in preparation including
continuing education. God has and continues to allow us to pour into others from
the things he is teaching us on this journey of faith. We are excited to share
in this new ministry to help future missionaries be successful. We have
benefited from the World Missions Ministry and God has used Lynn and Brenda as
well as all the other instructors that participate in the World Missions
Seminar to help mold and shape us into missionaries.
Honestly,
we do not know what this will all look like in four or five years; but we know
that until Jesus comes we want to be about the Master’s work.
PO
Box 299, Monticello, AR 71657
James Taylor PO Box 811 Malindi,
Kenya 80200
Phone
011-254-713289014 missionarytaylor@gmail.com
Taylor Tribe
This month it was nice to take a
break from some of the busyness of December and January. The kids worked very hard on getting as much schoolwork
as possible done before spring break.
The trip to the states for the seminar will be their spring break. They are doing very well in school and seem
to be on track for our goal of being self-learners. Ashley does so well with them. She lets them pace themselves giving them
timelines and goals to use as they work.
My goal when I started homeschooling was to have self disciplined, self-learners
by 6th grade. Josiah,
Abigail, and Lydia are good at working independently. Sarah and Samuel still have work to do to get
there, but we have a few years to keep working at it. The kids focused really hard on their Destination
Imagination project. While we are in the
states the kids will have the opportunity to participate as an exhibition team
in the Louisiana DI competition. They
are excited and nervous. James and I
know nothing about the project because no one is allowed to help them. Ashley is their coach and she is only allowed
to give them instructions, rules, and ask provoking questions that might get them
to use their imagination to solve potential problems. We are excited for this first time experience
for them.
Ever since the kids
were small we haven’t really had babysitters for Valentine’s Day while on the
field so I have always made it a family affair.
The kids make Valentines in school, then we have a school party, and
then in the evening we pass out our Valentines and have a fancy dinner. Sometimes we all dress up and go to a nicer
restaurant in town, or I make dinner and dress the table with formal place
settings. We have always enjoyed it, so
this year was no different. We decided
to do a fancy dinner here at the house.
The kids had their school party, we traded Valentines, and had a nice
dinner of lasagna, salad, and garlic bread.
Ashley even made us a Valentines Day Love Music playlist. It was a fun evening.
James and I worked
really hard doing research and studying for our classes for the World Missions
Seminar. I am super excited about the
opportunity to share with other ladies our experience on the field and see how
God can use it to help others. This
ministry has been a huge blessing to us through the years. Nearly everything I know I have learned from
Lynn and Brenda Raburn, and Ernie and Cissy Hopper as they have poured into us
during our 12 years on the field. I’m so
grateful that they have let God use them to share their experiences. We have also learned much just by life
experience. I pray that God will speak
through us as we make ourselves available to be used in this area of
ministry.
Thanks for reading and praying.
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