Raburns Arrival and Attacks

We have been back in Malindi a week and are getting back in the groove. We dropped into the hottest and most humid part of the year. We got in on Sunday and had Monday to unpack then Kenya and I went to Mombasa on Tuesday to pick up Brother Lynn and Brenda Raburn. They arrived after midnight so we did not get in until around 2:30am. Lynn and Brenda will be with us until the first week of June. Brother Lynn is going to teach through the book of Hebrews and put it on video so we will have it for future classes.

I was able to get two months of reports, updates, and finances done this week. It is always good to get the updates out and be caught up on the office work. I was also able to call all the pastors to see how they are doing. We are planning a fellowship meeting this week on Friday and Saturday so we can all come together face to face. We will have lots of preaching and fellowship time to see where everyone is and what kinds of things the guys may want to discuss with each other and the missionaries. 

Some bad news was waiting when we got here concerning our Land Rover. It is still not fixed. The shop opened up the engine again and put it back together only to find it leaking water into the oil the next day. They have taken the head off to have it tested...again. The shop that sleeved the engine evidently did a not do it right which is what caused the engine to loose compression before. I have just left it with the shop to sort it all out. Pray for the Land Rover it has been a bad year... I messed up at first and had a new mechanic work on the engine and it has been down hill since.  Our regular shop has let us down also so we are really just defeated. We are not letting it get us down, we're just trying to be patient as the shop deals with the engineers and they try to get it all sorted out. All I know to do at this point is wait and pray.

            Clayton and I also went to test one of the buggies that I mentioned last month. We went out for about an hour and really got a feel for how they handle. By the time we got back to the sellers house, Patrick, we were ready to buy. We had a few more questions then we asked if the buggies had clear log books or Titles and Patrick said he was in the process of getting new log books to replace the old ones that were burnt in a fire. He assured us that it would not be a problem, but it is a problem. Without the logbook we can not prove ownership or get insurance. The original log books were not in his name but the importers name, so he has to deal with the importers as well as the government to get the log books replaced. Patrick is leaving the country in a month to go to Europe for six months so it really is a deal buster to not have the log books cleared. We told him when he got the log books sorted our to let us know. It was a little bit of a disappointment, but we trust the Lord will work it out if he wants us to have one. 

            Clayton and I got the chance to have a meeting with Alphonse one afternoon in town to talk about how things are going in Mangangnai and Mjomboni. Alfonse says that everything is good, I hope to have some more conversation with him, because just before we left there was a little issue with one of the men in the church. It was a good meeting to reconnect.  It also gave Clayton a chance to set up an appointment to go to Mjomboni to see the fields that he started. 

            I was also able to work on 200 Taposa Hymnals to send up to John Wanyoni and Stephen Labolia in Sudan. John and Stephen are missionaries sent out by Kenyan churches to work in South Sudan. I am glad we can help in a small way with their ministry. John worked hard with the people to translate and put together the Hymn book. We sent a hundred up before but the work is growing and so is the need. While sorting, stapling, and folding the books I thought about how the hymns would be used to praise the Lord in areas where to be a Christian is not safe. Please pray for John and Stephen both as they labor. 

            We attended services in Malindi for Easter. The pastor, Nicholas asked us to do the speaking because he was unsure if he would be able to attend because of issues at work. I taught Sunday School for the adults and Brother Lynn preached the morning message. It was a great Easter service. In the afternoon we had an Easter dinner with Clayton, Lynn, and Brenda, then we hid eggs all over the yard for the kids to find. In the evening we all sang worship songs then watched the Passion of the Christ. It was a day of remembrance of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.

            On Thursday last week there was an attack made by the terrorist group Al-Shabab on a University 215 miles north of us in the city of Garissa that left 148 people dead. Please pray for the families that lost loved ones in this most recent attack on Kenyan soil. Muslims were spared while four assailants slaughtered all others. We have been praying about working north of Malindi between here and Garissa and have even considered that Garissa may be a place to live. The small town of Hola is another place we have considered living and is looking better with this most recent assault. We have a survey trip scheduled in May and we need wisdom and discernment in light of the violence.

            Our family is well and we do not feel unsafe here in Malindi. We are listening to the Embassy and watching the local news to stay up on all that is going on around us. Thank you for those who have prayed for us and have enquired about the situation here. We saw that yesterday Kenya supposedly bombed some Al-Shabab camps in Somalia so it is apparent that Kenya is not letting up on their pressure of the Al-Shabab group. 

          My Aunt Carol that we had requested prayer for the past few weeks went to be with the Lord this week. While we were in the states the doctors found that she had several tumors in her brain. They did a biopsy and found that she had stage four brain cancer and within a week she was gone. I am so grateful we had a chance to visit with her while we were in the states even if it was just a short time. Please pray for our family as they have the funeral this week. Especially my Uncle Ronnie and his girls.

      I was going to go home for the funeral and even started to book tickets but the tickets did not go through and I was very uneasy leaving Kenya and the kids here with the attacks up north. After praying about it and talking with my mama and uncle I made the hard decision not to return for the funeral. This was a very hard decision because I wanted desperately to be there with our family. Aunt Carol was a huge influence in my life and for many others. She will be missed but I praise the Lord that she was saved and because of Jesus I have confidence I will see her again. She and Uncle Ronnie supported our work here in Kenya many times with offerings as well as encouragement. I even got to speak in her church a couple times. I loved her and thank God for her testimony of salvation and love she showed in her life. Her life will be celebrated and remembered.