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 31st
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.
