November Newsletter
Posted on November 9, 2008 - Filed Under Prayer Requests
Pastors’ Perplexed
Posted on September 4, 2008 - Filed Under Prayer Requests
The other shoe dropped yesterday. After a week of baptisms, new work, professions of faith, Bible club and good things, there was bound to be a counter-attack. It came in the form of discouragement and a direct confrontation to one of our pastors. He was at his home in the village when a group came from another denomination and held a prayer service. They asked if there were any pastors in the area they could invite to join them. Someone mentioned our local pastor and they replied, “No, he cannot pray with us. He is not really a pastor.” Well, my reaction is the same as yours….says who? You, who come in from the outside and know nothing about his work, his calling, his commitment, his heart? We were furious to hear this story. But the worst part is that he himself believed it. When relating the story to Charlie, he said, “It is true.” The other leaders with him all agreed! None of us are pastors, they said. We have not been to any school, we do not have any certificate, we do not receive a salary. While they are correct, the same can be said about many pastors in places all over the world, including the US.
There is, however, no point in fighting the facts. These men want and deserve official recognition. Charlie has sought the advice of an experienced missionary colleague who works very closely with Kenyan Baptist pastors all over the country. There is a solution and God will bring it to pass. Meanwhile, we pray these men can patiently and confidently stand firm against this persecution.
September News
Posted on September 1, 2008 - Filed Under Newsletters
AN AMAZING GOD
This past month God has continued to show us evidence of how and where He is working in Samburu. Charlie has been sharing the stories of Nicodemus, Lazarus and several others. Regardless of which story he tells, the response is usually similar. “We have never heard this before…what you are saying is true…please continue to come…I know I am a sinner…my heart feels something when I listen to this story…God is going to change me today.” They say that Charlie is the first person to come and tell them these truths. People are hearing the simple message of the Gospel, told through age old stories and they are being convicted of their sins and repenting. It is nothing we are doing, but it is the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
As we strive to keep things uncomplicated and go the direction He leads, we are being blessed to see His faithfulness in drawing people to Himself. The one thing we perceive as a challenge area is for more approved workers…ones that speak Samburu! We would love to see believers become burdened to do the same thing Charlie does on a daily basis. Gathering people into a group and teaching them the Word of God; using the stories of the Bible for evangelism and discipleship. It is great that they will go with him and translate, but if each one had his or her own group that they taught regularly, how much would the work be multiplied? But Africans do not like to do things “on their own”. Independence and autonomy are not highly valued in this culture and so we wait, pray and watch to see God’s solution to reaching the thousands. Read more
August Newsletter
Posted on August 19, 2008 - Filed Under General News, Newsletters
SMALL BOY IN A BIG WORLD
As we walked down the long, dirt path to the gate, Joseph ran ahead. What freedom, what fun, I thought. When he got a certain distance away, I found I was not only watching him run, but I could see far beyond the gate to the vast expanse of open land. The view opened up to reveal hills, goats, sheep and an unending sky filled with cottony clouds. And then I noticed Read more
charlie
Posted on July 14, 2008 - Filed Under Prayer Requests
After 2 weeks of illness, we came into Nairobi this past Saturday where Charlie was admitted to the hospital. We believe he had malaria, which was treated and he is testing clear for that now. He had begun to have some other problems so we felt it was wise to come in and get checked out. We were planning to be here for a meeting beginning on the 14th. Please pray for clear diagnosis and healing. He is feeling better, but is still fairly weak and tired.
July 2008 Newsletter
Posted on July 3, 2008 - Filed Under Newsletters
SNAKES AND PAILS AND SCARY TALES
If you checked out the blogsite, you may understand the title here. This month while going out to fetch a pail (for laundry), I was confronted with a snake in the driveway. No one was around to rescue me, so I was forced to kill it myself. You can read the entire tale here. Otherwise, we are okay. This is a private joke as our friends here never want to leave us discouraged, even if they have to give us news of their personal troubles. One man we know will always end his story of various trials and family problems with this saying. Actually, Charlie is quite ill as I am writing this and I’m not sure what he has, other than about 102 temperature, aches and nausea. I’m praying it may only be a 24 hour thing, but I’ve no idea. Joseph and I are well and he has begun his Kindergarten studies in earnest. He has persistence for school work that is surprising for his age. His attention span is much longer than I expected. So, it seems the teacher has become the student as he shows me what a 4 year old is capable of doing. Sam is enjoying his summer in Texas, working at Camp Tejas and Travis is planning a vacation somewhere in the area of Tennessee and/or Virginia. Please continue to pray for both of them to grow into Godly, wise, obedient young men.
(see some new pictures here… sorry - no snake pix!)
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Snake Killer
Posted on June 17, 2008 - Filed Under General News
Ick. The things you do when there is no one else around to do them. Today I killed a snake. A black mamba. Yes, they are poisonous.
So, there I was minding my own business, heading out the kitchen door to get the laundry soap and a bucket to soak Joseph’s socks. Right when I walked out the door, there it was, about 15 feet to the left. The dog was just staring at it. Charlie was gone to town, Martin (our caretaker) was with him. Joseph was inside doing his school work. I knew I had to act quickly before it got away. The only good snake is a dead one. I could see it had something sticking out of it’s mouth, like a leg of something and I guess that’s why it was so still. It is a cool day so maybe that’s why it had come up on the concrete drive area. Anyway, I looked around for something nearby to whack it with and grabbed the push broom. I was thinking of my aunt Alice Mae and really hoping for a hoe or panga or something a little sharper than a broom, but whatever. I yelled at Joseph to stay inside the house. Then I walked over and just came down hard on it’s neck. It worked. It puked up the frog and then I just started whacking the heck out of it. The wrath of a mama kills pretty quickly.
Once it was dead, I wanted it gone. I walked to the fence and hollered at Ledemako to come get it and take it away. Yes, I thought about taking a picture. It occurred to me how cool it would be to show the dead snake with the puked up frog nearby. But I was too freaked out to want to have living proof. Ledemako’s first question was “big or small”. Big enough, I guess. Is there such a thing as a small deadly snake? For the record, it was about 3 feet. For the record, I’m still a little freaked out. But it’s a good reminder that we can’t be too careful. And Sandy, I’ll take your cat if your still giving it away.
June Newsletter
Posted on June 5, 2008 - Filed Under Prayer Requests
A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS
Kenyan weather, good music, silly sayings.
Weather: It is Sunday afternoon here. The weather is mildly warm with high clouds, and enough breeze to soften the bright sunshine. This is the best of the best. I am sitting just inside the front door (wide open) and all I hear are the sounds I want. The breeze blowing, the birds chirping and IPOD shuffling those tunes. Just now, Russ Lee comes on and I am reminded of good friends who give so much to encourage so many. Thanks, Russ, and all of you like him who speak words of prayer and do acts of kindness to help others on their way.
Which leads to Good Music: One of my current favorites is Casting Crowns and their CD “The Altar and The Door.” There is a great song called Slow Fade which states so well how we slip into dire straits. “It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray – Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid – When you give yourself away – People never crumble in a day – It’s a slow fade.” We rarely ever embrace evil full face or head on. Usually, it sneaks in through small compromises that we think are meaningless and harmless. In an extreme example I think you could say that most people never intend to be heroin addicts…they only intend to “try” it. In the same way we compromise on our behavior, we slide down the slippery slope with our beliefs. Just ask Eve. “Surely God didn’t say you would die”, tempted the serpent in the garden. And we have been doubting the clarity of God’s word ever since. When we fail to hold firm, we begin to slip. Such is the beginning and the end depends on our further choices and God’s grace.
Finally, Silly Sayings: Things that make you laugh just because. On a DVD with a commercial for some show that I think is called Todd’s World, the main character tells all the wonderful things you can learn to do at Todd’s World. “Foot tracings, eat macaroni and cheese in the bathtub and how to make a squirrel house out of…monkey underpants!” All you have to do is say “monkey underpants” and Joseph giggles uncontrollably to the point he was literally rolling in the floor yesterday. It’s the simple things that make life joyful. Read more
Teaching Children by Charles Spurgeon
Posted on June 5, 2008 - Filed Under General News
TEACHING CHILDREN
by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)
“Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”–Psalm 34:11
It is a noteworthy thing that good men frequently discover their duty when they are placed in most humiliating situations. Never in David’s life was he in a worse dilemma than that situation which suggested this Psalm be written. It is, as you can read at the beginning, “A Psalm of David, when he faked insanity before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.” David was carried before King Achish, the Abimelech of Philistia, and in order to make his escape, he pretended to be insane by acting in very degrading ways which easily gave the impression that he had certainly lost his mind. He was driven away from the palace, and as usual, when such men are in the street, a number of children gather around him. Later, when he sang songs of praise to God, remembering how he had become the laughing- stock of little children, he seemed to say, “I have caused the future generations to think less of me because of my foolishness in the streets in front of the children; now I will endeavor to undo the mischief. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.” Read more
Water Problem in the Forest
Posted on June 5, 2008 - Filed Under General News
Our friend relates how frustrated the elders in the forest are about the elephants continuing to greedily consume all the water in the well during the night before the people can come in the morning and get it. It seems a group of them (elders) went into town to meet with officials from Kenya Wildlife Services. “What are you getting paid for?” they complained. “You are getting a salary and you are not taking care of your cows. This is our well. Come and dig a well of your own for YOUR cows.” They have a point. The water that comes from this well is far away and the distance itself is enough of a hardship. It is needed to not only supply water for the people, but all of their animals as well. Continue to pray for rain.
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