December Newsletter
Posted on December 11, 2008 - Filed Under General News | Leave a Comment
COZMIK! We have had a great November, and we spent the last week of it in Nairobi. Good friends helped us celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary by keeping Joseph for us and letting him spend the night. Charlie and I ate at some nice restaurants in the city and did some Santa shopping. On Friday, we had Thanksgiving dinner and a birthday party for Joseph who has just turned 5 years old. It was a wonderful week of celebration and rest for us all. Now we are back in Maralal and hard at it. While I worked putting up groceries and unpacking, Charlie dug out all the Christmas trimmings. In one day, he put up and trimmed the tree, hung all the outdoor and indoor lights and set up our inflatable winter wonderfriends. Our Samburu guards called them waskari wawili (two guards). In fact, they are a snowman and a penguin we bought last year while we were in the States. Joseph loved them so much (okay, me too) that we knew we had to bring them to Kenya. In spite of the warm December temperatures, they are managing quite well. The dog got excited the first day, but as usual, she got over it rather quickly. All our friends say maridadi sana (very beautiful) and oh, you celebrate early! Someone please explain to them that Christmas comes but once a year and we want to enjoy it as much as we can. Besides, I think it helps Charlie get in the Christmas spirit as he fights the idea of holiday weather being at 80 degrees
MINISTRY NOTES The work continues to progress in the area of south of Maralal, near the towns of Suguta Marmar and Kisima. This week, Charlie met some other men in that he has not previously had contact with. They had just been discussing how they needed to get with him and had come to the conclusion that they wanted to make him a member of their community. As a result, they have invited him to attend an upcoming ceremony and he was able to share with them the story of Zacheus. Because of our desire to spread into many areas, there is a need to find men who will do the same work that Charlie is doing. In essence, the more he is able to duplicate himself, the better. He will hopefully be able to focus on these small groups of men and find those who are willing to work and train with him to start other groups. The eventual goal is to start churches, of course, but it is impossible to qualify men as pastors without a somewhat lengthy time of training and observation. For now, if we can get men who are willing to meet for teaching, share with others and help keep the groups organized, then we have a place to start. We are grateful for the men that God is bringing forward in these places. Immediately after the last group of 18 were baptized in the forest, there were complaints from several who were not able to attend because of the rain. They did not want to delay as the rains have now stopped and the water is going. While all our pastors were meeting with the moderator of the Baptist Convention of Kenya, Charlie and another BCOK leader drove up into the mountains and had a wonderful baptism service. They were also accompanied by one of our veteran missionaries, whose account you can read on the internet. His name is Jack Yates and he is currently serving as liaison between the Kenyan Baptists and our IMB missionaries.
PRAYERS and PRAISE Last weekend, 5 of our pastors were ordained. This was a first in our work among the Samburu. Pray that it will bring a greater sense of responsibility for the work of the ministry. Pray each one will clearly hear Gods voice and be obedient to the call of building His kingdom. Pray for believers in churches to be convicted to use the gifts they have been given in the work of the ministry. This begins our 7th year in Kenya and we continue to see that there are far more Samburu who want to hear the news of God than we alone can possibly reach. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. We feel the most effective workers will be the Samburu believers themselves. Pray for the Samburu church to be obedient to the task of sharing the Gospel. Pray for each pastor to identify members in his church to personally mentor and disciple. Please consider giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering to support our ministry and that of thousands of other Southern Baptist missionaries around the world.
BLESSINGS UNKNOWN As we hosted a fellow missionary and 3 leaders from the Baptist Convention of Kenya this past weekend, we had no idea how things would turn out. They had come at our invitation to ordain 5 of our Samburu men. Although the IMB began work in this district almost 20 years ago, these are the first men to be ordained. Even as they drove up Friday, plans (unknown to them) had also been made for the baptism at Lomoruk. Charlie planned to go it alone as our pastors and the convention leaders would be busy with ordination preparations. However, once the BCOK leaders found out there was a baptism taking place, you couldnt keep them away. They were thrilled to have the privilege of leading new believers in this testimony of faith. While the moderator and one other stayed behind in town to teach the pastors, the others drove 10km (taking over 45 minutes) up into the mountainous countryside. Upon arriving, they then had to walk another 15 minutes or so to find the shallow pool of dirty water available for todays service. By the end of the day, everyone was tired and hungry. Fortunately (for them) Joseph and I had stayed behind and a dinner of hot spaghetti followed by apple crisp satisfied them all. As we talked with these men throughout the weekend we heard the sincerity and fervor in their voices. We listened as they described ways we might partner with them to further the kingdom of God in this part of Kenya. As we continue to explore this opportunity, pray that Gods plans and purposes will be carried out in His way and by those whom He chooses.
To view some additional Samburu pics, click on this facebook link
—sandra
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