Earlier Prayer Letters
October/November 2011
Dear Praying Friends,
Hamjambo kutoka Kenya (Hello from Kenya) to all our Christian friends in the Unites States. Thank you for standing behind our ministry here in Nairobi, Kenya. We have much to share with you concerning God's blessings.
On May 29 Zion Road Independent Baptist Church celebrated our 7th anniversary as a church. About 260 people were in attendance, and our son Nathan was the guest preacher. Nathan, who is a professor at International Baptist College, Chandler, AZ, also taught a one-week modular class on Bible interpretation at Independent Baptist College of Ministry .
For the last several years we have had an increasing number of Sudanese refugees moving into apartments near Zion Road Independent Baptist Church. We rejoice to have begun winning some of them to Christ as Savior. On June 12 we baptized our first Sudanese believer, Isaac Koryom. Also, about 40 Sudanese children now attend our Sunday School each week.
Both Zion Road and Santon Independent Baptist Churches are growing in attendance with about 220 and 85 people respectively coming weekly. Our newest church, Raganga Independent Baptist Church in western Kenya, has about 40 worshippers including the children each Sunday.
On June 6-8 we joined together with our two other I.B.M. missionary families to hold a pastors' conference with Evangelist David Kistler. This meeting was in preparation for a city-wide evangelistic crusade with evangelists David Kistler (USA) and Mike Redick (Singapore) planned for June 2012.
We are very busy but also very happy in our ministry here. Thank you for allowing us to represent you and your churches in the mission field of Kenya, East Africa.
PRAISE for ...
- The baptism of our first Sudanese believer,
- The numerical and spiritual growth of Zion Road and Santon Independent Baptist Churches,
- The visit of our son Nathan to teach at our Bible College.
PLEASE PRAY FOR ...
- The approval of our building permit by Nairobi City Council,
- Vacation Bible School August 16-20 at Santon Independent Baptist Church,
- The beginning of a Sudanese Bible study.
March/April 2011
Hamjambo (Hello) Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We thank everyone who has been praying for us, and we appreciate your interest in and financial support of our ministry. We have much for which to praise God.
Over the last couple years many Sudanese refugees have moved into our neighborhood. Now about 30 Sudanese children and a few adults have begun attending the services of Zion Road Independent Baptist Church. We have seen two Sudanese young men, Peter, and his cousin, also named Peter, accept Christ as Savior.
The neighborhood Bible study which we began last November has about seven adults attending regularly, and all have been out to the church on some Sunday mornings. One lady, Fatuma, is a converted Muslim whom we enjoy discipling each week.
We praise the Lord that in February we had a couple of Sundays when attendance at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church was over 200. We are running out of class room space and are working hard to get Nairobi City Council approval for continuing the construction of our church/college multipurpose building.
Pastor Charles Okari baptized two new believers in February in a river near Raganga Independent Baptist Church. He now has about twenty people faithfully attending Sunday services. We will be traveling there in April to teach a four-day Netcasters (personal evangelism) seminar. Several other pastors in the area are planning to attend.
We enjoyed the visit of the new general director of International Baptist Missions, Dr. Larry Ball , in February. He preached in each of our three churches and twice in our college chapel.
Thank you again for partnering
PRAISE for ...
- The increased attendance at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church,
- Visitors on Sundays from our neighborhood Bible study.
PLEASE PRAY FOR ...
- End of severe drought,
- Political stability as 2012 elections approach,
- Building permit for our church/college multipurpose building.In Kenya for Christ,
Mike and Gail Mestler
November/December 2010
Dear Praying Friends,
Bwana Asifiwe (Praise the Lord) for His blessing upon our ministry in Kenya! Thank you for your prayers and financial support that make it possible for us to serve Christ here in East Africa.
In the middle of November the Lord opened the door to begin a weekly evangelistic Bible study of John's Gospel in our own immediate neighborhood. Six or seven adults have attended the first three weeks, and three women have already visited our Sunday services at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church. The apartment where we hold the study is rented by the local police post, so most of the men and women attending are police officers or their spouses.
On November 27 we graduated our first five students from Independent Baptist College of Ministry. All five men are pastors or assistant pastors of Independent Baptist churches. In January we will be taking the next step in our church leadership training program with the beginning of a seminary in which qualified students will be able to earn a Master of Arts Degree in Theology.
We will be celebrating Christmas this year by beginning a new independent Baptist church in the village of one of our college graduates, Charles Okari, in Western Kenya. Since many people return to their rural homes for the holiday season, this is an ideal time to have our first services. We are planning a three-night evangelistic crusade December 17-19 with our first Sunday services of Raganga Independent Baptist Church on December 19.
May God give all of you a blessed Christmas season
PRAISE for ...
- The beginning of a Bible study in our neighborhood,
- Our first five graduates of Independent Baptist College of Ministry (I.B.C.M.),
- Plans for a new church in Western Kenya to begin on December 19.
PLEASE PRAY FOR ...
- Salvation of unsaved men and women attending our neighborhood Bible study,
- Completion of the multipurpose building of the church and college,
- Attendance of 50 people at the first services of Raganga Independent Baptist Church on December 19.In Kenya for Christ,
Mike and Gail Mestler
"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" 2 Corinthians 8:9
August/September 2010
Brothrers and Sisters in Christ,
Asante (Thanks) for praying for us during July and August. We praise the Lord for how He is answering prayer and causing our churches to grow. Acts 2:47
We held back-to-back weeks of Kids' Bible Camp (V.B.S.) August 9-20 at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church and Santon Independent Baptist Church. We taught on the theme victory by faith from the book of Joshua. The Lord allowed us to counsel about 110 children for salvation in the two churches.
We have seen a couple of adults accept Christ on door-to-door visitation, and on August 22 four adults were baptized. Please pray for the spiritual growth of Nelson, Catherine, Michael and Jane. Also a Sudanese teenager named Peter was saved in July, and we have been excited to see his spiritual growth as we taught him in a weekly discipleship Bible study before he returned to boarding school.
On September 5 we began a new children's Sunday School program at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church. We are excited about the prospect of both spiritual and numerical growth. We now average about 100 children each Sunday along with 80 adults and teens.
The first week of September Independent Baptist College of Ministry resumes classes for term three. Mike will be teaching Church History. We are working out the details of our building permit so we can complete the construction of the college classroom building in the next few months.
We praise the Lord that the constitution referendum on August 4 was completely peaceful. Now the country begins a long process of transition under a new constitution.
Thank you for your faithful prayer and financial support.
PRAISE God for ...
- One hundred ten children counseled to receive Christ at our two Vacation Bible Schools.
- Twenty Sudanese children and a few adults beginning to attend Sunday services at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church.
PLEASE PRAY FOR ...
- Spiritual growth of several new believers.
- Building permit for Zion Road Independent Baptist educational and college building.
- Opening of term three classes at Independent Baptist College of Ministry in September.
In Kenya for Christ,
Mike and Gail Mestler
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiancy is of God" 2 Corinthians 3:5
May/June 2010
Dear Christian Friends,
Thanks for praying for us during these very busy months since our return from furlough. We are rejoicing in all the Lord is doing here in Kenya. Ephesians 3:20,21
In December it began to rain, and the rains continued until June. The drought is over! Electricity and water rationing have ended, and food prices are beginning to drop. Everyone is very thankful for God's intervention in answer to much prayer.
Over the last two months we have seen our Zion Road Independent Baptist Church Sunday school grow to around 100 children and youth. We are especially pleased to see about 20 Sudanese refugee children attending faithfully.
In March we were able to buy an additional plot for the Santon Independent Baptist Church. We also received a special gift to build church pews for the congregation. We once again thank those who contributed to these special projects.
The first week of May Independent Baptist College of Ministry resumed classes for term two. We have grown to 35 students. Mike is teaching Methods of Effective Bible Study and continues to be Dean of Student Affairs. Gail is taking a couple classes including Greek. The college keeps us busy, but it is one of the most important aspects of our ministry.
Kenya is scheduled to have a referendum on August 4 to vote for or against a new constitution. There has been some violence at a rally recently, so we ask prayer for a peaceful run up to the referendum.
Thank you for your valuable part in our ministry.
PRAISE God for ...
- One hundred children attending Sunday school at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church.
- Purchase of additional plot for Santon Independent Baptist Church.
PLEASE PRAY FOR ...
- Salvation of Sudanese Sunday school children.
- Building permit for Zion Road Independent Baptist educational and college building.
- Our two V.B.S. programs August 9-20.
- Peaceful run up to the August 4 referendum on a new constitution.
In Kenya for Christ,
Mike and Gail Mestler
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiancy is of God" 2 Corinthians 3:5
January/February 2010
Stateside for a Short While
As we write this prayer letter it is snowing outside. No, we are not in Kenya but in Ohio! We are beginning our third month of a short furlough in the Midwest. We plan to return to Kenya on March 18.
We enjoyed our first Thanksgiving Day and Christmas with family in three years. We are especially happy to be in grandparent mode. God has blessed us with two new grandkids in 2009, Kara Joy and Grant William, which brings us to four. Our children and their spouses are serving the Lord in our home church in Arizona.
God's Goodness in Kenya
We left our churches in Kenya in November in a growth spurt. An average Sunday at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church now has 150 worshippers. Santon Independent Baptist Church, where our co-workers, the Canfields, assist our two African pastores, now averages over 100 people. We have been receiving reports that the growth has continued into 2010 with several people at both churches accepting Christ in January.
Early this year we must try to buy two additional plots for the Santon church before the church becomes boxed in with new houses next door.
The first phase of our multipurpose building was completed just in time for Independent Baptist College of Ministry to use the classrooms in January. Zion Road Independent Baptist Church is also thankful to have some additional Sunday School classrooms, which were badly needed.
In January, Mike and Pastor Robert Shaw of Grace Baptist Church, Kettering, Ohio, were able to lead to Christ a Rwandses man named Innocence. We have begun a weekly discipleship study with him. We say asante sana (thanks much) for praying and giving so we can be planting churches and training pastors in Kenya.
PRAISE
- God blessed us with an abundant rainy season.
- The first phase of our church and college multipurpose building is complete.
- The year began with several people accepting Christ through Netcasters Outreach.
PRAYER
- Safety in travel and fruitful furlough meetings.
- Spiritual growth of a new Christian, Innocence N.
- Purchase of two additional plots for Santon Independent Baptist Church.
Mike and Gail Mestler
John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
October/November 2009
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Ephesians 3:20,21
Our ministry partners,
We thank you for praying and allowing us to see God do things beyond our expectations. We want to share with you some highlights from the last two months.
OUR CHURCHES
Most Sundays Zion Road Independent Baptist Church is quite full. Each Sunday afternoon is dedicated to a door-to-door evangelistic outreach called "Netcasting," and we have seen several adults accept Christ as Savior. At an average morning service we have four to six first-time visitors, and some have made us their church home. In March we ordained our first deacon, Brother George Wambugu. Also we now have a church treasurer, Brother Zakayo Mwenga. We praise the Lord for these important steps toward the church becoming fully indigenous.
Santon Independent Baptist Church has been growing more slowly. We have about fifteen adults and thirty-five children on an average Sunday. Our two African pastors, Lawrence Isoka and Charles Okari, have been faithfully visiting the homes in the area and have won several people to Christ. Adults visit the church, but then, because of the great poverty in this community, they quickly move on looking for work elsewhere.
OUR COLLEGE
We finished our first term at Independent Baptist College of Ministry with twenty-eight students at the end of March. We open classes again on May 5th with thirty students from about a dozen independent Baptist churches. The college has been moved to the Zion Road Independent Baptist Church as construction continues on the multipurpose building which will be used for both college and church classrooms. We await the Nairobi City Council giving final approval of our building plans so we can finish the classrooms and library by the third term beginning in September.
OUR CO-WORKERS
Tom and Denise Canfield and their children have their tickets purchased, and we look forward to their arrival in Kenya on June 23rd. Our ministries have greatly expanded, and the Canfields will be a much-needed help to us.
OUR COUNTRY
For several months Kenya has been in the midst of a severe drought, and estimates are that as many as ten million Kenyans are at risk of starvation. We have already given food aid to some of the rural churches we fellowship with, and we will be taking more this summer. Some rain finally came the end of April, but it is now quite late for some of the crops to be planted. Also, the coalition government formed last year after the disputed Presidential election has begun to unravel as the President and Prime Minister compete for power. Some Kenyans are calling for new elections, which we fear would be violent in the present environment.
MEET ONE OF OUR FAMILIES
Zakayo and Mama Vivian Mwenga have been one of our most faithful families for the past four years. Zakayo is a Kenyan government seismologist. He is now also our church treasurer. Mama Vivian is a school teacher who leads an Awana Club and is also the chairlady of our women's fellowship. Their teen-agers, Denise, Martin and Vivian are believers and attend the Zion Road Independent Baptist Church when they are home from boarding school.
PRAYER CORNER
Would you please pray for the following needs:
* For an abundant rainy season that will end the drought and for unity in the Kenyan government
* For the addition of four families at Santon Independent Baptist Church who find employment and remain in the community and church
* For approval of our multipurpose building plans by the Nairobi City Council by the end of May
*For the safe arrival and quick adjustment of the Canfield family to life and ministry in Kenya
In Kenya for Christ,
Mike and Gail Mestler
John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
January/February 2009
Hamjambo wote kutoka Kenya! Hello to all of you from Kenya! We began 2008 with the country ripped apart by post-election violence. How thankful we all are to celebrate this new year with peace in Kenya because God answered the prayers of His people.
A GREAT STEP FORWARD
Six years ago we began a Bible Institute at Christ's Independent Baptist Church with classes one night a week. Fundamental Baptist Bible Insitute took the next step in 2006 with the beginning of a day program offering our students a three-year Bible diploma. Last November the Lord opened a great door for us. The Baptist College of Ministry of Falls Baptist Church, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, joined hands with us making our school here in Kenya a branch of their college. We are working jointly with some fellow independent Baptist missionaries to begin Independent Baptist College of Ministry, IBCM, this January. Our students will now be able to earn a formal Bachelor of Arts degree. Far more importantly, however, they will be trained for local chuirch ministry in a fundamental Baptist college, balancing high academics with evangelistic fervor and practical skills. A faculty mentor has been assigned to each student. Mike will be mentoring five men, four of them pastors. Please pray that his own life and ministry is a biblical model for them. Enrollment has jumped to thirty students for the first term, for which we praise the Lord.
SPIRITUAL TEMPERATURE OF OUR CHURCHES
Just as children from the same family can have different personalities and problems, so churches in the same locale can vary greatly. Zion Road Independent Baptist Church, "big sister," is doing great. Attendance averages around 120-130 on most Sunday mornings, giving is good, and in October we unanimously voted to put a sound church constitution in place. Often when we leave the church we comment on how enjoyable the ministry there has been.
Santon Independent Baptist Church, "little sister," is struggling a little. Attendance has leveled out at 40-50 on Sundays with about 15 adults. The community is poor, and people often move in and out because they cannot find work. Many of the people have a "donor" mentality, i.e., If I come to your church what can I expect the missionary to give me? Pastors Lawrence Isoka and Charles Okari are being very faithful, and we all are prepared to build up this work little by little as we win people to Christ and disciple them. We praise the Lord that a man named Matthew was saved there on Christmas Day and has been attending Sunday services.
MEET OUR MEMBERS
We are going to begin to introduce to you in each prayer letter some of our church members so you can pray for them. First are George and Jennifer Wambugu and children Clare, Wais and Sheba. The Wambugus built a house a "stone's throw" away from the church property of Zion Road Independent Baptist Church. When they moved in two years ago they immediately began attending our services and have become some of our most faithful members. They were already believers when they came to us and have grown much in the Lord in the last two years. George and Jennifer own their own business making snack foods. George is on our building committee and has a great deal of good sense and gives Mike good advice. We hold a home Bible study fellowship in their house twice a month. Clare, 11 years old, is one of our star Awana clubbers. Please pray for Jennifer to find a ministry in the church and that the younger children, Wais and Sheba, will begin to understand and accept the gospel.
PRAYER CORNER
Would you please intercede to God for us concerning these needs.
*Wisdom and spiritual and physical strength for Mike to teach and lead the Bible College as Dean of Student affairs
*Spiritual discernment for Gail as she helps mentor some of the female students at IBCM
*Obtaining the final approved building plans from Nairobi City Council to continue constructing our multipurpose building to be used by Zion Road Independent Baptist Church and IBCM
*The salvation of a neighbor, Mzee Major
Thanks for your indispensable part in our ministry.
In Kenya for Christ,
Mike and Gail Mestler
John 3:30
September 2008
Dear Christian Friends,
Hamjambo (Hello) to everyone from Kenya. Thanks so much for praying for us over the summer months.
SUMMER OUTREACH
We have just finished one of our busiest but also most fruitful summers in Kenya. In August we held back-to-back weeks of Vacation Bible School at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church and Santon Independent Baptist Church. Over fifty children from the two churches were counseled for salvation. We are now trying to encourage these children to attend our Awana and Sunday school programs. We praise the Lord for sending Miss Rose Fisher of Bethel Baptist Church in Sellersville, PA, to be our summer intern for seven weeks. She was our "right hand" during these demanding weeks.
CHURCH ORGANIZED
On August 3 Santon Independent Baptist Church received her first twelve official members at a Charter Membership Sunday. Attendance on Sundays is now around fifty, and several adults and youth have professed faith in Christ over the summer. They anticipate celebrating the Lord's Table together for the first time on September 28. Please pray for Pastors Lawrence Isoka and Charles Okarias they lead this young church.
NEW CHURCH PLANNED
For several years, Charles Okari, one of our Bible Institute graduates, has had a great desire to begin an independent Baptist church in his home village near Kisii in western Kenya. In late August we made a survey trip to see the "lay of the land." The Lord directed us to a closed private school building that the landlord is willing to rent to us with an option to buy. We returned excited with the possibility of assisting Charles plant this new church in January 2009.
A CHURCH MATURES
We are encouraged watching the maturing of Zion Road Independent Baptist Church. On an average Sunday over 120 people are now attending. Over the summer we had to build ten more church pews. The church's giving has been exceptionally good for a church only four years old, and they are making good progress to be self-supporting in about three years. In September we will be discussing with them a proposed church constitution to be voted on in October. We praise the Lord for all these evident steps of growth.
BUILDING THE BIBLE INSTITUTE
One of our most important ministries in Kenya is Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute where we are training Kenyan pastors and church planters. This term Mike is teaching Hermeneutics (Bible Interpretation) and Homiletics (Preaching). Also this fall our Institute is conducting an eight-week teacher training course at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church with seventeen students attending.
We have laid the foundation for our college building which will have two classrooms and a library with an administrative office. Also, our students will have access to computers for the first time. We appreciate any help raising the $10,000 we need to complete this project. Our desire is to be in the new building by our January term next year.
PRAYER CORNER
Please pray for these needs ...
* Salvation of two unsaved husbands, Anthony and Nicholas
* Completion of the college building by January
* Success in renting a building in Kisii for a new church plant in January
Asante sana (Thanks much) for praying for us faithfully.
Brethren and Friends,
Asante sana (Thanks much) for your consistent prayer and financial support of our ministry in Kenya. We rejoice in all the Lord is doing in both our churches and Bible College.
At the beginning of August we held our yearly Vacation Bible School at Santon Independent Baptist Church. This year, for the first time, Pastor Lawrence Isoka and members of his church were able to teach all the main stories themselves. About 250 children attended, and after being personally counseled, 35 boys and girls accepted Christ as Savior.
For the past two years we have been attempting to get Nairobi City Council approval of the building plans for our educational building at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church. At the end of August the Lord enabled us to set up a land rates account which has cleared the way for further progress. Our goal is to begin building early in 2012.
In September Mike's 90-year-old mother underwent surgery which resulted in our making an emergency "mini-furlough" back to the States. We are grateful that Mom is stable at this point. We have been able to visit a few of our supporting churches and appreciate the great interest in our work in Kenya shown by everyone we have visited. We plan to return to Kenya on November 17, 2011.
Immediately upon returning to Nairobi Mike will be teaching a one-week block class at the Bible College on the ministry of prayer. On December 2 we have our second graduation at Independent Baptist College of Ministry with four students receiving their bachelor degrees in Bible and theology.
December will be busy with two weeks of back-to-back VBS programs at Zion Road and Raganga Independent Baptist Churches. This will be our first VBS in the rural church we planted last December.
We are busy but also very happy in the ministries God has blessed us with in Kenya. Thanks for helping us to represent Christ and His people there.
PRAISE for ...
- The salvation of two Sudanese ladies,
- 250 children attending VBS at Santon Independent Baptist Church,
- Progress toward approval of our educational building plans.
PLEASE PRAY FOR ...
- The approval of our building permit by Nairobi City Council,
- Second graduation ceremony of the Bible College,
- The recovery of Mike's mother, Mary Jean Mestler, from surgery.In Kenya for Christ,
Mike and Gail Mestler
(John 3:30)