January-February 2008
We thank all of you who recently have written us e-mail messages expressing your concern about the political crisis and unrest in Kenya. We appreciate your prayers on our behalf and on behalf of our church members. Let us first give you an update as of January 18th.
KENYAN CRISIS SITUATION
On December 27th Kenya held a presidential election in which President Kibaki was announced as the winner over his main opposition candidate. The election was disputed due to serious voting irregularities, and immediately violent unrest was triggered throughout the country, pitting the tribe of the President, a Kikuyu, against the Luo tribe of the opposition candidate, Raila Odinga. The results have been devastating for the nation; over six hundred people have died, 250,000 have been displaced from their homes, and tourist hotels and sights have been almost emptied, resulting in the loss of some 20,000 jobs.
How have we been affected personally and in our ministry? Throughout this time of unrest the area of Nairobi where we live has been quiet, and church services at Zion Road Independent Baptist have continued as normal, except that several of our members, including Pastor Henry Juma and his family, were stranded up-country in their rural homes where they had traveled for Christmas. The Jumas finally arrived back in Nairobi over two weeks later than planned. One of our members, Essau O., who lived some distance from the church, had his house burned, and he lost everything but the clothes on his back. We praise the Lord that he escaped physically unharmed.
Our first church plant, Christ's Independent Baptist Church, was most affected. In their area shops have been looted and gangs of youth have attacked members of the "wrong" tribe. Pastor Ben Igala and his family lived in our home for about a week and then moved to a safer location. We had to evacuate another church family that was in an especially dangerous spot. Kelvine O. spent two nights awake on the roof of his apartment guarding against gang attacks against his tribe. One of our families from Zion Road Baptist Independent Church housed his family for a week until they found a new home.
We have had no reports of incidents at our newest church, Santon Independent Baptist Church, but attendance is low because of people leaving the city until things cool down.
FRUIT IN THE MIDST OF IT ALL
Gail began a Bible study for our neighborhood children during the Christmas break and had the privilege of leading four of them to Christ. We are now encouraging them to attend our Sunday Awana program. Our Bible Institute classes have resumed, and we have a couple of new, part-time students.
PRAYER NEEDS
Please pray for
* A just political solution to the disputed presidential election and a quick return to calm in the country.
* A loving and encouraging ministry to all of our people who are hurting and worried about the future. Pray specifically for Anthony who just lost his hotel job.
* Healing for Mike who has suffered recently from two bouts of typhoid fever and has a continuing back ailment.
Yours for Christ in Kenya,
Mike and Gail Mestler
John 3:30
August-October 2007
We greet you in Christ from Kenya. God has greatly blessed our ministry here in Nairobi, and we have much to share with you.
KIDS' BIBLE CAMP
We held two weeks of back-to-back Kids' Bible Camp (Vacation Bible School) at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church and Santon Independent Baptist Church August 13-24. The Lord sent us an able helper in Miss Melanie Beard of First Baptist Church of Glen Estes, Ohio, who taught our main daily Bible story. Ninety children attended the first week and one hundred fifty the second. We praise the Lord for over forty children who were personally counseled and who professed faith in Christ as Savior.
AWANA BEGINS WITH A BANG!
When the children returned to school in September we began our Awana program. Between fifty and sixty children are attending faithfully each Sunday at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church. We are particularly pleased to see some of the new children who were reached during Kids' Bible Camp among them.
BASKETBALL OUTREACH COMING!
Our next major outreach will be to youth. In mid-November a team of five Americans, led by youth pastor Jason Kokenzie from Grace Baptist Church, Framington, NM, is coming to Nairobi. These folks will be conducting basketball clinics and youth meetings in the three housing areas where our churches have been planted. We are constructing portable posts and hoops, so we can carry the clinics right into the heart of these communities. The week will climax with a basketball tournament and youth rally on Friday, November 23rd. Please pray that we will win many young people for Christ and then channel them into our churches' youth ministries for discipleship.
NEW REGIONAL BIBLE INSTITUTE BEGINNING
In July we met with a fellowship of Independent Baptist pastors in western Kenya. The fruit of that meeting was the establishment of a Bible Institute to be begun this December. Three times a year we will be conducting block classes for three days to train the leadership of these churches in basic Bible doctrines.
PRAYER CORNER
Please pray for
* Growth of Santon Independent Baptist Church and wisdom for Pastor Lawrence and Pastor Okari as they are leading this new church.
*Effective evangelistic outreach of youth through our basketball clinics November 17-23.
*Peaceful Presidential elections in December.
Thanks to all our partners in this ministry.
In Kenya for Christ,
Mike and Gail Mestler
June-July 2007
Hamjambo (Hello) to all our Christian friends in America. We first of all want express our thanks to all who are faithful in prayer and financial support, and we praise the Lord that through them He makes it possible for us to plant churches and train Christian leaders here in Kenya.
A NEW CHURCH IS BORN
It's a church! Santon Independent Baptist Church arrived in the world on June 17, 2007. It turned out to be a bigger "baby" than we expected with sixty-eight people attending the first Sunday morning worship service. Now we are busy with post-natal care, following up on visitors and reaching out to the community of Santon house by house. Already Pastor Lawrence Isoka and Pastor Charles Okari have won three people to Christ. These pastors are leading the church from the start with Mike as their mentor and supervisor.
ZION ROAD INDEPENDENT BAPTIST CHURCH GROWS
Our "middle child" continues to grow slowly. Attendance at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church now averages in the eighties or nineties on Sunday mornings. A couple of new families have joined since we returned to Kenya in January, and Kenyans are now teaching most of our Sunday school classes. We will be holding our third Kid's Bible Camp (i.e. Vacation Bible School) August 13-17. Also we are beginning an Awana program in September. (Yes, there is Awana in Kenya.) The parents and children are excited about all of this.
We are electing a building committee in July to begin plans for a building which will be used for our Bible Institute during the week and for church classes on Sundays.
OUR BIBLE INSITUTE EXPANDS
We have now finished three years of classes at Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute. The Lord has given us fifteen day students and three local-church satellite schools with an additional twenty students in them. Three times a year we hold regional classes for a group of eight churches in eastern Kenya, and we have been asked to do the same for a fellowship of Independent Baptist churches out near Lake Victoria. We praise the Lord for the opportunity to train a new generation of pastors for our African churches.
PRAYER CORNER
Please intercede to the Lord for us concerning
* Growth and development of our new church, Santon Independent Baptist Church.
* Additional funds to meet all the needs of our monthly radio broadcast in the Luo tribal language.
* Wisdom to plan properly for our Bible Institute and Sunday school building.
In Kenya for Christ,
Mike and Gail Mestler
2 Corinthians 3:5
January-March 2007
GREETINGS FROM KENYA
We arrived home to Kenya just one month ago and are getting settled in well and are back to a busy schedule with our church and institute ministries.
God blessed with a wonderful furlough. We were able to see many of our family and enjoyed a great Christmas together with our children and their spouses and our lovely granddaughter Macy. We love being grandparents! We were able to visit with many of our friends and renew some old friendships. We also immensely enjoyed visiting many of you in our churches. What a blessing it was to see how God is blessing you and how you are remaining so faithful to His Word. We were greatly encouraged!
Things went very well here while we were gone. Pastor Ben and Pastor Henry did a wonderful job keeping the churches in Lucky Summer and Clay Works going well. The Bible study at Santon under Pastor Lawrence’s leadership is chaffing at the bit to get their Sunday meetings going. Jossiah Wambua also did a great job keeping the “home fires burning.” Things were in great shape, and we are thankful to the Lord for His faithful work during our absence.
BIBLE INSTITUTE
TheBible Institute is doing well. There is a lot of enthusiasm, and students are busy studying, writing papers, etc. We have around fifteen day students, all very eager and working hard. We have, at present, three day courses and two night courses being taught by Mike, Jossiah and two of our missionary co-workers. We also have several courses being taught in our independent Baptist churches on a weekly basis in conjunction with our Bible Institute.
COMING EVENTS
In March and April we will be having graduate classes for our graduate students and pastors. Pray for Mike as he will be teaching the book of Revelation six hours a day for a full week.
Also coming up in April will be the beginning stages of construction work in Santon as we put up a galvanized sheet metal building. Praise the Lord that He has wonderfully provided the funds for this!
Also in April we will conduct a week-long, outdoor crusade in Santon to kick off the start of Sunday meetings there. Other of our independent Baptist churches will help by each taking a night to preach the gospel in Santon.
PRAYER NEEDS
We ask your prayer for the following needs:
1. Christ's Independent Baptist Church as they struggle with some
serious issues in their newly acquired independence. Pray for
wisdom and strength for Pastor Ben.
2. For the start of the new church in Santon, that God would give faithful members.
3. For continued interest in the institute and graduate school and for the faculty as they have a heavy load of teaching.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support month after month. God bless you all in your part of God's harvest field.
In His love,
Mike and Gail Mestler
November - December 2006
Hamjambo (Hello) to all our brethren in the Lord! We thank you for your vital part in our ministry in Kenya.
OUR JOY IN CHRIST
In Philippians 4:1 the Apostle Paul called the believers in Philippi his joy. Likewise the people we lead to Christ in Kenya are our joy. We want to share with you the testimony of two recent conversions.
More than two years ago Mama Vivian began attending the services of Zion Road Independent Baptist Church with her children. Her husband, Baba (father) Vivian, came only occasionally and gave a very vague testimony of salvation. Over the months he began to attend regularly with his family, This July Mike spoke to him again personally about his need of Christ, and he received the Lord and has been baptized. He now openly prays and participates in the weekly Bible study in his home.
Jerry is a single young man who received a degree in criminal justice from the University of Iowa. He returned to Kenya last December and became our neighbor. He accepted an invitation to attend Zion Road Independent Baptist Church and then never missed a Sunday morning service. On the night before we left for our furlough the end of August he trusted Christ as Savior. We gave him some Bible study material for new Christians and he promised to join our baptism and new members' class.
We praise the Lord for Baba Vivian, Jerry and others who have been saved in recent months as well as for the baptism of twelve youth and adults in July.
PLANTING A NEW CHURCH
The plans for planting our third church, Santon Independent Baptist Church, continue to move ahead. Our Kenya home missionary, Pastor Lawrence Isoka, now has a Bible study fellowship of about fifteen adults meeting twice a week in his home. These believers are excited about our purchase of two plots of land in the middle of Santon housing estate. We intend to put up a temporary church building here early in 2007 so we can begin Sunday services. We are about half way to reaching our goal of raising $8,000 for this project and are confident the Lord will allow us to begin building in January.
ON THE FAMILY FRONT
As we write this letter we are two months through a short
four-month furlough in the USA. We have met our first grandchild,
Macy Jean Mestler, for the first tiime! Yes, we are proud to be Babu
(grandfather) and Nyanya (grandmother), and we highly
recommend "grandparenting" to anyone. We look forward
to celebrating Christmas together as a family for the first time
in six years.
POINTERS TO PRAYER
***Security has deteriorated in recent months around our church and house. Some of our church families have been attacked and robbed with violence. Please pray for God's protection and peace for us all.
***We desire to see the spiritual growth of Baba Vivian,
Jerry, and other new believers. We ask that you also
continue to pray for the salvation of the husbands of two of our
ladies, David and Kimani.
*** Please pray for success in building a temproary building for Santon Independent Baptist Church and beginning Sunday servivces by April of 2007.
Once again we say Asante sana (Thanks much) for your faithful support of our work for Christ in Nairobi.
May - June 2006
KENYAN PASTOR ORDAINED
One of the greatest joys of any missionary is to see a
man under his ministry called to be a pastor. That was our joy
when on May 28 Pastor Ben Ingala was formally ordained by the
Christ’s Independent Baptist Church. We praised the Lord as
we listened to Pastor Ben handle the Word of God so effectively
as he answered the many doctrinal and practical questions during
his examination. Our mission’s general director, Dr. David
Sproul, was able to sit on the ordination council and preach the
ordination message. Christ’s Independent Baptist Church has
now been officially handed over from International Baptist
Missions to the Kenyan church members, deacons and pastor. We
rejoice in the Lord for this milestone in our work in Kenya.
GROWING AT ZION ROAD
At a business meeting in March the Zion Road Independent Baptist Church adopted a five-year plan to become independent from missionary support. On June 25 we baptized eight older girls and three ladies This was our largest baptismal service to date. As July begins we are focused on a sacrificial-giving Sunday called in Swahili an Harambee so we can replace our broken clay tile floor with a permanent concrete one.
HOPES OF A NEW CHURCH
Our newest church planting effort is in a new growth area called Santon. Pastor Lawrence Isoka, one of our Bible Institute graduates, is leading a Bible study twice weekly there in his home. A consistent group of about twelve adults are attending, and we are praying they will become the nucleus of a new church. We are already looking for land in the area so we can begin Sunday services sometime early in 2007.
BIBLE INSTITUTE MOVES ON
Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute now has about 15 day students. We appreciated Dr. Norman Fisher of International Baptist College in Tempe, AZ, giving us two weeks of his summer leave to teach a course on dispensationalism . His wife Lois held three women’s seminars which greatly challenged and encouraged the ladies of our churches. Our first graduation is scheduled for August 5 with four students receiving a diploma in Bible.
PRAYER CORNER
***We praise the Lord that the
money we borrowed from our furlough account and personal savings
to make our final land payment for Zion Road Independent Baptist
Church was replaced by some special gifts. We thank those of you
who gave for this particular need.
***When renewing our two-year work permit in June we were
surprised to discover that we had been reclassified by the Kenyan
Immigration Ministry from Class E (Missionary) to Class A
(Employee of Kenya Organization). This permit is much more
expensive, so we have appelled for a change back to Class E.
Please pray for the Lord to work in the hearts of the committee
that must make that decision.
January-March 2006
Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although it is early in 2006 we have much to share with you about all the Lord is doing here in Kenya.
Independence Day
On Sunday,
March 26, the long-anticipated day arrived for Christ's
Independent Baptist Church to vote for their own African pastor.
Our assistant pastor, Ben Ingala, was elected unanimously. We
praise the Lord for the unity the Holy Spirit gave us in this
meeting. The church now has taken the final step of independence
from missionary status. On May 28 our general director, Dr. David
Sproul, plans to be with us to participate in Pastor Ingala's
ordination and in an official ceremony celebrating the church's
success in becoming independent. The church has a godly pastor,
four faithful deacons, a congregation of over 200 and land and
buildings for future growth. Please pray that they will now tithe
and give consistently to support the ministry. It is common for churches to
become independent and then to struggle financially for a few
months until the reality of their responsibility takes hold. We
have confidence in the Lord that the believers at Christ's
Independent Baptist Church will rise to God's call and succeed.
Zion Road Marches On
Zion Road Independent Baptist Church continues to make progress. On February 26 we held a Friend's Day evangelistic outreach. Our members responded well and brought over 40 first-time adult visitors. The Lord gave us a record attendance of 200 that day. Now we are making visits in the homes of those visitors to share the gospel and to encourage them to return to our services. At this time our attendance on Sunday mornings is consistently between 100 and 120. In May we anticipate voting on our church constitution and electing Pastor Henry Juma as our assistant pastor.
Seed of a New Church
In April we plan to move one of our Bible College
graduates, Pastor Lawrence Isoka, into a new growth housing area
called Santon. He plans to begin a home Bible study fellowship
that will become, the Lord willing, the nucleus of a new church.
Our two churches will be assisting him in evangelistic
visitation. Our plan is to buy land and put up a temporary
building early in 2007 so we can begin having Sunday school and
worship services. We ask your prayers that we can soon find a
suitable place for him to live.
Bible Institute Update
In March we completed the first term of day classes at Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute with twelve students. Also five local churches are now conducting classes as satellites of the day school bringing the total number of students studying to about fifty. We are on break in April but resume classes early in May.
Prayer Corner
Please pray for ...
1) Christ's Independent Baptist Church to be faithful in service and giving as an independent church.
2) We praise the Lord for $6000 given for our April 1st final Zion Road land payment of $10,000. To maintain our testimony we paid the $4000 diffenence from money saved for our furlough airline tickets and personal savings. We will trust the Lord to replace it.
We are thankful for the faithful prayers and financial support that make it possible for us to represent the Lord Jesus Christ here in Nairobi, Kenya.
In Christ's service,
Mike and Gail Mestler
October - December 2005
As we write our last prayer letter for 2005 we are amazed at how quickly the months have gone by. It reminds us of Moses' words, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto widsom." (Psalm 90:12)
Growing Churches
God has blessed us with two months of good growth at both of our churches. Christ's Independent Baptist is averaging about 225 in Sunday morning attendance, while our newest church, Zion Road Independent Baptist, has around 120 people every Lord's Day. Several people have been saved and baptized recently at both churches.
A highlight of our recent ministry was a youth rally hosted by Zion Road Independent Baptist Church on November 12. Six churches were represented, and a local private high school where we sponsor a Bible club also sent about 40 students. In all over 100 teens and young adults participated in this all-day fellowship.
Please pray for our Vacation Bible
School coming up at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church from
December 5 to 9. Last year over 100 children attended.
Outreach by Radio
We began a biweekly radio broadcast about two years ago in the Luo tribal language. In September we offered a free Luo Bible study course and a Bible upon completion. We have been amazed by the response. Over 25 people have come to Christ's Independent Baptist Chuirch, finished the course, and earned their Luo Bibles. Four adults have begun to attend services faithfully and have joined our baptismal class. We would appreciate prayer for our radio preacher, Kelvine Ongindo, who is leading this ministry.
Note of Praise
Last spring we asked you to pray for Stephen O. who was
diagnosed as HIV positive. His health has greatly improved and
now two tests have shown him to be HIV negative. He believes he
may have been tested falsely originally and is praising God for
this blessing.
Bible Institute Day Classes Begin
In January our evening Bible Institute is scheduled to begin a full load of day time classes. Mike is being assisted by Pastor Josiah Wambua who completed his bachelor's degree at International Baptist College, Tempe, AZ, last July. We anticipate having about twelve students from four churches participate in this three-year pastoral training program.
Special Need
We have a special request to bring to you. On April 1, 2006, the last payment of $10,000 for the land of Zion Road Independent Baptist Church is due. We would appreciate any assistance toward meeting this need since we have been unable to save enough from our regular support to pay it off.
We are thankful for the faithful prayers and financial support that make it possible for us to represent the Lord Jesus Christ here in Nairobi, Kenya.
July - September 2005
Winter Harvest
Because we are south of the equator we have just finished our winter season here in Nairobi. Since June it has been cool every morning, sometimes even in the low sixties. We are thankful the Lord has given us a winter harvest of people won to Christ.
From our Netcasters evangelistic outreach several people have accepted Christ in recent months. We have teams of two going door to door every Sunday afternoon. In July we baptized five adults at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church.
In August we had our third annual
Kid's Bible Camp (VBS) at Christ's Independent Baptist Church
with over 200 children attending daily. This was the first year
we held the camp without help from American visitors. The Lord
enabled our church members to rise to the challenge, and we were
very happy with their effort. God worked beyond our expectations,
and 105 children remained after camp during the week to be
counseled in small groups to receive Christ as Savior. We were
especially pleased when 183 children attended Sunday school the
week following the camp. Also, four new parents came to the
closing program during our morning worship service.
Zion Road's Happy Anniversary
On August 4th we celebrated our first-year anniversary at Zion Road Baptist Church. Our church members went all out inviting friends, neighbors and relatives for the occasion. We were surprised to discover on the Saturday before the event that our wood and metal-sheeted, temporary church building was all decorated with banners, balloons and streamers. It was beautiful enough to host a wedding! Our people were not disappointed when our normal attendance of about 90 swelled to 160 on the big day. We rejoiced to have a few of our visitors begin attending on Sunday mornings. Early next year we plan to organize a Friends' Day to give our members a similar opportunity to reach out into the community.
A Big Surprise!
Early one morning we were surprised by a telephone call from our son Nathan and his wife Bethany. In March, God willing, we will be grandparents! We would appreciate prayer for our daughter-in-law to have a normal pregnancy and a safe delivery. Nathan begins this fall his second year of studies at Calvary Baptist Seminary in Lansdale, PA.
The same
week we received our surprise telephone call from Nathan and
Bethany, our daughter Rachel and her husband Sam Bullock arrived
for a two-week visit in Kenya. We enjoyed a short vacation and
lots of family time together.
Prayer Corner
We ask your prayer for the following needs: lasting fruit from our VBS and Anniversary Sunday outreaches and final resolution of the income-tax situation.
In Kenya for Christ,
Mike and Gail Mestler
April - June 2005
The rainy
season has come here in Kenya, and God also has been showering us
with His blessings.
Going out with the Gospel and Growing
In Mark 16:15 the Lord commanded His disciples and us, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." It is our great desire that Zion Road Independent Baptist Church be an evangelistic congregation. To achieve this goal we have begun to train our young church in the Netcasters Soulwinning Course. Fruit is already being borne as each week a dozen or more of our members, mostly young adults, are visiting home to home in our community confronting people with the claims of Christ. We are thrilled to see our members being used of God to win others to Christ, and our church has grown from less than fifty people a year ago to over one hundred now on Sunday mornings. Also in the last few months we have baptized nine adults. Obviously we are rejoicing in all God is doing. We believe it is all happening in answer prayers folks are faithfully praying for us.
Meet Some of Our People
We thought you might want to know a little more about some of our church members so that you can pray for them more personally. Steven O., an intellectually sharp young man in his late twenties, met Mike a few years ago. He had just recently received Christ as Savior and was hungry to know how to live a victorious Christian life. Sadly he is also HIV positive. Steven eagerly desires to follow Christ completely and to use productively whatever years of life God may give him. He has been training in Netcasters and has joined our Bible Institute.
Mary N. was one of our first believers to be baptized at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church. She is our only member who speaks almost no English. She is a widow who earns a meager living cooking on an outside stove for construction workers in our housing area. We were impressed by her faith when she gave a very sacrificial gift for the church building.
Bible Institute Expanding
Our Bible Institute continues to expand its program.
Josiah Wambua, a Kenyan from one of our sister churches in
Nairobi, graduated in May from International Baptist College in
Tempe, Arizona, and returned to Kenya in July to become the
assistant pastor of his home church and an instructor and
assistant administrator in our Bible Institute. He will be a
great help to us as we plan to begin a full day-school program
next January.
Prayer Corner
Would you please intercede to the Lord for us concerning 1) continued growth of our two churches through effective evangelistic outreach, and 2) the restoration of some young adults who have gotten involved in some unscriptural practices.
Asante sana (thanks much).
In Kenya for Christ,
Brother Mike and Gail Mestler
January - February 2005
In this new year we have been very busy here in Kenya, and we are excited about all the Lord is doing in our various ministries..
New Home
Do you remember the joy of moving into a new house? That's the joy we experienced at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church on February 6 when we moved onto our own church property. Our children are meeting in a tent and the youth and adults in a temporary, wood-framed building with a metal roof. It is not fancy by American standards, but it is spacious, and we are no longer paying rent. We had 125 people in attendance our first Sunday, and we have been averaging about 90 since then. In the years ahead we are trusting God to allow us to build a permanent stone structure.
Bible in Schools
In Kenya the school year begins in January. We praise the Lord that He has enable us to be teaching Bible classes in fifteen different elementary and secondary schools. We are especially pleased about the open dooor he has given us into a private high school not far from our new church. These schools give us the opportunity weekly to be reaching about 2000 children and teens with the gospel.
Reinforcements
In the middle of January Tom and Denise Canfield arrived from Arizona to become part of our ministry team. They will be working with our children's ministries, and Tom is already teaching in our Bible Institute. They came as "tent makers," so Tom is looking for employment in Nairobi for their primary income. Please pray that he will find a suitable job and that they will become permanent partners in our work here.
Bible Institute
Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute continues to expand. We are training about 20 students in night classes and are planning to begin a full-time day school schedule of courses beginning next January.
Gospel on Radio
Our radio broadcast, Biblia kwa Leo, the Bible for Today, continues to air twice a month. After each broadcast we have received several letters and telephone calls from people responding to the gospel and trusting Christ as Savior.
In Kenya for Christ,
Mike and Gail Mestler
Fall 2004
For we are labourers together
with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. I Corinthians 3:9
we praise the Lord for allowing us to labor together with Him here in Kenya and thank you for helping us to do so. Here is a report of what God is doing through our labor.
Our First Baptisms at Zion Road
On November fourteenth we baptized our first believers at Zion Road
Independent Baptist Church. We praise the Lord for four ladies
and one young man who have become our first church members.
Please pray for the continued spiritual growth of Mary,
Lorna, Marina, Attar and Michael. Our attendance on
Sunday mornings has grown to the seventies with first-time
visitors each week.
Building Again!
I n October we were able to put a down payment on an additional plot for the new church. We had been praying for this piece of land for over a year and approached the owners with an offer of a one-third down payment. They not only accepted the offer but also gave us permission to begin to develop and use the property while allowing us eighteen months to clear the $12,000 balance! We now have one-half acre of land in the very middle of the housing area. At the end of November we began to build the septic tank and toilets. We have erected our tent on the property with the goal of moving out of our rented property by the end of January.
Progress Toward Independence
C hrist's Independent Baptist
Church continues to make good progress toward self-support and
independence from Mission status. Pastor Ben Ingala now
leads most of the mininstry with Mike preaching there
only about once a month. Pastor Ben has three very able and
dedicated deacons assisting him, along with one of our Bible
Institute graduates, Lawrence Isoka, who teaches the
adult Bible class and heads up the evangelisitc outreach of the
church. Our goal is for complete financial indepedence by July,
2006.
Prayer Request Corner
Success in moving onto our new church property by February,
2005.
July to August 2004
Hamjambo. Greetings
in Christ from Nairobi. We arrived safely back to Kenya on
June 30 and thank the Lord for all He has been doing here.
we praise
the Lord that the owner of a private school agreed to give us a
one-year lease to rent his building on Sundays. Zion Road
Independent Baptist Church began holding Sunday school, morning
and evening services there on August first. Attendance has
been averaging sixty-five, with first-time visitors coming almost
every week. There have been six adult professions of faith
already, and we have begun a discipleship class for new
converts. In the months ahead we plan to develop our church
property so we can move into our own temporary building next
August.
VBS Double Feature
This summer
we had two weeks, back to back, of vacation Bible school which we
call Kid's Bible Camp. At Christ's Independent Baptist
Church the week of August 9-13 ended with five hundred thirty
children having attended VBS. Then August 16-20 we held the
same program at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church under a
tent. By the week's end one hundred three children had
come. Between the two churches about forty-four children
were personally counseled for salvation. When it all ended
we were exhausted but rejoicing in all that God had done.
Gospel Radio Broadcast
For about a year one of our men, Kelvine O., has been preaching in his tribal language of Luo about once every six weeks on a local radio station. We have recently contracted with a different radio station for him to be preaching twice a month on a regular basis at a cost of about fifty dollars a broadcast. We also have now translated and published the second gospel tract in his language as a means of following up those who correspond with us. We have received over thirty letters so far, and one visitor has come to the church as a result of this ministry.
Bible Institute Moves Ahead
Classes continue at Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute
with about twenty students enrolled. We have set up
an Institute library with the first set of the about forty boxes
of books that has arrived. In September Mike will be
teaching a course covering the doctrines of creation, satan, man,
and sin. Several of our students, we believe, have
great potential to become future church planters and pastors here
in Kenya.
Prayer Request Corner
Prayer requests.
1) The numerical and spiritual growth of Zion Road Independent
Baptist Church.
2) Wisdom for brother Henry Juma as he serves as the assistant
pastor of our new church and for Ben Ingala as he assumes more
responsibilities at Christ's Independent Baptist Church.
3) Listeners and conversions from our Saturday radio broadcasts.
John 3:30
May to June 2004
As we write this update we are packing our bags to return to Nairobi. The Lord has given us a joyous time with family and supporting churches, but we are already a little homesick for Kenya.
The Knots Have Been Tied
Our son Nathan and his bride Bethany and our daughter Rachel and her husband Sam Bullock are now happy newlyweds. Sam and Rachel are settling into life in Tempe, Arizona. Nathan and Bethany are serving at Camp Ironwood in California for the summer before moving to Lansdale, Pennsylvania, to begin seminary in the fall. We praise the Lord for allowing us to take part in their weddings and for this reunion with many of our family.
Church Growing Pains
Throughout our short furlough we have received weekly, e-mail updates on the progress of our churches in Kenya. The people attending Zion Road Independent Baptist Church, who began meeting on Sunday evenings in March, are now quite eager to have Sunday morning services also. We are going to be inquiring about renting a local school building to use for services. Meanwhile we plan to negotiate the purchase of one more plot and to begin to put up a temporary building on our property.
In July Christ's Independent Baptist Church begins the second year of a three-year plan to become self-supporting. Please pray that our church members will tithe and accept their responsibility for the ministry. Pastor Ben Ingala continues to grow in the Lord and is developing into a mature and effective pastor.
Full Summer Ahead
In July Mike teaches hermeneutics (Biblical interpretation) at Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute. Many thanks to everyone who donated theological books for our institute students. About fifty boxes of books and videotapes are on their way to Kenya!
Our second annual vacation Bible school (Kids' Bible Camp) is scheduled for August 9-13. Last year the Lord sent us 450 children, so we are preparing for a crowd again this summer. Brother Tom Canfield from Gilbert, Arizona, will be joining us to teach the main Bible lesson each day. Please pray for a great response to the gospel by the children.
Prayer Request Corner
Would you please take to heart these important prayer requests:
*** For the agreement of the owner of the school in Clay Works Estate to allow Zion Road Independent Baptist Church to rent the facility Sunday mornings at a reasonable rate,
*** For a safe and fruitful vacation Bible school,
*** For faithful giving by the members of Christ's Independent Baptist Church in the second year of our self-support plan.
Asante sana (many thanks) to churches and individuals who showed us kindness during our short furlough. We praise the Lord for all who stand behind us so faithfully by prayer and monthly financial support.
2 Corinthians 3:5
March - April 2004
Nawasalimu nyote (We greet you all) in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Since the beginning of the new year we have had an extremely busy but fruitful time here in Kenya.
New Church Is Born!
On Sunday, March 7, we began evening services at Zion Road Independent Baptist Church. We are meeting under a tent pitched in the courtyard of the home in which our Bible study group has been meeting for the past several months. Each week in March we averaged twenty-five, including seventeen adults. Our goal is to put in a foundation for a church building on the new property in the months ahead and then by this fall, place the tent there and begin Sunday school and morning worship services on the new site. On two work days the men's fellowship of Christ's Independent Baptist Church fenced in the property, and we have erected an attractive sign so that the community will anticipate our coming.
The host of our Bible study group, Martin M., accepted Christ as Savior during a fellowship in his home in December. Please pray that his wife Mama Alice will come to know the Lord soon.
Church Grows and Matures
Christ's Independent Baptist Church continues to make progress. Since January several people have been saved and about ten have been baptized. Also in February we ordained our fifth deacon.
On some Sundays our children's attendance exceeds two hundred, and we have divided our church into three age groups. In March we conducted a teacher-training seminar so that we could add some workers to our children's ministries. We are "bursting at the seams" but praise the Lord for the challenge.
In July we complete the first year of a three-year plan for the church to be self-supporting by July 2006.
In the past three months five members of church families have died, including one of our Sunday school children. We are thankful that the child's mother came to Christ after the funeral and is now attending the church faithfully each Sunday.
Wedding Furlough
April through June will find us back in the States for our "wedding furlough." Our son Nathan marries Bethany Woods on May 22, and our daughter Rachel will be married to Sam Bullock on June fifth. We will also be visiting as many of our supporting churches as possible during this time, but unfortunately the furlough is too short for us to get everywhere this time around. We must return to Kenya by July so Mike can teach the second course this trimester of our Bible Institute.
Prayer Request Corner
Here are some important prayer requests:
*** For the encouragement of Karen and Margaret, church members who have been widowed recently,
*** For increased giving by our church members in order for Christ's Independent Baptist Church to succeed in reaching self-support,
*** For growth of Zion Road Independent Baptist Church.
John 3:30
November 2003 - January 2004
Maka Mpya Njema! (Happy New Year!) to all of our brothers and sisters in Christ in America.
Notes of Praise
We have much to praise God for in the last months of 2003. On the last Saturday of December, Dominick, the husband of one of our faithful ladies accepted Christ as Savior. This was an answer to several years of prayer, and since then he has been attending Sunday morning services faithfully.
On December 1 we purchased the second of the church plots needed to begin Zion Road Independent Baptist Church. Our thanks to those who donated the $6000 needed for this.
Our week of youth outreach in December was well attended, with several teenagers making various decisions. We baptized six young people in December.
The Lord protected us in two fender-bender accidents, both of which could have been much more serious. Also, there have been no further attempts to rob the church since February, and security in general has been better in the neighborhood where most of our people live. Certainly the Lord has been good to us!
Expecting Great Things in 2004
The new year is beginning with many opportunities for ministry. On January 11 our attendance was 321 with several first-time visitors present. One of our men, Kelvine O., has been given the opportunity to preach on a Nirobi radio station every third Sunday. This is a broadcast in his native language which has a listening audience of many thousands. Already we have received two letters in response to the broadcast. We praise the Lord for this open door for the gospel. The Lord also has opened the door to nine public and private elementary schools where we are able to share the gospel openly with about 2000 children weekly.
We begin the January trimester of the Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute. (F.B.B.I.) on January 6. We are offering two courses which are the Pentateuch (the Books of Moses) and Christology (the Doctrine of Christ). We have about twenty-four students from three churches enrolled in these college-level courses. Once again an African pastor, Leonard Opiyo, is helping Mike by teaching one of the courses. If you have any books you would like to donate, please send them to International Baptist Missions, 2150 East Southern Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85282, designated for our Bible Institute.
A home Bible study has begun in the housing area where we plan to begin our second church. On some evenings we have as many as six youth and adults present for this evangelistic study called Building on Firm Foundations
Double Wedding Bells
We are pleased to announce the engagement of our son Nathan to Bethany Woods of our home church in Arizona. The wedding date is May 22. As we shared in our last prayer letter, our daughter Rachel also weds Sam Bullock on June 5. Yes, two weddings, two weeks apart!
Prayer Request Corner
Would you please pray for these specific needs?
1. The salvation of Martin M. and his wife who are hosting our Bible study fellowship in their home.
2. The winning of children to Christ in our Friday morning elementary school outreach.
We appreciate all the faithful support of our ministry. Please send all donations through International Baptist Missions, and not directly to us. Recently we have learned of two checks we never received, one of which was stolen and cashed with a forged signature.
August - October 2003
Hamjambo (hello) to all of you in America. We are excited to share with you all the Lord has been doing here in our ministry in Kenya.
Kids' Bible Camp
We ran our first Kids' Bible Camp (vacation Bible school) August 11-15. We had been praying for an attendance of 300. We began with 250 children on Monday and ended with 455 on Friday! There were 68 children who were personally counseled and professed faith in Christ as Savior. Praise the Lord! Over the past month since the camp our children's church attendance has increased by 50, and we have had to add an additional class and some more workers. We say asante (thanks) to the Liberty Baptist Church of Toledo, OH, for sending their missions team of Bob Szymanski, Mary Rehard, Rich Granata and Ron Lawson to work side by side our Kenyan believers to make this outreach possible. We are grateful also for the help of our summer intern, Katie Zakes, of Northwest Valley Baptist Church in Glendale, AZ.
See pictures of the camp on this web site.
First Plot for Branch Church
The first plot for our branch church has been bought. We have placed a small down payment on an adjacent plot. These plots are in an excellent location on the main road through an area where many new houses are being built. We have named the new work Zion Road Independent Baptist Church. We are planning to begin immediately to have a home Bible study near the church plots and are trusting to put up a temporary building and begin services by the middle of next year.
Bible Institute Growing
The Bible Institute we began last January continues to grow with about 25 students enrolled for the two night classes. Six students from two of our sister churches are among those attending. An African pastor is teaching one course and Mike the other. We need to build a library so the students can do homework and research papers. If anyone has Christian books about the house or church just collecting dust we could put them to good use here. Please just ship them to us in care of the Tri-City Baptist Church in AZ, and we will make arrangements to get them to Africa.
Wedding Bells
Our daughter Rachel is engaged to be married on June 5, 2004. Her fiance is Sam Bullock from our home church in Arizona. We praise the Lord for His leading them together.
Prayer Request Corner
Would you please pray for the following needs:
1. We want to win to Christ many of the parents of the children who have begun attending our children's ministry.
2. We still need to raise about $6000 to finalize the purchase of the second church plot before we can begin building a temporary structure for the new work.
May - July 2003
Salamu (Greetings) in Christ from Kenya. We thank all whose prayer and financial support makes it possible for us to serve the Lord here in Nairobi.
Robbers and Terrorists
Many have expressed concern for our safety here in Kenya. We praise the Lord that since February there have been no attempts to rob our church building. In mid-May, however, both the British and American governments placed a travel advisory to Kenya. This was because of a credible threat of an imminent Al-Qaeda attack. The effect here in Kenya has been economically devastating with a 90% drop in summer tourists and the loss of thousands of related jobs. Finally the threat has apparently lessened, and the last week of July British Airways resumed flights into Nairobi. We feel no additional personal danger but are avoiding unnecessary trips to places where Europeans and Americans might congregate.
Home for Graduation
During April and May we were back in the USA for a short eight-week furlough. Our son Nathan graduated May 18 from International Baptist College in Tempe, AZ, as a missions major. He is preaching this summer at Camp Ironwood in California and plans to work a year before going to seminary. He seems to be recovering well from a bacterial infection he contracted in Kenya a few years ago. Thank you for praying for him. Our daughter Rachel is on the staff at International Baptist College and is teaching Sunday school at Tri-City Baptist Church.
Kids' Bible Camp
we are in high gear this summer getting ready for our first Kids' Bible Camp (VBS) August 11-15. A summer missions team from Liberty Baptist Church in Toledo, OH, has been preparing for over a year to help us with this outreach. We are praying and planning for 300 children to attend and many to be saved.
Bible Institute Develops
Eighteen students have finished our second semester at Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute. Brother Norman Fisher, the academic dean of International Baptist College, helped us establish our curriculum for the next three years. He and his wife Lois were here ministering to our people for three weeks in June.
Land for New Church
The Lord has given us almost enough money to buy the first plot for our branch church. Once we raise about $10,000 more we plan to buy two plots and establish a Bible study group in Seasons Estate in Nairobi as the foundation of a new congregation. If God should so lead you to contribute to this need we would greatly appreciate it.
Prayer Request Corner
*** A fruitful Kids' Bible Camp August 11-15
*** The purchasing of new church plots this fall
*** Continued safety from robbery attempts
February - April 2003
Hamjambo kutoka Kenya. (Hello to all of you from Kenya.) First of all we want to thank every one of our faithful supporters for their prayers and financial support. Without them on the home front we could not be here on our spiritual battlefield in Nairobi. The Lord has done much here since our last prayer letter.
Bible Institute Begun
At the end of January we began Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute. F.B.B.I. is a local-church-based leadership training institute. Seventeen people completed our first course, Baptist History and Beliefs. We were refreshed to see the excitement and spiritual hunger of our church members for this kind of advanced study. In June Brother Norman Fisher of International Baptist College, Tempe, AZ, will be teaching the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit at F.B.B.I.
Spiritual Awakening Conference
We had a week of revival emphasis with evangelists Mike Redick and John VanGelderen preaching nightly at our church the end of March. There are early signs of true spiritual awakening among our church members. Some have confessed sin and have recommitted themselves to weekly personal evangelism through our Netcasters outreach. How exciting it is for us to see many of them stepping out in faith and growing in the Lord!
Steps Toward Self-Support
Our church has taken a major step toward achieving self-support by electing a church treasurer and opening a church bank account. On July first we will begin a plan to reduce missionary support by one-third each year over a three year span, trusting the Lord that we will reach self support by 2006.
New-Church Endeavor
In January we began to survey new housing areas in Nairobi for a place to begin our first branch church. We believe the Lord has led us to an excellent location to plant a new independent Baptist church . We have found some available plots in the very center of a housing estate called Seasons. We are now praying for God to provide about $30,000 to purchase the land. Then to lay the foundation for this new congregation we plan to begin door-to-door evangelism, to hold open air meetings, and to establish a Bible study group, using two of our home fellowships as the core group.
Prayer Request Corner
Please pray for these people and needs:
1) Brother James Omondi as he begins his ministry as our church treasurer.
2) The safety of Pastor Ben Ingala and his family as robberies continue unabated in the area around our church building.
3) The health of our son Nathan, who is recovering from a bacterial infection he contracted here in Kenya in 2000.
4) Our success in buying the plots for our branch church in Seasons Estate.
( He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30)
November 2002- January 2003
Slum Kids and a Basketball Court
It began with a gift from a Christian in America. The Lord enabled us to build a basketball court on our church property. Our young men donated their labor and for two weeks leveled the ground and mixed and poured concrete. The finished product is the only basketball court in our part of the city. It was finished just in time to use for our annual youth outreach week, December 9-15. Over 70 young men and women, many from the nearby slum, attended this week of Bible study, games, and other special activities. Five youths received Christ as Savior, and others made various decisions to yield their lives to the Lord. We praise God for this great opportunity. Our youth pastor, Ben Ingala, is following up with weekly activities and Bible studies.
Church Robbery
Early in the morning of December 11, our church property was invaded by a gang of about 10 men. They overpowered our night watchman and struck both him and our assistant pastor on the head. We praise the Lord that both men suffered only superficial injuries. Using bolt cutters, the gang entered and robbed Pastor Ben's house, stealing most of his valuables. They then entered our church building, stripping it of our sound system and some other items. The matter has been reported to the police, who have promised increased patrols in our area. We believe that our real security comes from the Lord, and we ask you to pray for our safety and that of our people.
Elections and a Crusade
Kenyans elect a new President and Parliament on December 27. We are thankful that this election season has been mostly peaceful. Since many Nairobi residents will stay in the city this Christmas in order to vote, we are planning to use the opportunity for an outdoor gospel crusade on December 20-22. We want to end the year winning people in Nairobi to Christ.
New Church Plans
Our major goal for 2003 is the beginning of a branch church. We have already begun surveying residential areas for land and have established a weekly Bible study and prayer fellowship near the proposed site of the new church. We trust to buy land next spring and begin services by summer. We are excited about what God is going to do.
Prayer Request Corner
Would you please pray for these requests:
1) For the new government to make a priority of reestablishing security in the country.
2) Wisdom to know where and how to begin the new branch church.
3) The salvation of some of the husbands of our faithful ladies: Gordon, Tony, Dominick.
We thank those who have made it possible for us to serve the Lord here in Kenya.
August-October 2002
Fast-paced but Fruitful Summer
Our summer is winter in Kenya; we are just south of the equator, and our coldest months are July and August. With the temperature dipping into the fifties at night, we even have a fire burning in the fireplace some evenings.
This has been one of our busiest, but also, most fruitful summers since we began Christ's Independent Baptist Church about eight years ago. Here are some highlights of the last few months.
Evangelistic Crusade
For twelve consecutive nights in August we held outside evangelistic meetings in our community of Lucky Summer. We had puppet shows for the children along with a Bible story followed by a Christian film and gospel preaching. We praise the Lord for crowds of two-to-four hundred people each night with several professing faith in Christ as Savior. One afternoon an eighteen-year-old Somali Muslim named Abdul came to the house of our assistant pastor telling him that he had been attending the crusade and wanted to trust Christ. He confessed Christ but now has been put out of the house of his guardian. Abdul has left our area to seek fellowship with other converted Muslims.
Netcasters Seminar
Missionary evangelist Mike Redick from Singapore returned to be with us in Nairobi for a Netcasters personal evangelism training seminar. For one intensive week the beginning of September we gathered men and women from twelve independent Baptist churches in and around the city who wanted to learn how to win people to Christ effectively. We were pleased to see forty people receive this vital training and are praying it will spark a revival of soul winning fervor in our churches.
A Conversion Testimony
One Sunday morning a middle-aged lady with her daughter flagged down our van and asked for a ride to church. They were strangers to us, but we welcomed them to our services that day. Later that week Esther appeared at the gate of our house. When we invited her inside she immediately told us that she needed to understand what it meant to be saved, and we had the privilege of leading her to Christ. What a divine appointment that was! She had been seeking the truth but had been disappointed as she attended some cult churches and had almost decided to quit going anywhere. It was a friend who is only a casual acquaintance of ours who encouraged her to ride to church with us that Sunday. Esther has since been baptized, and Gail has been having a weekly discipleship Bible study with her.
Prayer Request Corner
Would you please take these prayer requests to heart...
1) God's protection of Abdul and his spiritual growth in Christ
2) A revival of evangelistic fervor in the churches which were trained in Netcasters personal evangelism
March - April 2002
The Rains Have Come
March usually brings the beginning of the long rainy season here in Kenya. We were not disappointed this year as the rains began early and in earnest. God also seems to have poured out His blessings upon our church this spring.
Spring Revival
"Revival" means literally "to live again." We are seeing some encouraging signs of renewed spiritual vitality among our church members. Our people responded well to the ministry of Pastor Brent Lenentine and his wife Jeanie from Gospel Light Baptist Church of Rio Rancho, NM, as they conducted a Christian life seminar March 8-10. Over three hundred people, including twelve first-time visitors, attended the Sunday teaching and preaching sessions.
A Wonderful Conversion
David O. has been addicted to alcohol for many years. His wife has lived faithfully for the Lord and often prayed for David's conversion. After a drinking binge in February David ended up deathly sick in the hospital. The doctor told him his choices were either to never drink again or to surely die. He asked his wife to call one of the pastors to visit him in the hospital. Mike went and confronted him with his need of Christ. He openly confessed his sin and asked Christ to deliver him from his drunkenness. We soon learned that David was telling the nurses that he was born again. He has returned home, is working again, and is faithfully attending the Sunday morning church services. We have begun a discipleship Bible study with him, realizing that he must continue to grow in Christ if he is to maintain spiritual victory in his life.
Net Casters Continues
We continue visiting door-to-door in the neighborhood of our church using the Net Casters evangelism program. As a result every Saturday we are seeing professions of faith in Christ and each Sunday morning, church visitors . Gail is doing a weekly Bible study with a young lady named Christine, who is fruit from this outreach. We have, however, seen a drop in the number of our members involved as net casters. We would appreciate prayer for a revival of commitment to this vital ministry.
The Elections Are Coming
This is a presidential election year here in Kenya. There has been sporadic violence in past elections, but so far things are peaceful. Unemployment, however, is at about 50% in Nairobi, and there is a serious crime wave. Some of our members have been robbed recently, but none have been seriously injured, for which we praise the Lord. The crime wave has, however, caused attendance at our evening home fellowship groups to go down, as people fear to leave their houses after dark.
Prayer Corner
Here are some specific prayer requests:
1) The spiritual growth of David O., Christine, and Frederick.
2) A renewed commitment by our church members to be involved in the Net Casters evangelism outreach each week.
3) An improvement in both the economy and security of the country. Safety of our church members.
December 2001 - February 2002
A Surprising December
December is usually the slowest month of the year for our ministry here in Kenya. It is the vacation month when most of our people travel to their rural homes for the Christmas holiday, and our church attendance drops in half. God had different plans for us this year! The month began with our annual youth outreach week. Between fifty and seventy teens attended a week of Bible studies, athletic competition and other activities. Several young people professed faith in Christ. Every Sunday through December fifty teens faithfully continued attending worship services and contributing special music and drama presentations. Our adults have been stirred up by their enthusiasm. Seven teens were baptized on January 7th and are still actively involved in the church ministries. We praise the Lord for the faithful work of our youth pastor Ben Ingala and the other adults helping him.
Our First Deacons
On November 25th our church elected our first three deacons, Henry J., Lawrence I., and Eliakim O. Each deacon has completed a training program and has accepted specific ministries in the church. This is a major step forward toward our church becoming independent of missionary status.
College Graduation
The year began with the graduation of two of our men, Henry J. and Lawrence I. from Grace Baptist Bible College. At present they plan to remain at Christ's Independent Baptist Church serving as deacons and in other ministries.
Back to the Schools
As the Kenyan children returned to school after their Christmas break; we also returned to teach them the Bible. The Lord has opened the door for us to enter a fourth elementary school this term. This allows us to be reaching about one thousand children with the gospel each week. We continue to be amazed at the opportunities God has given to us to evangelize children and youth in this country where half the population is fifteen years old or younger. We have trained several of our church members to help in this ministry but still need to double the number of our teachers to take advantage of the other classrooms being offered to us.
The Home Front
We enjoyed having our daughter Rachel home in Nairobi for Christmas. She is working on her master's degree in Biblical studies at International Baptist College in Tempe, AZ. Our son Nathan spent his Christmas break with Mike's parents in Florida. He is finishing his junior year at International Baptist College, where he is a missions major.
Prayer Corner
Please pray for these needs:
1) Continued faithfulness and spiritual growth of our church teenagers and wisdom for Pastor Ben Ingala as he leads them.
2) Effective ministry of our new deacons, Henry J., Lawrence I., and Eliakim O.
3) Continued growth of our Net Casters evangelism ministry.
John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease.
September - November 2001
We watched CNN with a combination of shock and disbelief as the tragic events of September 11 unfolded. We thought to ourselves that this must be the way our parents and grandparents felt on December 7, 1941. As Americans overseas our patriotism does not diminish but intensifies, and we have been praying daily for our national leadership and for God to bring spiritual revival to our country.
There have been a few Muslim-led, anti-American demonstrations in Kenya since the war in Afghanistan began, but we do not sense any heightened danger to ourselves personally. The Lord has been giving us increased opportunities for sharing the gospel and expanding our ministry. Specifically ...
Netcasters
In September missionaries Mike and Lisa Redick trained forty members of our church in a personal evangelism program known as Netcasters. Now every Saturday afternoon we see 12-15 men and women sharing the gospel door-to-door in the houses surrounding our church building. Others are using the Netcasters presentation with family and friends. In five weeks we have seen about 40 adults profess faith in Christ as Savior. On some Sundays as many as 8 visitors have been in our morning worship service as a result of this outreach. It is a joy to see our members introducing us to people on Sunday whom they have led to Christ during the week.
One Sunday evening during a Netcasters follow-up lesson, a visitor was present. In the middle of the session he spoke up and said, "I don't know if I have eternal life. How can I know?" Our assistant pastor, Ben Ingala, was able to counsel Moses G. and lead this young Muslim to Christ. He was baptized on October 14. We praise the Lord for all this fruit He has given us so far.
Building Dedication
On September 16 our mission's general director, Dr. David Sproul, and Pastor Daryl Jeffers of Clymer, PA, were our guest speakers for the official dedication of our new church auditorium. In the afternoon we hosted about 400 visitors from several Independent Baptist churches in Nairobi.
Deacons Nominated
Our church members have nominated four men to become our first deacons. After a four-week training course they will be brought before the congregation for election on November 25. This is another major step in the direction of our church one day leaving missionary status.
Prayer Requests
Please pray for:
1) Effective discipling of the many men and women we have seen coming to Christ through the Netcasters outreach.
2) Training and election of Henry J., Eliakim O., Lawrence I. and Charles M. as our first deacons.
3) Increased giving by our church members.
A New Home for the Church
"But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built." 2 Chronicles 6:18
On April 8 Christ's Independent Baptist Church moved into its new home. After more than a year and a half of prayer, sweat and some trials we had a wonderful day of rejoicing together as we worshiped in our new church auditorium for the first time. Our attendance was 408, a record for us, with about 10 first-time visitors. We baptized 3 adults in the morning service and observed the Lord's Table in the evening. It is a day we will never forget. Mike preached on Solomon's dedication of the temple reminding our people that it is important that we glory more in the God of the house than in the house of God.
We still have many projects to finish before the building is completely done, such as glass that needs to be set in the windows and walls that need a finishing coat of concrete. A generous gift from one of our supporting churches should enable us to complete everything by the end of summer.
Please pray that many of our visitors will return and, hearing the Word of God, will be saved.
Our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who has prayed and given to make this new home for our church possible. We only wish you all could have been here to experience the joy of our people.
A Short Trip to the States
We are planning to return to the States for six weeks beginning April 30. After attending our daughter Rachel's graduation from Bob Jones University May 5, we are heading west to visit our churches and friends in New Mexico and Arizona. We hope to see some of you then.
Upon our return to Kenya in June we are looking forward to hosting two summer missionary-interns, Machen White and Karis Meshey, both from churches in Pennsylvania.
Family and Other Matters
Thanks for praying for the renewal of our work permit. We received without difficulty a three-year renewal that begins in March of this year.
Please continue to pray for our children. Rachel, 22, and Nathan, 20, are both planning to work at Camp Ironwood in southern California this summer and in the fall attend International Baptist College in Tempe, Arizona. Rachel plans to work on her master's degree in Bible, and Nathan plans to return for his junior year as a missions major.
Back to Africa
"Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father." I Thessalonians 1:3
After a short but refreshing furlough we arrived back safe and sound in Nairobi on February 6th. Asente sana (many thanks) to everyone who hosted us during our stay in America. We are only sorry it was not possible to visit more of our churches during our short, twelve-week visit. On our next furlough we will make it a priority to return to those we missed this time around.
Church
On our first Sunday back at Christ's Independent Baptist Church we were warmly welcomed home with a surprise fellowship dinner in our honor. It was so good to be back with our church people again!
The Lord blessed the church with unity and growth in our absence. Many were saved during a youth outreach in December, and eleven teens were baptized and joined the church.
Paul's words quoted above concerning the Christians of Thessalonica best express our feelings concerning our church here in Nairobi, Kenya. We praise the Lord for the faithfulness of Pastor Ben Ingala and the rest of the members. We believe this time was a confidence builder as our people saw how God could use them in the absence of their missionaries. It also encourages Gail and me that one day we will be able to leave this work successfully and go on to plant other churches.
Drought
God sent us unseasonably heavy rains in early January filling the reservoirs and ending two years of drought and one and a half years of electrical rationing. Now we can actually turn on the lights at any time!
Work Permit
One of our first tasks when we returned was to begin renewal of our work permit, which expires March 19th. Although we do not anticipate any problem getting a three-year renewal, please pray that there will be no unexpected hitches.
Raising the Roof March 4th!
March 4th is the day set for our next harambee (sacrificial giving) Sunday to finish the roof of our new church auditorium. We are trusting the Lord to be providing the means for us to worship in our new facility on Resurrection Sunday, April 15th. Our present building is packed on Sundays, and we are looking forward to getting into this much larger auditorium soon.
Hamjambo! (Hello to all of you!) from the USA. We arrived in America on November 18 for a short, twelve-week furlough. Our plan is to be away from Kenya for shorter periods of time but to return to the USA more frequently than every four years. It will be impossible to visit all our churches in less than three months, but on our next furlough we will attempt to visit the churches we miss this time around. We praise the Lord for His provision of a reliable and comfortable car to use on furlough through the generous loan of a family in one of our supporting churches. And, oh, how we are enjoying driving on our good American roads. In Kenya we had both earned our PHDs (pot hole dodgers)! We are reminded of how much we have to be thankful for in our country. We plan to be with our children, Rachel and Nathan, at Mike’s parents’ winter home in Florida for Christmas. We thank the Lord for the opportunity be together as a family for the holidays for the first time in three years.
We left the ministry of Christ’s Independent Baptist Church in Nairobi under the care of our assistant pastor, Ben Ingala. God has given him a humble, godly spirit and he is loved and respected by all our church members. Please pray that the Lord will stretch Pastor Ben spiritually as he ministers to our people as their pastor. Pastor Ben, together with our young adults, conducted a week-long youth crusade November 27 - December 1. We praise the Lord for the teens who had the opportunity to accept Christ as Savior during this outreach.
On New Year’s Eve the church will hold a kesha (all-night fellowship) which will be another opportunity to preach the gospel. It is encouraging to us to know that God has given us many church members dedicated to the Lord and that the church can make progress even while we are back in the States.
The last of the seven steel trusses of our new church building was lifted into place the very day we left for America. It was fascinating, and yes, even a little scary, to watch the workmen erect these 60-foot-long trusses by hand! When we return to Kenya in early February we plan to push ahead to finish the rafters and then put on the roof. We are trusting God to allow us to worship in our new, 600-seat building on Resurrection Sunday, April 15, 2001. We give our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has sent gifts making it possible to get this far. We are trusting the Lord to provide the remaining approximately $30,000 needed to finish the building completely.
"To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine." Psalm 33:19
Many Christians in Kenya today are clinging to God's promise of deliverance from starvation. Due to the "La Nina" weather effect the normal rains have failed now for three consecutive seasons. Prices for some staple foods have already doubled in the rural areas, and people here in the city expect to feel the increase in the months ahead. In May the government began a severe electrical-rationing program cutting off power twelve hours a day. The results has been rapid inflation and loss of some jobs. The personal effect to us financially has been mostly offset by a corresponding increase in the exchange value of the dollar.
In the face of all this adversity we are so thankful for the faith and patience of our church members. The spiritual 'temperature" of our church is in fact "hotter" now than it has been in some years. Please pray for both rain and continued revival. In June we began to divide our mid-week prayer service into 5 separate fellowships meeting in houses of church members. Each group is being led by a faithful and spiritually mature man chosen by Mike. Combined attendance in these prayer fellowships has more than doubled our former mid-week service, and many visitors are coming. On June 18 we were especially encouraged by the profession of faith in Christ of the husband of one of our faithful ladies. Please pray for the baptism and growth of Nicholas O.
The walls of our new church auditorium are about two-thirds completed . We are trusting God to allow us to finish this phase of our building program by the end of July.
The new millennium began for us in a church all-night service called in Swahili a "kesha." We praise the Lord for a packed house of over 150. We had a great time of fellowship, and like people around the world, were thankful that the lights did not go out at the turn of the millennium.
The foundation of our new church building is near completion. We are seeing visitors every Sunday and need this new auditorium to accommodate growth.
We have seen several professions of faith in Christ the past three months. Please pray for the spiritual growth of these who have been baptized and become members of Christ's Independent Baptist Church.
Steady progress has been made on laying the foundation of our new permanent church auditorium. We are trusting the Lord to allow us to begin erecting the stone walls early in 2000.