November 4, 2009

When 2009 began, we worked in Kenya/Eastern Africa/CESA (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa). We now work in Equatorial Eastern Sub-Cluster/ Equatorial Africa/Sub-Saharan African Peoples Affinity Group (SSAP-AG). We are living in the same house, working from the same desks, and Jack continues to lead the LEGACY TEAM (established Baptist churches). But as you can see, other than our sending agency, the IMB (International Mission Board) being the same, a lot has changed! Why has this happened? To keep us flexible, a must for missionaries? No, to help IMB staff be better workers for our Father and better stewards of the financial support we receive from you thanks to your gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program.

This transition includes a new job for me. I loved serving as Prayer Advocate for Kenya, but I now have the opportunity to work with all of our missionaries in the Equatorial Cluster which reaches from Gabon on the Atlantic Ocean to Kenya on the Indian Ocean. As the Cluster Connector I will seek to “connect” our staff with one another and to you through a monthly newsletter and by keeping all the data on our diverse group. Pray that I will seek God’s guidance in my every thought, action and plan as I learn/define this new position. Pray for patience as I explore the best way to do the work, especially the work on the computer.

Thankfully, transition is not required in Jack’s job assignment or my acting as the team’s Prayer Advocate. Why do we feel so strongly that Jack’s should be “Strengthening and encouraging” Kenyan Baptists “as we engage lostness together” (Acts 14:22; Rev 14:6) rather than working directly among the unreached people groups in our part of the world? Kenyan Christians are the ones who are uniquely equipped to by our heavenly Father to win their continent to Christ!

We see this exemplified at Parklands Baptist, our home church in Nairobi, which was begun by Southern Baptists missionaries in 1978, the year we arrived in Kenya. I was one of the first children’s Sunday School teachers and Jack was among the first deacons ordained. Parklands now has five thousands members and holds four services on Sunday mornings. Early church members were discipled/mentored/taught by many of your missionaries and they have learned, grown and now faithfully continue as multiplying “witnesses in (their) Jerusalem…Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This past Sunday, we caught a glimpse of the vision statement of Sub-Sahara Africa in action: To see “a multitude from every language, people, tribe and Nation of SSA(Sub-Sahara Africa) knowing and worshipping our Lord Jesus Christ.” It was a skin-tingling time as praise, glory and honour was brought to our heavenly Father as we prayed and sang in multiple languages and watched others express their cultural diversity through drama and dance (praising God with their feet)!Jack needs your prayers this weekend as he is one of the key speakers at Parklands Mission’s Conference. Pray for him as he prepares to share on Mission Organization. Pray for him also as he works with the Legacy churches, the changes we face as missionaries also affects them.

Sorry, this has been long, but I must share a bit more. Another example of how one Legacy Church, Ruiru First Baptist – a church impacted by your missionaries – is now obediently sharing God’s love and salvation, can be found at: Ministering to the Kids .* These pictures are an example of how God blessed your past gifts to the Lottie Moon Offering and the Cooperative Program. Our last prayer request this week is that we and our co-workers will always be flexible so that we can be totally in line with our Father’s plans, always ready to sense the Holy Spirit’s guidance, always alert to opportunities to share our Saviour’s love, and always able to bring glory to our God in all we do!
Bert Yates

* "Ministering to the Kids" is at: http://picasaweb.google.com/Bertndovu/MinisteringToTheKidsAtRuiruFirstBaptistKenya?feat=directlink

REMEMBER: Additional pictures for this prayer update can be found at my FACEBOOK page.

October 28, 2009

How important are your prayers to our work? My FACEBOOK post last Wednesday afternoon answers this question – “Our God has a sense of humour. To save space, I cut a sentence in our weekly prayer update asking for prayer for patience as I worked on the computer - Almost immediately, my internet went from "speedy" to "snail speed" for an hour!” This really happened! We are serious when we say we need your prayer support!

I try to share specific needs, but sometimes there isn’t enough space in our “short” Updates – such as my not asking for prayer for last Saturday’s MasterLife workshop at Parklands Baptist Church. My role was to be “Mrs. Skeptical” as I challenged the “practice” testimonies of three young professionals concluding their year-long study. Yes, I did throw each of them at some point, but it was amazing to sense the depth of their faith and their desire to share of their Father’s love and salvation. It was also a special reminder of the need to praise our God for how He is and has been at work in Kenya as I remembered the past discipleship work of so many missionaries in Kenya and recognized once again the potential of Kenyan Baptists to win their world to Christ!

Failure to ask for prayers for Jack as he preached this past Sunday was simply he wasn’t asked until after last week’s Prayer Update was sent! BUT even if I had asked for prayer, he didn’t know everything! When we arrived at Ruiru First Baptist Church, on the far edge of Nairobi, he thought he was preaching for an Ordination service. As he met with the pastor and candidates for ordination, he didn’t know that a wedding party was congregating outside the church. It wasn’t until he saw my pictures* that he realized that the wall behind his seat in the church was decorated with the large words: Anjelicah WEDS Joshua. But you prayed well! Jack felt your “general” prayers as he preached for the first time in months in Kiswahili and as he made quick changes to his sermon. Actually, the couple have been married for years by traditional law, but not in a Christian service – one of the requirements for the husband to be ordained!

We also often cannot ask for prayer due to the sensitive nature of some items and at the moment, many prayer needs fit that definition! We ask that you pray that the Holy Spirit will fill us with wisdom, patience and guidance so that we will bring glory to God in all our actions! Another specific request is the continued need for rain – the rains are sporadic and there is fear that they may be insufficient to alleviate the problems of drought. There is also a “flip-side” to this request. We live in third-world country where if ample or extra rains come, new problems will emerge due to illnesses, flooding, poor housing, etc. We ask that you pray that whatever is happening, Kenyan Christians will be strong witnesses and servants of their heavenly Father! Bert Yates

*Extra pictures to make our Prayer Updates “real” at: http://picasaweb.google.com/omba4kenya/YatesPrayerUpdate091028?feat=directlink and on Bert's FACEBOOK page.

October 21, 2009

The sun is shining this morning, but the rains have arrived in Kenya – a great praise. The transformation is incredible as the awesomely beautiful Jacaranda trees* bordered by carpets of their fallen purple flowers are now surrounded by sprouting green grass and budding plants. The rains have led to a desire to hibernate - not only due to the soothing sounds of rain, but because the walking paths to the grocery store, etc, are slippery mud baths and the potholes on the roads are hidden under water – roads often blocked due to submerged roads and stalled/crashed vehicles.

Jack is using this “inside” time to develop new teaching materials on how to prepare and lead simple, yet effective Bible Studies in our churches and especially with small groups of potential Christians/churches. He did venture out several times in the last week to meet with young Baptist leaders - each time with the purpose of strengthening and encouraging them, but these times have led to great times of rejuvenation for him! Pray for Jack as he develops new teaching materials and reviews/refines his older materials. His prayer is that he will always share/do exactly what is part of God’s plan.

I spend my days at the computer seeking better ways to share the prayer needs of Kenyan Baptists and others in Equatorial Africa. I visit FACEBOOK** daily – an incredible opportunity for raising prayer support! I am hopelessly behind in labelling my past pictures – a need as I seek to strengthen prayer items with “real” pictures. Pray for wisdom and patience as I seek better methods to strengthen your ability to be a prayer warrior for God’s work in our part of the world. Pray for wisdom/insight this week as I help a young woman in seminary make the needed contacts for her thesis on Chronological Bible Storying.

Pray for Jack as he travels to Nyeri Baptist High School this Saturday for a Board of Governors’ meeting. Pray that he will encourage Kenyan Baptists to fully claim the strength they have through our Saviour. Pray for the students at Nyeri Baptist High School who joined 336,633 other Form Four (high school senior) students in beginning the Kenya Certificate of Secondary (KSCE) Exams*** today through November 16th. Fred Gachau, Nyeri’s headmaster, asks us to pray for “confidence and courage” as the students take these exams which determine their opportunities for further studies.

Thank you again and again for being our prayer supporter! As you pray, you are very much a part of God’s work ! Bert Yates
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* For incredible pictures from Kenya, including a screensaver gift and others which can be downloaded for your use – offered as a thank you for past prayers and encouragement for future prayers, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/omba4kenya/JacarandaRain?feat=directlink

** To become my friend on FACEBOOK, click “Find Friends” on your Friend’s page and locate me through “People you e-mail” or by pasting my name or e-mail address in the “Search for People” box at the page bottom. There are several Bert Yates – I’m the one wearing the Red African headdress! I always paste extra pictures for our prayer updates on my FACEBOOK page.

*** “National Examinations/Exam Officials defy rains...” (Daily Nation, 10/20/09) - http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/674500/-/uo1o3q/-/index.html

October 14, 2009

Writing these updates brings many emotions – Enjoyment as I write/prepare pictures for you; awareness that we need your prayer support; and fear that what I share may lead to your thinking we are “suffering for Jesus.” The truth is the blessings always outweigh the problems.

Our last week included my having the joy of helping friends prepare an evangelistic tract for their very hard-to-reach people group, Jack sharing quality times with Kenyan Baptists in need of encouragement, as well as a great day at Nyeri Baptist High School as parents/students/staff celebrated their annual Awards Day. It was a special joy to watch female students take many of the top academic awards in the sciences and math – which in most Kenyan schools are won by boys! Join us in praising God for the opportunities for academic study and spiritual development provided by Southern Baptists (thanks to past gifts to the Lottie Moon Offering and the Cooperative Program) and Kenyan Baptists at schools like Nyeri Baptist High School. Pray also for Kenyan students in Form Four (high school senior) who will begin sitting for national exams next week. Nyeri’s headmaster asked that we pray for “confidence and courage” as the students take these exams which determine their opportunities for further studies. (For pictures of this great day, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/omba4kenya/NyeriBaptistHSAwardsParentsDay?feat=directlink )

I was reminded of how little I suffer as I snuggled my squeaky clean body into a freshly laundered bed last Friday night – yes, we awoke to water in our taps that morning and have enjoyed it since! As I added a praise for water to my bedtime prayers, I remembered the young woman I had seen earlier in the day in her “home”. The young woman, her husband who is the head guard on the property beside us, their toddler son and an infant, as well as the ten youth in the guard crew live in two hovels of wood frames with a roof and half-walls of tin and no flooring. As I thanked God for my crisp bed, I thought of these people whose beds are pieces of fabric or cardboard on the ground. Their only water comes from the nearby dirty river. They may be among the few in Kenya thankful for the drought – At least they are sleeping on DRY ground. When the rains start, which the meteorological department says will be this week, how will they sleep?

Viewing suffering daily does lead to sadness, it also brings a new resolve to be involved in our Father’s work in our hurting world. Pray that Jack and I will be very alert to sharing our Father’s love and salvation with all we encounter. As you pray for rain, pray for health and safety for those in poor housing when the needed rains arrive. Thank you once again for being among our prayer supporters, Bert Yates