Wednesday, November 26, 2008

November 26, 2008 - Thanks to Lottie

Today’s update will be short for two major reasons. First, a friend of many years is in town and I’m taking the day off for a special re-union day! Secondly, even if I did try to write an “impressive” update, I would likely fail as my fingers are exhausted, but for a good reason. The Spiritual Retreat that I asked you to pray for last week was a great success – a true time of retreat, revival and renewal for our mission families. As a part of one prayer time, I asked my co-workers to write a thank you note to Southern Baptist. Everyone at the retreat was so tired and so ready for a break from work, that I expected only a few short replies.

Instead it was as though I had unleashed a flood and I returned home with a thick stack of long replies, plus responses from some of our missionary kids. Since returning home on Sunday afternoon, I have lived at the computer. My goal was to have the new “Thanks to Lottie” blog ready to release by tomorrow morning, as a Thanksgiving message for you and the prayer supporters for all the work in Kenya. I know you and others were been praying for me, because for once I completed my work hours before my target time and as you know the new “thank you” blog, Thanks to Lottie, was released in a message I sent to you yesterday.

I do hope you take time to look at this blog and accept it as a thank you for all your prayers, financial support through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Cooperative Program and assistance with the work in Kenya – because we are thankful, so very thankful that through your support we are able to be among the workers in the harvest field of Kenya. To help those of you who are still learning the computer, Thanks to Lottie , is at http://thankstolottiekenya.blogspot.com/ .

We do depend on your prayers! We are depending upon them as Jack prepares for a mini-training with several of our new staff in support roles that keep them busy caring for our missionaries and others, yet they want to use their free time actively sharing God’s love and salvation. I am depending upon your prayers as I continue strengthening and encouraging our missionaries and Kenyan Baptists by assisting them in raising an army of prayer supporters. We cannot thank you adequately for the strengthening and encouragement we receive from the assurance of your prayers as we do our Father’s work, Bert Yates

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Celebrating the Great Commission

Recently during a sermon, a Kenyan pastor talked of how some people proudly share their genealogy/family tree. He then asked, “Do you know your Christian genealogy? Have you ever thought that your family tree could begin with Jesus or with Paul?”

This week’s Lottie Moon Promotion, Celebrating the Great Commission, shares a few branches of one man’s “spiritual tree.” Celebrating the Great Commission shares the Lottie Moon story of Baptist Chapel, a church that celebrated its 8th anniversary last week. Celebrating the Great Commission shares how obediently carrying out the Great Commission leads to many Great Commission Stories!

Celebrating the Great Commission also shares how missionaries, Kenyan Baptists, and Southern Baptist Volunteers – including those that took part in the Greater Nairobi Evangelistic Effort of 1996 – are a continuing part of an incredible Great Commission Story. Celebrating the Great Commission shares of the great returns from the past investments (the prayers, service, and monies given to the Lottie Moon Offering and the Cooperative Program) of Southern Baptists who are committed to God’s multiplication plan – our Saviour’s Great Commission!

If you haven’t yet clicked into the blog, take time now to view the Lottie Moon story, Celebrating the Great Commission! And don’t miss a glimpse of Covered Dish Dinners at Kenyan Baptist Churches prepared with the fresh, really fresh chickens! Bert Yates

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For those who may have trouble “reading” the site for the blog, it is: http://celebratingthegreatcommission.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

November 19, 2008

I am still immersed in “missionary stories” – this week’s story revolves around a church dedication that we attended last Sunday. As I roamed around taking pictures, I realized that this young church, Baptist Chapel, is a true Great Commission Story – an incredible story of God’s multiplication plan – a story of how carrying out the Great Commission leads to many Great Commission Stories! It was a long day (the service lasted over 5 hours), but an incredible day as we viewed how the older Baptist work in Kenya continues to mature and produce baptized disciples. In a few days I will share the full story of how this church is the result of the work of missionaries, volunteers and Kenyans committed to making disciples and teaching others to obey all of our Saviour’s commandments.

After days of meetings last week, Jack is now playing catch-up as he completes reports and assimilates all he absorbed. He returned from the BARA (Baptist AIDS Response Agency) Retreat excited and proud of how this ministry is being used by God. This is a true success story of how a dream of IMB missionaries is now a Kenyan ministry growing in their ability to serve their Heavenly Father. They continue to do this by relying upon a biblical foundation to help vulnerable groups avoid HIV/AIDS, while helping others face the reality of this illness.

Jack’s schedule last week also included a Board of Governors meeting of the Kenya Baptist Theological College. He felt your prayers as he and others were able to deal with many thorny issues. Our seminary/college is facing many changes as they grow, mature and become independent. Missionaries will continue serving on their faculty/staff, but the day has come for the KBTC to be “owned” by Kenyans rather than by the IMB – not simply ownership of title deeds, etc, but more importantly as it becomes a heart desire for Kenyan Baptists to produce trained men and women of God.

Thank you also for praying for our friend who returned last week to her former home, Zimbabwe, to assist with a relief project. Many missionaries have transferred to Kenya from Zimbabwe in recent years due to job re-assignments, and it has been difficult for them to hear second-hand of all the distress their friends are experiencing. Our friend did visit with the family that took their dog and all are surviving among all the chaos. Please continue praying for the situation in Zimbabwe and in the Congo where many missionaries and national Christians are striving to be ambassadors of God’s love and salvation in difficult situations.

My prayer request this week is that I totally claim 1 Peter 4:11 as I do my prayer advocacy work. Join me in praying that I will speak the very words of God and rely upon his strength as I share prayer items. Pray for Jack as he advises, strengthens and encourages our Kenyan leaders and missionaries who desire to minister through our Baptist churches. Pray for the Spiritual Retreat that we will attend this weekend with many of our IMB co-workers. We are in the midst of an IMB re-organization and this a stressful time for many of our colleagues. Join us in praying for true peace and revival. Bert Yates

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Strengthening and Encouraging Through Lottie's Medical Support

A year ago a young girl in Nairobi often had high fevers and simply felt too horrible to play with her friends. Today she is healthy and full of energy thanks to the medical care provided by her parent's employer, the International Mission Board. Her parents are thankful for their employers and for Southern Baptists who provided the needed finances through the Lottie Moon Offering and Cooperative Program so that their daughter could receive quality medical care.

A man came to Kenya to live among the Maasai and share his Father's love and salvation. A car accident changed his life. Many thought his career was over, but thanks to the giving of Southern Baptists, the IMB made certain he received the needed care, surgeries and therapy. When doctors said the man had to adjust to ongoing limitations due to the accident, the IMB continued their support. Today this man and his wife are planting churches in the slums of Nairobi.

These stories and many more found on a new blog are not just missionary stories, they are testimonies of how IMB medical support funded through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Cooperative Program strengthens and encourages missionaries. They are stories of how this support allows them to continue serving their Father as workers in his harvest field.

Another story is also shared on the blog, the BARA story. This is a story of how a Lottie Moon Offering investment is continuing to have a positive impact on the HIV/AIDS problem in Kenya. It is also a story of how the investment continues to mature and grow as BARA expands to other African countries.

Where can you find these stories? At: Strengthening and Encouraging Through Lottie’s Medical Support

Why are these stories shared? To let you know that IMB missionaries do need your support and we are thankful for your support. We know that without you we would be unable to continue serving in our Father’s harvest field. These stories are also shared to help you realize the returns of your investments, your prayer investments, your investments in the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program, and your investments as co-workers in the Harvest Field! Bert Yates

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

November 12, 2008

Recently I have been immersed in what some would call “missionary stories” as I’ve reviewed prayer items that I and others have shared in the last year. Yes, we are encouraged to work extra hard at sharing these stories with our Southern Baptist supporters at this time of year, the time of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. And, yes, many of us have concerns of how the current world-wide economic turmoil will affect your giving to the LMCO this year, but the need for you to surpass this year’s LMCO goal is not the greatest motivation I and others have to share our lives, work, needs, praises, etc, with you. Our urgency comes from our desire to thank you for ALL of your support during 2008 – your prayers, your joining us as workers in the harvest field, and your financial gifts.

My desire to share is also a response to a personal quest during this uncertain time. While evaluating my financial investments I’ve become more alert to the investment returns of our past and present IMB work. Yes, there have been disappointments and failures, but there are incredible stories of how the investments of IMB personnel and your past prayers, gifts, and involvement were blessed and continue to lead to strengthening and encouraging the disciples (Acts 14:22) and the eternal gospel being proclaimed “to every nation, tribe, language and people” (Revelations 14:6). You can find many of these stories at Lottie Moon Stories from the Harvest Field of Kenya, but today as I considered what to share with you, my mind keeps returning to a missionary story that I experienced last night.

As we ate too much cake and ice cream at a birthday party, a friend said, “I don’t know if I want to know.” This was not a light-hearted reply, but a response from a broken heart. My co-worker was leaving early this morning to visit her former home, Zimbabwe, where she will assist in a Baptist relief project sharing spiritual and physical food. This will be her first visit since billion dollar notes became needed for a loaf of bread WHEN bread can be found, or since the country slipped so deeply into total despair. Earlier, the friend had shared that her afternoon shopping excursion had left her in tears as she purchased gifts of food for her friends – items no longer available in the past affluent country where her life was invested for many years, where her sons spent their teen-age years.

My friend’s “I don’t know if I want to know” comment was not referring to past friends or work. My friend was debating if she would contact the family who adopted their dog. She feared that they had fled like many others – possibly too fast to find another home for the dog. She was afraid that they could no longer afford or find the needed food to supply their pet’s voracious appetite. As I listened to her comments, the suffering and pain in Zimbabwe took on a more personal wrenching. I recognized that my friend’s voiced words also shared much about her love for the country, her former friends and colleagues in ministry, and her love for her Father.

Her concerns are the basis of a great missionary story – but my friend’s feelings are not based on her desire to be the heroine of a “real” missionary story. Her reactions define what most international missionaries feel when they answer God’s call to be His workers in a place different from our birth homes. Loving the people and learning the culture is often an on-going struggle, yet as we act as our Saviour’s co-workers, something happens – the people of our adopted home become not numbers, target groups, or “those people” – they become our friends, they become a part of our lives, they are included in our use of the words we, our, us! Most missionaries would say that creating missionary stories is simply what happens as we obediently invest and share our lives with those around us.

And this returns me to why I’m focusing on our missionary stories at the moment and why I’ve allowed this update to be so long! There are still many in our world who do not know of or claim our Heavenly Father’s love and salvation and workers are still needed in his harvest field (Matthew 9:37-38). Without you and your support, I and many others could not be a part of the “we, our, us” stories that become missionary stories. We are thankful for how your prayers, financial support and involvement enable us to be about our Father’s work. We also are very aware that the work is not finished and we need you, our co-workers, to continue with your prayer support, financial support and assistance as volunteers. So this is my LOTTIE MOON STORY and I do thank you for being AND for the assurance I have that you will continue to be God’s and our fellow workers (1 Corinthians 3:9). Bert Yates

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Lottie Moon Stories from the Harvest Field of Kenya

Do you need help promoting the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in your church? Do you have questions about how much you can personally give to the offering this year? Do you have questions about what or who is Lottie Moon? Or do you simply like things organized? Hopefully, all the above questions and possibly more will be answered at a new blog – Lottie Moon Stories from the Harvest Field of Kenya

During the last year many Great Commission/Lottie Moon Stories of Kenya have been shared through Omba4Kenya , true, living stories of how God has been, is, and is continuing to be at work in Kenya thanks to the support of Southern Baptists. These stories were shared to encourage you to continue supporting us through your prayers, giving, and through joining us as workers in the harvest field, but also because they were great news that deserved praise, not for the people involved, but for our Heavenly Father!Why are all these stories now found in one place and why will new stories be added in coming weeks? To encourage and strengthen you! These stories tell of the good investments that you made in the past as you supported the work of the IMB through your prayers, finances through the Lottie Moon and the Cooperative Program, and through volunteering – investments that are still providing incredible returns even in these days of economic turmoil! These stories are shared to let you know your investments are appreciated. These stories are shared so you can share them with others. Most importantly these stories are to be challenges for you continue praying, giving and sending workers until the eternal gospel is proclaimed to all those “who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language and people” (Revelations 14:6).

So, now you know why this new blog is available. Why don’t you click on to it now at Lottie Moon Stories from the Harvest Field of Kenya – simply click these words and you should find your way to the blog!

And before I forget, thanks for your support this year and for all your prayer support of the prayer needs and praises from Kenya. Bert Yates

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

November 5, 2008

Thanks for your prayers for us last week. We did catch up on our sleep, although the Hindu fireworks continued through the weekend. Our major problem at the moment is no water for over a week. When the pipes were damaged on our street, the water company removed the broken bit and said the needed pipe was out-of-stock and would be for six months or so! This is the truth, not a glorified missionary story! Thankfully, Mr. Mwangi (Mwahn-gee), the mission’s plumber, received permission to make the repairs – a true blessing as they usually say it is illegal to do it yourself! He is working as I write, so hopefully we will hear gurgling within the hour! We have two storage tanks and can go for at least two weeks by conserving water and we are pros at this after living in Nakuru where six weeks without fresh water was the norm. I’m not sharing this to prove what a “hard life we live”, but to help you understand the frustrations we face in our adopted home. We try not to be frustrated, but focus on our blessings, such as unlike many Kenyans we do have water running into our home most of the time, but we don’t always succeed! In the last few months, we have faced an unusual amount of frustrations, so we need you to join us in praying that we will not allow “third-world” problems to get us down! AS I reread this paragraph, Mr Mwangi arrived to say the new pipe was in and fresh water is now filling our tanks!!!

Thank you also for praying for me as prepared prayer items related to the Baptist Street Kid Ministry and one of our legacy churches, Ridgeways Baptist Church. Between interruptions and things moving slowly, by mid-afternoon on Saturday I was ready to delay sending the prayer item until Sunday as I felt I simply couldn’t finish as planned on Saturday AND then my internet speed was better than ever and the right words flowed and I finished the project! Trust me – this had to have been the answer to prayers – lots of prayers! Do continue praying in the coming weeks as I prepare more special prayer items to help Southern Baptists recognize the good investments that they have made in the past as they supported our work through prayers, finances through the Lottie Moon and the Cooperative Program, and through volunteering – investments that are still providing incredible returns even in these days of economic turmoil!

Thank you also for your continued prayers for Jack as he works as the Liaison with the Baptist Convention of Kenya. The BCOK leaders have also faced many frustrations this year including dealing with a few pastors who appear to be more focused on their personal glory/power rather than God’s power and glory and problems at the Kenya Baptist Theological College. Many of the problems of our seminary/college can be compared to the maturing problems when a child has to make his own way and choices. Do pray for wisdom for Jack as he encourages and strengthens our local leaders as they deal with personnel and financial problems at KBTC. Pray that their decisions will not only solve the current problems, but will lead to long-term growth for the college and the convention. Bert Yates
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(Pictures are of the water tanks on ground level, one for each of our two flats on the property (we each have a smaler storage tank in the attic), flowers in our yard, one of the blessings and definitely not one of the frustrations of living in Kenya, and of Jack and Arthur Kinyanjui, one of our early Kenyan pastors and a former moderator of the BCOK who came by for a visit last weekend.)

Saturday, November 1, 2008

A Thank You Gift for You

As I considered how to share my thanks to those of you who will be giving to the upcoming Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and to those of you who give to the Cooperative Program year-round, I realized that one way to share my thanks is by giving you reports in the coming weeks – reports of how your past investments in our Father’s work in Kenya has not only been blessed, but continues to provide incredible returns even in these days of economic turmoil!

During the last few months I have shared several of these Great Commission/Lottie Moon Stories – true stories of how God has been, is, and is continuing to be at work in Kenya thanks to your support (these are found in the right column). Yes, it is part of my job to encourage you to continue supporting us through your prayers, giving, and even through joining us in our work as a volunteer, but to be honest, as I prepared each of these blogs my motivation was simply that these stories were news too good to keep to myself – I HAD TO SHARE THEM WITH YOU so that you could join me in praising God for what is happening in Kenya.

And now I have another incredible story to share with you. Last Sunday I attended Ridgeways Baptist Church which was started in the late 1980’s by your missionaries and a very special group of people – second generation Baptists. Elijah Wanje, the pastor, and several others who began this church are the children of some of the first Baptist pastors in Kenya. In the new blog, “Bringing People to Christ,” a retired missionary who was a part of beginning Ridgeways shares her memories. The blog also includes another story – the story of Ridgeways Baptist Church becoming involved in a new ministry of bringing people to Christ – A ministry with the Street Children of Nairobi.

My prayer is that you will take time to join me in praising God for how Ridgeways Baptist Church is joining a few Christians – some of your IMB missionaries and Kenyans with a heart for ministering to street children – as they work together sharing God’s love and salvation with some of the neediest members of our world. I wish I could have wrapped this new blog in coloured papers and added an intricate bow to help you realize that it is my gift to you – my way of saying thank you for how you allow me and other IMB missionaries to be among the workers in the harvest field of our Father! Bert Yates
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To open the NEW BLOG, “Bringing People to Christ,” click the following: http://ridgewaysbaptistchurch.blogspot.com/