March 25, 2009

Joy was our response after meeting last Thursday with “volunteers who have been teaching others to lead the 2nd Timothy Discipleship training” of the Baptist Convention of Kenya/LifeWay Partnership in the Machakos (traditionally Kikamba People) and Kajiado (Maasai) churches. Prayers were answered as the volunteers ended their time teaching trainers of discipleship with high expectations of multiplication. Praise God for the pastors and church leaders who said, “I can do this.”

Your prayers were answered for our weekend trip to Tumaini (Hope) Baptist Church in Kitale for a Church Planting seminar. After praying as he greeted the pastors and church leaders, Jack changed his teaching plans and he was “able to share his love for church planting in a way that we believe will awaken a new desire in that area for sharing our Father’s love and salvation.” We experienced joy again as we met with the leaders of the three associations represented at the meeting and heard: “This is easy. We can do this.” Pray that the 75+ men and women – from many people groups – at the training will boldly share their Saviour’s love and salvation as they entrust all they have heard to other reliable men and women who are also teach others (2 Timothy 2:2) and live out the Great Commission.

Thank you also for praying that “I would have an open heart, mind, eyes and ears as I absorbed all that we experienced last weekend.” I returned home with more ideas than I can process, so pray that I will use my time wisely and totally depend on God’s guidance as I share how He is at work along Kenya’s Ugandan border.

We truly needed your prayers “for safe travel – it WAS a long trip.” One third of the seven hour trip was on newly paved great roads and the rest were incredibly horrible! Many stretches are under construction, so we were on dirt roads – remember we are in the midst of a drought. Walls of dust clouds followed the 18 wheel trucks pulling double loads to Uganda and other parts of Africa, which made passing risky, but swallowing their dust was also a risk! Other large sections need rebuilding with very deep ripples caused by the overloaded trucks OR islands of old paving competing with cavernous potholes! The further northwest we moved, cars were increasingly outnumbered by bicycles and motorcycles, often carrying one or more paying riders, plus we were sharing the road with cows, goats, sheep, chickens, zebra, warthogs and baboons – yes, we had to swerve/stop at least once for each of these, as well as for broken down/accident vehicles and bad drivers!

The travel led to many emotions, but heartbreak came from viewing the signs of drought including people hauling water. There were signs of hope as we passed miles of tilled fields awaiting planting and rains. There was deeper heartbreak as we passed hundreds of tents still housing families displaced during last year’s post-election chaos. As you join us in praying for rain, pray also for safety for these “forgotten” people who will face further discomfort and illnesses when the rains come.

Viewing the many burned/destroyed houses was also painful, but most heartbreaking was passing an empty hillside which before elections housed hundreds of simple homes and shops. The church that Jack helped Kenyan Baptists begin in this village during our time in Nakuru is also gone. A praise is that recently Jack learned that some of the fleeing pastors moved to a place east of Nakuru and they have begun many new churches there – a reminder of the new churches begun when early Christians were dispersed due to persecution.

Thank you once again for your prayers and for you support through Lottie Moon/Cooperative Program which allows us to be in part of God’s work in Kenya. Bert Yates
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Words in blue are from last week’s update (with grammatical changes) to remind you of past prayer requests and the words in red are the new prayer items.

What I missed yesterday!

I don’t want to over load your e-mail boxes, but I made a discovery this morning that I think will brighten your day. I snapped three pictures of the little girl from Kitale that I introduced to you yesterday. As I scanned the pictures more closely today, I realized that in addition to the little doll tied to her back, she has a small set of binoculars around her neck! It appears that not only was she playing “mommy,” she was also playing a favorite game of my kids when they were little – actually a favorite game of most African Missionary Kids – TOURIST! No offence to the many of you who have been volunteers, but we all have been entertained at times by “tourist watching” and many, many missionary kids have (or have had) toy binoculars, broken cameras, and safari hats, etc, among their toys to be used when they include being a tourist to their repertoire of playing teacher, doctor, etc!

Sometimes playing tourist comes with a little extra! When our son was four, we heard him talking on our balcony with three other people – one with an English accent, one with an Indian (Asian) accent and one with a distinct Kenyan accent. This was a little confusing as our apartment was on the second floor and we were certain that John was alone on the balcony. He was alone, but was trying out all the accents he was hearing in our multi-culture new home! We later realized that this is another common source of entertainment of Missionary Kids – perfecting and using new accents! AND YES, more than one missionary is also a pro at this!

Have a good day, Bert

A gift For You

One of my pet peeves is TV and newspapers advertisements that use pictures of little Kenyan girls playing with white dolls! Even my two blond/green eyed Kenyan born daughters usually preferred to play with black baby dolls when they were little playing mommy/baby – that was what they saw in real life. But, the picture on the right was one of the perfect sightings which appeared while I was photographing during Jack’s CPM training on Saturday in Kitale. The church was located on the edge of the road in a village that has grown to meet the town. As I was photographing bicycles in the church (I will explain more in this week’s update), I turned around and spotted this little munchkin looking at me! Like many of the kids that day, she stole my heart and her picture is now the screensaver on my computer! I think her picture will explain to you one of the reasons we are so thankful that God has called us to work in Kenya.

If you would like "my gift to you" for use as a screensaver, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/omba4kenya/LittleKitaleGirlScreensaver?authkey=Gv1sRgCPih4oj4lrPQQg&feat=directlink OR hit COMMENT below. Include your e-mail address in your message and I will e-mail the picture to you. Your address will not appear on the published comments. Bert Yates

March 18, 2009

Thanks for praying for last week’s meeting of the leaders of the Baptist Convention of Kenya 2 Timothy Discipleship Program which LifeWay is helping to begin. Your prayers that “we will truly seek God’s will in our decisions and that our actions will lead to greater spiritual growth in our churches and God’s name being made known in Kenya and other nations” were answered. It was a truly amazing group of excited young adults and older dedicated leaders. Their desire to teach all they knew to other reliable disciples was amazing!

The only negative was that of the 35 attendees, I was the only woman – and YES, I did challenge them when it was my turn for greetings! We have many women active in discipleship and I was promised that at future meetings I would not be the lone woman! Pray for Jack and me as we travel to the Machakos area, east of Nairobi, tomorrow to meet volunteers who have been teaching others to lead the 2 Timothy Discipleship training. The purpose of the meeting is to evaluate the training as we continue refining it so that it will truly lead to quality discipleship training in all our Baptist churches.

Continue praying for good time management for Jack and me in the coming weeks as we prepare to leave on April 30th for a four-month Stateside Assignment (furlough). Pray for Jack as he spends extra time with Yallo, a young man who has just completed a seminary programme and is searching for his best places of ministry. Much of Jack's work is talking with pastors and leaders. Pray for wisdom and the gift of encouragement during these planned and unplanned times.

My greatest prayer need is for wisdom, patience and strong eyes as I sort, label and save all the pictures I’ve taken as a Prayer Advocate – a necessity so that I and others can use them more effectively in illustrating prayer items. Pray for me also as I prepare the media presentations we will use during our leave. After years of preparing materials for East Africans, I’m still learning to prepare materials that will speak to Americans!

Jack is leading a CPM (Church Planting Methods) training this weekend in the Kitale in western Kenya near the Uganda border. I will tag along to get pictures and new prayer items to share with you from this area where many of the neighbouring people groups are still among those unreached by the Gospel. Pray that Jack will be able to share his love for church planting in a way that will awaken a new desire in that area for sharing our Father’s love and salvation. Pray that I will have an open heart, mind, eyes and ears as I absorb all that we experience this weekend. Pray also for safe travel – it is a long trip on great and not-so-great roads!

Please be assured that you do encourage us and strengthen our work as you pray for us. We do depend upon you! Bert Yates

March 10, 2009

Sorry, last week was busy and in my haste, I overlooked posting the March 10th update, but I don’t want you to miss it so…

Due to a “congestion” of meetings, Jack needed a mission representative to attend the Board of Governors of Nyeri Baptist High School with him last Saturday. I gladly accepted the opportunity as I thought it would help me share the prayer needs of Kenyan students with you, take pictures of the famine in central Kenya, and give Jack and me an opportunity to take a short break from life in the city! All of this happened and more!

The Nyeri Baptist Board meeting went well and I made lots of notes for later prayer items. I also saw first-hand signs of the drought as we passed parched fields that are usually shades of green year-round. Even many banana plants were brown – a real rarity. We also had a restful break during an overnight stay at a game lodge where we sat in our room for hours watching an elephant, buffaloes, waterbuck and bushbuck enjoy the water hole just outside our window.

As we returned home on Sunday afternoon, I was once again busy shooting pictures. After shooting the last picture from my mental-list-of-needed famine pictures, “A scene that was a writer’s dream then appeared – a scene filled with emotions, activity, drama and possibly even death. We saw joy, hope, fear and greed all played out before us.” To read the article which will help you pray for Kenya and for Baptists of Kenya, go to “The Perfect Drought Story” at the Omba4Kenya/Pray for Kenya blog at http://omba4kenya.blogspot.com/2009/03/finding-perfect-drought-story.html for the story and pictures.

Jack and I will attend a meeting tomorrow and Thursday with the Kenyan Baptists planners of LifeWay’s “2 Timothy Discipleship Training”. Pray for our group as we plan the future of this program which is providing discipleship training and materials to Kenyan Baptist. Pray that we will truly seek God’s will in our decisions and that our actions will lead to greater spiritual growth in our churches and God’s name being made known in Kenya and other nations.

Pray also for good time management for Jack and me in the coming weeks. Our schedules/work loads will be extra heavy as we prepare to leave on April 30 for a four month Stateside Assignment (furlough). We will be living in Rocky Mount, NC, and we are looking forward to special time with family and friends, as well as special opportunities to share what God is doing in Kenya. The month of May will include two very special family times. Thanks to our middle child, Jennifer, we will become grandparents the week of our arrival and our daughter, Jessie, will graduate from Wake Forest University on the 18th of May.

Thank you once again for being our prayer supporters – both for your “general” prayers and the prayers in response to our requests. Bert Yates

March 4, 2009

I closed the last update to my prayer list for all Baptist work in Kenya, Omba4Kenya , with these words: “pray for … Kenyans who are hungry and thirsty … Help is needed from missionaries and international relief groups, but … the maturity and wisdom gained from last year’s post-election chaos is being expressed as Kenyans respond to the famine … Pray for wisdom, sensitivity and strength for all those planning relief efforts. Pray also that ministering Christians will be strong ambassadors of their Father’s love and salvation to all those “who live on earth – to every nation, tribe, language and people” (Revelation 14:6) – For all of this update, go to: http://omba4kenya.blogspot.com/2009/03/cows-are-dying-and-many-many-people-are.html


As I considered what to ask you, our personal prayer team, to join us in praying this week, I realized these words covered our concerns. We are praying for the 10.6 million Kenyans who are starving. Although raising the finances is difficult, the answer appears simple: Feed the people! But the answer is much more complex. Decisions must be made: Who/where are the starving? What are their greatest/true needs? How can they be helped in short-term ways that will benefit them in the long-run? (Example: Pray for Jack as he determines how much money to request for corn for eating and corn for planting. The seeds saved for planting have been eaten!) Who has the best time/experience/ability/energy/assets to meet these needs? Where/how can the best, but most economical resources such as food and milk be found? How can the resources be delivered so all those in need will benefit? How can we be the best stewards of the available resources? Etc…

As you pray for those facing starvation, pray also for those who are responding to their needs. These men and women are facing physical, emotional, and spiritual battles. Pray that they will have exceptional strength in all these areas. When Jack saw the specialist this past week (a praise is that tests show Jack has no more kidney stones!), he asked if Jack was working in the famine areas – which he is. The doctor is not a mystic – he knows from experience that people in dry areas – the areas of famine – face a much higher chance of developing medical problems such as kidney stones – those suffering from famine and those ministering to them! From personal experience, we also know that those ministering suffer emotionally from all the pain they see and the devil works overtime to discourage these helpers whether it be broken down vehicles, administrative delays, greedy government officials and suppliers, family problems, depletion of spiritual strength, etc.

As you pray for these things, join us in praising God for how Kenyans are responding to the needs of their brothers and sisters. Praise God for a renewed desire of Kenyan Christians to obey their Saviour and feed the hungry and give something to drink to the thirsty (Matthew 25:31-46). Praise God for their deeper commitment to prayer. I wish you could have stood with Jack and me during our last Sunday morning worship service as our pastor led hundreds of us in committing ourselves to our Saviours’ words in John 15:7 (NIV): “If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you” – which leads me to how you can truly minister to those hurting in Kenya – PRAY! And I’ve made it easy – today’s prayer guides are in red. Bert Yates