“popped on” my computer screen via Instant Message with news that needs prayer. A young Kenyan friend, David Yallo, who finished Bible School/Mission Training in South Africa earlier this year, and has been very involved in the mission trips of our church, Parklands Baptist in Nairobi and helped Jack on a February feeding project in the Ukambani area “went to be with the Lord yesterday through a road accident on his way to Tanzania for a mission” trip. Praise God for the witness that Yallo was among his friends, family and all he met of his Father’s love and salvation. Pray also for these people as they deal with Yallo’s death. Bert --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
How do you know that someone is a veteran missionary? When they take a vacation to America’s capital, Washington, DC, and they skip the steakhouses and hamburger places and excitedly head to the places from their adopted home – Nando’s*, a South African based restaurant that serves Mozambique/Portuguese chicken, and a Kebab place that has Kormas, Curries, Masalas, Lassis, Rotis, and Nans** on the menu! Veteran missionaries to Africa are also the ones who get excited when they spot the flags of their host continent, especially “their” flag, during the tour of Embassy Row!
We had a great time in DC and did enjoy the PeriPeri chicken at Nando’s and the Chicken Korma, Lentil Curry, Buttered Nans and Mango Lassi at the restaurant run by a family from the Punjab state of India, who served real Indian food like our Kenyan
Indian friends, not the Americanized recipes usually sold in the US! We also had the joy of speaking in churches on the weekends around our vacation. Including time with our families, this is a good glimpse of the life of missionaries on Stateside Assignment. It is a time to rest/rejuvenate, but it is also a time to get others excited about how God is at work in the place where He has placed us.Another part of Stateside Assignment for IMB missionaries is medical check-ups. Part of being a good steward of the monies and prayers Southern Baptist invest in us is that we be in good health and keep our medical costs low. Thankfully, we were able to complete most of our testing in Nairobi, but pray for Jack and me as we have a few additional tests run tomorrow – tests which we hope will lead to the final clearances needed to return to Kenya on September 5th.
Pray for us also as we head to the Baptist Assembly at Fort Caswell along the North Carolina coast next week for a World Mission’s Conference (therefore, no update next week). Pray that we will share clearly and contagiously how God has been at work in Kenya and how others can join in the harvest through praying, giving and volunteering. Pray for Jack as he prepares for a Mission Training Seminar on August 10, 17 and 24 (four hours each night) at First Baptist Church in Rocky Mount, NC. Join church members in praying that this seminar will “increase understanding of the practical applications of the Great Commission.” Pray for Jack also as he gives a one hour training to a group of pastors during August. Pray for me as I begin processing how God can use me in a new assignment upon our return to Kenya – I will still be involved in prayer advocacy for Kenya, but in my new job I will be striving to encourage and strengthen our missionaries in our newly formed Equatorial Cluster as I find ways to enable communication between/with IMB missionaries (I will write more about this later).
Rather than a picture this week, I have added a prayer guide based on the Kenya flag that I sent earlier to you. Your prayers do make a difference – THANK YOU! Bert Yates
*For more about Nando’s and a few recipes, go to: http://www.nandos.com/index1.html
** For recipes of these items, type the item you desire followed by recipe in your search box (Example: korma recipe)
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