Your Gifts Are Being Used and Your Prayers Are Being Answered!

Want to see how Southern Baptists are responding to the drought in East Africa with your gifts to the World Hunger Funds? A short video on the drought and the food distributions can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqUh3PL7zDwv=QqUh3PL7zDw

The missionary friend who sent this link in response to yesterday’s prayer update also shared: “Oh yeah, it is drizzling today. It won't help the food/water situation, but at least it is settling the dust and greening up the grass a bit.”

I asked you earlier to pray “that the rains will come early.”* SO NOW, I need you to pray with NGUVU (a great Swahili word that means strength, power) that this will be more than a drizzle and continue for “several weeks, not just a few days as in recent years.” Pray that the rains will be sufficient for growing good crops and ample pasture and that rivers, lakes, and groundwater will be quickly restored.

With faith that your prayers are being answered, begin praying even now for the people who are always hurt by the floods that result when it does rain, especially after a time of drought. Pray for safety and good health for these people. In all of this continue praying also that “Kenyan Christians will be strong witnesses of their Saviour, the provider of living water and everlasting life, during this time.” Bert

* You prayed for this in an earlier prayer update!

September 2, 2009

A double whammy of Bad News: Just as I accepted that we needed two new pieces of luggage to pack all the clothes and “odds/and/ends” for our return trip to Kenya, I discovered that two of our old suitcases had “unfixable” holes – which meant buying even more luggage. Good News: After thirty years of traveling to and from East Africa, Jack and I now have “matching” luggage! Hopefully this will be additional good news or at least less frustration when it comes time to collect our luggage in Nairobi on Sunday night – after 24 hours of traveling, we are usually too tired to remember the colours/brands of our checked luggage. It was definitely a “memory game” when we traveled with our three kids and ended the long trip by collecting 10 to 15 pieces of non-matching suitcases! (Suggestion to volunteers: Write detailed descriptions of your luggage on a card and keep this information in your carry-on – one less stressor if there is lost luggage.)

I’m not looking forward to completing the packing process – prayers for strength, discernment, and sanity between now and our departure on Saturday are needed. BUT we are ready to return to Kenya and discover new ways to join our Father’s work in Africa. As I fret over the needed goodbyes, I remember that we will soon greet Kenyan friends and co-workers in the place where we know God has placed us. Please join us praying for great times with our family before we leave.

With the need to unpack next week and no internet for awhile, it is unlikely that I will send a prayer update next week. So, in the next two weeks, join us in praying that we will adjust to the seven hour plus time change very quickly. Pray also that we will rely totally upon the Holy Spirit as we schedule our work in Kenya. Pray for Jack as he plans his work/teaching schedule for the next year. Pray for me as I assume a new position currently defined only by a word – Communicator. As I’ve visited with churches and Baptists during our time in the States, I feel more passionately than ever that prayer is the greatest need of our missionaries. Pray that all the thoughts/ideas/dreams in my mind will be sorted and put-into-action in ways that are definitely guided by the Holy Spirit.

Please also continue praying for the ongoing drought in Kenya. To strengthen your prayers, view/listen “Audio Slideshow: Kenya’s Drought” prepared by BBC Radio at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8227000/8227391.stm which was shared with us by a prayer supporter. The pictures of northern Kenya will break your heart, especially if you remember that most of the people do not claim our Saviour’s love and salvation and many have yet to hear of our Saviour.

Thank you for praying for us last week as we met with North Carolina volunteers – it was exciting to meet with past and future volunteers to Kenya and to listen as they shared how God was using them not just to “the ends of the earth,” but in ministering in their own neighbourhoods and other parts of the US. I have said it before, but it still true: Thank you again for being our prayer warrior – we do need and depend upon your prayer support! Bert