AND then on Saturday, we received word that Southern Baptist gave the “ third-largest Lottie Moon offering in history” this past year! Great news! News that deserves a big THANK YOU to our Southern Baptist friends! So, I quit MY PLAN and began a new photo album/prayer nudge to share our thanks for your gift – gifts we will not only use, but we will view how past gifts to Lottie Moon continue to reap benefits! You can find the good news from Baptist Press, “$148.9M is 3rd-largest Lottie Moon offering”, at http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=33071 . Our special “THANK YOU FOR GIVING TO LOTTIE MOON” is found at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=233713&id=685050129&l=cc3317bcbe The second happening occurred yesterday – definitely a time when seeing God at work took precedence over MY PLANS! Jack experienced
the special event and as he shared it with me at dinner last night, I knew you had to hear it... So, Jack wrote this for you this morning (with comments made by BERT): These days it seems to be all about connecting. Yesterday afternoon, five diverse representatives met at Ruiru Baptist Church (north of Nairobi) to discuss the new church plant in the Ngoingwa Community in Thika (further north). The Ruiru pastor, Samson Kisia, is the missionary energizer. He was also the oldest, wisest and more experienced of those meeting. His life and efforts had discipled everyone in the group. While awaiting for all to arrive, he and I talked history.
Listening was Mzungu Shume, the youngest of our group, a former member of Cindy Wilson’s (IMB missionary) IMPACT Group (Kenyan youth who traveled through East Africa sharing the gospel through drama, music, etc.), a Kenya Baptist Theological College graduate, and the church planter Ruiru Baptist Church sent to Ngoingwa. He had very little to add other than exclamations concerning our stories. From Malindi (Kenya coast), he had not yet been born when we moved from Mombasa in 1985.
Joining us next was my pastor from Parklands Baptist Church (Nairobi), Simon Mwangi whose enthusiasm and energy is unmatched in the areas of discipleship, evangelism and church planting. He is a “Resource Guy,” full of demographics and networks of groups and people. He always lives on the cutting edge!
Then came Pius, an assistant to Kisia, and an old Bible School student of mine. Quiet and resourceful, he leads others in participating in church planting. Five men from different age groups, people groups and even spiritual generations; five individuals with unique Spirit-led travels and experiences; five sets of gifts and talents; all bonded together by faith and experience in the call of God. Should I explain why we connected?
I (Bert) had to share Jack’s story because even before I knew of yesterday’s meeting, I had included the beginning of the Ngoingwa Baptist Church, as well as how Samson’s life 
has been affected by your gifts to the Lottie Moon Offering in the “Thank You” from us! As Jack’s story unfolded, I recognized that Mzungu’s life was affected by Lottie Moon as he grew up in one of the first Baptist churches, Malindi Baptist, and his experience through IMPACT was financed thanks to Lottie. Simon Mwangi was discipled through university student ministries guided by IMB missionaries and Journeymen – another example of past gifts to Lottie Moon continuing to reap benefits. And, the Bible School that Pius attended would not have happened had it not been for funds from Lottie!
I’ve always been told that explaining how a gift is used is a good point to make in a thank you note. So, I hope all I’ve shared in today’s update and the “Thank You for Giving to Lottie” photo album/prayer nudge will excite you as much as it excites us as we see God at work in our part of the world – thanks in part to your gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering! BERT
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