“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” As I read God’s challenge to His children in Isaiah 43:19, two questions arose in my mind: How many of His new things around me have I not perceived? How often do I perceive these new things, but overlook giving Him the thanks and glory?
During a recent time of frustrations, Jack and I committed ourselves to focusing more on what God is doing, rather than on problems and what the devil was doing! The result has been that we are perceiving many of God’s new things and having incredible opportunities to be a part of some of these!
The top new thing in our life has been participating in a new church plant. As I looked over pictures of the first two services, I realized a possible way to measure the strength of a new church start – the number of church planters who arrive with milk bottles, juice packs and snacks – not for themselves, but for little ones! These young couples are starting this church to reach those who don’t know their Savior in their part of Nairobi,but there is an extra commitment when the participants are planting a church to nurture and train their babies, toddlers and children to be God’s children! AND, God is blessing their commitment!
Jack and I had a very special time of seeing God’s new “old” things last week. Retired co-workers, who were a part of many new church starts while serving with the IMB, asked for updates. Jack realized that at least three of these churches were in the midst of building needed new sanctuaries – so last Friday we walked through building sites. All three churches were started by IMB missionaries and Kenyan Baptists. Those of you who gave to the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Offerings in the 1980’s and 90’s
were also a part of planting these churches, not only as you supported your IMB missionaries, but as you helped build the first sanctuaries and made sure that there was Sunday School materials to use and seminary trained pastors to serve the churches!
You are not “funding” these new sanctuaries – not a negative, but a positive as the members of these churches pay for their new sanctuaries, bit by bit, which means that your past investment in these churches/ Christians is reaping benefits as they take responsibility for God’s work in their country! During our tour, I realized that I was seeing how your investments in past work in Kenya are continuing to reap benefits that are immeasurable! It was hard to capture all of this in a prayer photo album and to reduce 1000 pictures to 20, but I promise you that even the glimpse shared in “Bursting at the Seams Legacy Churches” will leave you praising and thanking God! These pictures are at:
You are receiving our Prayer Update a day early as I’m going to be a part of a new thing – teaching at our seminary. A class which graduates on Friday lacked one class on Communications, so Jack is teaching them today and my turn is tomorrow. So tomorrow – as always – I will be depending upon your prayers, BERT
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While editing pictures from our church tour, I found pictures that will share a different bit of our lives. Kenya now has Nakumatts, Uchumis and other chains of stores that sell a little of everything, but the "bestest" and "funnest" shopping in Nairobi is still on the streets and in the markets. For a view of what you can spot in one morning, check out "Who needs a Walmart?” at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=256480&id=685050129&l=d85b4dd5e3
You can find more on Ridgeways Baptist Church in a blog prepared in 2008 as a Lottie Moon promotion: http://ridgewaysbaptistchurch.blogspot.com/
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