October 19, 2011

I began a message to you yesterday written on Jack’s computer entitled: NO Yates/Legacy Team Prayer Update This Week. BUT, a break helped me see things with a more positive attitude – so here goes preparing this on Jack’s computer without my usual program helps. My new computer semi-crashed yesterday – the 2nd time since I purchased it in May – which left me extremely frustrated. Once again, I encountered a damaging glitch, but I know from experience that when I return home from our coastal survey trip this weekend I can repair the problem. So our first two prayer requests this week: Pray that I will have the needed patience and ‘smarts’ to restore my computer to full working condition and secondly, find what leads to the problem SO I can avoid doing it again!

Our survey of Bible Schools on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya has had its ups and downs. Our first visit last Thursday was to a Bible School near the inland town of Voi. The ‘up’ part: The school is in intact and everything (beds, desk, books) are stored, ready for a new class. The ‘down’? There have been no classes in a while.

Our trip on to Mombasa last Thursday began uneventful, other than it was raining. We passed the road to Kaloleni that heads to the north coast and debated whether we should take it to decide if this route through the ‘real’ African countryside would be a good trip for volunteers heading to work on the north coast.* Due to the rain and uncertainty if construction on the road was completed, we took the regular option – actually, the only other option. Fifteen miles from Mombasa, traffic stopped and we could see for at least a mile and saw only stopped vehicles, most of them huge trucks. We were told a truck had flipped and no traffic was moving or would move for hours. So we backtracked and took the one alternative – the road we had passed earlier.

As I shared in the October 14^th Prayer Nudges from East Africa: “The first half of the 25 mile detour was smooth paved roads, then we encountered a barricade of dirt. A young man told us to go back and turn left at the first lane, go to the big tree and turn right onto the "express way" to the Mombasa north road. So we turned around, wiggled through a little village, spotted the big tree and ... well, our definition of an expressway is not a road that is either badly rutted with deep, wide crevices or one-lane-wide pavement with foot high jagged edges, or bits totally flooded! We made it safely although we may all refuse to enter the car today…”

We did get back in the car the next day and visited a graduate of the seminary program at Kenya Baptist Theological College at his Baptist church in Mtwapa, one of the many villages along the coastline. Later, I will share photos taken that day – an exciting view of how a church hall can be transformed into school rooms (girls on the left are in one 'room')with simple room dividers. This time, we heard of many Bible Schools doing well along the coast – even one which has multiplied and now holds multiple classes at another site.

On Sunday, we returned to this church for worship and as I explained in today’s Prayer Nudges from East Africa, before my computer crashed, I had spent much of Monday preparing a ‘Prayer Walk’ using photos taken of kids during that service which I planned to match verses to nudges you to prayers for our coastal kids – many who are live in areas with limited educational and medical opportunities. “BUT as I looked back at the photos, I realized that you don't need my help in discerning how to pray for our coastal kids!” To find the 18 ‘nudges to prayer’ photos taken in an East African village near the Indian Ocean in a Picasa Web Album, go to https://picasaweb.google.com/Bertndovu/Mombasa111016Kids?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCK3UhuC79Zahbw&feat=directlink and on Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150484862025130.465609.685050129&type=1&l=cecd87026e OR for a quick view, it is the new slideshow below the Date/Time in Kenya (right side) of this blog.

We will return to Nairobi on Friday and we do need you to pray for safety as we travel as today’s local newspaper says there is still a ten mile traffic jam of trucks stuck on the Mombasa road since last week due to damage from the recent unseasonably heavy rains. We have had to readjust our schedule due to the rain and flooding and skip visiting some areas. Please join us also in praying for the people, churches, Bible Schools we have visited or will in the next two days. Praise God with us for how our Father is being glorified thanks to the work of many of his past and present committed servants. Join us in praying that we will use all we are learning to know exactly our Father’s plans/purpose for our involvement in His harvest field. BERT YATES

* Answer to the question about using the Kaloleni road for volunteers is a definite YES - but only after they complete the last half of the road, especially if it is raining! It is a great view of the real coastal countryside where little has changed in years!