“Want to know what really makes a missionary of over 30
years feel like celebrating? Being in a worship service and hearing 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd generation East African Baptists singing, ‘Lord, you are good… People
from every nation and every tongue, from generation to generation, We worship
you ... You are good.’” These were my thoughts as Jack and I worshipped
last Sunday with our church family at PBC/Mombasa Road in Nairobi. For those
who keep up with me on Facebook, much of today’s update will be a repeat, but
these words best share our heart during our annual IMB International Week of
Missions .
Before I share more from last Sunday, I must thank you. A
week ago I asked that you pray that I “harness/put into action all my ideas …
during December to help you recognize how thankful we and our colleagues are
for your support and how we do depend upon you.” I didn’t accomplish all I
desired last week, but when I was tired /faced writer’s block, I knew the
needed burst of energy/new thoughts was the result of your prayers – THANK YOU!
Now, back to our story as shared in last Monday’s (Dec 5th) Prayer Nudge from
East Africa: Added joy? Knowing the spiritual history of these
worshippers – knowing that most are well discipled, some by early Baptist
missionaries to East Africa and others discipled by those discipled by the
missionaries – the multiplication process in action! Another joy? Knowing that
most of these worshippers are active co-workers serving as our Father’s Heart,
Hands and Voice in our world – a few as pastors, many as ‘home missionaries’ in
prisons, universities, unreached people groups, etc., and many whose business
jobs take them to places such as Egypt, Sudan, India and even war-torn Somalia
– places where professional missionaries are not always welcome!
The girl’s (photo above used to illustrate Prayer Nudge) father, a leader of home mission trips, recently left the business world to become a Baptist Pastor. As a youth, he was discipled by IMB missionaries with a heart for making disciples who make disciples. The girl’s mother is a prayer warrior for unreached Peoples in East Africa and an active disciple maker, who worked many years for an organization sharing God’s Word via the radio to unreached peoples. She is also the daughter of one of the first East African church planters, a Tanzanian who began the Chamgamwe Baptist Church in the city of Mombasa, Kenya. WHICH makes the girl in the photo a 3rd generation East African Baptist and one who is already being discipled by an East African believer using a book published with the help of the Lottie Moon Offering – one more way her family has been touched by Lottie.
ADDED NOTE: Some IMB missionaries in East Africa focus on the Unengaged People Groups (no known sharing of our Father’s Good News), others on the Unreached (those touched, sometimes barely, by the witness of Believers), and a few focus on what is known as the LEGACY. These men and women teach at seminaries and others teach in established Baptist churches and Bible Schools – all with the goal of strengthening and encouraging East African Believers as they serve as a multiplying army of workers in our Father’s Harvest Field, making disciples who will make more…
The girl’s mother sent me this information which I added later which I knew my WMU friends would appreciate: The missionary that my father first worked with was a WOMAN, Helen Gilmore!
I do try to keep these updates short, but as our Kenyan friends says, “I was DEFEATED today.” I’m also late in sending this, but I have a great reason. Jack called during lunch to tell me that he had taken a photo of a student in his class for another great Lottie Story – which I will share next week. The phone (we rely totally on cell phones) connection was horrible, so I went outside – and was entertained for almost an hour by a symphony/ ballet by a flock of birds captured sunning in the left photo. Even after taking extra time to check our East African bird books, I have no clue what they are called, but it was truly a gift to watch them.
I even made a video for you as an early Christmas gift and after several failed tries, I was finally able to download a bit of it to share with you! To view 10 seconds of what I viewed/heard for over an hour, go to: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/viayYX8l3JtRdAwwcWrxu9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
I’m already late and long-winded today, so I will add a bit more: Thank you for praying for Jack as he teaches another round of Baptist
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* Daily Prayer Nudges, WHICH YOU ARE WELCOME TO SHARE with others, can be found at:
Or three options on Facebook:
Special Page: Lottie Moon 2011 East Africa - https://www.facebook.com/LottieMoon2011.EastAfrica ) or on my personal page, https://www.facebook.com/bert.yates or the new page for Imb East Africa - https://www.facebook.com/Imb.East.Africa – Yes, this may look as if I’m overdoing it, but I’ve learned that different pages/names expands the options for people finding our stories from East Africa
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