February 8, 2012

It happened again this week, two verses ‘jumped out’ from the pages of my Bible during my time of devotion!  I have read both verses many times, yet this time the words were extra alive and active – “If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes … What will I do when God confronts me?  What will I answer when called to account?”  (Job 31:7, 14)

Had these verse ‘jumped-out’ to Jack this week, he would understand as he spent the week reviewing his work of 2011 and perfecting his plans for 2012!  Even he was astounded by the totals that appeared in his final 2011 report:  108 teaching assignments in 94 associations; 1929 persons in attendance from 624 churches which resulted in 1799 times of witnessing during the trainings, 560 decisions and 160 baptisms, 23 new church plants, 5 preaching points, 10 new small groups, 39 new disciples of his disciples – and this is only the immediate results from the teaching sessions and not later additions which would greatly exceed these totals!  Oh, I can’t overlook the last group of 2011 tallies:  Teaching in 6 new Bible Schools with 85 students!   

I can’t fully explain why these verses spoke so loudly to me, but it does relate to issues missionaries face constantly.  Our eyes see so much that affects our hearts – good things such as spiritual growth and answered prayers, as well as evil things such as inequalities and injustice.  Our ‘pockets’ never match the needs we encounter daily, so we do face guilt/questions related to when/ how we should respond.  We are constantly searching for the right balance of matching what our eyes see to what our hearts can and should respond – which explains why most missionaries spend lengthy times in devotion not because we are so spiritual, but because to stay sane we must be in communication with our Father and rely totally upon Him for direction!

Don’t worry, all this philosophizing today does not imply a bad or difficult week – There have been difficulties and disappointments, but the positives have far outweighed the negatives, and it was truly amazing to watch God either work things out or provide the needed strength/ wisdom we needed!  One positive was spending time last night with two young youth ministers, one from the Atlanta and the other from Kenya! We had never heard of either until Monday, yet now are both dear friends and we are excited about (yet feeling a little apprehensive for them) as they bring a volunteer group of 100 to Kenya this summer! 

Another positive this week was attending a Leaders Retreat last Saturday of our church, Parklands Baptist Church Mombasa Road, with 30 plus of our friends!  Jack and I are at least 10 years older than any of the others and double the age of many!  One of the most exciting parts was linking so many of these well discipled African Believers to former missionary colleagues and Kenyan pastors and leaders!  It’s truly awesome to see what God is doing in East Africa, how He has blessed the past work of His children and is blessing the current work!  To share part of our joy, we invite you to view “Activity, Colour, Variety and Extremes” or “A day in the life of two IMB missionaries in East Africa filled with hijackings, joys and prayers!”  I promise these photos and captions will leave you praising God with us for the opportunity we have to watch Him at work in our part of the world!  BERT Yates

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To view our weekend view of God at Work, go to “Activity, Colour, Variety and Extremes”  – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150754353430130.506490.685050129&type=1&l=4f5f0908c3

For the 2012 Prayer Nudges from East Africa  – http://easternafrica2012prayernudges.blogspot.com/ or find the Prayer Nudges and other updates from East Africa on Facebook – Bert Yates (https://www.facebook.com/bert.yates) or become a Facebook Friend of Imb EastAfrica  ( https://www.facebook.com/Imb.East.Africa )