I’m
writing from our seminary this week.
Jack is teaching the late afternoon class at KBTC, so I and my computer, etc., travel along with him
each day, so he doesn’t travel home alone in the dark. We don’t over-worry about the realities of
safety – or lack of – on our roads, but we do try to be wise!
Once a friend YELLED
at me while we were on furlough (now Stateside Assignment) when I mentioned a difficulty of the last year. He demanded to know WHY we had not shared
this as a prayer need! My response: Some things ‘not the norm’ to our American
friends, are ‘norms’ to us. We must accept
these ‘norms’ as ‘our way of life’ and relying upon God’s guidance (which I
firmly believe includes using the common sense He gives us), we make needed
adjustments.
Once
again, WHY AM I SHARING THIS TODAY?
Because I want you to know how to pray for us and our co-workers “in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds
of prayers and requests.” (Ephesians 6:18) And because often missionaries are unsure what
to and what not to share, so we do need you praying even when we don’t share
needs. Many in our area are facing
difficult times, such as our friends who were robbed last week and several of
our friends who are returning to the States due to illnesses and other difficulties.
BUT, as we
and our friends dealing with the robbery and others facing transition, trust and
depend upon God, He does provide the needed guidance, strength and
encouragement – often from friends such as you!
It amazes us how God answers those situations we are praying about, but
cannot fully share in a newsletter.
I've been discouraged recently about an aspect of my work, something I cannot share,
and this week I received two bits of correspondence which was exactly the
encouragement I needed! One, from a man
I don’t remember meeting during a furlough , thanked me for guiding him into
becoming a Media missionary. I know God
is busy answering our ‘unshared prayers’ and I know your prayers for me are
part of the answers I’m receiving!
Jack also
sees God answering his personal prayers.
A co-worker, who is also teaching at this round of seminary classes,
shared this afternoon how during today’s evangelism class a student realized she had not fully accepted
Christ as her Saviour – and she did during the practice ‘sharing your faith’
session this afternoon! Trust me, when
you see the students GETTING IT (a truly East African expression) – it brings joys,
encouragement and strengthening to missionaries! Which leads to another reason
that we don’t always share the ‘bad’ – God is at work in so many amazing ways that it is difficult to dwell on the negatives.
God also often brings us back to what matters! This
morning, we awoke to no water (2nd day) and just as it began
dribbling into the pipes, the electricity went out! As I bemoaned all this, I decided to go to FB
and share a quick prayer item for patience and focus. But the electricity and water became
unimportant as I read of the death of our friend, Pastor Arthur Kinyanjui , the first moderator of the Baptist
Convention of Kenya, and one of the first Baptist evangelists working with our
early missionaries to East Africa. While
we lived in Nakuru, Pastor Kinyanjui was a weekly visitor in our home and ‘our’
pastor at Nakuru Baptist. So, today, I will close by asking you to pray for
comfort for Pastor Kinyanjui’s family and friends, as you praise God for his
years of service to our Father. BERT YATES
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Top three photos all captured on the way to our church, Parklands Baptist/Mombasa road, last Sunday.
To view the daily 2012 Prayer Nudges from East Africa,
go to http://easternafrica2012prayernudges.blogspot.com/ or
find the Prayer /God at Work in East Africa Nudges and other updates from East
Africa on Facebook – Bert Yates (https://www.facebook.com/bert.yates)
If you have
not viewed the photo albums shared in the last two weeks, you might want to
view “WHAT IS SHE DOING?” – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150863201375130.521428.685050129&type=1&l=aef67b728 and “WHAT CAN WE DO?” – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150846014900130.518785.685050129&type=1&l=7944f4f7da