January 16, 2013

“HELP!!!”  Jack’s first response when asked what he wanted to share this week! This has been a trying, exhausting, yet incredible week for him as He has seen God work in impossible situations at KBTC (Kenya Baptist Theological College).  Example: He knew it was no coincidence, but a God-incidence when a very needed and valuable document ‘appeared’ in a very mismatched stack of papers only minutes before he attended a meeting yesterday.  This morning he did write this to share with you as nudges to prayer:

– Jack will be introduced as the Principal during a meeting of the Board of Governors tomorrow (January 17^th).

– An opportunity for cooperation and forging a brighter future after many years of adversity.

– Wisdom in Personnel issues.

– Thanksgiving for a smooth beginning, a flood of well wishes, support and prayer.

I thought that I had a praise yesterday, when a plumber showed up to fix the shower at the cottage where we are staying during the week – a ‘shower’ that produced only large drips of constantly temperature- changing water.  I should add that one of my survival tools is a good shower before calling it a day, so I was not happy!  After replacing parts (rather pricey ones), the plumber turned on the water and there was a proper spray and I was very grateful.  

But when I went to take a shower last night, I was not simply unhappy, but extremely unhappy!  The cold water was much stronger than before, but there is only a trickle of hot water which means to take even a warm shower (and it is cold at KBTC at nights), you can use all the hot and a wee bit of cold water, which means the non-shower shower now produces even bigger and fewer drops of water!  I know this is a ‘lame’ prayer request, especially as many Africans never have a hot shower or have limited water all the time, but I really, really need the ‘escape’ of a good shower in the cottage, so pray for us as we seek help again and pray that it will be less pricey this time round!

Another unusual prayer request is for my trusty camera!  I’ve had problems for months, which required lots of extra editing in the photos you see, and it is time to finally take it in for repairs – a scary proposition in our part of the world.  Pray that I will find a good repairman who can rectify the camera’s problems! 

Part of me feels that I should apologize for asking for these last requests as it is all minor compared to lots of things, including the situation at KBTC, but missionaries often need prayer support for what some might consider mundane things!  It is important for us to have our escapes/recharging moments and getting things repaired is often an iffy situation in our part of the world, especially for those who live far from major cities.  

I will also add one personal ‘usual’ prayer item.  Pray for me as I do social networking for our affinity.  My time is limited at the moment as I help Jack with the ‘cleaning-up’ at the college.  We both quickly realized that the disheveled look within the offices/ dorms/ cottages and the grounds is one thing that must be corrected before we try to help people regain confidence in the college.  So pray for patience and wisdom as I work and for strong internet as it is weaker here than in Nairobi. 

I am racing to finish our update this morning as the electricity disappeared as I began and I MUST finish this update and get it sent to you as we DO DEPEND upon your prayer support!  BERT YATES

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Remember that new nudges to prayer and action are posted daily at "2012 Prayer Nudges from East Africa" blog at http://easternafrica2012prayernudges.blogspot.com/ and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sub-Saharan-African-Peoples/100173880060607?ref=hl).