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One of our joys of the week -
It's Jacaranda season... |
Once again, my desire to have this update completed early and posted before my friends in the States arose for the day did not happen! But I do have a good reason! During my morning devotions, I began ‘thinking prayer nudges’ (Jack’s accusation) as I read through Isaiah 12.
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| ... which leads to 'jacaranda snow'. |
This led to my wanting to share more than the already chosen photos of flowering blooms in our yard, which meant selecting and editing more photos. This new photo album,
Make Known Among the Nations - Isaiah 12 (NIV), is my way of saying thanks to all of you
“for calling on our Lord's name on our behalf and for those in need of physical, emotional and spiritual healing after the Westgate Mall siege.”
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One of the reasons that I spent lots of
time in our yard last week and continue
to do so - the beautiful flowers! |
Then as I worked on the photos, I wanted to share the excitement we experienced last Sunday as we worshipped with our Parklands Baptist Church/ Mombasa Road church family. This led to my uploading a video to share with you! As a Kiswahili translation was shared and the choir sang in English and in Igbo, a language of Nigeria,
IMELA - PBC musical group at PBC-MR 09-29-13 shares a unique view of what it means to
“Make known among the nations what he has done.” (Isaiah 12:4).
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I still find it amazing that a view can look
so normal, but nothing about Westgate
(top-centre cream flat roof) is now normal! |
We are so thankful for your prayer support in recent days. Life is almost back to normal for us, but occasionally the stress still surfaces, such as the ‘event’ I shared last weekend on Facebook: “Awoke this morning thinking I was over the recent stress, only to realize that I ran out of Kenyan coffee yesterday morning and didn't notice - which I've not done in 35 years in Kenya! A bag of flavored 'World Market' coffee prevented a whole new stressor - A morning at our house without a huge mug of good kahawa!”
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Nor is having international news reporters
on nearby street corners the norm! |
Many memories of the last week do not bring joy, including recognizing faces of those who died during the Westgate Siege. It was disheartening to call a Muslim friend, who often works at the mall, and learn that she was safe, but two of her relatives were killed. While visiting my doctor, I learned that five of his patients died in the attack, which he described as
“Not only patients, but two were good friends.” We have also been discouraged by the many reports now appearing in our local news about looting and why we continued hearing firing and blasts for hours after the first announced ‘end’ of the siege.
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WONDERFUL memory of the last week:
the first graduation of a MastersLife
class at our new church. |
But we thank God that there is also much encouraging news. People of all faiths, nationalities and people groups worked together throughout and after the attack, including thousands who donated blood for the injured without any questions about what religion or colour the recipient would be.
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Another great memory - friends from Parklands
Baptist Church thanking God for His goodness in
English and in the language of a People from Nigeria! |
There is also a new unity in the country; wherever one goes friends and even strangers ask if you’re OK and share praises for God’s control of the situation, though some are using the word ‘god’. It was especially touching to visit my favourite bakery on Saturday and learn that the owners, who are of another faith, had been waiting for me to affirm that Jack and I were OK. The son of the owner of our favourite Asian restaurant also shared that his Mom and Dad would be glad to know we were safe.
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Reading the Bible and taking notes during church
last Sunday on a Kindle, iPhone and from a bound
Bible as others used iPads! Life is changing! |
With all the recent ‘unexpected events’ in our lives, I’ve delayed sharing some important news, very important to us! We are headed to the States in early November for a six month Stateside Assignment. We will stay in a mission house in Raleigh, North Carolina, until our return at the end of next April.
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Jack insisted that I share this photo of the
new sign at the entrance to KBTC! |
We are eagerly awaiting time with family and friends. We are also excited about opportunities to share what God is doing in Africa. Jack will focus on sharing God’s work at the Kenya Baptist Theological College and how others can be a part of the needed restoration. My emphasis will be on nudging more people and churches to action (prayer, serving and giving) for Sub-Saharan African Peoples.
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| A fuzzy photo, but I love this scene viewed last week! |
Though Stateside Assignment does not mean being on vacation, but working in a different locality for a while, we do plan on taking a bit of needed rest. Our first hoped-for-break, even it if is a quick visit, is a trip to Calabash, along the Atlantic Ocean, for seafood prepared the American way! BERT YATES
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Daily
Nudges to Prayer for Sub-Saharan African Peoplescan be found at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sub-Saharan-African-Peoples/100173880060607?ref=hl – Non FB users can easily view these prayer nudges.
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