January 29, 2014

Writing today with a different view – not a view of purple or yellow snow, which entertained me in the past while writing from Kenya as the beautiful trees in our yard in Nairobi showered the ground with colored petals,* but a view of the freezing white stuff!  Which definitely leads to a praise:  We were blessed with great weather and safe roads during last week’s trip from North Carolina to Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri, with Virginia added on our return trip, which would not be occurring this week!

Jacarandas bloom in Sept-Nov in Nairobi.

Sorry, can't remember the name of  the trees that provide our annual
yellow snow in October in Nairobi, but more photos can be viewed at
"Close up of 'Yellow Snow'".

Two more praises:  Our trip was truly a blessed time as we visited with past and future partnering churches and volunteers and shared how God is at work among Sub-Saharan African Peoples and at the Kenya Baptist Theological College and how others have joined or can join in His work!  Another answer to prayer:  We had many opportunities to thank the partnering churches and volunteers for their past assistance among Unreached Sub-Saharan African Peoples and at KBTC.

We were also blessed (I may be over-using this word, but it is the best word to describe last week’s experiences) by a visit with Bonnie Turner, a good friend who retired in Missouri after many years of service in Kenya.  There were a few tears as we talked of her husband, Sam, who died last year, but lots of good memories which included their involvement at KBTC and among the Peoples and churches of Kenya.  Another reminder of past memories was having lunch at a Chinese restaurant which was not as tasty as the Hong Kong, Sam’s favorite restaurant in Nairobi, but good! And yes, Jack and I are on diets this week as this meal was just one of many great times throughout our visit of eating “together (with fellow Baptists) with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:46).

Photo used in today's post on SSAPeoples Nudge
 to Action - Praying, Serving and Giving, Serving.

I’ll take a break next week from writing an update as I work on ‘upgrading’ our updates. Pray for me as I seek to learn new skills which hopefully will allow me to be a better communicator of what God is doing in His harvest field among Sub-Saharan African Peoples and through the Kenya Baptist Theological College.  

While I was writing today's update, Jack
was sweeping (lacking a shovel) snow away
- something he never does in Kenya!

Pray for Jack as he continues sharing his vision for KBTC with people in the States and with the staff and supporters of our Baptist college/ seminary in Kenya.  The latter often leads to yet another blessing – his ability to communicate via phone calls and e-mail with KBTC’s staff which most often results in his learning one or more new ways that God is at work at the college! Continue joining us in praying as ”KBTC is REVIVED/ RESTORED/ RESURRECTED/ REVISED/ RESCUED, RESULTing once again in a place where African Believers can be prepared to REFLECT the PRESENCE OF GOD and become qualified and capable workers in our Father’s Harvest Field.” **

Spotted on our street this morning!

We are missing an opportunity to share with a church tonight due to the icy roads, but please join us in continuing to pray that we will clearly share the excitement of serving our Father and how He blesses the investments of volunteers and partnering churches in His work. Pray for boldness and wisdom as we encourage/entice those who have not previously experienced the opportunity to be at work in our Father’s Harvest Field in Kenya and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

Spotted today beside the porch of our 'borrowed' mission home.

And once again, please know that it is not simply a phrase copied from past updates, but from our hearts when we say: Thank you for praying for us, for sending co-workers our way, and thank you for providing the funds which allow us to be a part of our Father’s work in His Harvest Field in Sub-Saharan Africa, BERT
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* A past view shared last October before the beginning of our STAS of “A Close-Up of ‘Yellow Snow’” – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152269872390130.1073741843.685050129&type=1&l=3093f7359f

** Review of what was happening at KBTC and in our lives last January - http://bertandjackyates.blogspot.com/2013_01_01_archive.html.
Daily Nudges to Action (Praying, Serving and Giving) for Sub-Saharan African Peoples can be found at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sub-Saharan-African-Peoples/100173880060607?ref=hl.

Shared on FB yesterday by our younger daughter, who only
had a half-day teaching thanks to the snow: "This African knows
what to eat for lunch when it is snowing outside. And yes, thanks
to my parents (birthday gift), that's the legit Knorr tomato soup."

While our older daughter and her four year old experienced sledding
for the first time and added on FB that our granddaughter
"was stylin in her (Kenyan)BATA boots." Our older child, John,
is enjoying a day-off from work by staying out of the cold
as he prefers the weather in Mombasa, Kenya!