Christmas Day, 2015

Good News of Great Joy

I can think of no better guide for this week’s update as it has been a true week of “good news of great joy… for all the people.” We experienced this joy last Thursday night at the special meal for the KBTC family after the graduation practice and even more so as 20 students graduated the next day surrounded by their friends and families, which included their church families.

Excited students on their way to graduation practice last Thursday.

I could write and write about what we felt and heard, but I’ll let photos and this video capture the joy and the celebration of graduates who are trained and equipped, ready to stand before our heavenly Father “in the gap on behalf” (Ezekiel 22:30 NIV) of “every nation, tribe, language and people” not just of Kenya, but of Africa and of all our world still waiting for a proclamation of the eternal gospel (Revelation 14:6 NIV).

A special moment as Jack prayed with the graduation party (KBTC Board
Chairman, professors, special guests and graduates) before the procession.  

The KBTC staff and students had worked very hard to beautify the grounds.

The moment when Jack conferred the diplomas of 20 very happy students.

Group pose after graduation and...

...a photo captured moments before as Bert did her job!

Then on Sunday, our church, Parklands Baptist Church - Eastgate celebrated a Masterlife graduation. This was another great reminder of the joy of believers who are ready to claim our Savior’s authority to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

And then yesterday, Jack and others met with Teacher Isaac and StoryTeller Richard who had just returned from a second round of teaching at the Kakuma Refugee Camp assisted by Tut, a KBTC student. These are just a few of the comments made which left Jack too excited to go to sleep last night:

A photo of the sharing of  God's stories
which were being learned to reshare!

“After all the training in my life and degree level theological study, my life has never been so clarified until hearing Bible stories unpacked.”

“The response is incredible. We could have storying and TEE in every ethnic area of the camp.” WIKIPEDIA reports that refugees at the camp are from "South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia... Ethiopia, D.R. Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Eritrea and Uganda."

There was lots and lots of rain during the two week
training at the Kakama Refugee camp, which led to
traveling in unexpected ways.

“There are enough teenagers to fill three stadiums. We need sports evangelism.”

“We’ve been given almost an acre for classrooms and for a demonstration farm which would feed and support our training centre.”

Should have added not just unexpected ways,
but dangerous ways requiring lots of prayers!

Our second missionary journey is finished and Tut, our student at KBTC, remains. We did not want to leave. Can we return in February?”

So #WhyDoWeGo as missionaries? The events of this week are perfect ways to share why Jack has invested his life in teaching and encouraging and strengthening others to be on mission with our Father. These events are also why I spend my days taking photos and sharing stories and of what our Father and His workers are doing in our part of the world, including making this 'Battle of Celebrants' video captured after last Friday's graduation of the celebrations of a Maasai student and a Kikuyu student.

Easy to download option of 'Battle of the Celebrants' at https://vimeo.com/149129217.

Our #1 prayer request at the moment? For rest! We do love what we do, but we are exhausted at the moment and definitely in need of a break, respite, breather, time-out, repose and a time of relaxation and any other synonyms available for REST!

BERT YATES       

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For more special stories and views from the week, click the IMB Sub-Saharan African Peoples, KBTC, and Bit's of Our Hearts TABS found above this post.

Why? Why? Why?

View this morning on the KBTC campus.

WHY did a small group of workers continue working at the Kenya Baptist Theological College (KBTC) for long periods without receiving a salary (the only income for many of their families)?

WHY did two of these workers meet daily before their work days DURING the times of no salary to pray for KBTC's restoration and the college’s ability to train the shepherds of God’s people?

Nelson (KBTC's chai brewer) and John (KBTC's man with the green thumb),
the early morning prayer team, with Ron Langston, an IMB worker who served
for many years at KBTC, at Ron's and his wife's retirement celebration.
(Shared in our April 15, 2015 blog post.)

WHY did some take new jobs and invest their lives in KBTC without any assurance of long term employment or receiving salaries in a timely manner?

Shared in our January 30, 2013 blog post.

WHY have volunteers and others provided time, monies and other resources to help rescue KBTC when the place looked forsaken (one elderly Kenyan man’s description in early 2013)?

WHY have Baptist families from the United States come to work at KBTC for long periods when there was no assurance that KBTC could be revived, restored, resurrected, revised and rescued?

The road was too steep and rough for a truck, so when
students first moved to Baraka Hall, it was done by donkey!
(Shared in April 24, 2103 blog post.)

WHY were students willing to return to KBTC with their fees and live and study in a building which required wading through water in the hallways when it rained even when the future of the college was still unknown?

Photo captured this week of the renewed joy of KBTC!

WHY have those at KBTC faced persecution and frustrations and continued striving for KBTC to become “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.”

Yes, all these questions do relate to the #WhyWeGo theme which I’ve mentioned many times as we approached this Lottie Moon Christmas Offering season! The answer to all the above questions is that these people, including Jack and I, have gone and done all this BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS!

Baraka Hall in January 2013.

We all have “persevered and have endured hardships for [HIS] name, and have not grown weary” (Revelation 2:3) BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS! We all desire to “Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful works among all the peoples” (Psalm 96:3 HCSB).

View captured this morning of Baraka Hall!

Just preparing for and reading what I just wrote leaves me tingling with excitement as I review what has happened at KBTC in the last three years and what is happening! God is at work and we thank Him for allowing us to join in His work in Kenya and among IMB Sub-Saharan African Peoples.

Today's Nudge to Action for IMB Sub-Saharan
African Peoples - a part of Bert's work as Prayer
Networker for SSAP affinity. CLICK the SSAP
tab above for another WHY from KBTC.

WE ARE ALSO THANKFUL FOR YOU and your partnership in His work, which includes the support and encouragement you give us by praying, giving financially (especially through the Cooperative Program, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and other global missions offerings) and through sending volunteers or even coming as volunteers to be at work in our part of the world! BERT YATES

Beautiful Feet

Yes, I’m late, really, really late on sharing this week’s prayer letter. I’ll let FB posts I've shared yesterday and today do the explaining!

Posted yesterday morning on FB: Earlier this morning I was excited, yet stressed about preparing special posts to share today during this Lottie Moon/ Week of Prayer for International Missions season. THEN God sent this view and tweets (the bird kind) which calmed me. THEN during my morning devotions (I have to be awake awhile for God to get through my thick head), He led me in a totally different plan for this week's update! THEN the electricity went out, also complicating work. So, I began editing this photo to get your attention and ask for your prayer support. THEN the electricity returned before I could post this! BUT I definitely still need prayers for staying focused and sensing God's guidance today!

This morning's post:  Thanks for your prayers yesterday! I did stay focused and God's guidance was definitely felt. Electricity bounced often, yet always returned! BUT last night I felt like this bird and wanted to hide! I should have also asked for strong internet and for all my programs to work properly! As the sun set yesterday, I finally gave up on posting our weekly update via e-mail as the internet was weak and the created movie had scratchy music! SO pray today for strong internet and that an alternative way of creating a better quality movie will work!

Not included in the movie, but finally a photo of me
arranging the retirement cake before taking photos!

Posted after noon today: READY TO DOWNLOAD on your computer - an improved, with great music copy of the “BEAUTIFUL FEET – IMB EAST AFRICA” video shared yesterday of the joy and sorrow of a family celebrating the retirement of family members who are leaving the family home to return to another continent? This is what was faced as this video was prepared sharing the special day (Nov 29, 2015) when missionaries and kids of the East Africa Cluster/ Sub-Saharan African Peoples Affinity met together to recognize those accepting the IMB’s Voluntary Retirement Incentive. Due to security issues, faces could not be shown, thus the BEAUTIFUL FEET (Romans 10:13-15) are shown of workers and kids of all ages, some who have lived in East Africa for only weeks and others for more than 40 years.

To download this, visit https://vimeo.com/147699856.

I could share lots more this week, but I'm ready to give my computer, my fingers and my mind a break.  Remember to CLICK the tabs at the top of this page to view more about what God is doing among the Sub-Saharan African Peoples, at KBTC and bits of our hearts! 

Yes, I did take a photo of my feet - at this was after I
had rinsed them off!  It was a very, very rainy day!

AND THANK YOU for praying for us, for giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and other global missions offerings, and for coming/ sending more workers our way! BERT YATES

We may not be the smartest, but...

The question for this photo is not WhyWeGo,
but "Why are the students laughing?"
I took the photo, but do not know why?

So, WHY DO WE GO? Why have we called Kenya home for the last 37 years? Why did we recently turn down a great Voluntary Retirement Incentive? Why have we willingly missed many special events in the lives of those we love in the States? Why when things got tough or frustrating have we chosen to stay?

The question in Nairobi traffic is often, "Can we Go?"

Sometimes we think that stubbornness is one truthful answer. Another good answer is that East Africa is now our comfort zone, which if you know the reality of life in Africa, leads to another possible answer – We stay because we are a bit crazy!

The most truthful and honest answer to why we choose to stay and invest our lives in Kenya? We stay because of what we were taught as little kids in Sunbeams (Mission Friends today). Our answer was, “Here WE are, send US!” when we “heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send… who will go for us?’” (Isaiah 6:8 NIV). We are here because we may not always be the smartest people, but we’ve learned that the best and safest place to be going on with our lives is where God has called us to be!

Sometimes the answer in Nairobi is "You can go, but...."

But please understand, we do not believe that one must be a ‘professional’ missionary to hear God’s call and to serve as His ambassadors telling others that He “so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). We believe that being a Christian is synonymous with being a missionary. We believe that every Christian should and must be committed to carrying out our Savior’s Great Commission to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV).

This photo could have been captured not this week,
but in 1978!

Jack, our 4 year old son and I came to Kenya in September, 1978, for a one year assignment with the FMB (now IMB). Jack came to teach at the Shauri Moyo Baptist Centre; I came to be the administrative assistant in our regional office. By the time our one year assignment stretched to 2 ½ years and it was time to leave with a now 7 year old son and an infant daughter, we knew God’s call on our lives was to return to States only long enough to be appointed as career missionaries. Nine months later we were on-the-go again headed back to Kenya and we are still here and plan to be for a few years more!

Jack admiring the new light fixtures he chose last
week, which the electricians installed this
week in the new floor of Baraka Hall.

Over those years, Jack has remained in education (his BA and MA are in education) in Baptist high schools, Bible Schools and at the Kenya Baptist Theological College. He learned to be a builder of churches (the people part and the structure part of churches) as well as working with volunteers, and many other assignments. I asked this week, “What verse best answers WHY YOU GO now that you serve as the Principal of the Kenya Baptist Theological College?” He quickly replied, “For Christ's love compels us” (2 Corinthians 5:14 NIV). It is Christ’s love for Jack, me and all peoples, including those who have never heard or had Christ’s love explained in a way that can be understood and accepted, that keeps Jack going, keeps him striving to equip and teach God’s servants to carry out the Great Commission.

My favorite photo captured this week -  KBTC staff kids
spotted as we headed back to Nairobi one afternoon.

My work assignments have not relied upon my studies in Social Work and half completed Masters of Counseling (one reason we only planned to come for one year in 1978). Instead it was my job experiences during college which led me to working as a writer/ editor/ administrator with Kenya Baptist Media. I now have the joy of working in Internet Media as the Prayer Networker for the IMB Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity and my WHY I GO verse was spoken by Peter and John, “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20 NIV). I get to see and hear the stories of how God is at work among our peoples, which leaves me eager to share these stories with you. It leaves me passionate about sharing what I “have seen and heard” as I know when you hear these stories you will desire to pray more, give more to offerings such as the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and others global missions offerings, and to come to serve also! BERT YATES

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- Lottie Moon Christmas Offering - http://www.imb.org/main/lottie-moon/default.asp
- Remember to view the daily Nudges to Action for Sub-Saharan African Peoples (CLICK tab at top of page), a part of Bert's work as the Prayer Networker for Sub-Saharan African Peoples at https://www.facebook.com/SubSaharanAfricanPeoples. This site and those below can be safely viewed by anyone!
- For more about Jack's work at the Kenya Baptist Theological College, CLICK the KBTC tab above to visit at https://www.facebook.com/KenyaBaptistTheologicalCollege.
- CLICK the Bits of Our Hearts tab for more views of our daily lives at https://www.facebook.com/bitsofourhearts.

Praising God Among the Nations & Peoples

Another week of pondering how to best share my answer to WHY WE GO, the query IMB workers are answering at the end of 2015. And once again I've thought of many answers, but God provided a new answer during my devotions yesterday morning.

When we truly know of our Heavenly Father’s love, care and faithfulness and of the precious gift we have of serving and obeying Him, of fulfilling His purpose for us, how can we not sing and make music? How can we not want to tell all peoples of His glory? How can I not want to share what God is doing among our Sub-Saharan African Peoples and allow others to join in His work through prayer, giving and serving?

Lots is always happening at KBTC, including work
on Baraka Hall, cutting grass and feeding the students!

Jack received a note this week from a KBTC student which reaffirmed WHY WE GO: “I thank God for your tireless efforts, concerns and prayers which make my dream come true. Thank you again for the support I receive through your office, including assistance with school fees. I am looking forward to working hard and through God’s power to achieve my goal of being an effective minister by applying the materials received from professors. I am humbled before God to see how He will use me as an equipped servant in ministry for His people. It is my prayer that God may bless you.  THANK YOU." 

If you had visited the new upper floor of KBTC's Baraka Hall last
Friday morning (Nov 13) this is what you would have viewed.
We are continuing to praise God for how He is at work at KBTC!

If you doubt what this “Thanks and Appreciation Letter” meant to Jack, take a moment to read our prayer letters from early 2013! Though it was hard at times to imagine during 2013 and even until recently, God is definitely at work at KBTC and the school is being “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.”

One stop shopping/service in Nairobi's industrial area. While getting tires

repaired, one can get a bite to eat, play pool and get clothes laundered!

Please continue joining us in praying for strength and wisdom as Jack serves as the Principal of the Kenya Baptist Theological College. Pray for the team that is working towards KBTC being accredited and enabled to offer degrees. Pray for open hearts, minds and souls for the students who are currently on the campus and for those teaching the classes this month.

We have not started decorating for Christmas with
twinkling lights. God-provided rain turned our
yard into a wonder-land each morning this week! 

Pray for me as I serve as the Prayer Networker for our affinity and share what God is up to among Sub-Saharan African Peoples. To be honest, spending hours each day on the internet is not always ‘fun’, but I know that when those of you who support us through prayer, giving (Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, Cooperative Program and other global missions offerings) and by coming/sending more workers learn how God has blessed your past investments, you will be astounded and want to invest more in prayers, finances and serving as you join us in joining Him in His work! BERT YATES
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- Prayer letters from early 2013 -http://bertandjackyates.blogspot.co.ke/2013_01_01_archive.html
- Lottie Moon Christmas Offering -http://www.imb.org/main/lottie-moon/default.asp
- Remember to view the daily Nudges to Action for Sub-Saharan African Peoples (CLICK tab at top of page), a part of Bert's work as the Prayer Networker for Sub-Saharan African Peoples at https://www.facebook.com/SubSaharanAfricanPeoples. This site and those below can be safely viewed by anyone!
- For more about Jack's work at the Kenya Baptist Theological College, CLICK the KBTC tab above to visit at https://www.facebook.com/KenyaBaptistTheologicalCollege. The NEW AND IMPROVED version of Praising God at Baraka Hall - November 11, 2015 (shared last week) is now up and ready for viewing and sharing on this page.
- CLICK the Bits of Our Hearts tab for more view of our daily lives at https://www.facebook.com/bitsofourhearts.

One of many photos shared this week at BITS of our HEARTS! 

Because of Who He is

Rain, rain and more rain in recent days!

I've pondered and pondered how to share my answer to WHY WE (I) GO, the question IMB workers are answering at the end of 2015.  I've thought of many answers which are good, even great, and I plan on sharing more answers later, but today I'm going to share two short visual answers!

My first answer this week to WHY I GO is BECAUSE of the joy we experience when we join in His work.  I can write lots to explain this, but I think the best way is by sharing this Praising God at Baraka Hall slideshow!  I know some of you may think that Jack and I must get excited about things very easily, and maybe we do, but what is happening at KBTC is beyond words AND you know I like to use words, lots and lots of words!  But as we've made the journey during the last three years of the ongoing revival, restoration, resurrection and rescue of KBTC, we learned over and over that obeying God may lead to lots of spiritual warfare heading your way, but it also leads to a joy and happiness that makes it all more than worth the journey!

My second answer this week to WHY I GO is Because of Who He Is! I go because God has given me the gift of being His child.  I go because He has commanded me to share His story and His love and His gifts with others.  I go because "God IS worthy of the worship of all."  Take time to view Because of Who He Is and also take time to view more of what is shared as resources for the 2015 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. If your church doesn't give through this offering, HAKUNA MATATA (no worries), there is lots at this site you can still enjoy and use as you carry out Great Commission!

Yes, we do have lots of prayer items this week to share with you.  Jack needs prayers for strength and wisdom as he leads the Kenya Baptist Theological College.  Pray for the team that is working towards KBTC being accreditation so that the school can offer degrees.  Pray for open hearts, minds and souls for the students who are currently on the campus and for the same for those teaching the classes this month.

View this morning which lifted my spirits as I prepared
breakfast without electricity - which happens often
during heavy rains.  For more photos of the week,
visit https://www.facebook.com/bitsofourhearts

Pray for me as I seek to share what God is up to among Sub-Saharan African Peoples, which leads me to one last reason explaining how I answer WHY I GO! I am here because I want to share these stories with you, the people who have invested in our lives through prayers, finances and serving.  I do this because I know without a doubt that when you know how God has blessed your past investments, you will be astounded and want to invest more in prayers, finances and serving as you join us in joining Him in His work!  BERT YATES

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Remember to view the daily Nudges to Action for Sub-Saharan African Peoples (CLICK tab at top of page), a part of Bert's work as the Prayer Networker for Sub-Saharan African Peoples at  https://www.facebook.com/SubSaharanAfricanPeoples. This site and those below can be safely viewed by anyone!

For more about Jack's work at the Kenya Baptist Theological College, CLICK the KBTC tab above to visit -https://www.facebook.com/KenyaBaptistTheologicalCollege.

CLICK the Bits of Our Hearts tab for more view of our daily lives at https://www.facebook.com/bitsofourhearts.

#Why We Go

I’ve sat at the computer for hours today working on photos (new slideshow shared at the end) and trying to put my rambling thoughts into words. To be honest, we are tired! The last few months have been filled with activities and experiences, some we can freely share, others we cannot, that have been exhausting, even though many have been good things or things we know are needed.

One needed thing is the Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI) offered in August by our sending agency, the International Mission Board. We totally understand the need for this offer. The IMB has shared many times over the years the need for increased support, but like most mission organizations, giving has not grown enough to continue supporting the required work to share the gospel with everyone in our growing and changing world. (See Financial Plan Updates and Related Stories for more.)

Even though we understand and believe the downsizing will result in our workers being enabled to more effectively share the Gospel with our lost world, it is painful. All workers over 50 with five or more years of service, which definitely qualified Jack and me, responded earlier this week to the incentive. Like others, we had spent many hours in prayer and in God’s Word before sharing our response which was THANK YOU, BUT NO! I don’t think many were surprised by our decision, but we have had many mixed emotions as our co-workers have responded and more have accepted the VRI than we anticipated.

This surprise has led to grieving for the loss of so many friends. We also grieve with our grieving friends as they follow a new unknown path which is frightening in parts even though all share that they are certain God guided their decision and they know they are obeying Him and will continue to serve Him. We are grieving with many adult missionary kids who are excited about having their parents closer, yet they are losing a tie to their childhood homes. Our thoughts are also with younger missionary kids whose lives will be changing as they follow their parents who are following their heavenly Father.

I asked Jack this morning to share his IT IS NOT and IT IS answers to #WhyWeGO, a question our workers are answering during this year’s Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Here are his answers:

“#WhyWeGO IS NOT about having a job to do or having all the answers and solutions. IT IS NOT about money. IT IS NOT about being surrounded by a host of influential or powerful people in order to get a job done or figure out the perfect solutions to problems.

“#WhyWeGo IS about allowing God to take control as we trust and obey Him. IT IS about knowing that when we pray for guidance and help, He will send or connect us with total strangers or friends with unexpected gifts to answer the prayer needs. One needed connection for the accreditation of KBTC was made by a coworker following a car accident! IT IS about trusting God to provide, encourage and surprise. Somehow KBTC has paid its debts, kept school fees low, added staff, and miraculously completed Baraka Hall where students sleep, study, worship and eat.

“IT IS about trusting God through the Holy Spirit to help us put off all earthly dependencies and run the race (call) focused on the goal (the prize of Christ) with no excuses, no falseness, no hidden agenda but by being a Christ-like example, a spiritual leader with vision and purpose and an encouragement to students and coworkers. IT IS believing that with God all things are possible.”

I’ve also answered these queries, but you will have to wait until next week for my answers related to my call to share stories of how our Father is at work among Sub-Saharan African Peoples and how you can join in His work! But DO NOT wait until next week to pray for us. We depend upon your prayers and need them for strength and wisdom as we continue obeying and serving our Father! BERT YATES
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Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI) - http://www.imb.org/updates/storyview-3516.aspx#.VjoAbrcrIgt

Financial Plan Updates and Related Stories - http://www.imb.org/storyview-3507.aspx#.Vjn-grcrIgs.

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering - http://www.imb.org/main/lottie-moon/default.asp

Why We Go Promotional Video - http://imb.org/resources/embedvideos.aspx?mvid=23782

Dismantling of a Family

In recent weeks, I've shared bits about the current VRI being offered by the IMB, as well as our decision, made after much prayer, to decline the offer for retirement. We totally support what is happening and believe it will result in the IMB and Southern Baptist being stronger workers in our Father's Harvest Field as we reach and engage our lost world with the Gospel, yet it is still a painful time and one I've found difficult to put into words.  Our youngest child, Jessie, is also grieving, but earlier this week she did a great job of sharing this adult Missionary Kid's view of what is happening. BERT YATES

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In the Southern Baptist world, Lottie Moon season is just around the corner. As it is the annual offering of which 100% goes to fund international missions, it is a topic that I have been, and continue to be, passionate about. Anyone who has read my notes and articles on the topic of missions or been to one of my WMU sessions where I have definitely not preached - because that would have been wrong - knows this about me. Today, though, I don’t want to discuss Lottie Moon. Surprisingly, I am not even going to focus on the International Mission Board’s financial decision to downsize. Because when I think about it, I not only understand what the IMB is doing – I agree with their decision.

Missions is changing. It is changing to fit a world that recognizes the perils of a so-called higher civilization taking and pressing its customs and beliefs on the rest of the world. We live in a postcolonial and globalized world – one that focuses on the equality between differences – one that recognizes that everyone has their strengths and that every culture has its unique and beautiful way of doing things – one that is struggling to make right all of the cultural and ethnic injustices of the past. Missions desperately needs to change in order to fit into this world, continue to make a difference, and do the work the disciples set out to do all those years ago.

Which brings me to the topic at hand – family. I grew up on the mission field; my parents fit the almost extinct missionary mold of “give it all up, go, and make a new life.” There was never a temporary element in my parents’ life in East Africa. To this day, even though they claim they are thinking about retirement – I know it is the last thing they want to admit will eventually happen. This is because 35 years ago, when they packed up and moved to East Africa, they made a decision to move their life. Very few people understand what this entails. So let me try to do the impossible and boil down the missionary psyche and emotional mindset from the adult missionary kid perspective:

I believe that it is not possible to abandon your culture, but I think it is possible to step away from it – and when you do, you’ll never fit back into that culture.

Similarly, it is not possible to forget your home, but it is possible to move away from it – and when you do, you’ll never be able to go back to the same home.

Here’s the harsher truth: it is not possible to lose your family, but it is possible to live a life separate from them – and when you do, your relationships will forever be altered with the people you once called family.

It is the proverbial elephant herd in the sanctuary. It is hard to hear, and I’m afraid that I might be inadvertently offending a few devout missions minded and supporting Southern Baptists. But I know these things to be true because ten years ago I followed in my parent’s footsteps – albeit in the opposite direction from Kenya. I packed up my books, my memories, and a few salvageable clothes and moved my life to the United States. I have had to live my parents’ decision in reverse, but the lessons and outcomes have been the same.

These are the things that very few people talk about when they discuss missions. All the same, it is embedded in statements like “Oh I could never do what you do” or “wow! That life must be so different!” It is entrenched in the mission statement of committees who provide houses, cars, and temporary services to missionaries who are on leave. It is integral to the fascination of hearing a “real” missionary when they speak in the Wednesday night service. It is present in family holidays when the brother, daughter, or cousin is missed – they might even be Skyped - but the traditions continue without them. Missionaries are admired for what they do, and we’ll support them in their calling and pray for them, but the reality is: they left. They left, and now there is a physical void that will eventually be closed – but it has also created an irreversible emotional void.

That is why something incredibly amazing happens on the mission field: family. In a weird way, psychology texts compare it to the surrogate families that refugees make. I love my biological extended family with everything I have and I am incredibly proud to be a Yates, a Baggett, a Hardison, and a Fogle. I rejoice when my cousin posts pictures of her daughters’ achievements, I know that I can count on my aunts for support whenever I need it, and I grieve when my grandparents lose their siblings or are hospitalized. But, the unfortunate truth is that I am separated from all of them. I did not grow up around them – in fact, to make sure that my sister and I would know their names before we left on one of our stateside assignments, my mom once posted family pictures in our bedroom.

But that isn’t something to be pitied. When I was growing up, my family was my mission family. I had at least 20 sets of grandparents, hundreds of aunts and uncles, and countless cousins. I celebrated first steps and words, pulled teeth while carpooling, formed Christmas traditions, went on all sorts of mischievous adventures, dined family style at food courts, mourned at funerals, and sought out the hugs, guidance, laughter, pride, and support from my BMOK family. I never felt the absence of my American family because I had an amazing one that surrounded me all the time.

That family dynamic has changed because I did move away from it. In fact, if there was anything that was hard about my transition to the United States as a college student, it was the day I returned to Kenya and realized my family had continued and changed without me. Despite this realization, I know that I still have that family. My mission family was something that I never doubted, and to this day I know that I can tap into that family whenever I need to. Just last spring, I was visiting a church where the pastor was a returned missionary from Russia. When his wife found out I had no family to spend Easter Sunday with, she said “Well, we’re your family, so you’ll spend it with us.”

My mother wrote me a couple of weeks ago to tell me of the missionary units in East Africa that have decided to take the IMB’s Voluntary Retirement Incentive. I was in church and suddenly I was bawling. I don’t mean cute, silent, and holy tears – be sure: they were ugly tears. This is indicative of three things: yes – I’m a millennial who gets on her phone to check messages during church; there are saints in the world who don’t laugh or slide down the pew away from seemingly manic strangers; and the VRI is arguably the most emotionally disruptive thing to happen in my life in the past ten years since I left Kenya. It’s my family and that family is being threatened.

Missionaries and MKs live in a constant state of “what if”. In preparation for a counseling theory paper, I once learned that they are often diagnosed with something called “pre-traumatic stress disorder.” As a culture, we are infamous for preparing in advance for any possible scenario. My parents automatically pack their favourite Christmas ornaments and our family stockings every time they return to the States – even if it is only for a visit … in July. I started preparing myself for graduation when I was sixteen by repeating the words “it will be ok” every time I thought about the impending change. I once knew an MK who would cut a flower from the garden every time she moved into a new house and pressed it into a book – because she might not have a chance to before she left. Missionaries are the masters of change, yes, but even more telling: there is a small part of them that is always preparing for having to move lives again.

Which is why the VRI is so unsettling: because it isn’t the expected; it isn’t one of the planned “what-if’s?”; instead, it is the scenario no one ever admitted would or could happen.

They are having to come back.

And so, ~800 missionaries and their children have to move lives again – with little to no preparation.

They will have to return to a culture that they no longer fit into.

They will have to return to a home that they don’t recognize.

They will have to return to a family that they don’t know.

Here’s a picture of just a small part of what they will be facing: navigating the insane world of car dealerships and real estate agencies; deciphering school zoning and the new Common Core Math; writing hyperbolic resumes and effectively schmoozing in job interviews; signing their lives away with cell phone and cable contracts; driving on the opposite side of the road; converting metric to standard, Celsius to Fahrenheit, and international currencies to dollars; and remembering to write the date with the month first on their checks. This doesn’t include the commercial shock that they will face when they are given 20 choices when buying eggs, hundreds of choices when buying shampoo, and an ever-increasing amount of choices when buying Oreos and Pop-Tarts. It does not include the culture shock that they will face when church promptly ends on the hour and there is no dancing or whooping in the worship service. It does not include the unquenchable craving for proper international cuisine. It does not include the grief that they will feel when something as small as the way someone shakes their hand reminds them of the life they have lost.

When I broke down in church, it was because my mom had written to say that three of my kid cousins had been given the choice to leave with their parents in the middle of their senior year. If the mission family is strong, an MK relies just as heavily on the family that they have created at school - the choice that all three had to make, at 17 years old, was to leave not one, but both of those extended surrogate families or stay behind without their immediate family members. Two of them have decided to return to the States five months before they would have graduated. No amount of preparation can protect them from the emotional upheaval that is coming their way. As a teacher who knows just how fragile teenagers are - I find that devastating and worrisome. As their older cousin – I am mourning their loss because I’m all too aware of exactly what they are losing.

So here’s what I ask: obviously, give to Lottie Moon so that the IMB can afford to keep the remaining missionaries on the field while they deconstruct and then reconstruct their strategies to fit the 21st century. But also, support your missionaries who are returning. Not just in the first week or month – but for the next several years. Not just by asking them to preach when your pastor is on vacation, but by listening to their stories every time you talk to them. Not just by providing them with casseroles or houses, but by praying for their well being and transition.

They have had to move their life. Respect that decision. Appreciate that loss. Accept them into your life and community. Love them for their move. Support them in this new life they are living. Make them part of your family. They’ll need you.

JESSIE YATES     

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IMB Voluntary Retirement Incentive -
http://www.imb.org/updates/storyview-3516.aspx#.VhT73fmqqko

More on the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering at  http://www.imb.org/main/lottie-moon. 

Leaping with Joy and Thanksgiving

“Extremely mentally stimulating and challenging.” Jack’s description of his time last week in a consultation for theological leaders of Africa organized by the International Orality Network. Those of you who know Jack well, know that this is high praise as he avoids meetings whenever possible!

Jack surprised me by taking photos from the roof of the building
where the consultation was held in Nairobi's city centre!

He added, “I realized the principles of orality are essential in every aspect of training and teaching. I also recognized that KBTC is a unique college as our methodology is already guided by these principles. I know because four different professionals who minister through Storying, Evangelism, Reaching Muslims and House Church Methodology covered my absence last week in my Intro to Evangelism and Missions classes.”

Upon his return to class this week, he recognized that the students in Class 537 (Diploma of Theology) had grown in maturity. All eagerly shared what they had learned through comments such as:
- “The Creation to Christ Story is what I needed as I witness.”
- “By developing House Churches/Groups, I can now spend quality time ministering better to individuals and manageable sized groups.”
- “Now I have the right tools to talk to Muslims.”

When students are late for morning chai (tea with
milk), they are truly excited about their studies!

Jack was astounded when he returned to class on Monday morning as students answered with practical lessons learned from all four colleagues. This led to a decision his students enjoyed – No exam at the end of his teaching sessions yesterday as all had excelled and were adapting and using the lessons taught AND they received A’s in the class!

Three of the campus kids playing earlier this week.

While Jack was teaching this week and in lectures and discussions last week, I was not ‘in class’, but it was also a time of learning, reading and studying for me. I learned better ways to share photos with you (including the slideshow below and as soon as I recieve needed files, I can add music to these); read lots and lots of newsletters and Facebook/blog posts from co-workers and helped them share their stories; as well as ‘studied’ lots and lots of great views and took lots and lots of photos to share with you!

Pray for me as I continue learning what God is doing among Sub-Saharan African Peoples and how to share these stories with you and others who pray for us and enable to us to be at work in our Father’s Harvest Field by giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and other ways of giving to global missions. Pray for me as I challenge more people to desire to proclaim the eternal Gospel to all peoples in our world, such as: Does your life show evidence that "The Lord is YOUR strength and YOUR shield?"  Do others see evidence that "YOUR heart leaps for joy and YOU ARE GIVING thanks to him?"

Pray for Jack during these next few weeks as he catches up on administrative work at KBTC. Pray especially for him and the team who are actively pursuing accreditation of our college. Pray for wisdom and guidance as KBTC strives to bring glory to our Father and train, equip, strengthen and encourage qualified and capable workers in His Harvest Field.

Kenyan pumpkins are usually shades of yellow and
green, but thanks to a new friend, I received this one
grown with American seeds to use in pumpkin pies!

Please continue joining us in claiming Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see,” for our coworkers accepting the IMB’s Voluntary Retirement Incentive due to limited funds. Prayers for guidance, wisdom, and peace is also needed by those of us who are staying as we adjust to the reduction of staff and as new plans are put into place to guide us as we seek to more effectively share the Gospel with our lost world. BERT YATES

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Remember to view the daily Nudges to Action for Sub-Saharan African Peoples (CLICK tab at top of page), a part of Bert's work as the Prayer Networker for Sub-Saharan African Peoples at https://www.facebook.com/SubSaharanAfricanPeoples. This site and those below can be safely viewed by anyone!

For more about Jack's work at the Kenya Baptist Theological College, CLICK the KBTC tab above to visit - https://www.facebook.com/KenyaBaptistTheologicalCollege.

CLICK the Bits of Our Hearts tab for more view of our daily lives at https://www.facebook.com/bitsofourhearts.

Overflowing Hope

Kweli!  This is a real home-made wheelbarrow
spotted last week in the tea fields bordering KBTC.

“Kweli?” My retort a few years ago to a grocery store clerk after visiting the third store with no salt and asking a young worker if there was a shortage. His reply (translated from Swahili) was, “Return this afternoon. We will have salt for you.” This is when I had asked, “Kweli?" (Is this true?). Very seriously, he replied, “Mama, we can always hope.” My and his response to his comment was one that communicates in any language – laughter!

Photo taken yesterday morning after we were awaken
by rain before sunrise.  We are praying the seasonal
rains (twice a year) begin this week.

As I read of prayers for rain in the blogs, prayer letters, FB posts of coworkers and friends across Sub-Saharan Africa this week, I was reminded of this encounter. At the moment, rain is desperately hoped for in many parts of the world, but in Africa a lack of rain leads to starving people, kids not going to school as they spend their days hauling water, increased illnesses, and on and on.

I will not share a photo of our current piles of dirty
laundry, but a photo of a second-hand outdoor shop
which offer great prices on sinks, toilets, etc.
WE KNOW as we bought our last sink at a place
like this for a fraction of the price for a new one!

Even though the water in our part of Nairobi was turned off yet again this morning (after returning only long enough for me to wash two loads of two weeks of accumulated laundry thanks to no water), I am not complaining! My desire is to share how to pray more fully for Believers at work in our Father’s Harvest Field. We do need prayers for the Holy Spirit's guidance as we share our “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3 NIV) with unreached peoples. Our workers need your prayer support as they minister to those who have been persecuted and those who are hungry, thirsty, sick, imprisoned, and in many more situations.

On Sunday, we had to fogo showers, but we did
provide a bit of water for a bath for this beauty...

We also need your prayers for perseverance and patience as we face what may appear as mundane/ unspiritual problems such as no water, electricity, or cooking gas, as well as too many bumpy roads with scary fellow drivers – all which leads to worries and frustrations, as well as hot sleepless nights with no cooling fans and no option of a hot or even cold shower! Pray that even during these times we will be bold witnesses of the overflowing hope, joy and peace our Father offers (Romans 15:13).

...which evidently was very refreshing!

Pray also for us to find a balance between our concerns and those of African friends. When I catch myself complaining about a lack of water or electricity, I remember the scenes we view often of people doing laundry in rivers and streams and toting heavy loads of water home for cooking and bathing.

One of many photos captured this week which was
shared at Bits of Our Hearts! (CLICK tab above.)

Another reason that I’ve searched for verses on hope this week is our concern for coworkers as many prepare to return to the States after accepting the IMB’s Voluntary Retirement Incentive. We are also hurting for who are staying and concerned about the ‘reset’ as we adjust to the reduction of staff due to limited funds and as new plans are put into place to best share the Gospel with our lost world.

Caught Jack last week opening his Intro to Evanglism
and Missions class with a time of prayer.

Pray that Jack and I will fully claim the hope which Hebrews 6:19 describes as the “anchor for the soul, firm and secure” as we seek to strengthen and encourage our coworkers and national Believers. Join us in claiming Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see,” for retiring coworkers facing many unknowns as they seek to obey our Father’s call on their lives.

As I write today, Jack is attending a conference on Orality. We are thanking God for this opportunity to meet leaders from other seminaries and colleges who are also seeking to equip God’s children to share His message with all peoples in Africa through the printed word and various oral methods.

 Pray for me as I continue learning what God is doing among Sub-Saharan African Peoples and sharing these stories with prayer supporters and those who provide the funds to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and other ways of giving to global missions which allow us to be at work in our Father's Field. Pray for me also as I challenge more people to truly desire to proclaim the eternal Gospel to all peoples in our world, such as: What people or peoples are you prepared to give the reason for the hope that you have? BERT

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Remember to view the daily Nudges to Action for Sub-Saharan African Peoples (CLICK tab at top of page), a part of Bert's work as the Prayer Networker for Sub-Saharan African Peoples at https://www.facebook.com/SubSaharanAfricanPeoples. This site and those below can be safely viewed by anyone!

For more about Jack's work at the Kenya Baptist Theological College, CLICK the KBTC tab above to visit -   https://www.facebook.com/KenyaBaptistTheologicalCollege.

CLICK the Bits of Our Hearts tab for more view of our daily lives at  https://www.facebook.com/bitsofourhearts.