March 18, 2015

“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your

name in all the earth!” Psalm 8:1 (NIV)

Remembering peaceful scenes such as this one

spotted in Malindi didn't help on Monday night!

I repeated these words, or rather sang them in my mind, over and over last Monday night as I tried to drift off to sleep. At midnight I got up and searched for Bible verses with the word ‘majestic.’ Later, when I returned to bed hoping to sleep, I discovered that Jack was also wide awake! Our problem was that unlike most times, our worry meters had ‘hit bottom’ at the same time!

One of the joys during our time in Malindi - a guided tour
of the new computer lab at the KBTC branch in Malindi.

Now for a bit of background: We had returned the previous evening to Nairobi from a visit to Malindi, after a great few days viewing God at work among His children and in His creation on the coast. We awoke early the next morning, washed clothes and repacked; restocked milk, bread, meat, fruits and veggies; and early Monday afternoon, we headed up to the Kenya Baptist Theological College campus.

Meeting with volunteers with a heart for teaching in
Bible Schools is always a joy.  Viewing this scene
as we talked last week was an added blessing!

On the way, we talked of how things were going at the college. The joy of the staff came up as it always does as their joy greatly increases ours! We also talked of how several groups booked for meetings on campus had cancelled at the last minute in recent weeks, which meant limited incoming funds to cover outgoing funds, which included staff salaries – one reason that the joy of the staff is amazing!

This lady was spotted last week selling fresh fruit,
cookies, water and juice to those visiting the ocean.
Earlier today, I spotted two women on the KBTC
campus carrying even larger buckets filled with
water ON their heads!

Then we arrived on campus to a scheduled day-long electricity outage, which was not desired, but OK. A bit later we realized the water was also off and about the time the electricity returned (6 PM), we learned that the college’s borehole pump was not working! Now for a bit of honesty, usually the knowledge that many of our Kenyan friends have no or undependable water and electricity in their homes balances our complaints with thanksgiving during times of scarcity!

This is what we could see from inside the vehicle
we hired to take us to meetings.

Now, I could blame our not sleeping Monday night on the lack of proper showers before bedtime, but the truth was that we both were thinking of the families on campus with young kids, one an infant, who were also without water. Our worries about the delayed salaries only increased as we considered the price of a new water pump! I also queried if anyone would have the electricity turned off at their houses before they were paid their salaries and had money to pay their electricity bills!

This is the vehicle, a tuk-tuk.  We did not worry at
all about traveling in this little 3 wheeled taxi!

Finally at 3AM Tuesday morning, we gave up on sleep and shared our mutual concerns. It didn’t take long to realize that the depressing thoughts filling our minds and hearts were not from God, but the devil! As we talked of what God had done during the last two years as KBTC began the restoration process, we remembered that we had to focus on trusting Him and seeing what He wanted us to see and do! (From Jeremiah 1, which God has been using to correct me more than a bit in the last few days!)

Viewing this critter and her relatives, which visited often
as I worked and had devotions last week on the porch
of our guest house, also did not lead to worries!

We realized that we needed to remember Psalm 8, one group of verses that I read while doing the ‘majestic’ search. We needed to focus on praising God (v. 2) for who He is, what He has accomplished and what He will and can do (v.3), not our worries and fears! We needed to thank Him for the opportunity to serve Him and for His trusting us to do His work (vv. 4-8)! We needed to remember it is HIS work; He is the one in charge, the one able to accomplish things beyond our hopes or expectations.

This scene of buibui clad women on the beach
was definitely a nudge to prayer.

We needed to ‘live’ Psalm 9. We needed to claim Him as our refuge and our “stronghold in times of trouble” (v.9); to trust Him, the one who will never forsake us (v. 10); and to focus on singing praises to Him and proclaiming “among the nations what he has done” (v.11).

At 4 AM on Tuesday morning, we returned to bed and needed sleep! Things were not instantly better when the sun woke us at 6:30, but God’s presence kept us going! Later in the day we learned that the water pump had ‘fried’ during the previous day’s power outage (electrical items are routinely zapped during power fluctuations, especially during outages) and it was going to cost even more than expected to replace it, more than last month’s total of unpaid bills! But our peace continued and this morning, Jack received word that as we slept (very, very well) last night, monies to purchase the needed pump had been wired from a church in Texas and hopefully water will return to the taps at KBTC this afternoon!

Another nudge to prayer scene spotted along the old streets of Malindi.

Why am I sharing all of this today? Because this is a view of our real lives and of the reality of the problems and concerns we and our co-workers experience. Because I hope this will help you know how to pray for us and for God’s work in Kenya. Because we wanted to share how we are seeing the majesty of our Father and how we see Him at work! Because we want you to know that your prayers do make a difference and your specific and general prayers for us have been, are being and will be answered! And we must also thank you for your gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Cooperative Program which assures that unlike many independent missionaries, our IMB salaries always arrive on time and we can keep our electricity and water bills paid! BERT YATES

---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---

Jack’s comment at lunch today: "I’ve got to stop worrying about paying KBTC's bills and salaries! God always provides in His time; never too much, or too little; never too early or too late!"

---   ---   ---   ---   ---   ---

Remember to view the daily Nudges to Action for Sub-Saharan Peoples which shares what God is doing among Sub-Saharan African Peoples and how you can join in His work through prayer, serving and giving! (https://www.facebook.com/SubSaharanAfricanPeoples)

You can also keep up with KBTC and what Jack is doing at  https://www.facebook.com/KenyaBaptistTheologicalCollege. Both links are on FB, but can be viewed by anyone!

My 'office' last week (the porch outside our room) definitely helped
with the frustrations as I learned how to use my new small travel
computer with Windows 8.  There were moments of doubt and dislike,
but I'm now a fan of Windows 8 and almost know what I'm doing!