Making Music to His Name

One of God's 'works' caught making music in our yard!

“It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love… and your faithfulness… How great are your works, LORD, how profound your thoughts!” Psalm 92:1-5 NIV

Yes, we sang along to the tunes provided by
a piano last week at the Prayer Forum, but
one of our MK's provided the African touch!

In the prayer forum I attended last week with coworkers from across Africa, a speaker shared that we should have a theme when we write our prayer/ newsletters. Well… God has made choosing a theme very easy this week as we have been constantly 'bombarded' by the theme of Psalm 92!

And for those of you who have attended meetings in
my part of the world, we did have cinnamon rolls one
morning and hot doughnuts another day at teatime!

I found great joy in singing new praise choruses (a young friend’s explanation for why I did not know many songs) as well as old hymns with my coworkers. Many of these friends usually worship in the mother tongues of the people they serve among, so praising and making music to our Father in their first language, English, brought them added delight. Another joy was hearing our missionaries share their testimonies and how God is at work in the lives of their peoples who are in need of hearing someone proclaim our Father’s “love… great works… and profound thoughts”!

My meeting ended last Wednesday night and on Thursday afternoon when Jack returned after lunch to the KBTC campus, I went with him to attend a concert. For the last three weeks a visiting seminary professor had been guiding music students to write their own songs praising God and sharing His story, as well as teaching breathing exercises which strengthened their ability to sing. This is the report I shared last Friday in my daily devotions on Facebook (which even FB members can read at https://www.facebook.com/bitsofourhearts):

Dean Kamau (right) also joined in recording!

“... multiple sources of joy viewed in a concert held yesterday afternoon at KBTC. Students in two music classes took turns standing alone before the audience. Each one began by reading a verse or two from God’s Word, followed by singing a song. Some were nervous as they began, but joy showed on their faces as they focused on their songs sharing God’s message. And yes, there was a bit of added joy visible on the faces of some as they sat down after completing their first public solo. Joy also showed on the faces of their visiting professor (using his IPad to record their solos) and the head of the music department (recording their performances on his phone).”

Photo of a shelf in one
of the music classrooms.

Later Jack shared that one student was in an accident years ago which led to severe burns and breathing problems due to damaged lungs. During the singing/ breathing lessons, he realized he was learning to breathe deeper all the time. On the day of concert he sang strongly and clearly. Though nervous at first, by the end of his solo, he was singing praises of His Father with confidence!

Jack began his turn at a week-long meeting yesterday, where he has experienced the joy of worshipping with Believers from across Africa and Chinese Believers! The meeting began with a Maasai choir singing their own songs in their own language. English is the language of the meeting, but translators are offering French and Chinese interpretations. This afternoon we (Jack made sure I got invited) will take part in a Chinese culture fair, followed by a Chinese worship service tonight. Tomorrow will be an African culture fair and an African-led time of worship!

Spotted this morning as I drove Jack to his meeting.

Yes, we are excited, but we still need your prayer support! Pray for wisdom and strength for Jack and others at KBTC as they prepare for arrival of the first degree class (a definite answer to prayer) at the college! My prayer request is for strength as I prepare the daily devotionals/ missional posts. I’m also exploring new avenues for raising prayer support for our coworkers. Simply said, the devil does not like it when we work at raising prayer support and spending more time in prayer! So pray that I will be alert to the devil’s distractions as I focus on knowing God’s will and serving Him. BERT AND JACK YATES