Perseverance and Patience

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:1,2 NIV

Other instruments at church last Sunday.

Perseverance - that is my theme song at the moment!  I love this photo captured at one of our Baptist churches last Sunday as it is a great example of perseverance!  As the worship leader, guides the congregation in singing he is accompanied on the keyboard by one of his students.  Samson, the one leading worship, is a student in the music program at the Kenya Baptist Theological College.  Since learning to play the keyboard, he has persevered not only by learning how to play the keyboard but by teaching what he is learning to several of the older kids in the church and they did great on Sunday!

Now I have not persevered and asked Jack's permission to share the following video made up of photos I captured last Sunday (thus no music), and to be honest, I'm not sure Jack would quickly agree.  BUT... I thought you would like to see how Jack has learned from African preachers, who are often much more animated as they preach, but then one could say they are preaching with their whole heart, soul, mind and BODIES!  In case you haven't figured out what Jack is doing - which based on the rapt attention of those in the congregation led to true communication - he was illustrating running "with perseverance the race marked out for us." 

My perseverance story today includes a praise and a major need for prayer!  The Praise: Perseverance (lots of investments of time and finances) finally led this past weekend to my receiving a part needed so that my computer is finally working properly again!  The Prayer Need:  I need patience as I persevere and now try to catch up the work that was delayed during my computer frustrations as now we're experiencing super weak internet in our area!

The reason I need to persevere is that I have so many great stories to share of how Believers in Africa are persevering as they join our Father in His work!  A very, very special StoryTogether workshop is ongoing at the moment which is the story of a group of persevering women who truly desire to make Hebrews 12:1,2 alive and active in their lives!  Most of these women are the married to pastors and they asked to be taught how to share God's Stories with their unreached people in their heart languages.

These women need your prayer support this week as the complete their two weeks of training to share God's Stories.  They also need your prayer support as they return home, which is many different parts of Burkina Faso, this weekend and begin sharing what they have learned with those in their home areas in need of our Good News. Will you pray for clarity and boldness for these women and open hearts for those who hear their stories?  For more praises and prayer requests for this StoryTogether Project, click the BITS OF OUR HEARTS tab located at the top of this page.

Thanks to the limited internet, I'm stopping now, but I will add a photo which exemplifies what I do when my perseverance is wearing thin and I'm in great need of patience!  I go outside and persevere in spotting great examples of the work of our Creator!

The SUPER MOON, one of our God's creations
viewed at our house last Monday night!

To be honest, this is not the update I had planned to share today, but it is what I could share quickly and gives you a glance at our real lives.  Hopefully, this will help you pray for us and for other Believers in Africa who desire to help those without "the true message of the Gospel" hear and truly understand God's grace (Colossians 1:4-5), which includes bits from this year's guiding verse for the upcoming Lottie Moon Christmas Offering!

BERT YATES

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

For more on the 2016 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering®, including lots ideas, guides, photos, and stories, visit https://www.imb.org/lottie-moon-christmas-offering.