January 15, 2014

One of my favourite photos captured
during this past 4 years in Kenya.

I’m not sitting in a field of banana plants or in a mud hut as I work away from home this morning, but in a friend’s breakfast nook after speaking at a Women on Mission meeting in eastern North Carolina last night. We are staying busy and loving the opportunities to share what God is up to at the Kenya Baptist Theological College (Jack) and in His harvest field among Sub-Saharan African Peoples. 

We were at a Church Planting Seminar
in western Kenya where most of
those attending were very attentive...

Thanks for praying for our time at the conference last week for IMB missionaries on Stateside Assignment. It was truly “a time of refreshment and learning” and a great time of making new friends and enjoying being with friends we have known for years. It was a joy to hear the God-at-work stories from other parts of the world, but we also heard stories of heartbreak from many of our workers. Thus, one prayer that you can add to your general prayers for missionaries is for protection from attacks from the devil as he does not like God’s work going well!

... although a few preferred looking my way and posing for the camera!

The ‘learning’ bit at the conference was sessions on retirement (yes, we will do that one day) and dealing with ageing parents (which I found rather humorous as we are now the age of the ‘aging parents’ of many of the young missionaries). Jack was enthused by the sessions on new ways to involve others in our work, as I attended sessions on using Social Media, photos and newsletters as tools to share God’s stories (yes, I do this daily, but there is still so much to learn and use). We are benefiting already from a day long course on ‘modular speaking’ which I attended which hopefully will help us share our stories more effectively with you!

And a few cute kids such as this mischievous toddler
led to my not paying full attention as Jack preached! 

As always in recent years, one required session was on security, which leads to the need for you to add ‘prayers for safety’ to your general prayers for missionaries. Our session began with questions of who had been affected by a robbery, car-jacking, hi-jacking, terrorism, etc. in the recent past. There were only ten of us in our small group, but the tally was high. So please pray for safety and especially for wisdom for missionaries as many of us live in areas where one must always be alert to possible threats.

No, this wasn't the meal we had at the rural church during the
Church Planting Seminar, but our lunch today and one of the
foods we enjoy while on leave - Eastern NC pork barbecue!
I took this photo to try close-ups on my NEW camera!

Before heading out to a local McDonalds for a cup of coffee and their free Wi-Fi so I can send this newsletter (I ran out of time and am sending this from home hours later), I will close with our ‘general’ Stateside Assignment prayer requests. Pray for God’s guidance as we meet people and speak to groups.

Still on our wish list while on STAS is to eat at a Pizza Inn,
which we skipped today, but the seagulls were busy!

Join us also in thanking God for the opportunities for Jack to share how God is at work at the Kenya Baptist Theological College and as I share what God is doing among Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Pray that we will entice more people to join in His work! Pray also that we will clearly share how God answers your prayers, uses short and long term volunteers to accomplish His work, and blesses your gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, Cooperative Program and other ways that allow us to be at work in our Father’s Harvest Field in Africa. BERT
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Daily Nudges to Action for Sub-Saharan African Peoples are found at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sub-Saharan-African-Peoples/100173880060607.

The other place we skipped today for lunch - which was difficult,
but made easier as we are freezing so far north of the equator!

January 6, 2014

We miss the beauty of Kenya, but this early
morning view during breakfast last week
was a great way to start the day!

Part Two this week of "What missionaries on Stateside Assignment do", plus a great praise for an incident that was not a co-incidence, but a GOD-incidence and more nudges to prayer!

We have tried to get some rest this last week, which was complicated by Jack having a cold and awakening on the morning of freezing weather (16°F) with no heat in our mission house! Our praises: Jack is on the mend, our host church had warm air blowing into the house within a few hours, and we had purchased enough winter clothes to have been adequately layered!

Resting included watching lots of college football and basketball games AS these happened!  It also has included reminiscing over the events of December with lots of speaking engagements (shared in recent updates) and lots of special family times, such as taking a field trip with our granddaughter’s preschool and attending the her school Christmas party.

Fun before Christmas included visiting an activity center
for kids with our granddaughter's Preschool...

... and when Bibi spotted a wall of mirrors as the kids played,
she took a few photos to edit for use as FB profile photos.

December also included finding a grocery store where we felt comfortable visiting and shopping, Patel Brothers which sells Indian specialties that we often buy in Kenya, as well as a few Kenyan foods!  You need to visit our blog to see some of these foods and their names, as well as photos of our special time with our kids and their families on Christmas day.

Goodies purchased at Patel Brothers. We
also spotted Kenyan tea and Royco Mchuzi Mix!

Christmas morning was spent with our kids and
their families.  Bert is behind the camera - her new
camera which was her Christmas present to herself!

As we speak during this Stateside Assignment, I use my time to assure our listeners that God is blessing their past investments (prayer, personnel and financial) in the work among Sub-Saharan African Peoples  and how we need more people responding to the work in His harvest field.  Jack always shares how Believers must seek God’s will, obey Him and then trust Him, using his experiences since becoming the Principal of Kenya Baptist Theological College as illustrations.

Many of our Christmas gifts to our kids were from Kenya!

Thus, we were excited to have a new God-incidence to share when Jack received a call on New Year’s Day from Kenya.  This story became last Thursday’s Nudge to Action for Sub-Saharan African Peoples: Yesterday’s conversation between missionaries in Sub-Saharan Africa: M1: “Did you read today’s item on the prayer calendar?” M2: “Why?” M1: “Our co-workers prayed for a need at our seminary. A group of volunteers showed up today and they completed provided for the need!” M2: Jesus promised, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed… Nothing will be impossible” (Matthew 17:20).

The fuller story was later shared with our co-workers who had been praying that day that KBTC’s spiritual and financial needs would be met:  “Today God answered in a way that amazed and blessed us, and reminded us that He is Sovereign LORD. Visitors came to the campus today – on a holiday – and wanted to tour KBTC. We did not know, had never met, or had any connections to the visitors. They had been here for a week working in another area of Kenya… (they were shown) around the facilities and explained how the school equips Kenyan pastors. The visitors wanted to stop and pray for the college. So under the avocado tree they knelt and prayed together. Then before the visitors left they gave a donation to the school which they asked to go toward staff salaries. The donation was totally unsolicited, and it was the answer to today’s prayer request. Amazed by God’s goodness!”

Another photo used last week as a
Nudge to Action for SSAPeoples.

Pray this week for a time of 'refreshment' and learning as we attend a conference this week for IMB missionaries on Stateside Assignment (thus the early mailing of this week’s update). Our constant prayer request during STAS is for God’s guidance as Jack shares how God is at work at the Kenya Baptist Theological College and as I share what God is doing among Sub-Saharan African Peoples and as we entice more people to join in His work! BERT YATES

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Recent Nudges to Action for Sub-Saharan African Peoples  are found at   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sub-Saharan-African-Peoples/100173880060607. 

January 1, 2014

So what does a missionary on Stateside Assignment do on the afternoon of a New Year's Day after a busy December during Stateside Assignment?  I'm trying to write this update, while Jack is taking a nap - a well-deserved nap after driving last night for four hours so we could attend a very special  Lottie Moon Christmas Offering event. The special event? The annual New Year's Eve Fish Fry at the 240 year old Cartledge Creek Baptist Church in Rockingham, N.C, which is held as a very special way to raise money to top up their LMCO gifts.

After church members ate fish caught and cooked by church members, as well as enjoyed some incredible home-made desserts, the night's entertainment was  learning about what God is doing among Sub-Saharan African Peoples (Bert) and...

This past week's Nudges to Action for SSAPeoples were shared as an
ongoing story - the story of what is happening among one BEING
reached Unreached People in our world's youngest country, the Toposa
of South Sudan.  The story is found on the December 24, 26-31 posts at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sub-Saharan-African-Peoples/100173880060607.

... how He is at work at the Kenya Baptist Theological College (Jack), which also included invitations to join our Father in His work in Africa!

After sharing last night how God is answering prayers at KBTC, Jack
received a call this morning from Kenya saying that a prayer request
was shared today on a special prayer site concerning the needs
at KBTC and not a co-incidence, but a GOD-incidence occurred today!
A Kenyan pastor brought Baptist volunteers to visit the college
and they left a gift for KBTC which will pay past-due bills!

Although we were busy during December, we loved everything we were able to do.  One the Wednesday night before Christmas we shared at the Mount Olive Baptist Church (King, NC) how thankful IMB missionaries are for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.  After the service as we met church members, we loved watching the women of the church as they practised a skit to promote the offering the coming Sunday morning!

The Sunday before Christmas, we worshipped with the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Willow Spring, NC, and enjoyed their Christmas decorations outside the church...

...and inside the church as we spoke, sharing once again how thanks to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, we are able to serve our Father in Africa!

Jack and I always wear our African clothes as we speak in
churches and so far my head wrap has stayed in place!

To be honest, staying up later than usual last night, has left me exhausted also, so I'm not going to take a nap as Jack did (he just awoke and is preparing our afternoon tea, a tradition of African countries with a British heritage), but I'm going to stop now.  But I promise to share more of our activities of December in next week's update - including evidence of my special Christmas present!  BERT
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More on the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering at http://www.imb.org/main/lottie-moon/default.asp.

View daily Nudges to Action for Sub-Saharan African Peoples at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sub-Saharan-African-Peoples/100173880060607.

For photos and information on the Kenya Baptist Theological College, visit https://www.facebook.com/KenyaBaptistTheologicalCollege.

Another thing I did last month - have a 'who will blink first'
session with my favourite American bird - a Blue Jay!