December 10, 2014

As my Kenyan friends would say, I've been defeated today!  It began with hurriedly making two huge chocolate cakes for the KBTC Christmas party to which I added baking powder rather than baking soda and both cakes now have obvious flaws! I'm waiting for Jack to return home from a KBTC Board of Governors meeting to test if either are edible - which from the look of the cakes, is a real possiblity!  At this point with the way things have been going, I fear that if I touch the cakes, they might end up on the floor!

The morning wasn't a total flop!  BEFORE baking the cakes, I did
successfully prepare a batch of Hersheys fudge to complement the
Maziwa Lala fudge I made last night to share at a Christmas party
 with IMB co-workers.   The second fudge is also known
as Jack's Grandmother Yates' Buttermilk Fudge!

And then I tried, really tried to prepare a special Yates' edition of a Lottie Moon Christmas Offering bulletin and although the electricity has been constant, unlike most days in the last few weeks,  the internet and several of my computer programs have been very uncooperative this morning!  So, I'm doing what I usually refuse to do and I'm giving up for today. In all honesty, one problem was that my computer hid what I had created and I've spent the last two hours searching for what I had hoped to share with you today!  I did find it, but can't share it properly, thus you are getting the following revised copy of what I can share without more grey hairs appearing!  BERT YATES

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The KBTC staff welcoming us back to campus
in May after our  Stateside Assignment.

Jack and Bert Yates
thank you for praying
and giving to the
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering!

 Did you know that 100% of the LMCO directly supports us and nearly 4,900 other field personnel.

YOUR GIFTS to the Scottie Moon Christmas Offering allow us to serve as IMB missionaries in Kenya, among Sub-Saharan African Peoples.

Your support allows:

• Jack, Principal of the Kenya Baptist Theological College, to strengthen, encourage and train pastors, national missionaries and church members to carry out the Great Commission. 
• Bert, Prayer Networker for the Sub-Saharan African Peoples Affinity, to share via the internet what God is doing among our Peoples and how others can join in His Work through prayer, serving and giving. 

Please pray with us for God’s guidance and wisdom as:

• Jack leads KBTC as African Believers are prepared to reflect the presence of God and become His qualified and capable workers in His Harvest Field.
• Bert reads co-workers’ prayer letters, blogs and FB posts and shares their praises and prayer requests.
• We seek to make, strengthen and encourage disciples who proclaim the eternal gospel to every nation, tribe, language and people. 

December 3, 2014

“Therefore 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 28:19-20 NIV

Do Jack and I honestly believe that obeying our Saviour’s Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 can lead to the day when the eternal gospel is proclaimed to all “on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language and people” (Revelation 14:7)? YES!!!  And the best part is that this IS happening!

As the Prayer Networker for Sub-Saharan African Peoples, I have the joy of reading prayers letters from IMB workers among Sub-Saharan African Peoples. This means that every day I get to read reports of how co-workers are going, making disciples, baptizing and teaching. An added joy for me is that it is my job to share these stories. You can also read some of these stories at Nudges to Action for Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Yes, this is on FB, but can be viewed by anyone.

Bert's new Facebook Cover photo added to promote the LMCO.
An old photo, but one of my favourites of a child walking home
 with a Gospel tract clutched in his hand after a visit
with a group of NC Baptist Men and Women on Mission!

As the Principal of the Kenya Baptist Theological College, Jack gets to be a part of training Believers not just from Kenya, but from other African countries and hopefully in the near future from other continents, how to go, make disciples, baptize and teach God’s words and commands! For more from KBTC, visit Kenya Baptist Theological College.

We were blessed with two special events this past week which were extra special to us as they occurred during the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO) season. During our visit with the new National Council of the Baptist Convention of Kenya (BCOK), which met last week at KBTC, and at the dedication of the new worship centre of a Baptist church in Nairobi  on Sunday, Lottie Moon or the LMCO was never mentioned, yet Jack and know that the offering named for Lottie led to both of these special times.

The BCOK meeting held on campus last Thursday and Friday was special as we got to see many friends, but it was exciting to sense the enthusiasm and commitment of the 68 delegates from 20 regions of Baptist work representing every corner of Kenya. Jack’s response: "I am in awe of what God has done since 1956. Thank God for the BCOK, its leadership and the leadership of the Holy Spirit as Kenyan Baptists work towards the day when the eternal gospel is proclaimed 'to every nation, tribe, language and people.' Rev 14:7”

I love this road sign on Thika Road at the exit for the church
dedication. For those who have not been to Kenya for years,
Thika Road is now 12 lanes wide! The sign could have
added that 140 km (87 miles) past Garissa is Somalia.

Will you join us in praying for the leaders and churches represented at last week’s BCOK meeting? Many of those attending have never heard of Lottie Moon, but most, if not all, have been trained thanks to the LMCO as they’ve been taught by IMB missionaries, received scholarship help at KBTC and assistance for their churches, including Sunday School books, etc., which were funded in part by the LMCO? Will you pray that they will continue to grow in their desire and ability to share our Father’s love and salvation in their homes, villages, towns, cities and country, as well as in neighboring countries?

Praise of the Week: Pastor Chacha, a professor at KBTC,
has been very ill this year.  It was a joy to see him
and his wife, Florence, at the dedication last Sunday.

Sunday’s celebration at the church dedication was also a time of reunion with old friends and making new friends. It was a time of celebrating how a church begun 20 years ago with the help of several IMB missionaries (supported by the LMCO) is now a strong group of Believers (discipled and equipped by books funded by the LMCO, etc.) who had outgrown their first building (and yes, LMCO fund’s helped build this) and taken responsibility for their new building, as well as claiming their own responsibility for carrying out the Great Commission as they minister in their community and as they begin new churches!

Yes, I've said lots today about the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, but that is because without this funding, we could not be in Kenya doing what we know God has called us to do! Therefore, I want you to know how thankful we are for your being our co-workers as you pray for us, send workers our way and as you do your part in giving to the LMCO and the Cooperative Program!

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Added note: An invitation from David Platt, IMB President: “What if thousands of churches came together on December 7 for the sake of spreading the gospel to all nations?” A full sermon video, a three minute sermon extract and a sermon outline are all available for download for use personally or in a church or small group setting. http://www.imb.org/2272.aspx
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Nudges to Action for SSAfrican Peoples at https://www.facebook.com/SubSaharanAfricanPeoples.

Kenya Baptist Theological College at https://www.facebook.com/KenyaBaptistTheologicalCollege.

More on the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering at http://www.imb.org/main/lottie-moon/lmcoatwork.asp?PageNavID=111.

November 26, 2014

“How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?”

1 Thessalonians 3:9 (NIV)

The food colouring is included as local corn (maize)
meal is white, thus yellow colouring is needed
for yellow corn bread!

Ingredients are waiting on the kitchen cabinet in our KBTC cottage, ready to bake pumpkin muffins (not from a can, but prepared the old fashioned, begin-with-a-pumpkin way as I refused to pay $10 for a small tin of pumpkin!) and a special cornbread for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving meal with our mission family. But before I begin cooking, I must first share our thanks with you for allowing us to be in Kenya.

Sorry, no photos of Bert this week as she was the one taking 1500 shots
last Saturday, but this one is shared especially for Jack's Mom!
Bert's thought as she took this photo:  This might be the hottest-ever
graduation where a black and gold, Wake Forest University hood has
been worn as Malindi is just south of the equator on the Indian Ocean!

And the best way that I know to share our thanks for your prayers, sending workers our way and financial support, is to share things on our thanksgiving list. At the top of our list this past week was last Saturday’s graduation of 20 students on the Malindi campus (5 Diploma students, 6 Advanced Certificates and 9 Bible School Certificates).

We also had the joy of worshipping with Christ the King Baptist Church in Malindi on Sunday morning. One highlight of the morning was watching the youth praise God not with their voices during the offering time, but with their whole bodies in a way that was truly an act of worship and praise.

A special highlight for me was viewing a little girl helping one of the boys find the page for each hymn sung in the church’s copies of Nyimbo za Imani Zetu, the hymnal published by Kenya Baptist Media. I joined Media after the ‘soft’ cover edition of this book was completed, but I had the joy of helping to edit the hard back edition with musical notation.

Jack's special highlight of the week, in addition to taking part in his first graduation as principal of KBTC, was teaching Philosophy of Education to the 609/ Advanced Diploma in Education class and being able to watch their joy as they received tablets donated by a college friend from Houston. Their first assignment was to listen, study and learn from Creative Teaching (part of over 3000 hours of Biblical Training lectures). To say the least they were very excited and learned quickly how to use the machines!

Photo shared at https://www.facebook.com/
KenyaBaptistTheologicalCollege.
Last Saturday's graduation at the KBTC Malindi campus was a day
of celebration. It was also a day when our younger generation
was challenged to dream of becoming KBTC graduates!

Paul also challenged us in 1 Thessalonians to“give thanks in all circumstances" (5:18), but we are not thankful for everything that we experienced and encountered this past week! Being thankful was difficult during multi electricity outages (up to 20 hours) and joy was limited as KBTC faced un-kept commitments, a major project being stalled by an obstacle, trying to balance what to pay and when, and having to take legal action against a five year old problem. We haven’t asked prayers for these things even though we have needed prayer support, but all are issues that we cannot be freely shared.

Our blog was updated a bit this week -
Look for the new KENYAN KIDS
slideshow on the top-right! 

So this week, as we thank you for all you do as God’s fellow workers, we do ask that you join us in the shared praises and joys and also join us in praying for current needs. And we do feel your prayer support. I know that it was no coincidence, but a God-incident/ answer to prayer when on the very morning that some things had me discouraged, I read during my devotions what Joseph told his fearful brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20, NIV). I know that this verse also applies to KBTC as Believers are trained and equipped to serve our Father and share His salvation. BERT YATES
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Yes, Kenya does have many super malls,
but these dukas are found everywhere
selling one-use sizes of tea, laundry
detergent, etc., and other needed items.
This photo, captured near KBTC on
Monday, was used in today's
Nudgeto Action for SSAPeoples. 

Added NOTE: Do you internet shop via Amazon? Then you can strengthen work among SSAPeoples as you shop! Amazon will now donate 0.5% of the price of eligible AmazonSmile purchases to ‘International Mission Board Of The Southern Baptist Convention’ when you shop at AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com). Be sure to choose the complete name of the IMB as there is a California based mission board listed as well.

The boys played with a home-made soccer ball during Saturday's
graduation and with the home-made wheeled toy in an
earlier photo.  The boy in the middle was practising
 karate (I think). The girls played with the flowers! All the
kids enjoyed eating mangos from a nearby tree.

While some kids slept! The Mom kept trying to wiggle her little
one (below) snuggly into the kanga, but the child preferred to be free!

Bert's thoughts while viewing this little one:
I'm melting and he looks very comfy in his hat and jacket!

This is a photo of two blessings for KBTC - which may seem minor, but
are important.  Keeping the grass cut on campus is a major job. One
blessing is having men who slash several acres for free in exchange
for free food for their cows. The rocks and dirt (and lots more) were
offered to KBTC this week  at a very reasonable cost by a nearby
work site.  Now the road to the new building can be weather-proofed!