December 28, 2011

It is not snowing outside our equatorial home as I write, but there are sounds of dripping from unseasonable heavy rains, thus I am wearing a sweater and have traded my sandals for  ‘real’ shoes!  After 33 years in East Africa, one would think we would have adjusted to celebrating Christmas with summer weather, but…  We did have a great Christmas. 

And, yes, we did miss our kids, but SKYPING is a true gift for missionaries – which included watching our granddaughter open her gift from us, a little kitchen set,  and joining her in ‘eating/ drinking’ her first meal prepared on it! We also enjoyed spending Christmas with our mission family, which included sharing Christmas Eve lunch with a family experiencing their first Christmas in Kenya and Christmas breakfast with a couple and their two youngest kids who are ‘home’ for Christmas, two young men whom we have known since they were infants and proudly claim as our nephews!

Today’s Prayer Nudge from East Africa (photo on left) shares a bit of our experiences on Christmas Eve Evening – “PURE JOY: The reaction of kids to the twirling/ blinking lights, colours and sounds at a Christmas Eve Concert at a Baptist church in Kenya’s capital city.  A missionary's reactions:  Disappointment when the first songs were not 'traditional' Christmas songs – followed by a realization that after one sings praise and worship songs, including "Here I am to worship… to bow down… to say that You're my God,” with representatives of many nations, tribes, peoples and languages, singing songs about the angels, shepherds and wise men bowing down to worship our Saviour is indescribable PURE JOY!”

This service at Parklands Baptist Church began with the worship leader asking representatives of different People Groups to share what Mary would be called in their heart languages.  There were replies from people from many African (including Mariamu/ Swahili), European and Asian People Groups.  I cannot begin to share how exciting it was to include this in a celebration of our Saviour’s birth.  This service as well as our worship service on Christmas day at Parklands Baptist– Mombasa Road, included a time of praising God and thanking Him for sending His Son, the giver of new life.  As on the previous night, many of the songs included praises and thanksgiving for our Saviour’s death and resurrection – which truly adds to an appreciation for the birth of our Father’s gift to us, His Son!

We are resting a bit more this week, but we still need your prayers.  Jack is preparing for the next Board of governors meeting at Kenya Baptist Theological College, on January 5^th, with extra meetings next Wednesday.  Continue praying with us that KBTC will enter 2012 with newness of life, a new creation able to serve our Father. My prayer need is for wisdom and strength as I continue sharing how God is at work in East Africa via the internet, especially as I explore/ develop new opportunities in 2012 to share how thankful we and our colleagues are for you and how we do depend upon you as you support us through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program and through your prayers and sending personnel.   We are also praying for you, specifically that 2011 ends well for you and for a blessed 2012, BERT YATES

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Don’t forget to view this weeks  2011 PRAYER NUDGES FROM EAST AFRICA  – http://easternafrica2011prayernudges.blogspot.com/, and yes, a new blog, 2012 Prayer Nudges from East Africa will appear next Sunday! The Prayer Nudges and other bits of our lives can be found on my Facebook page  (https://www.facebook.com/bert.yates), and I am always looking for new friends!

Christmas Eve/Day 2011

Krismasi Njema from East Africa! Thanking God today for the good news of great joy brought by the angel that was and is for all people - the birth of our Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.  Joining the great company of the heavenly host which appeared with the angel to the shepherds in praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on who his favour rests."  (Luke 2:9-14)

Today's photo is a gift for you - a gift guaranteed to make you smile:  The view of an elephant found among the shrubbery outside the entryway into our home in Nairobi, Kenya!

December 21, 2011

"Why are you still in Kenya?  You could have retired long ago.  Are you sure this isn’t your ‘comfort zone’ and you should leave?”  A friend recently asked Jack and me these questions. Our answers:  Yes, with IMB policies, we could have retired long ago.  Yes, although sometimes the ‘going is rough,’ we are more accustomed to life in East Africa than North Carolina. Yes, we have asked God many times if we have stayed too long on this mountain (Deut. 1:6 is appropriate as Nairobi is a mile high), but even when we would prefer a YES, we know in our hearts that the answer is “No, this is where I am calling you to be at this time.”

So, once again we will celebrate an equatorial Christmas dressed in our summer clothes, with poinsettias not displayed as ‘extra’ decorations, but as the norm around our house, and rely upon SKYPE to visit with our kids, which will hopefully include SKYPING as our granddaughter opens her Christmas gifts from us!  Our Christmas parties/ special meals will be balanced with special times with our East African friends and our mission family.  We’ve already had the joy of sharing special Christmas luncheons with the Sema Leatherworks families(1) and with the Parklands Baptist Church leadership(2). 

New co-workers spending their first Christmas in Kenya will visit on Christmas Eve – our tradition of sharing an East African ‘summer’ lunch of grilled steaks and fresh strawberries atop brownies, definitely not an American traditional Christmas meal, with a family whom we want to know better.  That evening, we will attend a Christmas Concert at Parklands Baptist. On Christmas morning we will share breakfast with co-workers visiting from Uganda, including home-made Moravian Sugarcake, a family tradition from living in Winston-Salem, NC., the home of the real Dewey’s Sugarcake! Later, we will  worship with our church family at Parklands Baptist Mombasa Road. So, as you can see we are ‘comfortable’ here in Kenya and do expect a Krismasi Njema (Swahili for good Christmas)!

Jack has lots of catch-up work this week, as he tries to rest a bit, after teaching for three weeks at our Kenya Baptist Theological College.  Thank you especially for praying for the Board of Governors meeting at our college/seminary this past Monday.  The meeting was very productive and our prayers that “KBTC enter 2012 with newness of life, a new creation able to serve our Father” are on their way to being answered. Please join us in continuing to pray for this need.

Thank you also for your prayers for me as I continue sharing how God is at work in East Africa via the internet.  Without fail, every time exhaustion, frustration, or disappointment creeps in, God sends me an assurance that this is the work I should do!  I am planning to rest some during the holidays, but pray for me as I prepare for new opportunities in 2012 to share how thankful we and our colleagues are for you and how we do depend upon you as you support us through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program and through your prayers and sending personnel.  For a little extra Christmas cheer in the next few days, I encourage you to check out the daily Prayer Nudges from East Africa(3)!  Krismasi Njema from East Africa, BERT

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(1) Sema Leatherworks Ministry - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sema-Leatherworks/116367071750964

(2) To view a video sharing what I love about Christmas with Kenyan Believers – Parklands Baptist Church Leadership Christmas Luncheon, go to: https://picasaweb.google.com/105343089902291545775/ChristmasWithKenyanBelievers?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLfJ3N-jw_LwogE&feat=directlink

(3) For Prayer Nudges from East Africa, go to Lottie Moon 2011 / East Africa  – http://lottiemoon2011eastafrica.blogspot.com/  or 2011 PRAYER NUDGES FROM EAST AFRICA  – http://easternafrica2011prayernudges.blogspot.com/.   You can also find the Prayer Nudges on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bert.yates .  This may seem like overdoing it, but I’m seeking to offer ways that will appeal to different audiences!  Today’s, Dec 21^st Prayer Nudge is the first of three “NOT A MANGER SCENE, BUT” to be shared this week.