March 28, 2012

I’m writing from our seminary this week.  Jack is teaching the late afternoon class at KBTC, so  I and my computer, etc., travel along with him each day, so he doesn’t travel home alone in the dark.  We don’t over-worry about the realities of safety – or lack of – on our roads, but we do try to be wise!

Once a friend YELLED at me while we were on furlough (now Stateside Assignment) when I mentioned  a difficulty of the last year.  He demanded to know WHY we had not shared this as a prayer need!  My response:  Some things ‘not the norm’ to our American friends, are ‘norms’ to us.  We must accept these ‘norms’ as ‘our way of life’ and relying upon God’s guidance (which I firmly believe includes using the common sense He gives us), we make needed adjustments.  

Once again, WHY AM I SHARING THIS TODAY?  Because I want you to know how to pray for us and our co-workers “in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Ephesians 6:18)  And because often missionaries are unsure what to and what not to share, so we do need you praying even when we don’t share needs.  Many in our area are facing difficult times, such as our friends who were robbed last week and several of our friends who are returning to the States due to illnesses and other difficulties. 

BUT, as we and our friends dealing with the robbery and others facing transition, trust and depend upon God, He does provide the needed guidance, strength and encouragement – often from friends such as you!  It amazes us how God answers those situations we are praying about, but cannot fully share in a newsletter.  

I've been discouraged recently about an aspect of my work, something I cannot share, and this week I received two bits of correspondence which was exactly the encouragement I needed!  One, from a man I don’t remember meeting during a furlough , thanked me for guiding him into becoming a Media missionary.  I know God is busy answering our ‘unshared prayers’ and I know your prayers for me are part of the answers I’m receiving!

Jack also sees God answering his personal prayers.  A co-worker, who is also teaching at this round of seminary classes, shared this afternoon how during today’s evangelism class a  student realized she had not fully accepted Christ as her Saviour – and she did during the practice ‘sharing your faith’ session this afternoon!  Trust me, when you see the students GETTING IT (a truly East African expression) – it brings joys, encouragement and strengthening to missionaries! Which leads to another reason that we don’t always share the ‘bad’ – God is at work in so many amazing ways  that it is difficult to dwell on the negatives.

God also often brings us back to what matters!  This morning, we awoke to no water (2^nd day) and just as it began dribbling into the pipes, the electricity went out!  As I bemoaned all this, I decided to go to FB and share a quick prayer item for patience and focus.  But the electricity and water became unimportant as I read of the death of our friend, Pastor Arthur Kinyanjui , the first moderator of the Baptist Convention of Kenya, and one of the first Baptist evangelists working with our early missionaries to East Africa.  While we lived in Nakuru, Pastor Kinyanjui was a weekly visitor in our home and ‘our’ pastor at Nakuru Baptist. So, today, I will close by asking you to pray for comfort for Pastor Kinyanjui’s family and friends, as you praise God for his years of  service to our Father.  BERT YATES

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Top three photos all captured on the way to our church, Parklands Baptist/Mombasa road, last Sunday.

To view the daily 2012 Prayer Nudges from East Africa, go to  http://easternafrica2012prayernudges.blogspot.com/ or find the Prayer /God at Work in East Africa Nudges and other updates from East Africa on Facebook – Bert Yates (https://www.facebook.com/bert.yates)

If you have not viewed the photo albums shared in the last two weeks, you might want to view “WHAT IS SHE DOING?” – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150863201375130.521428.685050129&type=1&l=aef67b728 and “WHAT CAN WE DO?” – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150846014900130.518785.685050129&type=1&l=7944f4f7da

March 25th Prayer Nudge from East Africa

Praising God for a creative missionary to East Africa dealing with a problem not discussed in Church Planting Training: “As usual our power has not been stable, so I went to purchase fuel for our generator and Land Cruiser.  Electric fuel pumps are required to pump gas (in case you didn’t know).  When there is no power, gas stations use generators to pump gas.  Power was out today and the fuel station’s generator was out of fuel.  What do you do?  Well, you siphon fuel from a friend’s motorcycle so you can fill the generator, so you can pump gas; that’s what you do.  Duh!”

March 21, 2012

As I write,  Jack is teaching at our seminary (Kenya Baptist Theological College), which always leaves him HAPPY and EXHAUSTED!  HAPPY because he loves teaching Church Planting Methods (sorry, I gave you the wrong subject last week) and he is always energized by working with pastors and leaders eager to learn more of how they can serve our Father.  This class includes a young woman from one of our first Baptist churches in East Africa, Shauri Moyo; a pastor ministering in the slums of Nairobi; and a student from a People Group thankfully no longer among the “Least Reached” by the Gospel, but in need of trained pastors, the Maasai.  His EXHAUSTION comes from the drive to and from the school, teaching four hours each day, and answering lots of questions outside of class and then returning home to do more research to answer their intense, deep questions!

Once again, I’m in awe of how God answered my prayers and yours and made it very clear through scripture and ‘happenings’ what I should share this week – which is the JOYS and SORROWS of my week!  I first used these words in “What Is She Doing?”, the new photo album promised last week on our Yates/IMB/Kenya blog, but as usual I had written too many words and these were among the many I cut!  “What Is She Doing?” is of a special view I spotted while Jack taught early this month in western Kenya.  As I worked one day on my computer at the back of the Bible School classroom, a toddler caught my attention.  Thankfully I went outside to see more and viewed a series of actions with touched my heart with both JOY and SORROW. 

JOY and SORROW also came this week as I read co-workers’ blogs in preparation for the daily Prayer Nudges from East Africa.  Today’s prayer nudge is a great example of when you want to be positive and claim JOY, but you are actually more in the SORROW category.   I encourage you to read my co-workers comments and the joy she later claimed in today’s Prayer Nudge from East Africa.  

JOY and SORROW also came this read as we learned of other problems faced by  co-workers.  Missionaries prefer sharing good things that lead to praise, but often praise items follow times of sorrow.  We heard this week that one of our families must return to the States due to the illness of a child.  They are praising God for how travel/ medical arrangements are happening, but they are hurting as they close their time here and say goodbye to friends.  More friends are praising God for safety and protection after a very painful occurrence – a violent robbery while on vacation.  We are praising God that no one was hurt in a very dangerous situation, but we are also praying for peace and comfort for this family, which includes teens and family visiting from the States.

I ask that you join us in praying for these situations and many others, as I share more ‘general prayers’ for missionaries:  Pray for wisdom as we make difficult decisions.  Pray for a clear sense of God’s will in all we do. Pray also for safety as we travel on not-so-safe roads and live in areas where insecurity and tensions can always lead to problems, such as a recent bombing in one of Nairobi’s transport centers.

Before I close, I must add thanks for your praying for my patience and healing from a cold/sinus infection.  I’m definitely on the mend, though a little ‘dinghy’ at the moment from the medicine to deal with the cough left behind!  One more thanks:  Thank you for your prayers and the many ways you support us,  BERT

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For more photos, go to our blog  Yates-IMB-Kenya  –  http://bertandjackyates.blogspot.com

For the story of the toddler, “What Is She Doing?”, is found at:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150863201375130.521428.685050129&type=1&l=aef67b7282

To view 2012 Prayer Nudges from East Africa, go to: http://easternafrica2012prayernudges.blogspot.com/ or find the Prayer Nudges and other updates from East Africa on Facebook – Bert Yates (https://www.facebook.com/bert.yates)

For an additional bit of JOY, go to the photo album Bert prepared for our church – Women’s Sunday at PBC Mombasa Road - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.136694796457142.24388.100003498676259&type=3&l=92cac2e56b