Our volunteers did a great job. They broke many barriers and made great relationships. They also dealt with their fair share of spiritual warfare. We pray that they come back many more times.
Now that they have left we need to make our announcement. At the end of July we will be moving to Dar es Salaam to serve our fellow missionaries in the role of Logistics Coordinator. David will be taking care of houses, cars, and government paperwork for the Baptist mission, as well as many other physical needs.
Our hearts are still with the Kuria people, but God has made it clear that this is what He wants for our family at this time. He will use us to further His kingdom wherever we are if we make ourselves available. And, as one of our pastors said, whether any of us are here or not, God will continue His work in bringing salvation to the Kuria.
Please continue to pray for our circumcision committee. We had gotten to a point of trying to convice them to continue without any outside funding. David and I were personally providing funds for the meetings, which included a per diem for committee members when they attended a meeting. There are no funds to pay for Christian circumcision and this was never our intent. We wanted the people to believe in it and do it on their own.
So, in this situation our departure is not a bad thing. We can say there are no funds, but it is seldom believed. They are now forced to decide if they believe in this or not. If they do, they will continue the work. If they do not, it will die. We have done all we can in educating them about this new possibility. The rest is up to them.
Please pray for our family in this time of transition. We have never lived in a big city before and our lives will be very different.
Continue to also pray for the Kuria people. We truly believe that the time has come for the darkness here to be broken and the light of salvation to break through.
Blessings.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Rights of Passage Training Meeting
We had a wonderful rites of passage training meeting last week. I want to thank everyone who faithfully prayed for this meeting. It was a wonderfully beneficial time in so many ways.
Two gentleman from the TANARI Trust in Nairobi (www.tanari.org), Steve and Hosea, spent two days with us teaching on rites of passage, their meaning in life, and ways that we can facilitate them in a Christian manner. They are excellent teachers and we feel so blessed that they came.
This was a great way to launch our committee. They were able to see the bigger picture of what we are trying to accomplish and to see that this has been successful in other areas. They were challenged to begin to think about what should be included in a rites of passage time here among the Kuria. Some necessary teachings that were mentioned are Biblical teaching on becoming a Christian adult, life skills training, physical challenges to demonstrate the passage into adulthood, actual physical circumcision (for the boys, not for the girls), and a celebration at the end which includes the traditional gifts of a new set of clothing for the new adults.
There are many challenges ahead of the committee. We are breaking away from traditional society and the committee can be bogged down in that issue. We will have to teach both the adults and the youth about this new opportunity. There will be youth who feel they cannot be received as adults by the larger community unless they participate in the traditional celebrations. There will be parents who refuse to allow their children to do anything but the traditional ways. One big concern is helping the girls who run away from their families because they do not want to be circumcised.
One benefit that I see from this conflict is that we can actually create an atmosphere of young people who only want to marry those who have participated in a Christian circumcision rite rather than a traditional rite. This is a long-term benefit that might take years to come to fruition, but it could be a powerful thing. I only hope that the committee can see this future benefit.
Another huge matter of prayer is finances. NGO's and the government have set an unfortunate precedence that we are fighting. When they conduct meetings they pay a per diem to each participant as well as providing for all costs. This means that we even have to pay our committee members a per diem for every meeting. This is a personal cost as we have no ministry budget for this. Even this training meeting we conducted came out of our personal finances.
This is not a plea for money. This is the history that leads up to the real problem. The committee is convinced that the churches will have to foot the bill for everything that has to do with a Christian rite of passage. I do not think this is true. In my mind, parents are already used to paying for this in a traditional manner and it is quite expensive. I do not see why they should not contribute to the church for the same reason - and it will be much less costly. In this way it should be completely self-supporting and therefore completely reproducible without outside funding.
One obstacle to this is youth whose parents are not supportive. However, these churches are able to fund the things which they truly believe in. Also, if the churches of the community come together and participate as one, instead of each doing its own, they can help each other to provide for these youth.
However, this is an obstacle that truly challenges the thoughts and beliefs of the committee members. At this point they are really wanting outside funding (i.e. us). The first order of business at our next meeting will be to work through this issue. Please pray about this as it may be the greatest obstacle to overcome. If they cannot work through this then our hopes for a Christian circumcision will die right there.
On a personal note, we have had a few health issues. David has developed some vertigo problems. We praise the Lord that he did not have a truly debilitating episode until we were last in Nairobi and were able to quickly see doctors. The diagnosis is that piece of the cochlea has broken off and become a "floater" inside the ear. When it moves into a bad position it causes vertigo. David has some stretches - for a lack of a better word - to help keep the inner ear fluid in its correct place and some medication. These are helping greatly and he has not had another episode. This will not go away and will be a continued matter of prayer because if it happens while he is driving or out in the village it could be a big problem.
We had a wonderful month of April. The kids were home from boarding school and David's parents came out to visit. It was refreshing and joyful to our spirits to be surrounded by family.
We also ask for prayer for the sister of one of our pastors. She has almost been kidnapped by a family who has taken her far from home and forcing her to work for them. She is about 16. Being in a strange town she has no one to turn to for help. We know that our pastor wants to go get her, but doesn't have the funds. Unfortunately, because of all we have been doing with the circumcision meetings and other ministry plans, we cannot help him at this time.
Thank you for holding us up in prayer.
Blessings.
Two gentleman from the TANARI Trust in Nairobi (www.tanari.org), Steve and Hosea, spent two days with us teaching on rites of passage, their meaning in life, and ways that we can facilitate them in a Christian manner. They are excellent teachers and we feel so blessed that they came.
This was a great way to launch our committee. They were able to see the bigger picture of what we are trying to accomplish and to see that this has been successful in other areas. They were challenged to begin to think about what should be included in a rites of passage time here among the Kuria. Some necessary teachings that were mentioned are Biblical teaching on becoming a Christian adult, life skills training, physical challenges to demonstrate the passage into adulthood, actual physical circumcision (for the boys, not for the girls), and a celebration at the end which includes the traditional gifts of a new set of clothing for the new adults.
There are many challenges ahead of the committee. We are breaking away from traditional society and the committee can be bogged down in that issue. We will have to teach both the adults and the youth about this new opportunity. There will be youth who feel they cannot be received as adults by the larger community unless they participate in the traditional celebrations. There will be parents who refuse to allow their children to do anything but the traditional ways. One big concern is helping the girls who run away from their families because they do not want to be circumcised.
One benefit that I see from this conflict is that we can actually create an atmosphere of young people who only want to marry those who have participated in a Christian circumcision rite rather than a traditional rite. This is a long-term benefit that might take years to come to fruition, but it could be a powerful thing. I only hope that the committee can see this future benefit.
Another huge matter of prayer is finances. NGO's and the government have set an unfortunate precedence that we are fighting. When they conduct meetings they pay a per diem to each participant as well as providing for all costs. This means that we even have to pay our committee members a per diem for every meeting. This is a personal cost as we have no ministry budget for this. Even this training meeting we conducted came out of our personal finances.
This is not a plea for money. This is the history that leads up to the real problem. The committee is convinced that the churches will have to foot the bill for everything that has to do with a Christian rite of passage. I do not think this is true. In my mind, parents are already used to paying for this in a traditional manner and it is quite expensive. I do not see why they should not contribute to the church for the same reason - and it will be much less costly. In this way it should be completely self-supporting and therefore completely reproducible without outside funding.
One obstacle to this is youth whose parents are not supportive. However, these churches are able to fund the things which they truly believe in. Also, if the churches of the community come together and participate as one, instead of each doing its own, they can help each other to provide for these youth.
However, this is an obstacle that truly challenges the thoughts and beliefs of the committee members. At this point they are really wanting outside funding (i.e. us). The first order of business at our next meeting will be to work through this issue. Please pray about this as it may be the greatest obstacle to overcome. If they cannot work through this then our hopes for a Christian circumcision will die right there.
On a personal note, we have had a few health issues. David has developed some vertigo problems. We praise the Lord that he did not have a truly debilitating episode until we were last in Nairobi and were able to quickly see doctors. The diagnosis is that piece of the cochlea has broken off and become a "floater" inside the ear. When it moves into a bad position it causes vertigo. David has some stretches - for a lack of a better word - to help keep the inner ear fluid in its correct place and some medication. These are helping greatly and he has not had another episode. This will not go away and will be a continued matter of prayer because if it happens while he is driving or out in the village it could be a big problem.
We had a wonderful month of April. The kids were home from boarding school and David's parents came out to visit. It was refreshing and joyful to our spirits to be surrounded by family.
We also ask for prayer for the sister of one of our pastors. She has almost been kidnapped by a family who has taken her far from home and forcing her to work for them. She is about 16. Being in a strange town she has no one to turn to for help. We know that our pastor wants to go get her, but doesn't have the funds. Unfortunately, because of all we have been doing with the circumcision meetings and other ministry plans, we cannot help him at this time.
Thank you for holding us up in prayer.
Blessings.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Mama Janet and Maginga Update
Thank you so much for your prayers for Mama Janet and her family. The saga has continued and is nowhere near a final resolution. Let me fill you in.
First, the praise. Mama Janet has been lame from birth, but was quite sick when she first accepted Christ. She was immediately healed from that sickness, but still lame. One of my prayers, and what I asked our prayer warriors to pray, was that she would be completely healed to the glory of God. Her walking has improved and she is no longer using a stick. I think that there is still a long way to go, but pray that God will choose to heal her so that His glory will be proclaimed in that place.
Mama Janet has truly tried to embrace the faith, but she has suffered for it. Several times spirits came in the night and trashed her living room. Pictures were off the walls, decorations were thrown around. Basically, it was a mess. We prayed through her two rooms and things did improve. After that there was just mild mischief in the bedroom during the night with a few clothes scattered around.
The pastor believes that this is happening because Janet, one of her children whom we prayed to be freed from nightmares, still has a spirit. The spirit cannot hurt Mama Janet, but it is not happy with her faith and can try to bother her. There is reason to believe that this theory is true. Janet will not allow anyone to pray for her and at church time she runs away so as not to attend. There is at least one other child in the home.
Maginga has not done well. His conversion was obviously not heartfelt because he quickly returned to Islam and witchcraft. His legs, which were improving, have worsened again and he can barely walk. He lives in the same building as the pastor but does not want to talk to him and will not allow him to pray for him..
From what I have learned, this is probably a generational spirit. It is a spirit that is attached to a particular family. Though it may be expelled from one member, it will move to another who is not a Christian. It will also persecute any Christian in the family.
All this talk of spirits can scare people. It can also make them think we are kooks. We truly are not and have been convinced of this reality through experience. We are encouraged to not be afraid and to not give too much attention to Satan by the casual way that our pastors accept this reality. When I write to you I may seem to dwell on the spiritual, but this is the crisis point of prayer sometimes. When our pastors visit people like Mama Janet they might talk a little about evil spirits, but mostly they focus on Christ and the Word. They teach the Bible and then just deal with the spirits as needed.
Please continue to pray for Mama Janet, Maginga, and their family. Pray that the Light of Christ will break through the darkness in this area. Pray that our little church will be on fire for evangelism and that the whole town will know them for their love and righteousness.
And pray that we will see hearts and souls and not outside appearances. Pray that we will be worthy servants.
Pray this for us and for our brothers and sisters in Christ:
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[e] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[f]to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9:14
We pray, right now, thanking God for you.
Blessings.
First, the praise. Mama Janet has been lame from birth, but was quite sick when she first accepted Christ. She was immediately healed from that sickness, but still lame. One of my prayers, and what I asked our prayer warriors to pray, was that she would be completely healed to the glory of God. Her walking has improved and she is no longer using a stick. I think that there is still a long way to go, but pray that God will choose to heal her so that His glory will be proclaimed in that place.
Mama Janet has truly tried to embrace the faith, but she has suffered for it. Several times spirits came in the night and trashed her living room. Pictures were off the walls, decorations were thrown around. Basically, it was a mess. We prayed through her two rooms and things did improve. After that there was just mild mischief in the bedroom during the night with a few clothes scattered around.
The pastor believes that this is happening because Janet, one of her children whom we prayed to be freed from nightmares, still has a spirit. The spirit cannot hurt Mama Janet, but it is not happy with her faith and can try to bother her. There is reason to believe that this theory is true. Janet will not allow anyone to pray for her and at church time she runs away so as not to attend. There is at least one other child in the home.
Maginga has not done well. His conversion was obviously not heartfelt because he quickly returned to Islam and witchcraft. His legs, which were improving, have worsened again and he can barely walk. He lives in the same building as the pastor but does not want to talk to him and will not allow him to pray for him..
From what I have learned, this is probably a generational spirit. It is a spirit that is attached to a particular family. Though it may be expelled from one member, it will move to another who is not a Christian. It will also persecute any Christian in the family.
All this talk of spirits can scare people. It can also make them think we are kooks. We truly are not and have been convinced of this reality through experience. We are encouraged to not be afraid and to not give too much attention to Satan by the casual way that our pastors accept this reality. When I write to you I may seem to dwell on the spiritual, but this is the crisis point of prayer sometimes. When our pastors visit people like Mama Janet they might talk a little about evil spirits, but mostly they focus on Christ and the Word. They teach the Bible and then just deal with the spirits as needed.
Please continue to pray for Mama Janet, Maginga, and their family. Pray that the Light of Christ will break through the darkness in this area. Pray that our little church will be on fire for evangelism and that the whole town will know them for their love and righteousness.
And pray that we will see hearts and souls and not outside appearances. Pray that we will be worthy servants.
Pray this for us and for our brothers and sisters in Christ:
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[e] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[f]to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9:14
We pray, right now, thanking God for you.
Blessings.
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