AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2015 PRAYER LETTER

RIFT VALLEY BAPTIST COLLEGE

We just concluded our second term classes of the Bible College.  We have a good group of students from various places in Kenya that faithfully attend classes.  Through the years nearly fifty pastors have been trained in the college.  The college has expanded into various “divisions”.  Most of the students are in the English “division” but we also have a Swahili “division” and a deaf “division”.  There is also a satellite school that meets in Nairobi along with those that are meeting in Burundi and DR Congo. Our desire is to continue to expand the training opportunities by offering satellite classes in other parts of Kenya.  The preparation, planning, and teaching keeps us quite busy, but it also is a ministry that continues to bear much fruit.

DEAF MINISTRY

Several years ago God answered our prayer and sent someone to Kenya that had a burden to see deaf churches started.  Brother B.J. Cormier and his wife have labored tirelessly to train our people in the language of the deaf.  We have several that have become very proficient in sign language.  All of our services are now translated into sign language, and we have deaf that faithfully attend.  Last Sunday morning we had our highest deaf attendance ever, but more importantly, we saw our very first deaf make a profession of faith.  The deaf of Kenya have truly been neglected and we are excited that God is allowing our church to have a small part in reaching them.  When Ephraim got saved he immediately asked if we could give him a Bible.  Please pray for him as he grows.

BURUNDI

The situation in Burundi continues to be volatile.  Almost daily we hear of more trouble with reports of torture and killings.  I have taken several trips to Burundi in the last couple months to visit with the people of the Independent Baptist Church.  I am happy to report that they are staying strong and even in some ways thriving in the midst of the trouble.  Nearly half of their membership have fled the country and are now living in displacement camps in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Congo.  Pastor Kambi at this time has no plans to leave, believing that his place is with the people that remain.  In spite of the trouble, the work of the church has gone forward.  I was amazed to see the work that they continue to do on the building.  Since the beginning of the year they have completed the walls, windows and have put on the doors.  They have done all of this without any outside assistance.  They love their church and are sacrificially giving to see that their building is completed.   I will again be leaving in a few days to spend some time in both Burundi and Congo.  One purpose I have in visiting them so often is to be an encouragement to them but truthfully, I always return to Kenya with them being an encouragement to me.

Independent Bible Baptist Church- Bujumbura, Burundi

JUNE-JULY 2015 PRAYER LETTER

BACK HOME

We arrived back in Kenya the second week of June after a brief four month furlough.  We enjoyed our time in the States visiting family, churches, and friends.  We are thankful for the faithful supporters that allow us to serve God in Africa. 

Shortly before our departure for Kenya, Wendy’s father breathed his last breath in this world and opened his eyes in heaven.  We are thankful that God gave him a long life and that we were able to be near when he passed.  He will be missed, but we have the blessed hope of a grand reunion day!

TROUBLE IN BURUNDI

Burundi is scheduled for a presidential election later this month and unfortunately, as happens often in Africa, trouble for the people of Burundi has also come.  The president who because of term limits, is constitutionally barred from running has decided to ignore the law and put his name on the ballot. This has caused a portion of people to protest and with the protest has come violence.  100,000 people, which is more than 10 percent of the population, have fled the country and are now in displacement camps in neighboring countries.  Despite the violence, despite hundreds having been killed, and despite an attempted coup that was nearly successful by a portion of the army, the president is determined to have his way.  The independent Bible Baptist Church of Bujumbura is in the midst of one of the most troubled area.  I am told that the tension is HIGH and the fear is that the country will erupt into another civil war.  The situation in Burundi is very volatile and we earnestly ask you to put this at the top of  your prayer list.  I am scheduled to be in Burundi and visit the church in late July.  I will have a first hand report to give at that time.

FAMILY PHOTO

We included in our last prayer letter a copy of our latest family photo.  If for some reason you did not get a copy or would like a digital copy, send an email request to

rawtokenya@gmail.com and we will send you a digital copy

January-February 2015 Prayer Letter

MISSIONS GIVING

We arrived in Kenya on the 1st of January 1998, and later that year God allowed us to begin working with a small group of believers in Nakuru. A year later on the 5th of December 1999, the Grace Bible Baptist Church was organized out of the Cleveland Baptist Church.   After the church was organized we scheduled our first missions conference and introduced to the church the Biblical mandate of giving to missions.  We taught and preached about the Faith Promise plan of missions giving, believing that God could use this young church to give to missions.  Through the years as the church’s burden grew other ways of giving to missions were also introduced. We just concluded our 15th year of missions giving and by the grace of God the church gave an all time high of 1,468,098 Kenyan Shillings to missions, which is nearly $17,000.  The average income of people in the church is about $150 per month.  Many in the church have made a real sacrifice to give to missions and God is using that sacrifice to allow the church to reach into the Regions Beyond with the Gospel. It is both a blessing and humbling to be involved with a church who has learned to give sacrificially to missions, even amongst their poverty. 

INDEPENDENT BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH OF BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI

I have had the opportunity to visit the new church plant in Burundi three times since the first service.  Recently, they added a Sunday Evening service to their schedule and I was blessed with the opportunity to preach that service.  The building that was put up is only half finished, and it was good to see that they have begun giving towards the completion of their building.  Several more layers of stone have been added over the last few months.  We believe as this church continues to mature it will be a strong lighthouse in Burundi.

KENYA

Although God has expanded greatly our outreach into the Regions Beyond us the work in Kenya continues to go forward.  We are training nearly fifty preachers in the Rift Valley Baptist College, the Grace Baptist Academy has over 300 students, and we have two men being trained for missions work in the Regions Beyond Academy of Missions.  Many other ministries also continue to go forward.  Recently, I was able to travel and visit some of the other churches that have been started out of the Grace Bible Baptist Church and also visit with some of the churches whose pastors have been trained in the Bible College.  It is a blessing to see all that God has allowed to be done throughout Kenya.

FURLOUGH

A reminder that we will be on a short furlough from February through May.  We will be updating our family picture, prayer card, and video presentation which we will make available to anyone who desires them.  Thank you for your faithful support.

 VIDEO MADE FOR THE 2014 GRACE BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH MISSIONS CONFERENCE

THIS VIDEO IS ABOUT THE NEW CHURCH PLANTED IN BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI