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To M.I.N.T.O.R. Ministry Partners:
We are praising our Sovereign Lord for His faithfulness and love both to us and to the beautiful believers in Kenya, East Africa! It was awesome to witness the unfolding of God’s plan and vision for this ministry. Truly the foundations of the Kenyan society are being destroyed and families lie in ruin. The churches are desperate for answers and hope. Over and over we heard statements like, "The teaching of this ministry is God’s timing for us." and "I’ve been praying for a Bible for two years and God has answered through this ministry." This trip confirmed the great need for both Bibles and the teaching of the Word. God used your prayers, financial support and provision of Bibles to bring much joy into the lives of many believers. Psalm 19:7-8 describes it this way, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes." How exciting it was to see the light coming into their eyes as the Holy Spirit revealed truth to dispel the darkness of African tribal traditions which have plagued the people for centuries. Then to hear the pastors commit to going back to their churches to teach these truths was so encouraging. Each pastor was able to take back with him a syllabus of all materials taught in a language he understood. Altogether we taught 8 different seminars, 6 locations, to 1,467 different pastors, pastor’s wives, and church leaders. Bibles were distributed through pastors in each of these locations to those without Bibles or whose Bibles had worn out.
NAIROBI PREPARATION
God went before us by leading us to work with a young man, Bjorn Kamau, who knew the best and cheapest photocopying place. We were able to print 30,000 copies for an unbelievable price and they collated and stapled free. After shopping for Bibles we purchased Bibles in 3 languages from three different places for a 20% discount. At the advice of one of our coordinators, God led us to purchase some study Bibles and 3 Amplified Bibles for pastors. When we left for Nyeri we had 14 boxes and 6 suitcases. While in Nairobi, we celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary.
NYERI SEMINARSThe first two days were with 42 Baptist pastors and a few wives at Nyeri Baptist Church. We taught the basic "God’s Family Plan". One highlight was when the pastor received the Study Bible by lot; he jumped up in the air, did a 360 degree turn, shouted, and danced in praise to God as he came to receive his Bible.
After one day off, we traveled to a remote area near the foot of Mt. Kenya called Kabaru. When driving there the driver said this is the end of the road and then drove 1 hour more. Again we taught the basic family seminar to over 200 pastors and leaders. The church was so simple with dirt floors but the people were so hungry for the Word. Again God did a special work as the pastor who received the study Bible had walked 10 miles one way to come. A smile never left his face as he cherished the Bible! All the people were so thankful for the written Bible Study materials. We also gave at each seminar hundreds of framable prints of a Family poem representing the teaching.
The next two days we went to a region called Mweiga to teach the basic family seminar. We felt this was the foundation for future teachings to be expanded when we return. That took us to Sunday where we spoke in a church for 3 services. People accepted Jesus and many others rededicated their lives to Christ.
After one day off, we began the 4 days of seminars in Nyeri. It was so precious being with people we had worked with before. Their hearts were so open and appreciative. Again the Bibles were such a blessing as our interpreter pastor had been praying for an Amplified Bible for 2 years and had saved money to have someone buy him one from the U. S. but lost his money and didn’t get the Bible. Out of 15 Bibles given that day—you guessed it!
By lot and God’s plan, he received the Amplified Bible with joy unspeakable. By this time, our hearts were so humbled as we began seeing the dire needs of the people for Bibles and for teaching of the Word. We taught from 9am to 4 or 5pm with the people wanting more. We could see the desperation in the lives of these Christians and their desire to do something about their situations. We believe God sent His Word to heal them. Psalm 107:20a "He sent forth His Word and healed them;"
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ELDORET SEMINAR
After traveling 8 hours to Eldoret we rested what was left of the day. We stayed in a national hotel which was very simple but adequate. The committee of pastors had done an excellent job of organization. They had a breakfast for the pastor’s association and key denominational leaders to introduce the ministry. The unity was good and the work of bringing in 113 pastors and wives from as many as 200 kilometers was quite a task. For 2 days we taught the basic family seminar and then taught just pastors and wives the last day.
During these days we were privileged to have a 30 minute program on their Christian TV and 3 hours on their Christian radio station which reaches over 2 million listeners, the only stations in the North central area. The need for Bibles in this area was so great. We were told that to buy a Bible would cost what it takes to feed a family for a whole week and many cannot afford one. The pastors told us that in the rural and slum areas there was only 1 Bible for 10 Christians. Here we have 10 Bibles for every Christian. In Church when they read from the Bible the people would cluster around the nearest Bible. He said the people would just cling to any portion of the Scriptures they could get. Needless to say, that we left part of our hearts with these dear Christians.MOMBASA SEMINARS
The pastor coordinators of the seminars told us that a real spiritual breakthrough had occurred during these seminars. Both the attendance and response to the materials and teaching were overwhelmingly positive. Chloe and Terrill Mitchell from First Baptist Church of Clinton, Oklahoma were an added blessing to the people as they sang and taught God’s Word on the family. It was a special joy for us to work together with them. We were exhausted after teaching the other seminars with just the two of us. Here is a quote from Pastor Mirap Osao who served as one of our interpreters for the seminars. "I appreciate and share the great working, healing and restoration by the Lord through your teachings and the materials you have blessed us with. I got compelled to help a young couple in our church who had separated for more than 3 months. I had tried to help them but it was in vain since each of them was holding to their mother’s advice and directives in the name of respecting them. I called them together in the presence of the young man’s mother, I shared with them God’s plan for marriage. To be short after sharing with them teaching and Scriptures you have unveiled to us, they were more than willing to be reunited. That very night I prayed with them and their two children back in their own house, Hallelujah! Thank God I now have more than enough still to share with them and others to make families what God meant them to be. Praise, honor and glory be to our Lord Jesus Christ."
In each place they are already looking forward to future teaching and distributing more Bibles. It is our desire to take more pastor/teachers with us. We were humbled and blessed at how God impressed so many to be a part of this ministry in different ways. God answered so many prayers for our health, physical strength, and protection. We could see where the Lord had gone before us and was with us in every decision. Our in country travel was probably the most dangerous that we have experienced. The roads were worse than ever before and we were caught in a fog with little visibility. There were wrecks all along the road. Our flight back to the U.S. was difficult and took 44 hours but God sustained us. We are now working on plans to go to Malawi and Mozambique in the fall. Enclosed is a slip giving the projected expenses. We are grateful to say that we were able to stay within our budget for this first trip which we can only say thanks be to God who led us each step of the way.
(One little bit of news about family—Rob resigned as basketball coach at Edmond Memorial and has been called to serve the Lord on staff at Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. Duane’s mother just turned 92 this week and we are going to visit her in Memphis.)
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