Posted_By: Judy
Date: Saturday, June 30, 2007

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Posted_By: Judy
Date: Saturday, June 23, 2007

News_Entry

Another Church Is Born!

Last Sunday, June 16, Setek Baptist Church was born.  It is located “down there” from Cheptabach.  Cheptabach is “up there” from Setek.  That means I have no idea where it is!  The only way to and from is by foot on steep cow/people paths.  The members of Cheptabach, Temso and Chemartin went “down there” for the first official service as a Baptist church.  They had determined it would take me one hour to walk because of my balance problems and steep incline, and they could make it in only 20 minutes, so they went without me.  I was elated to see them take on that responsibility, sacrifice and zeal to begin a new church on their own.  They’ve grown so much in the last 11 months.  It’s been amazing to see what God is doing with these people!!!  Bwana asa fiwe!  Praise the Lord!

I’ve spent most of this week packing, tending to details and buying the rest of what I need to live on my own.  I went to Eldoret on Tuesday and Kisumu on Thursday.  On Monday I was told I could begin moving in on Thursday.  However, this is Africa, so I hope to move in Monday or Tuesday.  We’ll see.

This is probably the shortest update you’ll receive.  Even here where most people don’t have watches or clocks (they use their cell phones to find out the time), the hours whiz by just as fast as they did in the U.S.—sometimes even faster it seems.

Please pray for the new church at Setek and all the other churches that will be planted when the mission team comes in only five weeks.

Mungu awabariki!

Judy

The generator house is divided into two rooms: one for the generator and the other for storage, i.e. garden tools, etc.  The generator is huge with enough power to operate all the lights, stove, refridgerator, etc. if I have guests.  I also bought a smaller one to keep the fridge going when the big one is off.    The iron gate will be painted another color to match the house.  It's rather funny to have that huge gate while the fencing isn't completed yet and anyone can walk around it.  Right now there's just barbed wire, but they'll be adding chainlink probably next week.  Until that's done I'll have to keep Bush (my dog) chained.   That made me think of something else I wanted to write about in the update.  Waweru, the builder, named my house Cleft Rock House, because it is sitting where they removed so many large rocks and it sits on bedrock.  On the morning of the day he told me the name, I had been reading in Psalms about God being my Rock and a devotional about the cleft of the rock.  One of my favorite hymns says, "He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock."  Waweru is still not a Christian and he was totally amazed at all of that.  I typed out the words of the hymn and the Bible verses (Exodus 33:22 and Psalm 18:1-2) and gave them to him.  I pray God will penetrate his heart and mind with His Word.

Posted_By: Judy
Date: Saturday, June 16, 2007

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Cold Weather

For two days this week I had to wear several layers of clothes to keep warm.  There’s no such thing as air conditioning and heaters, except in expensive hotels and similar buildings that cater to tourists in Nairobi and Mombasa.  Office buildings, banks, stores, etc. just keep windows open and use fans, or shut the windows and wear warm clothes.

The cold air is the result of winds from South Africa which is having winter now.  It’s also the rainy season here with lots of clouds, rain and mist.  When all that is added to the above 7,000-feet altitude, it gets pretty cold.  In all my years in school studying about life on the equator no one ever mentioned cold weather.  They said it was always very hot.  Well, not here!

Last Sunday was a comedy of errors.  I picked up Henry’s father, David, who was supposed to show me the way to the new church in Kimwani, which is located down the escarpment from Nandi Hills.  We were supposed to meet Henry somewhere along the way.  However, David couldn’t quite remember how to get there and we never saw Henry.  To complicate things, the cell phone system was down so Henry and I couldn’t communicate to find each other.

So David and I decided to go to church at Chemartin.  However, no one was there.  All the pastors and churches were invited to another new church in Lengut.  A bunch of children showed up, so we sang some songs and talked about the Lord Jesus, and then we decided to go to Temso.  David is serving as interim pastor there and he knew they were having services.

When we arrived the service was almost over, but because we were there it went for another hour.  The church was almost full and a new Christian was present whom David had led to the Lord that week.  Bwana asa fiwe!  Praise the Lord!

While we have wonderful men serving as pastors in most of the churches, like David Maritim, John Rotich, and Elisha Dome, we also have some problems, but nothing like at the church in Kapsabet.  We found out recently that the pastor at Koisagat married a second wife and the deacon at Chemartin did the same.  Old traditions die slowly, but they are going away.  The second-wife (and more) scenario is very prevalent.  Please pray for the people to have the strength to fight against the pressure to give in to the past and go forward in the power and truth of the Holy Spirit of God.

Hopefully, I’ll be moving into my house within the next two weeks.  Needless to say, I can’t wait.  With all the rain, the water tanks should be getting full.  The stove has two gas burners and two electric burners, so I can cook without the generator being on.  I have a smaller generator that will run the refrigerator so the huge generator doesn’t have to run all day.  Oh, the details to be considered in a strange, wonderful land!

Thank you for all your prayers and support.  Please pray for the twelve members of the mission team that will be here July 26-August 4, and all the Kenyan people who will hear the gospel.

Mungu awabariki!

Judy

Since most of the people here have had no experience with modern plumbing fixtures, it was highly recommended that I include a pit latrine or outhouse or choo (pronounced with a long o-not like choo-choo train).  The pictures show what it looks like before the "house" is built around it.  I know these are not the most aesthetic pictures I've sent, but I'm a city girl and the whole process was fascinating to me.  The man in the hole was about 20 feet down and had 10 more feet to go.

Posted_By: Judy
Date: Saturday, June 9, 2007

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Much Quieter Week

Last Sunday at Temso there were about ten new members due to the many visits and evangelism efforts by David Maritim, Henry’s father.  David has been instrumental in keeping the churches going during the time between our mission trips here.  He is quiet, hard working, and has successfully battled heart disease and cancer.  He is a former Kenya runner, but never ran in the Peachtree in Atlanta.  God has used him in a mighty way to bring stability to the churches.

At the Temso Bible study one of the ladies in the literacy class wrote her own name by herself for the first time in her life on the sign-in roster.  She’s 58 years old and her name is Sarah Chepkwony.

When the problems became so bad at Kapsabet, I stopped going there for Bible study and immediately began to meet with the new church in Namgoi (just outside of Kapsabet).  This is the church that was born because of the problems.  Two new members were present due to the evangelism efforts of Pastor John Rotich.  I also saw a piece of property that’s for sale and in a perfect place to build their church.  In that area there are only two other churches, which the people say aren’t very spiritual.  They’ve been waiting for a church that preaches the truth from God’s Word, and they say they’ve found it in our new church.  God is working and meeting the needs of the people.  Please pray that if it’s God’s perfect will, the property will be turned into a lighthouse pointing people to Jesus Christ.

I met with Waweru, the builder, this morning at my shamba.  We talked about all the things that still need to be done and a move-in date within the next two or three weeks.  Anna was with us as she is the official landscaper.  We planned where trees and plants will go and all kinds of exciting things.  I’m working on the last pair of curtains, so I’m ready and can’t wait! 

Thank you for all your prayers!

Mungu awabariki!

Judy

I had to show you a picture of a hand-made ladder everyone uses inside and outside.  It's very sturdy and won't tip over because it's a tripod.   Henry and Dorcas Maritim are standing outside their new home.  All they've ever lived in were houses made of mud or rough-hewn wood.  They're so excited to have a nice home made of stone with indoor plumbing!

Posted_By: Judy
Date: Saturday, June 2, 2007

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So Much in Just One Week!

Bwana asa fiwe!  Praise the Lord!  We finally went to Kapsabet last Sunday with Linus Kirimi of the Baptist Convention of Kenya.  The people showed what was truly in their hearts:  more lies, anger, no self-control, and many arguments.  There were no fruits of God’s Spirit evident in any of them.  I was threatened with a lawsuit after reading a Bible verse they didn’t want to hear.  It was unbelievable.  Linus said he’s seen a lot of problems in churches, but nothing like what he saw on Sunday. 

Linus will return to the church after making a report to the convention and planning a strategy with other men who will accompany him in order to remove these people from the church.  None of us will be involved in that procedure, thank the Lord.  Please continue to pray for this situation that the people will repent and that Linus and the others will be kept safe during the process.  I guess they’ll be the SWAT team I wanted!

Monday Henry and I took his sick computer to Kisumu to some gurus who took care of a few viruses in it.  It was emergency surgery because Henry is in the process of taking end-of-term exams via the internet from Baptist Theological College in South Africa.  Please pray for him that the Spirit will give him total recall and help him with his English!

Tachasis School for the Disabled, run by a Catholic mission, is located in Tinderet, one and one-half hours from Nandi Hills.  That’s where Japhet (Jeffrey) Kipkorir attends school and where we delivered his brand new wheelchair on Tuesday.  There were 22 disabled children whose physical condition broke my heart.  The strength of the Lord helped me share some encouraging words and the gospel with them, and then we presented the wheelchair to Jeffrey.  He was so happy!!  All his friends cheered and clapped for him.  What a precious time it was for God to show his love for His special children!  The needs there are very great, but the teachers and helpers do a wonderful job with the children with what little they have.  The school was clean and the children were clean, neatly dressed, looked well fed, happy, and well taken care of.  It was an experience I’ll never forget.

Wednesday was generator-testing day at my shamba, and it passed!  There were no sparks, smoke or fires in any of the wiring; and the lights and plugs all worked perfectly.  Boy, am I ready to move in!  Lots of activity was going on with carpenters, plumbers and electricians all busy somewhere making noise.  Interesting fact: If you go from Chemartin to my shamba by tractor, it takes about one hour.  That’s how the generator was moved.

The generator test took all morning, and then in the afternoon after the Bible study at Temso, we had our second literacy lesson with two grandmothers who speak only Kalenjin.  One of them started the week before.  Her letters then were all shapes and sizes and all over the page, disregarding the lines.  I was amazed when she showed me her homework—it was like night and day!  The letters were neatly written and only two or three needed some more help.  Both of them are overjoyed at learning so late in life and are trying so hard to do their best.

On Friday three of us attended an all-day (8-5) seminar in Eldoret to learn more about MotherWise, which is part of an international organization based in Houston, Texas.  I thought it was based in Kenya, but Kenya is only one of many countries where the program is used.  The weekly meetings include Bible study, intercessory prayer, and mothering skills.  It’s a major answer to prayer.

Presently, I teach three Bible studies in three different locations.  The plan was that ladies would come from churches nearby and participate, and several do.  However, most attendees live in the vicinity of the church where the Bible studies are held.  When I arrived last July 2006, there were eight churches in Nandi Hills.  Now there are fourteen with five more areas wanting a church.  We need more Bible teachers and MotherWise provides them through videos.  We’re in the process of getting DVD players, projectors and power sources so that each church can have its own MotherWise program.  Some of you have asked about projects where you can help, and this is one of them if the Lord leads you to do so.

The two ladies who went with me to the seminar are Teresia Rotich and Dorcas Maritim.  Teresia is an accountant at one of the tea estates, and she interprets for me at the Bible study at Kapchorua and teaches the literacy class there.  Dorcas is a school teacher and wife of Henry, my right-hand man.  (Henry and Dorcas will be living in their own home being built on my shamba and taking care of me like they would their own mother!)  Teresia and Dorcas are fully capable of organizing, coordinating and leading the MotherWise program for all the churches.  We’ll work together to set up the program one church at a time as the Lord leads.

The Lord is answering prayers and revealing sources to provide for the spiritual needs here in Nandi Hills.  I am in constant awe of all He has done, is doing and will do in the future.  I am amazed at the details He has taken care of before I knew there were details to deal with.  I marvel at the number of people He has brought into my life here who were sources of help later.  The web He has woven of projects, resources and people is a miracle!  We serve an awesome God!!!

Thank you for your prayers, love and support!

Mungu awabariki!

Judy

In the group picture at Tachasis are all the children, teachers and helpers.  Standing on the right in the white robe is the priest who is in charge of the Catholic mission that sponsors the school.  Standing on the far left is the headmaster of Taito Secondary School in Nandi Hills.  His brother is the headmaster of Tachasis, but he was not able to be there that day.