Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa. May was an exciting month. It was the last meeting of the Pastors’ Practical Training Academy (PPTA), with 14 in attendance. We focused on the books of the Bible. A graduation service will be held in early August. For graduation, I am giving them an Open Study Bible, a songbook of spiritual songs and hymns in English and Swahili with music, and hopefully a book on prayer. As they cannot afford such material, I am sure it will be a blessing to them.
I have been greatly blessed by the spiritual growth I have seen in these men who were grossly under-trained in the beginning, 18 months ago, to now understanding what it means, along with the responsibility involved, to truly be a pastor, the importance of correct doctrine and the need to be a consistent soul winner, discipler, and teacher of the people God has given them.
We have come a long way. We started with 20 students, and at our last meeting, we had 14. I was very happy with their commitment. Six students left because of money issues or because they did not appreciate the amount of study involved. Of the 3 churches that hosted the Medical and Eye Clinics in March, Pastor Wycliffe has seen 19 people join his congregation and wants to build a permanent church building to accommodate the ongoing growth.
Pastor Samuel, who is having 20 attend an open church service under an open public-market building with no walls, says that if he had a building, his number would jump to 50 or 60 adults immediately. This building has no walls and is better than under the trees, but not by much. It costs this group $20 per month, which is significant to these people. At the moment, people are walking 5-7 kilometers to another church when the weather is acceptable. In his location, there are no other churches. This pastor is on the border of Kisii- and Luo-speaking areas. He has the potential to build a large congregation in this excellent but remote location. He has an ideal half-acre piece of land in his area priced at only US$4,000 (500,000ksh). The purchase of this land would be a good start and a great blessing to these young Christians.
Pastor Gilbert, who has been very faithful, has come to understand the necessity for soul winning and has seen his church grow to over 100. His church has managed to build a permanent brick building. He has one window (metal frame) with no glass and is looking to have another nine windows (with glass) and a door installed to make the building secure. They are also wanting to pour a cement floor at some stage soon. He is looking for help and needs only US$2,480 (324,000ksh) to complete everything.
A total of US$6,480 would cover the simple needs of these two fledgling ministries and be a blessing to these two faithful pastors in a very poor part of the country. Both of these pastors are excellent soul winners and teachers. If you or your church would like to contribute to a part of these needs, please send your contribution to FBMI: Kenyan Pastors’ Offering c/o Peter Morris.
In early May, there were flooding rains across the country, with over 400 fatalities. Please pray for the people of Kenya as they restore their lives after these devastating events.
I also ask you to please pray, as we seek a way to bring an Afghani family (husband, wife, and three children), who are residing in Iran, to Kenya as refugees. They are Christians and could be a great blessing to the ministry here in Kenya and would be removed from harm’s way.
Thank you for the many years of support you have given our ministry and our family. May the Lord greatly bless you for partnering with us for the cause of Jesus Christ here in Kenya. Thank you for your generosity, sacrifice, and faithfulness. May the Lord bless you with fruit that remains to your account and laborers raised up to carry on the work of spreading the Gospel and planting churches.
Please continue to pray for us. God bless you.
Your friends and co-laborers in Christ,
Peter, Melody, and Lindsay Morris
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- Pastors concentrating in class
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- Working with the interpreter, Bro. Emmanuel, to make sure there is a proper understanding of the teaching
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- Pastor Gilbert with a few of his church members in front of their church—the broken wooden door in the background needs replacing.
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- Pastors in training, along with their teacher, on the stairs of the church building May 2024
