Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for the medical missions trip I had at the beginning of this month. God truly did an amazing work through this unique and blessed ministry. Over the course of 6 days, we were able to see 1,160 patients through the medical clinics in a different area each day. Everyone who comes through these clinics personally sits down one on one with a national soul winner. I am overjoyed to say that, glory be to God, more than 500 souls made a personal decision to place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation! It has been such a blessing to be a part of this wonderful ministry and to see the Lord’s hand at work throughout this week. Please pray now for the national pastors and churches of the Wa area of Ghana; pray that they will be able to follow up with these new believers and help them to grow in the Word of God. I would also encourage you to please check out Truth for Today Medical Missions and, if led to do so, prayerfully consider supporting this ministry as a church.
I thank the Lord that after a busy trip in Ghana, I am officially back home in Kenya, East Africa. After being gone two weeks from my family, I arrived at the Accra Airport only to find out that my flight had been canceled due to the Kenyan pilots’ being on strike. So, I was taken to a hotel that evening and stayed another night in Ghana. The next morning, I was rerouted to fly from Ghana to Ethiopia, where I had to stay the night in another hotel and then fly out the next morning—finally home to my family. I never thought I would feel this way so early on the mission field, but it truly was a blessing to my soul to see Kenyans and hear Kiswahili! Praise God, Kenya really is home to us now, and the Kenyan people are our family!
At the end of this month, our family was thankful to be able to gather together with other American Baptist missionaries and celebrate Thanksgiving together. It was mostly great for our children to fellowship and play with the many other children. Also, on the 24th, our family had the traditional Thanksgiving meal. I’m very thankful for my wife’s hard work in the kitchen; she did so well, it was if we were eating a good Thanksgiving meal from the States!
Praise the Lord also for the continued discipleship that Lewis has been going through. After finishing the Foundations of My Faith booklet on soul winning and seeing the zeal and passion that Lewis has for wanting to tells other about Christ, I have decided to go more in-depth to train him how to witness to others. I’m so encouraged by his hunger for the Word of God, as well as his desire to reach others with the truth. Please pray for us as we go through a more in-depth series on soul winning over the next month or two. My prayer is that by the time we finish and then go out together several times together, he will have the confidence in God’s Word to be a soul winner all on his own!
As always, thank you for your faithfulness. We pray you had a blessed Thanksgiving in the Lord.
Your co-laborers for lost souls across East Africa,
Brandon, Ali, Jeffrey, Hannah, & Esther Heselschwerdt
Romans 10:14
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Asanteni sana kwa maombi yenu kwa safari ya misheni ya matibabu niliyokuwa nayo mwanzoni mwa mwezi huu. Mungu alifanya kazi ya ajabu kupitia huduma hii yenye baraka. Katika siku sita tuliweza kuona wagonjwa elfu moja na mia moja na sitini upitia kliniki za matibabu katika eneo tofauti kila siku. Kila mtu anayekuja kupitia kliniki hizi huketi chini na mshindi wa roho wa kitaifa mmoja mmoja. Nimefurahi sana kusema kwamba Utukufu kwa Mungu kwa maana zaidi ya roho mia tano mlifanya uamuzi wa kumtumaini Bwana Yesu Kristo pekee kwa Wokovu! Imekuwa baraka sana kuwa sehemu ya huduma hii ya ajabu na kuona mkono wa Bwana ukafanya kazi katika juma hili lote. Tafadhali ombea sasa wachungaji na makanisa ya eneo la Wa Ghana ili waweze kuwatembelea waumini hawa wapya na kuwasaidia kukua katika Neno la Mungu. Pia ningekuhimiza tafadhali angalia Truth for Today Medical Missions na ikiongozwa na maombi ili kusaidia huduma hii kama kanisa.
Ninamshukuru Bwana baada ya safari yenye shughuli nyingi nchini Ghana kwamba nimerudi nyumbani Kenya, Afrika Mashariki.Baada ya kuondoka kwa wiki mbili kutoka kwa familia yangu nilifika uwanja wa ndege wa Accra ndipo nilipogundua kuwa safari wangu ya ndege ilikuwa imesitishwa kutokana na marubani wa Kenya kugoma. Kwa hiyo, nilipelekwa kwenye hoteli jioni hiyo na kukaa usiku mwingine nchini Ghana. Asubuhi iliyofuata nilisafiri kutoka Ghana hadi Ethiopia ambako nililazimika kulala kwenye Hoteli nyingine kisha nikasafiri kwa ndege kesho yake asubuhi kuelekea nyumbani kwa familia wangu. Sikuwahi kufikiria ningehisi hivi mapema
hivyo kwenye uwanja wa misheni lakini kwa kweli ilikuwa baraka kwangu kuona Wakenya na kusikia Kiswahili! Tumsifu Mungu Kenya ni nyumbani kwetu sasa na watu wa Kenya ni familia yetu!
Mwishoni mwa mwezi huu familia yetu ilishukuru kuweza kukusanyika pamoja na wamisionari wengine wa Kibaptisti wa Marekani na kusherehekea pamoja Shukrani. Ilikuwa nzuri kwa watoto wetu kushirikiana na kucheza na watoto wengine wengi. Pia, tarehe 24 familia wetu tulikula chakula cha shukrani. Ninashukuru sana kwa bidii ya mke wangu jikoni na alifanya vizuri sana ilikuwa ikiwa tulikuwa tukila chakula kizuri cha shukrani kutoka kwa majimbo!
Bwana asifiwe pia kwa ufuasi unaoendelea ambao Lewis amekuwa akipitia. Baada ya kumaliza kijitabu cha “Foundations of my faith” juu ya Kushinda Nafsi na kuona ari na shauku aliyonayo Lewis ya kutaka kuwaambia wengine kuhusu Kristo, nimeamua kwenda kwa undani zaidi ili kumfundisha jinsi ya kushuhudia wengine. Ninafurahishwa na njaa yake ya Neno la Mungu na vilevile tamaa yake ya kufikia wengine na kweli. Tafadhali utuombee tunapojifunza zaidi juu ya kushinda roho kwa mwezi mmoja au miwili ijayo. Ombi langu ni kwamba kufikia wakati tunapomaliza na kisha kutoka pamoja mara kadhaa kwamba atakuwa na uhakika katika Neno
la Mungu kuwa mshindi wa nafsi peke yake!
Kama kawaida, asanteni kwa maminifu wenu na tunakuombea uwe na shukrani yenye baraka katika Bwana.
Wafanya kazi wenu kwa roho wanapotea katika mashariki Afrika,
Brandon, Ali, Jeffrey, Hana, na Esta Heselschwert
Warumi mlango wa kumi na mstari wa kumi
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- Above: Benjamin (my translator) and I with Wendy and Prosper (her translator)
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- Soul winners giving the Gospel to those who came through the clinic
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- Pastor Matthew, Pastor Nathan, and I after preaching the Sunday morning service
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- Being attacked by our next patient (maybe even our Thanksgiving dinner!)
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- Some of the Swahili we have started teaching our kids
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- Enjoying our Kenyan Thanks-giving dinner!
