God has been blessing the ministry abundantly the last few months. So often we labor and don’t see the direct fruit. Since we started the church 20 months ago, we have handed out more than 10,000 Gospel tracts. This April, over a 3-week period, we had 40 first-time visitors. Easter was one of these weeks. We had 58 in attendance, and the following week, we had 61 in attendance, with 9 visitors. One of these visitors brought 3 different invitations with him, which he had received from us since our beginning!
Kenyan children finish school in February. For almost two months, the children have very little to do. Many will stay in the house and watch television for hours. We started having a youth football day every Wednesday. We met at the local police post in their open field. The first week, many of the neighborhood children also joined us. Every week, we seemed to have more and more children. Our last week, we had over 50 children playing a combination of football (soccer), skipping rope, and “Sunday school” run by Annabelle. From this program, we have had around 30 visitors, many who are now faithfully attending. We will continue the ministry one Saturday per month while school is in session.
As Easter approached, we desired to start a choir to have special music. Being a young, small church, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was very pleased with the number who desired to serve in the choir and the commitment they showed. The spirit of the group was great. An added blessing was having my son Corey play the piano for us.
Selfa is a faithful member of our church with eight children. Her three teenage daughters sing in the choir. Her husband Chris goes to a Catholic church, where he is very involved. He does, however, attend our men’s Bible study. Selfa has asked me over and over again to pray for him to come to church. I encouraged him to come to church on Easter to support his daughters, and to the excitement of everyone, he came. Please join us in praying for Chris.
My assistant pastor David and I minister together every Tuesday and Thursday. We go soul winning, make house calls, minister to the youth, and do many other activities. He was excited recently to lead a young man to the Lord for the first time in some time. He stated that he has learned a lot over the last few months. It was such a blessing for me to hear him say that. He expressed that he has grown a lot in soul winning and in his approach. Praise the Lord!
As many of you know, the Lord has directed us to purchase land for the church. After months of searching and avoiding a few scams, we have found a place. God has blessed us with over 25% of the funds. We are grateful for all who have donated. If you would like to give to this need, the best way is to send a check to FBMI, note “Missionary #39,” and write Land in the memo. We are excited for all the opportunities having our own property will allow.
Recently, we started holding a teen service in a corner space of the hotel. Several of our regular teens are away at boarding school, yet we have been blessed with a high day of 8! Please pray as we reach and train the next generation.
In closing, we will be returning to the States in September for a three-month furlough. It has been three years since our feet have touched U.S. soil, and we are excited to see our family and friends again! Please consider us in prayer as we prepare our ministry for smooth operations in our absence.
The McDonalds to East Africa
