We trust you had a lovely Easter. What a wonderful reality to know that we serve a risen and living Saviour. After a few days holiday, all of our bases in Africa and the UK are open again.
Joyce was ministering in Jinja, Uganda just over a week ago and was planning to travel to Narok in Kenya this weekend past to bring lessons to those there who had requested them; however the Narok trip was postponed as Joyce was unwell. We have personally been to both of these areas so we are excited to hear of the work developing. We hope to share an update with you in due course. Meanwhile, please pray that Joyce will soon feel better. Eunice had a few days off as well and we ask you to continue praying for her as she resumes work in the office and at her course. In Uganda, Joyce also has the help of a Pastor called Samuel. We have also met him and communicate regularly with him. He has been sharing recently with local Pastors regarding our email course and there has been some interest with a few Pastors wishing to begin studying. We thank God for this. William and I also enjoyed a few days off over the Easter period. We are now back to work and ministry and have two meetings between now and the weekend. Do pray that we will know the Lord's help in preparation and wisdom in decisions. May the Lord continue to bless you in the coming days. Do please continue to pray for the work amongst the boys and girls.
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We were delighted to receive the photo above showing children in Kisii, Kenya using our Bible Lessons. We thank God for every young life hearing the Gospel. Please pray for the many Sunday School Teachers and Children's Workers in Kenya and Uganda who are seeking to reach out to the children in their vacinity.
An event in the compound of our office in Nairobi a few days ago led to a lot of visitors to our office. We thank God for those who learnt about our lessons and materials and registered to use them. We Praise God for helping Eunice to deal with the many demands that were placed upon her that day. Our Nairobi office will be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday. Joyce has continued to be busy travelling to various children's groups. Pray on for her and her family. William and I were really blessed yesterday as we took a meeting. It was not children, they were older. It was not sharing about FML, but simply a straightforward Gospel meeting. William knew the Lord's help as he led and brought the message. I played the keyboard and enjoyed the singing. We believe those in attendance were encouraged by us and we certainly were encouraged by them. Later in the evening we were blessed yet again as we joined friends locally. Again, the Lord helped as William led and I played. We thank God for the message which we listened to and to the message in song. What a blessing to be able to serve. We would like to wish you a very Happy Easter. As you remember the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, may you be blessed to know that we serve a risen Saviour who still saves! William has completed his 3 year course at the Irish Baptist College. He has asked me to thank those of you who have prayed for him over these past years. God has kept him safe as he travelled week by week, as he listened in class and as he completed assignments. The Lord also provided for all of his fees to be paid in full before completion of the course. The subjects covered have been very informative as well as practical and will be of continued benefit to him in the future as he serves the Lord. Graduation is in May.
This incoming week, William appreciates prayer as he has the responsibility of bringing a message at a meeting. I will be playing the organ. Pray for all preparations and for God's leading. Another new venue for us. We have received our first booking for a meeting in 2017 and even more encouraging is the fact that it is in another new Church we have never been to before. It is just amazing how many new opportunities have opened up to us of late. We thank and praise God for this. In the office I am also finishing off my part in a very exciting project. I was asked to do this by a Children's Worker for a Church in Kenya and I count it an honour to be part of it. Pray for him and others involved that this particular outreach will be a blessing to many who are seeking to win the children for the Lord. I look forward to the day when the project is made public and I can share with you. Pray on for Joyce as she hopes to visit some new areas quite soon. These are people who have requested our lessons. Pray for funds for her to travel. Pray on for Eunice in her responsibilities in the office. The computer course is helping her a great deal and she is coming up with various ideas of using this new knowledge in the ministry. Pray that God will provide the needed funds for office rent in Nairobi as there are some arrears on this. Pray that God will continue to bless and open up many opportunities to share the Gospel with boys and girls. Pray that many will come to know Him as Saviour. We love receiving photos like the one above. This one came from Joyce and shows just a few of the children who received Bibles over the past few weeks. Praise God for many more children who have received their own copy of the Word of God. Pray that they will treasure their Bible and that God will speak to them through it. We thank God for how He helped Joyce as she ministered and we thank Him for news of children coming to know the Lord as Saviour. Pray that these children will know a real change in their lives and will become men and women of God. Our hearts are rejoicing today because God has answered prayer concerning the office situation in Nairobi. We won't take time to go into details here, but if you are on our mailing list you will be able to read more when we send out our latest update over the next few days. Meantime, we just thank and praise God for how he has worked everything out. We were encouraged this weekend as we were booked to take a meeting in yet another new venue. This came as a result of the recent missionary convention we attended. Indeed we were at that convention with our stand as a result of a previous similar event. It is wonderful how each opening can lead to another opportunity. We were also encouraged this weekend to be told of a group who want to support FML financially each month. This was totally unexpected and we really felt humbled. Monthly gifts, no matter how small make planning a little bit easier and we appreciate those who support us in this way. As you know, we now have a page on this site for local projects being run by local people. One such project is in relation to the construction of a Church building. You can read the story by clicking here. We were so encouraged to see the progress made. Have a look at some photos...(click to enlarge and see captions) We would love to encourage you to pray for this project. Local people are working hard to provide a place for people in the area to hear the Gospel. We are particularly encouraged to see the effort that is going into a room for the children. We pray that this will be a place where many boys and girls hear the Word of God and are saved. This project is so typical of the vision that Kenyan people have. They get about the work and they have a determination to keep going until the work is complete. They face many obstacles but they keep going. They build basic buildings, with no luxuries, and they keep the vision of lost souls before them rather than trying to erect a nicer more modern building than the neighbouring congregation.
I wonder do Christians in the West, in the UK, in Northern Ireland have the same vision? Are missions held as they used to be? Do congregations go out into the highways and byways to reach the lost or do we sit back and hope that the lost will come in through the doors of a Church? Do we sit in modern Churches that have comfortable seats, plush carpets and the best sound systems but yet there is very little vision and many empty pews? This Church may not be painted to perfection, it may not have cushioned seats and soft carpet, but speaking from our experience in Africa.... this building will be filled with people seeking after God. This building will be a light house in the area and every effort will be made by the local believers to go out and win the lost. William and I have been blessed to be able to do some work on our home over the past year and so many evenings we talk about how the Lord has enabled it. There is much still to do, even from a safety aspect. It may not be the most modern home and we may not be in a position to do everything we would like to do and have everything just so so but it is the home God has provided for us. We still have a mortgage to pay, but God provides for it. We may have had visitors at times who have criticised our home either to ourselves or to others, who have thought we should have done more over years when dad and I lived in the home and didn't have the funds to do the work. But we do not regret the times when we did have a little money but we chose to spend it on trips to Kenya instead of doing work on the house. If we had the funds personally now we would be on the first flight we could get and our own needs would wait. We may not always fit the mould with our car that has dents in it for the past 4 years because there's always something more important to spend our money on. But we thank God for a roof over our heads and a happy marriage and pray that the house and material possessions will never become more important than Eternity. We also pray that our vision for souls will never be dimmed and that we will continue to be challenged by those we minister among and learn from their determination to work for God no matter the cost. We pray that we will never be drawn away by luxuries and large Church buildings but will take the humble road as Jesus did and have a servant heart. Maybe it is time for Christians in Northern Ireland to get their priorities in the right order. There is nothing wrong with a nice house, a car and a holiday. We look forward to a few days away together too and know that time together is important for a couple and for a family. But maybe as we look at these photos we can ask ourselves are we really going out to win souls wherever they are to be found or are we content to sit in our big, modern, empty Churches while all around souls are dying. A simple reminder from a song which was sung at our wedding. Perhaps it is more real and significant to us today than it was then. [Verse 1] While the world looks upon me As I struggle along They say I've got nothing But they are so wrong In my heart I'm rejoicing How I wish they could see Thank you Lord For your blessing on me! [Chorus] There's a roof up above me I've a good place to sleep There's food on my table And shoes on my feet You gave me your love Lord And a fine family Thank you Lord For your blessings on me! [Verse 2] I know I'm not wealthy These clothes, they're not new I don't have much money But Lord I have you And that's all that matters Though the world may not see Thank you Lord For your blessings on me! [Chorus] There's a roof up above me I've a good place to sleep There's food on my table And shoes on my feet You gave me your love Lord And a fine family Thank you Lord For all your blessings on me! |
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August 2022
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