This week I have been reminded of the verse in John chapter 10 verse 4 which says, "And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice." As we have been making so many preparations for our trip to Africa, we have become very conscious that God has gone before us. So many things have come together in amazing ways. Programmes have been planned and arranged without too many hiccups. Accommodation booked in 6 different places. Many things prepaid and we now have the balance for the car hire too! God has gone before. Without doubt, this has been one of the easiest trips to organise. Some of the usual "stresses" have not been present this time and things that have frustrated us in the past have been ironed out as we have communicated with people in Kenya and Uganda regarding our trip. Reduced luggage was of concern but with some cases sent ahead and other items coming with us, we are perhaps bringing more than normal. Perhaps we are becoming more familiar with all that is involved with a trip of this type. Perhaps we are more aware of what is expected of us and have had time to consider the obstacles we would face. Maybe we are just becoming more familiar with the logistics of the country and the travelling involved....or....perhaps it is simply that God has gone before.
Going away for a number of weeks involves planning for what is left behind. Our home, the market stall and even the pet rabbit. Yet, God has gone before. We have people who will watch our house and stay in it; some good friends will watch the stall for us and even the rabbit is going on holiday! God has gone before in these very practical things. As our trip gets nearer and nearer each one of us have numerous things to get done. William will be working around the clock to get his work up to date before travelling and he has a sermon to prepare. Dad has all of his medication sorted out; which is alot; and will also make final preparations as he will be speaking about the ministry on our first Sunday in Kenya. I just have a million things in my head and many things to finalise..... but in everything we are conscious that God has gone before. Please pray that He will continue to go before us in every aspect of our trip. MISSION TRIP PRAYER LIST: - Pray that God will continue to go before us - Take a moment to THANK GOD for what HE has done so far! -Guidance as to which donated items to bring on this occasion - Provision of Bibles for presentation during our trip - Meeting with School staff regarding building project - Protection against the attacks of the enemy -Teaching and Preaching preparation before we travel - Teacher training in Kisumu in partnership with Kenyan Church - Exploratory Farming trip - Safety and good health for the long flights - Our time and ministry in Uganda - The need of £1800 to secure our hire car - Meeting with markers and teachers in Nakuru - Practical Work in Office - Workers' Meeting
0 Comments
For many weeks now we have been asking you to pray for our forthcoming mission trip to Kenya and Uganda and have been sharing a prayer point each week. We have been so conscious of people remembering us in prayer and we have been aware of answers to those prayers. This week, I thought I would pick out a few of the prayer points and bring you an update on each situation and how God has been answering.
The need of £1800 to secure our hire car The deposit was paid on time and we thank God for that. The balance is due soon. We are over £500 short at the moment. Our time and ministry in Uganda God has really been helping in the arrangements for Uganda. It is an unknown territory for us but we are excited. The training schedule for the adults has been completed and the children's programme has been arranged and final teaching preparation will be done this incoming week. Safety and good health for the long flights We continue to pray to this end. Medication and vaccinations have all been checked and thankfully none of us needed any vaccinations. Malaria tablets will be started soon. Teacher training in Kisumu in partnership with Kenyan Church The timetable has been sent off to the organisers so they can have a look at it, but largely we are ready for this seminar with the exception of some handouts which need to be prepared. Guidance as to which donated items to bring on this occasion Two suitcases have now been sent on ahead of us and we have decided upon most of what we will take with us. We hope it will all fit in and still be within the weight allowance. Please continue to pray for the needs above and the others mentioned over the past weeks. Most of all, please take a moment to thank God for what He has already done and for being with us in every detail. MISSION TRIP PRAYER LIST: - Take a moment to THANK GOD for what HE has done so far! -Guidance as to which donated items to bring on this occasion - Provision of Bibles for presentation during our trip - Meeting with School staff regarding building project - Protection against the attacks of the enemy -Teaching and Preaching preparation before we travel - Teacher training in Kisumu in partnership with Kenyan Church - Exploratory Farming trip - Safety and good health for the long flights - Our time and ministry in Uganda - The need of £1800 to secure our hire car - Meeting with markers and teachers in Nakuru - Practical Work in Office - Workers' Meeting We had a good weekend at the market. It was busier than normal for the time of year. We thank God for His continued provision in this way.
Pastor Aringo travelled a few days ago to Western Kenya. We have a large number of children studying our lessons in that part of the country and we continue to pray for their salvation. We are encouraged to receive our first booking for a meeting in 2014. We look forward to many more opportunities to share our work over the coming months. If you know of any Church who like to hear more please don't hesitate to contact us. We are looking forward to having stands at a 5 day missionary convention in August and a 3 day convention in September. MISSION TRIP FOCUS: We are always thankful to those who donate items to the work of FML. Many items are for selling at the stall, but we also receive items to bring to Kenya. The airline has decreased our baggage allowance for our next trip. We did enquire about adding to it but it was proving difficult because of the terms of our ticket. We have sent one case on ahead of us and another will be sent next week. We will also bring what we can in our own cases, but, unfortunately we will be unable to bring everything that has been given to us. Please pray that we will be guided in what to bring and what to leave for a future date. MISSION TRIP PRAYER LIST: - Guidance as to which donated items to bring on this occasion - Provision of Bibles for presentation during our trip - Meeting with School staff regarding building project - Protection against the attacks of the enemy -Teaching and Preaching preparation before we travel - Teacher training in Kisumu in partnership with Kenyan Church - Exploratory Farming trip - Safety and good health for the long flights - Our time and ministry in Uganda - The need of £1800 to secure our hire car - Meeting with markers and teachers in Nakuru - Practical Work in Office - Workers' Meeting Apologies that our blog is a little later this week. Life is busy at the moment.
We have now received all of the sketches for our first set of visuals and are very impressed. We look forward to approving these with a few minor changes and then we will await the coloured visuals to come through. Our teaching programmes for our trip our now being arranged in greater detail and we are excited about what lies ahead over the coming weeks. We thank God for Government schools in Nakuru who are responding favourably to our team going in to teach the Gospel. We pray for wisdom concerning this. The Child Protection email course continues with students currently working on Assignment 6 out of 10. The standard of work has been high and the committment has been encouraging. We hope that further courses will be available to them and others. We have a full programme over the coming weeks and appreciate prayer for all we do. Our latest clothes/textile collection brought us in just over £428 and we give God the glory for this. MISSION TRIP FOCUS: With children ready for Bibles we are hoping to present some when we are in Africa. We have very few left in stock. Please pray that God will provide for us to obtain more while we are there. We are also keen to make the first Bible presentation in Uganda and are trusting we will be able to bring some copies of the Word of God with us to that country. MISSION TRIP PRAYER LIST: - Provision of Bibles for presentation during our trip - Meeting with School staff regarding building project - Protection against the attacks of the enemy -Teaching and Preaching preparation before we travel - Teacher training in Kisumu in partnership with Kenyan Church - Exploratory Farming trip - Safety and good health for the long flights - Our time and ministry in Uganda - The need of £1800 to secure our hire car - Meeting with markers and teachers in Nakuru - Practical Work in Office - Workers' Meeting Another new month begins and we give God the glory for the gift of each new day. Last night I enjoyed speaking at the Children's Day service in a Church in Bangor, Northern Ireland...about 1 hour's drive from my home. I thank God for each child who took part and for so many parents who came into the service. We are delighted that some children recently received certificates for completing all 30 of our Bible lessons. Also, they were presented with Bible Story books. Other children also received Bibles and pencils. The photos below show just a handful of these children. Marking continues in the office and life is busy in Nairobi as lessons are distributed across many areas of Kenya and into Uganda.
There is much enthusiasm in Nakuru as the school ministry grows and other ideas for outreach are discussed. In Uganda planning for our trip is well underway and we are excited to visit this new area. God has been answering prayer and providing for our financial needs. On Friday we were able to send the deposit to secure the booking of the hire car. We had asked for prayer concerning this, but we hadn't shared the deadline as being the end of May. We were amazed to watch the needed funds come in over the final few days. We continue to pray that God will provide the balance needed. We have no doubt that He will. We were delighted and excited to receive the first few initial sketches from the Kenyan artist who is Please continue to pray for the students who are studying on our Child Protection Email course. Some are from Kenya and some from Uganda. The standard has been very high and Assignment 6 will be sent to them today. There are 10 Assignments in total. Pray for us as we develop more teaching in this way. Tomorrow (Tuesday) William and I will attend a day conference for Christian workers. The speaker will be a man of God from Nigeria. We have attended this seminar over the past few years and are looking forward to being blessed, encouraged and challenged once more. MISSION TRIP FOCUS: We are considering a small practical/building project for the future in a School in Kenya. During our next trip we will be meeting with the Principal and staff of the school to discuss this in further detail. Please pray for us all as we meet. Pray that God will give us clear direction over the coming weeks as we think about what will be discussed. MISSION TRIP PRAYER LIST: - Meeting with School staff regarding building project - Protection against the attacks of the enemy -Teaching and Preaching preparation before we travel - Teacher training in Kisumu in partnership with Kenyan Church - Exploratory Farming trip - Safety and good health for the long flights - Our time and ministry in Uganda - The need of £1800 to secure our hire car - Meeting with markers and teachers in Nakuru - Practical Work in Office - Workers' Meeting |
Read on for...regular updates and thoughts from Northern Ireland and Africa... Archives
August 2022
Categories |