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Archive for the ‘African Diary’ Category

Thanksgiving Blessings

25 Nov 2001

Our hearts were filled with gratitude over the Thanksgiving season, as we reflected on recent blessings in Kenya:

  1. The terrorist threat in Kenya has diminished greatly as the Kenya government has taken a tough, no-nonsense stand. By deploying troops and police, and by arresting many suspected terrorists, the government seems to have diminished the momentum of vocal anti-American/anti-Christian elements. We know that many concerned friends around the world have been praying for peace and safety in East Africa and we are so grateful for their sacrificial prayers!
  2. The new church at Karimba is growing. The Bible Baptist Church in Timau has sent one of their men and his family to this village as missionaries, supporting them 100%. The new church is growing.
  3. The Timau Orphans project has been blessed recently as some special funds were given by two concerned men in the States, enabling the purchase of food, school uniforms, and financing the education of some of the orphans which the Timau church has lovingly taken in. Recent photos can be viewed here.
 
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Group from West Virginia

22 Aug 2001

What a fantastic two weeks we have just finished! Chuck Madaus, a former Kenya missionary who now pastors in West Virginia, brought a group of 27 people from his church. My head is still spinning with the flurry of activities!!! What a busy time! His people really were a tremendous blessing! They conducted teacher training workshops for over 100 Sunday School teachers from our fellowship of churches in the Mt. Kenya region. Three of the group were nurses, conducting medical clinics in two rural locations. You can’t imagine the crowds which thronged them. They dispensed suitcases of medicine! More than 1500 people were treated for medical ailments, which served as an opening for sharing the Gospel.

The team ministered to over 600 public high school students. They also worked on two building projects in the bush, in addition to passing out tracts and preaching in schools, orphanages and along the roads. At least 107 people were saved in the many places which the team ministered!

We capped it all off on the last day by taking them out to the Maasai area where they were adorned with traditional beadwork and had a nice goat feast. (Sadly, for me, there was no traditional sour milk because the drought has diminished their herds and dried up the few remaining cows. In fact, the Maasai are really suffering again, and already, they could use some famine relief assistance.)

The vehicle broke down on the way to Maasailand. Out in the wild bush country, Rex and Tim showed true “missionary” adeptness at patching the broken steering mechanism sufficiently for it to hobble back to town, while some of the more adventuresome hitched a ride in the back of a passing truck which took them to the meeting in Maasailand.

At dusk we had to make a final stop at the Naibor Church in the bush. The people had waited almost all day, and we couldn’t let them down, even though it was dark and everyone was dead tired. What a blessing as John Chirchir’s group of 30 children recited Bible verses for us under a kerosene lamp! After the service, they had to walk home through the wild African bush country.

What a day, and what a blessed two weeks! God is so good to allow us to be ministering here in this wonderful harvest field!

 
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Prayer & Encouragement

05 Jun 2001

Sherry’s hemoglobin continues to rise, and it seems pretty certain that the Malaria has finally been eradicated. Praise the Lord!

We KNOW that this is a genuine answer to the prayers of many of God’s people! May God give each one a special reward for their prayers and concern!

We just received an encouraging Email which emphasizes and important aspect of intercessory prayer:

“The oddest thing is that my husband and I were praying a week or two ago and he was burdened to pray for you and Sherry…. Well that night when I checked the Email, I saw your message concerning Sherry’s condition. God is truly awesome. He burdened us for prayer before we even knew the urgency of it!”

I personally believe that this is an example of what Paul was referring to in Ephesians 6:18 where he urges us to pray “in the spirit”. The context is intercessory prayer – especially for missionaries!

 
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Malaria

19 May 2001

What a hectic month since our last letter! We arrived in the States on April 19th. On the 26th Sherry was admitted to the to the ICU of St. Joseph’s hospital in Kansas City with acute Malaria! Her fever had reached 106 by that morning causing us to realize that she must have malaria rather than just the virus which was going around.

It took me over 2 hours on the telephone trying to find a doctor who had any knowledge of malaria. Finally, the Lord led me to a doctor from South America who was somewhat familiar with Malaria: MIRACLE NUMBER ONE!

In the following tension-filled days, God performed a series of true miracles! Without going into detail, I’ll just list a few of the miracles which the Lord performed in response to prayer: Finding a lab in Kansas City which could do a Malaria blood test immediately. Locating enough intravenous Quinadine to start the treatment immediately, and then coming up with the follow-up dose of Quinadine, which couldn’t be found anywhere in the USA (even at the manufacturer). It suddenly “appeared” at just the moment it was needed!

Things were happening so quickly that I didn’t have opportunity to get the word out to all of you, but I did send out a few hurried Emails along the way. Perhaps some of you heard the details of the astounding miracles which followed. (If you would like me to send a more comprehensive report by Email, just drop me an Email)

Sherry did fantastically well for about 5 days after she was released from the hospital. But, the Adversary never quits! The headaches and fever revived and she became weaker over the next 10 days. Several doctors have examined her – but nothing shows up in the tests except a radical drop in hemoglobin (7.2, which is dangerously low! — in fact, the doctor insists that she needs a transfusion. We are resisting that idea, and are praying that God intervene so that it won’t be necessary!)

In consulting with our Malaria specialist in Nairobi, we have all come to the conclusion that she has probably had a relapse of the malaria, even though it is not showing up in the blood tests. Sherry has just started taking another course of malaria medicine (pills this time), and we are praying that this will bring a turnaround. Please continue praying! — Especially that she won’t need a transfusion!

I’m embarrassed to have to mention finances at a time like this. Our BBF Medical Fund will cover all but about $1,500 of the actual medical costs. But, right now, even $1,500 is difficult for us to handle, not counting the non-medical expenses. Thanks for standing with us in prayer during this crisis. I will update you right away as soon as we see the next miracle which we are trusting God for!

 
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