This morning I have been reading an article which states that there around 3 million orphans in Kenya. According to UNICEF there are also around 2.5 million orphans in Uganda. 5.5 million orphans in the two countries we are working in. These children are in addition to the many millions of children who are not orphans. Living in Northern Ireland where the entire population (including adults) is around 1.8 million, it is very difficult for us to really grasp these figures. Isn't it amazing though that God knows each and every one of them. Every single little child is precious to Him. What a privilege we have of reaching out to some of these children with the Gospel. Over 8000 children have been enrolled on our lessons and we have reached many more through evangelism....but our efforts reach only a tiny minority of the many children in these countries. We ask you to pray that we will continue to know God's help and guidance as we move forward in our service for Him.
We desperately want and need to return to Africa and we are asking you to really pray that we will soon know guidance and provision regarding this. We have numerous issues which need sorted and we are at a standstill as to what can be done here. Joyce will travel to Western Kenya within the next number of days to visit centres there who are completing our lessons. Pray that she will have a safe journey and will be a blessing to those she meets with. Eunice is back in the office in Nairobi and is doing well co-ordinating the work from there. Our clothes collection last week raised just under £280.00. Thanks to all who contributed. We are just waiting to receive the funds. Meanwhile the clothes donated will be transported to African for re-wear by local people. This week sees our first speaking engagement of 2016. The next 6 weeks or so are especially busy with meetings. These include prayer meetings, ladies' meetings, house meeting and a missionary weekend. We thank God for these opportunities and ask you to pray that we will be well prepared and know very clearly what God would have us to share at each meeting. Please pray for immediate financial needs which include Nairobi office rent as well as ongoing finances for ministry. May the Lord continue to bless you for your faithfulness and as always, please accept our appreciation for your prayers.
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Tomorrow it will be 9 years since this website was launched. It is a part of the ministry I have enjoyed overseeing. Many people in Africa and beyond are now using our materials or have taken our training as a result of finding us here on this website. Thousands of visitors from many countries across the world have read these pages and for this we are grateful. Thank you for being part of this part of the work.
We would like to wish you a very Happy New Year. We have enjoyed time together and also with family and friends. A break from work was good for us. We wouldn't just say we are totally refreshed as we had a very busy number of weeks in the run up to Christmas and there has been a serious lack of sleep in the Aiken household over the past few weeks as a result of quite a severe and painful arm injury which I (Pamela) sustained a week or so before Christmas. Heat and resting the arm seem to be the most effective treatment, but are in short supply unfortunately. I am turning a corner, but still limited in what I can do. Typing with two hands is painful....with one hand, difficult....but I couldn't even have attempted this blog yesterday, so that is progress. We are grateful for those who gave Christmas gifts to Joyce and Eunice. They received £70 each and were delighted! We also appreciate gifts for FML which came in over the holidays. My injury has delayed acknowledgment letters slightly, but they will get to you as soon as possible. We have another clothes collection tomorrow. Thanks to all who have contributed to this also. We will let you know the outcome in due course. William spent a long time on Saturday sorting and packing some of the large quantity of knitted items which we have been given over past months. We hope to transport more to Africa quite soon. William's achieved a Grade B in the assignment on Romans. Thank you for praying. Another assignment is due this Thursday when he begins his final term. Next week begins a busy session of meetings. Pray that we will know the Lord's help and guidance as we prepare. Pray very much that we can return to Africa this year. This is an important prayer request. Others things are also in the pipeline and we hope to have some definite information to share quite soon in a prayer letter. If you are not on our mailing list, please contact us to be added. Trusting the Lord will continue to bless you. Thank you so much to those who contributed towards a Christmas gift for two of our workers. We appreciate very much the kindness of those who have given and have contacted each individually. There is still time if you would like to donate to Joyce and Eunice. See our previous blog post for information about the ladies and for the donate button. We are asking for £5, but if you wish to give less or more, you can use the donate button on the home screen, send a cheque or do a bank transfer. Contact us for more details.
We are also thankful to many prayer partners who have spent time knitting clothes and blankets. Bit by bit we have transported these to Kenya and Uganda and both we and our workers have distributed these at various times. Today a young man and his friends came to our office in Nairobi. We have been in direct contact with him for some time. They have formed an outreach that raises funds etc. throughout the year and then in December they use these funds to purchase clothes, toiletries and food and they then distribute these items to various children's homes etc. We are delighted that we have been able to contribute to this outreach by donating quite a lot of knitted items. We have already received photos of them receiving them today from Eunice and we are looking forward to updates of the distribution which will mainly take place between now and Christmas. We will share more about this in due course. Thank you also for praying for our office situation. God has answered prayer in that the building work has been delayed for a few months at least. This means there is not the same pressure for us to vacate by the beginning of January. There are still a lot of details to be worked out and we do have some concerns, but for now we are happy that we have been given some breathing space and we continue to trust God to work out the situation. William's assignment has been submitted. It was certainly the most challenging of the course to date, but the Lord helped. This term has now come to a close. In January he will begin the final term of his 3 year course. Just one more term's fees left to pay, pray that God will provide for us. This course is not paid for by FML but by William and I personally. It just seems like yesterday that he was considering taking the course. My Dad, (Dr. Cecil) passed away a few hours after William had completed his very first evening of his first year. William had phoned me when he left the Church. Telling Dad all about the course and his first night there was one of the last conversations I had with my dad. When William left the course that night and drove to Portadown, little did he think that a few hours later he would be standing at my dad's bedside as he went to be with the Lord. Thanks for your prayers for William. He has learnt much and we are sure the final term will also be a blessing.
Christmas is getting closer. People are becoming increasingly busy as they prepare for the holiday season. Our offices are closing on various dates, but by the end of next week all will be closed for the holidays. Pray for Joyce in Uganda, Eunice in Nairobi and ourselves in UK as we wrap things up for the year.
We all seem to have quite a bit to do before the doors close so do please pray for each worker. One children's worker has just contacted Eunice requesting a large amount of lessons. This is just one example of how things keep moving day by day and right to the last minute even at Christmas. Some things in our office in Nairobi are being packed in anticipation of our move. We are still a little uncertain as to what exactly is happening but hope for an update quite soon from our landlord. Pray for Eunice as she oversees this transition. Pray for Joyce and her family as they prepare for Christmas also. We have been trying to call Joyce, but the phone network has been poor, so pray that we will soon reach her. Most likely this will be a busy time for her husband as he is a Pastor in a Church and for Joyce as his wife. Do pray for all they have to do in the Lord's work over the past few weeks. Pray also that they will have time together as a family. Eunice and Joyce work very hard for FML and we would like to give them an additional gift at Christmas. Eunice is a single girl who lives with her family. As is common in Africa, she is very responsible for her household and contributes to it. We pay her a minimal allowance and she works other jobs washing clothes; by hand; in order to meet their needs. We would love it if you could give her and her family a little extra for food this Christmas. Joyce is married and her husband is a Pastor in a small Church. They have two children, Blessing aged 4 and Joseph aged 2. I am sure, like you with children in your family; they would like to give these children something for Christmas. Also, they will probably wish to travel to their extended families for Christmas as there have been bereavements in recent months. Although Joyce oversees the work in all of Uganda for FML, we pay her a very small amount each month and only if it is there. Please consider helping Joyce and her husband to give their children a lovely Christmas. If you would like to contribute to this, please click on the donation button below in order to make a donation via paypal or, if you don't have a paypal account, it is possible to simply enter your debit card details. The donation amount is set at just £5 and any donations received will be split equally between Joyce and Eunice. Even this small amount can make a difference. If you wish to donate more than £5, you can simply donate numerous times, or you can use the donate button on our home page as you will be able to enter the donation amount yourself. Thank you in anticipation of your gift.
In other areas across Kenya and Uganda, children will continue to use our lessons over the coming weeks. However, as schools close for the holidays this will be mainly in Churches. Many children and their families will travel to rural areas for the holidays. Pray for safety.
This Saturday is a holiday in Kenya and we had been asked to celebrate along with Kenyan friends here in Northern Ireland. However, due to other commitments it is looking like we will be unable to attend. We trust all will have a good day. William has had quite a bit of work on these past few weeks and there are no signs of it stopping over the next week or so. We are looking forward to him having some time off over Christmas and enjoying a well earned rest. He has quite a tricky assignment to complete for this Thursday for his Bible College course. Pray that he will know the Lord's help as he finishes this off. I (Pamela) have some letters to write, forms to fill, accounts to work on and website profiles to prepare before closing the FML doors for Christmas. As a wife my head is starting to fill with thoughts of Christmas. Most gifts are purchased and my mind is now fleeting towards food shopping and turkey shopping!! Of course, in the midst of these busy days, it is so important that we take time to focus on the Lord and to remember the birth of our Saviour. Jesus really is the reason for the season and sometimes we need to take a step back and focus on Him. Last week William and I had the privilege of spending a few days in Edinburgh, Scotland. We have a few friends who are currently studying in Bible College there. We travelled over to spend the weekend with one in particular. We had a great time. It was lovely to renew fellowship and also have plenty of laughs. We enjoyed hearing about his College experiences and also talking about our own experiences as well as many discussions about what the Bible says about ............ quite a few subjects! While there we visited a number of attractions. One of those was Greyfriars Bobby. Here we saw a statue and the grave of a little dog, who had been so dedicated to his master that, when that owner died, the dog, Bobby, sat on his grave for many years until he himself died and was buried at the entrance to the same grave yard. It is a lovely story which we have heard since childhood. A story which has been told in many a Church service and children's meeting. Reminding us of the dedication of this little dog to his master. Of course the truth was always there of how we need to be dedicated and loyal to our Saviour. As we have just sent out a prayer update by email, we have been reflecting over this past year. It started with numerous challenges both personally and in the work, but overall in the ministry of our Saviour it has been a good year and extremely busy. We are thankful for the many boys and girls who have heard the Word of God and we pray that many will be saved and live a life of faithfulness and dedication to our Lord.... with the loyalty to their master similar to that of Greyfriars Bobby. Please continue to pray for us. If you would like to know the latest prayer and praise points which we have just issued; please email [email protected] and I will be delighted to add you to our mailing list. Click on the photos below to enlarge them. Another week and we thank you for your continued prayers for us, our team and the ministry of FML.
We thank God for His help at another meeting over the weekend. We appreciate very much those who pray for us and support us by having us share with them regarding the work. It was encouraging for us to see the interest among those who have only recently heard of the work of FML. We are also thankful that the container which was sent from Northern Ireland has arrived in Nairobi. As I write, Eunice, from our Nairobi office, and some other friends are in the process of transporting 53 boxes of Bible Lessons from the depot to our office. We are thankful to Every Home Crusade/Revival Movement for printing and shipping these lessons for us. We thank God for every child who will learn of God's Word through these lessons. In our blog last week we mentioned that we had received some news from Kenya which would require quite prayer. We can share with you that we are going to have to move our Nairobi office....again! Some of you will remember the ongoing saga a few years as we searched for an office and then the subsequent move just a short time after we have relocated. To be honest, this news was not what we wanted to hear or had expected. It should, God willing, be only temporary for around 1 year while building work is completed. We knew this work was in the pipeline, but thought it could be 5 years or even more down the line. Our challenge now is where to go!!! Please pray that we will know guidance concerning this. It is one of those challenges that we face and find ourselves thinking that it would be so much easier handled if we were there. We are still awaiting on more information and we will update you as we are able, but meantime we greatly appreciate your prayers for wisdom, direction and provision for all that will take place. We were saddened to hear of quite a large fire in Kibera, Nairobi at the weekend. As far as we know there were no fatalities and we are thankful for this. However, please pray for those who had properties destroyed. They will really need God's help and provision in the coming days. Please pray for all.
We would ask you to pray regarding some news we had from Kenya a few days ago. It is quite a big issue for us and has left us with some important and expensive decisions to make. We are waiting on some more details and then we will share with you what is happening. Meantime, we would really ask for your prayers that we will know wisdom and provision for the situation. Well, what a busy few weeks we have had. So busy that I missed a few blog posts! Sorry!! Am hoping though you have continued to pray for us.
We have had quite a few meetings over the past few weeks which have taken place mainly on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. These included a meeting at a Disabled Christian Fellowship and a local mission hall...both new opportunities for us. We also enjoyed being back in other venues who have previously had us speak. We thank God for each of these opportunities and ask for your continued prayers for us as we share again a few more times this side of Christmas. In my last blog post I had mentioned that Joyce has been able to distribute a number of Bibles in Uganda and she has also been able to visit Western Kenya for the same reason. I hope you'll enjoy looking at a few of the photos she has sent us. (click on each individual photo to enlarge.) Pray on for these young people as they learn to use their Bibles. This past week Joyce has been able to travel to some centres in Uganda and distribute Bibles. She hopes to travel to another two this incoming week. We thank God for this and pray she will continue to be blessed as she meets with the children. We are hoping to have some photos to share very soon.
I have been continuing to enjoy communicating with various projects in Africa who have been working hard to establish ministries in their local areas and to bring the Gospel to the adults and children around them, very often through very practical means. I am also encouraged by their determination and enthusiasm. If you haven't already looked at our Project Directory here on this site, then please do so. I am sure you will be encouraged to see how local people are reaching out to their own communities. William really enjoyed the subjects at his course last week and continues to appreciate your prayers for him as he studies. We have two meetings to speak at this incoming week and would ask you to pray that God will help and guide as we both prepare. Both are new openings for us and we are thankful for these opportunities. Please continue to spread the word, especially if we have not shared in your own particular Church. Current financial needs for the work are for office rent in Nairobi, some help for some of our workers and Bibles. We appreciate your prayers. A couple of weeks ago a large lump appeared on my gum. Despite various treatments there was no sign of it disappearing. In fact, when it appeared to be getting larger I knew it was time for a visit to the dentist. It was something I had never experienced before and so there were a few nerves and even a few fears. I just prayed that it would be nothing serious. I was told by the dentist that the nerve of the tooth was dead and the lump was as a result of the "not so nice stuff" left behind. And so a procedure was started to sort it all out and try to save the tooth.
It got me thinking that what the dentist was trying to save was in fact dead. I'm not a dentist and technically I may be wrong on some of these issues, but as I understood it, the nerve which runs through the tooth is dead. On the outside it looks just like all of the other teeth, but inside, the very nerve of the tooth is dead and because of that there was swelling, pain and a procedure needed to clean it out. Isn't that just like our lives and the lives of the children in Kenya and Uganda? On the outside we might look great. Children may look cute and may look as if all is ok....but inside they are spiritually dead. The sin needs cleaned out. There are those, even adults, who look like Christians, talk like Christians and go to the places Christians go....but sometimes their words and actions and life suggest differently. The dentist can only clean out the tooth and save the outward appearance, but inside the tooth will always be dead. It is too late for it now. The nerve will never live again. Thank God that He can not only clean up the outward appearance but He can change the inward and give new life. This is our prayer for the boy and girls and indeed their families. Pray for salvation. |
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August 2022
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