We our so thankful to God His help during the children's rally in Nakuru on Saturday. There had been much rain in the days prior to the event but we thank God that He kept the rain away on the day itself. More details about the rally next week.
Also at the weekend, Joyce travelled in Uganda to an area called Jinja. We already have centres there enrolled on our lessons and we plan to visit the area when we are in the country in a few months time. However, on this occasion, Joyce was meeting with a Pastor who contacted us recently with a view to becoming involved with the work. As a result of the visit, two Schools and a Sunday School have been given application forms and it is estimated around 400 children will be enrolled. The Pastor concerned emailed on Monday saying: I thank God for having met such a faithful lady,the planning was successful,she met like 200 children in the church,the administrator in our church requested the program to be introduced in his school plus those in my school,Besides,She was really used by God to deliver His word to over 300 people in the service and I took photos plus video which I would like to send to you with time. However,she has left the application forms with us and we hope to start the lessons come next month. We are delighted to hear of how God has blessed and we appreciate your ongoing prayer for Uganda as we think about our forthcoming trip. MISSION TRIP FOCUS: In a few months time we will be in Africa and we are looking forward to visiting Uganda for the first time. We will spend two days in Malaba where Joyce lives with her husband and daughter. We look forward to visiting in their Church on the Sunday and meeting with children there who are studying our lessons. Following our time there we will travel for a few hours to a town called Jinja; visiting centres enroute. In Jinja we will minister in schools, visit centres and have one day of teacher training among other things. We are looking forward to this part of our trip and are excited to see what life is like in this African country. Please pray that everything will go smoothly at the border as we obtain our entry visas. Also, we have been told that we will be required to pay duty on the car as we bring it across the border. Please pray that this will not be expensive as we have heard a few horror stories concerning this particular expense. We continue to appreciate your prayers for us. MISSION TRIP PRAYER LIST: - 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
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I trust you had a lovely Easter with your friends and family. We have had a mixture of holidays and busy days over the past few weeks.
The office in Nairobi has reopened after the holidays and we encourage anyone in Kenya to contact it if they are interested in our Bible Lessons or Teacher Training. The school minisry in Nakuru will be having a break now for a short time as schools have closed for holidays for the next few weeks. In Uganda we continue to be encouraged as we were contacted by another man who wishes to have the children in his Church and School enrolled on our lessons. We thank God for the interest shown. Here in Northern Ireland we enjoyed sharing in another house meeting on Friday evening and were once again blessed by the interest shown and the prayers of God's people. Wednesday 1st May has been confirmed as the day which we will have a stand in a local shopping mall and we look forward to sharing the work of FML with those whom we meet. More details later. The market has been cold over the past couple of weeks and slightly quieter because of the holidays, yet still God has blessed. We thank Him for His provision through this means and for those who have donated items for the stall and clothes in recent days. We will soon be ready for another clothes collection. We also continue to appreciate those who have donated financial gifts. We thank God for general gifts and for those for the purchase of Bibles in recent days. The preparation for our next trip is now in full swing and some purchases have been made for that too. Very soon the preparation of children's lessons and teacher training will begin. Please pray for me as I prepare this end of the work and also for William as he oversees the practical side and plans for the office. We are delighted that we have been able to arrange to view some farming projects on our next trip too and I know William is particularly looking forward to this. This week we have a very practical need to share in our mission trip focus. MISSION TRIP FOCUS: As you will have realised by now, when we visit Africa we travel much around the country of Kenya and indeed on our next trip we will visit Uganda also. None of this would be possible without a car. We don't have one of our own and so we have to hire a vehicle. Mostly the roads are in very poor condition and we face many bumps, pot holes and muddy ground. A 4 x 4 vehicle is essential. This year, because of the number of people who will be travelling around with us, we needed a slightly bigger car than normal also. Please see photos at bottom of page with some of the roads we find ourselves on! The cost is expensive. To have the use of the vehicle we need to pay around £1800 depending on the exchange rate. Around £400 of this is a security deposit and will be refunded to us provided the car is returned with no damage. Currently we have a car reserved and our booking pencilled in, but we need to pay quite a large deposit to secure the vehicle and we would prefer to have the total needed before doing this as any deposit would be non-refundable. Please pray for this very important and vital need and help if you can. Without a car our whole programme and ministry would have to change as public transport is not an option due to the amount of equipment and materials we have to bring with us; public transport isn't a suitable option for my dad; and, also, it doesn't reach a lot of the remote places we visit. We really appreciate your prayers for this and trust we can secure the booking very soon. Please use the prayer list below to help you remember this and previous needs mentioned in regard to our trip. MISSION TRIP PRAYER LIST: - The need of £1800 to secure our hire car - Meeting with markers and teachers in Nakuru - Practical Work in Office - Workers' Meeting To all our prayer partners we would just like to wish you a very Blessed Easter. We thank God for sending His Son the Lord Jesus to die for us and for the children of Kenya, Uganda and the world. We Praise Him that today the tomb is empty and that we serve a living Saviour. May God help you to put your trust in that living Saviour if you have not already done so.
Our UK base will be closed this incoming week for the holidays though we will be at the market on Friday and Saturday as normal. Our Nairobi office will reopen on Wednesday 3rd April, God willing. Please continue to pray for us and look back here next week for more prayer news. Another busy week when God has helped and provided for us.
Our latest prayer letter is almost complete and we hope to have it issued very soon. Pastor Aringo is continuing the work in the office in Nairobi and has been distributing more lessons. Moses taught the Gospel in 6 primary schools and 4 secondary schools this week. Thank God for His help to Moses and his team of helpers. The market was freezing cold this past weekend with really severe winds and rain, but the Lord still helped and provided. We had an encouraging house meeting on Friday evening and enjoyed the fellowship with those who were there. We look forward to another meeting in April. We are conscious of the need for more Bibles. We are thankful for a donation towards this during the week. We are appealing for more help towards this and have set up a new text campaign specifically for Bibles. You can text WORD13 and the amount you wish to donate (£1 £2 £3 £4 £5 or £10) to 70070. Eg. If you wish to donate £2 then text WORD13 £2 to 70070. You will only be charged the amount you have donated and we will receive the entire amount. Almost 1500 Bibles are currently needed so we would definitely appreciate your support. We are currently making arrangements to have a stand in another local shopping centre and hope to be able share details of this soon once the date is confirmed. MISSION TRIP FOCUS: This weeks' focus for prayer is one of the days we will spend in the Nakuru area. We will be meeting with Moses and the team who have recently began helping him, both in schools and with marking. We have been approving applications and hope to approve some more quite soon. We are looking forward to meeting these new team members and also visiting some schools to see them in action. Please pray for this special meeting. MISSION TRIP PRAYER LIST: - Meeting with markers and teachers in Nakuru - Practical Work in Office - Workers' Meeting God has helped us throughout another week. We thank Him for His presence with us at the meeting in Belfast on Wednesday evening where William shared a powerpoint presentation and I shared a message from God's Word. We look forward to sharing in another meeting this coming Friday evening. If you know of any Church or Fellowship who would be interested in having us come to share our work, either in the UK, Southern Ireland, Kenya or Uganda, please let us know. Again we thank God for His provision at the market over the weekend and thank Him for His goodness to us. Plans are well underway for our next trip. This week we have been focussing on Uganda and the time we will spend there. The dates for this part of the trip have now been confirmed and we should know soon if our accommodation is confirmed. I had a really good phone conversation with Joyce this week. We thank God for this in itself as the phone signal in her area is never very good. This was the clearest line we have ever had since she moved there and it made planning much easier. We were able to discuss the dates we would come to Uganda, the areas we will visit and what we will do when there. Please pray for Joyce as she makes arrangements with those involved. Last week I mentioned how I was intending to take one aspect of our trip each week and focus on it for prayer and we began with the planned workers' meeting. Today I would ask you to pray for another aspect of our trip. I will also publish a prayer list here each week and add the latest focus point to the list so that the previous posts aren't forgotten. MISSION TRIP FOCUS: This week I would ask you to please pray for a very practical part of our trip. Our office as pictured below. (Click to enlarge). We thank God for providing this little office for us in 2007, just one year after we began our ministry in Kenya. It's location is very central and the rent is reasonable. However, as you will see from the photos, we are fast outgrowing this space and need more room. We also feel that better use could be made of the space as the desks are very big. The office has a balcony which is currently a vacant space. Our landlord has agreed that we can close in the balcony to make it secure and therefore give us an additional space of around 5ft x 12ft. This would require a metal frame, glass etc. and would be very useful to us. William will be able to do most of the work, however, we will have to pay someone to do some welding. William is also planning additional practical work in the office for our next trip and a few days have been allocated just for this. In addition to the balcony work, there are also plans to erect some shelves specifically for the lessons, rearrange or remake the desks to fit better and also paint and freshen the office as it hasn't been done since we moved it. We are hoping that these changes will make it a much more efficient space and will help those who work in it on a daily basis. The office is a vitally important part of our ministry. It is estimated that around £500 - £600 will be needed to complete all of the needed work which will include all materials and any labour which will need to be paid for. Obviously William will do most of the work to save on the cost of labour. A comfortable, organised and smooth running office will definitely benefit the rest of our ministry. An opportunity to do this work will also be a great encouragement to William as often there is no time in our programmes to allocate to practical work even when it is essential. Please pray for this important part of our trip. Pray for guidance in all of the planning. Pray for safety as the work is carried out. Pray that the time allocated will be sufficient. Pray that funds will be provided to enable this to go forward as it is very essential. If you would like to help financially you can make a donation via paypal by clicking the tab at the bottom of our home page Alternatively please contact us for details if you would wish to donate by cheque, bank transfer or standing order. Gift Aid Declaration forms are also available to UK tax payers who may wish to help further in this way. We appreciate your support. MISSION TRIP PRAYER LIST:
- Practical Work in Office - Workers' Meeting The elections have now been completed in Kenya and the results announced. We thank God that there has been mostly peace in the majority of areas. Please pray that peace and stability will continue.
Please pray for us as we consider some applications for volunteer markers. We need wisdom in knowing who to approve. Thank you for your prayers for the market. Another good weekend. Please remember us in prayer for a meeting in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Wednesday evening. Over the coming weeks I would like to share some information regarding our plans for our next trip. God willing we will focus on a particular ministry, part of our programme or need. MISSION TRIP FOCUS: Today I would like to focus on a workers' meeting which is planned for the end of our first week in Kenya. God willing we plan to meet in Kisumu which is quite central to those who will attend. We will have fellowship together and receive updates from each area. Around 8 people in total will attend. We hope to share ideas and visions with each other and discuss the way ahead for the work in Kenya and in Uganda. Like all of these types of meetings, no doubt there will be challenges and problems to discuss as well. Please pray that we will know wisdom in all discussions. Pray for each worker as they travel to venue. Pray that God will provide for FML so that we are able to provide transport for those who will attend and accommodation where needed. Pray that God will place on our hearts the items for the agenda over the coming weeks. Pray also that each worker will be in prayer for the meeting. I thank God for His help at the ladies' meeting in Limavady last Monday evening. We were conscious of His presence and thank Him for the opportunity to share the latest news from FML.
We are getting excited now about our next trip which is booked for a few months time. We have now planned our programme as far as possible and this past week I booked our accommodation in a number of different places in Kenya. We would like to specifically ask prayer for the cost of car hire for our trip. Having a good, sturdy and roomy vehicle is absolutely vital for travelling around. We will be travelling to numerous and remote places in Kenya and also we will be travelling across to Uganda. Public transport doesn't reach some of the areas and also it is not practical because of the amount of materials we carry and also because of my dad being with us. The cost of car hire for the few weeks is coming in around £1400. This is a huge but necessary expense. A substantial deposit is needed in order to secure the booking and as it will be quite a busy tourist time, we need to secure this as soon as possible. Also when booking we have to include an additional security deposit for insurance purposes. This amounts to around £400 and will be in addition to the £1400. However, the £400 will be refunded at the end of the trip provided there is no damage to the car when we return it. In time we hope to be able to purchase our own vehicle, but for now this seems to be our best option. We ask you to pray that God would provide and should you feel led to contribute to this need in any way you can make a donation through the tab on our home page or by contacting me at [email protected] for details on how to make a bank transfer or send a cheque. Remember, if you are a UK tax payer, we can also claim Gift Aid on your donation and declaration forms are available on request. Your gift, no matter how small, would be greatly appreciated. We also hope to carry out some maintenance on our office when in Africa and to prepare a small extension. This will also cost a few hundred pounds and we are asking you to pray for this need also. Finally, we repeat our call from last week and ask you to remember the country of Kenya as they have elections tomorrow, 4th March. We are praying for peace and stability in the country in the coming days. Also, tomorrow I will be saved 23 years. I praise God for His keeping power and thank Him for His hand upon me through many joyous and difficult times over the years. Most of all I thank Him for His call upon my life and for allowing me the great privilege of sharing in His work. This week we are specifically asking for earnest prayer for the country of Kenya as they prepare for Presidential elections in one weeks time on 4th March. Please pray for peace and stability and that the man of God's choosing would be elected.
After elections in 2007 there was much violence which resulted in over 1000 people being killed and hundreds of thousands of people being displaced and moved from their homes. Please pray that this time round the opposite will be the case and that people will be safe and free from worry. Thank you for praying for the ladies' meeting last Monday evening. I had a great time with some very interested, encouraging and enthusiastic ladies. Tomorrow evening (Monday) I will travel to another ladies' meeting and pray the Lord will bless. Thank you for your prayers. Once again, please remember the forthcoming elections in Kenya. Thank you for praying for Moses this week as he continued with the school ministry in Nakuru. Pray for him as he returns this week to bring more valuable lessons to the children and young people.
Pastor Aringo and others have been busy in the office this week as they had a big influx of lessons to mark...350 from one place! Please continue to pray for Pastor Aringo as he oversees the work in the office and in Nairobi and also as he is responsible for distributing lessons across the country and into Uganda and also for allocating Bibles amongst other duties. We appreciate the help of all of those who assist in the office at various times. Pray on for Joyce in Uganda. We are excited, yet a little nervous, at the prospect of our first visit to Uganda. We pray the Lord will continue to bless there. Remember also Pastor Meshack in the Kisii area and also Dan who has been taking a break to complete some studies. They all need your prayers. William enjoyed the training course last week and looks forward to returning to the next session. He continues to be busy with the market in addition to his job. Dad has again been helping at the stall and is looking forward to returning to Africa. I am looking forward to sharing in a ladies' meeting in Belfast tomorrow evening (Monday 18th) and appreciate your prayers for this and also look forward to a few more meetings over the next few weeks. Progress is being made with the programme for our next trip to Africa and we are trusting the Lord to lead in every detail. Please pray for much wisdom in the days ahead as many decisions are made regarding the work. We are so excited to see the ministry of FML expanding in the Nakuru area with the introduction of a more structured school ministry. Our representatives have always visited schools who are enrolled on our lessons, but now in Nakuru, Moses has started a ministry whereby he is visiting certain schools regularly, usually weekly, to teach them the Gospel on an ongoing basis. We thank God for this opportunity to reach the children and young people with the Gospel. Today he was beginning in a school at 8am!
It was encouraging to hear of one school who had him speak. The Head Teacher then introduced Moses to his Church and now 100 children from the Sunday School have been enrolled onto our lessons. I am looking forward to helping in this ministry by developing a teaching program which can be implemented. Please pray for the others in the area who are interested in helping Moses and pray that we can soon approve their applications for volunteering. Please remember our reps in all other areas of Kenya and Uganda as they also visit centres with lessons. Remember also the need for markers. God willing we hope to have more lessons printed in a few months time and shipped out to Kenya. Some of which will be transported on to Uganda. Bibles are again an urgent need and we would ask you to pray for the provision of quite a few hundred which are needed at the moment for Nairobi, Nakuru and Uganda. We are prayerfully considering and planning our next trip to Kenya and Uganda and would ask that you remember this in prayer. Financially, one of the biggest needs is for car hire. We need a large 4x4 next time round and are looking at around £1400 at the moment for the time we would be there for hire only. It is an essential need, so please pray for this. We would ideally like to have our own vehicle and as you can see it would be more cost effective in the long run, but for the moment, hiring is our best option. We appreciate your prayers for this. My dad (Cecil) continues to help us on the market stall and we thank God for his contribution. Please pray that he will continue to be in good health and to know comfort following the recent death of his brother. William remains so busy with all of the practical work involved with the market and keeps the stock levels up. Tonight he will attend a training course in relation to preaching, teaching and public ministry. There will be another 2 sessions over the next few months. We know he is looking forward to this and trust it will be a blessing and a help in his ministry among FML both here in UK and in Africa. This week I will be in the office again and have quite a few projects to be working on. Planning for our next trip which involves training for adults and teaching for the children are high on the agenda as well as final preparations for a meetings I will speak at next Monday evening. In addition the normal administration continues on a weekly basis. There is a lot of behind the scenes offic work which takes up a lot of time. During our next trip we also will have a meeting for our representatives and volunteers. There is quite a lot to cover so we need much wisdom in planning and preparing for this. We will also have meetings in regard to future ministry while in Africa and so we need to have prepared well for this before travelling too. We like to have these things done well in advance of travelling as there is so much involved. We continue to appreciate your prayers for us here in UK and also in Kenya and Uganda. Please continue to pray for wisdom and guidance; for financial needs to be met and most of all for children to be saved. |
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August 2022
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