December 31, 2011

Praising God for the opportunities those serving as our Father's Heart, Hands and Voice have to proclaim the Eternal Gospel to all "who live on earth - to every nation, tribe, language and people." (Rev. 14:6) Thank you for supporting those who serve with the IMB in East Africa. Without the gifts to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Offering, your sending personnel to assist us, and most importantly your prayers, we would lack many needed resources which allow us to claim the gift of being "co-workers in God's service" (1 Cor 3:9).

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The link for the new 2012 Prayer Nudges from East Africa will be appear tomorrow as the last new post on this blog!

December 30, 2011

“Many Christmas gifts we exchanged and that the kids bought for each other were imported cheese, cereal, soda, chips, grapes and pears. Thrilled their little hearts! Presents that would have never been considered ‘gifts’ in our past life in the US ....so full of gratefulness.” Shared by a Missionary whose family has served in East Africa for almost 8 years! Praise God for providing His servants with the ability to adapt and the joy found when they are in THE PLACE where He calls them to serve as His Heart, Hands and Voice!

December 29, 2011

“The sound of Christian choirs singing Christmas music during the Islamic call to prayer while helping my mom fix curry fish without any power. Classic African!” Posted by a Missionary Kid, ‘home’ in East Africa during the Christmas break of his US college. Praise God today for the many experiences that are a part of an MK’s life – including having friends from around the world and experiencing other cultures. Pray also for strength, comfort and lots of good memories for MKs and their parents who are separated on holidays and special occasions. (Photo is not a Christmas decoration, but a bit of the clothing worn on special occasions by the People Group that this young man’s family ministered among.)

December 28, 2011

PURE JOY: The reaction of kids to the twirling/ blinking lights, colours and sounds at a Christmas Eve Concert at a Baptist church in Kenya’s capital city.  A missionary's reactions:  Disappointment when the first songs were not 'traditional' Christmas songs – followed by a realization that after one sings praise and worship songs, including "Here I am to worship… to bow down… to say that You're my God,” with representatives of many nations, tribes, peoples and languages, singing songs about the angels, shepherds and wise men bowing down to worship our Saviour is indescribable PURE JOY!

December 27, 2011

Missionary Volunteers are often found at work in East Africa. Many of these Volunteers are university students. Prayers are needed today for a very special group of university volunteers, a group of East African university students travelling to an area where many people are followers of a faith that does not claim our Father’s love and salvation. Pray for safe journey and open doors for these students who are using their Christmas breaks to share their stories of our Savior. Can you find the cross, part of their testimony, in this photo?

Dec 28th UPDATE from team after arriving safely at their destination: The students are great! They had a meal and orientation and are getting to bed. They haven't seen any mosquitoes! :) Pray for open hearts and changed lives!

Dec 29th UPDATE: "Praise! Found persons of peace to give water filters to. Persons of peace are those who are receptive to the messengers and can be a bridge into their communities. Please pray that more persons of peace will be found to give the remaining filters to. Also, many of the students have experienced very little outreach to the unreached. Pray that they would have a passion to see these hard to reach people come to Christ!"

December 26, 2011

In some parts of the world, new clothes are a part of celebrating Easter.  In East Africa, new clothing is more likely a part of the Christmas celebration.  Many worship services yesterday included a time for praising God and thanking Him for sending His Son, the giver of new life.   Pray for wisdom and boldness as East African Believers “Go … and tell the people the full message of this new life” (Acts 5:20) to the many People Groups in their part of the world who have not yet heard our Father’s Good News.

Christmas Eve/Day 2011

Krismasi Njema from East Africa! Thanking God today for the good news of great joy brought by the angel that was and is for all people - the birth of our Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.  Joining the great company of the heavenly host which appeared with the angel to the shepherds in praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on who his favour rests."  (Luke 2:9-14)

Today's photo is a gift for you - a gift guaranteed to make you smile:  The view of an elephant found among the shrubbery outside the home of an IMB missionary in Nairobi.

December 23, 2011

Yet another NOT A MANGER SCENE - but this banda viewed by a missionary Dad and his boys in an Ugandan game park last week could be a perfect Christmas pageant setting!  Claim Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit,” for those serving as our Father’s Heart, Hands and Voice in East Africa as they make needed ‘cultural’ adjustments as they celebrate our Savior’s birth –  such as including carved lions and other African animals beside the lambs and cows in their nativity displays or singing Silent Night in more than one language!

December 22, 2011

Another 'NOT A MANGER SCENE' setting, but a multi-purpose room used by the Toposa Team in South Sudan. On Tuesdays, the building erected thanks to the Lottie Moon Offering is used for a Women's Bible Study, at other times, it is used as the kitchen/dining area for the two Journeygirls working with this team.  Pray that the IMB personnel leading this study will find good language teachers so they share our Father’s Good News in the heart language of the Toposa – which is very important as there is not yet a Bible in their language!

December 21, 2011

“Going to Kalangala Island today. 3 hour ferry trip…  A new adventure begins” Two days later: “Went to see work started a couple of years ago… to encourage the Pastor, have a Bible Club for the kids, and a time of sharing with the Men and Women of the church. It all went differently from what we planned - it turned out much better.”  Photo: NOT A MANGER SCENE, but kids of Lutoboka Baptist Church playing in the women’s classroom.  Pray that this recent visit made by IMB missionaries to Lake Victoria, Uganda, will continue to bring glory to our Father.

December 20, 2011

EAST AFRICA: A place where modern and the ‘days of yore’ co-exist… where trenches are dug for internet cables, before water pipes are laid or lines for electricity… … where a ‘Christmas Wish List’ includes a cell phone to access Facebook… a cell phone that will be charged by a power system of batteries and diesel generators or solar panels!  Pray for wisdom and creativity for Believers as they serve as our Father’s Heart, Hands and Voice in the changing world of East Africa!
(Photo is of a matatu – a variation of the many options of mini-buses used for public transport in East Africa.)

December 19, 2011

A glittery holiday sale table, not Nativity or Santa or Nativity ornaments, but items for buyers celebrating a festival of another religion. Prayer Nudges from a couple called to be our Father’s Heart, Hands and Voice among those of other religions – “How would you cope if you never heard an encouraging word? One believer never hears anything nice from her family.  Pray that the messages she takes into her heart will be those that encourage and challenge her to live for Jesus in every situation as she struggles with pressures from unbelieving family members and their idolatrous practices."

December 18, 2011

Yes, a new word was pasted after Baba (father in Swahili) on the East African handcart and the border was added, but the rest is the scene spotted by a group of IMB missionaries in November!   Join those serving as our Father's Heart, Hands and Voice in praising God for the joys and perks He sends their way , as they request prayers for peace as many celebrate our Savior's birth far from their families - some for the first time. Pray for strength and comfort for those facing serious medical issues within their families - some far away.  

December 17, 2011

An unreached People Group fact that might surprise you: Once a Christian people, the Nubian People are now followers of another faith! Most Nubians are found in Egypt and Sudan, but 50,000 live in Uganda and Kenya. Another startling statement shared by the Joshua Project*: “Most (Nubian) tribes have not heard a clear presentation of the Gospel.” Pray that Believers will respond to our Father’s call to be His Heart, Hands and Voice among the Nubian People. * Nubians of Uganda- http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?peo3=12629&rog3=UG ; Nubians of Kenya http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?peo3=12629&rog3=KE

December 16, 2011

Praising God for the Christmas feast (ugali, stewed cabbage, beef stew, chicken, rice pilau and chapati ) enjoyed yesterday by the SEMA LEATHERWORK staff and their family and friends. The purpose of SEMA LEATHERWORKS is to enable a group of young pastors to provide daily bread for their families by making leather crafts and to have time to go into the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, to SEMA (Swahili for to speak, tell) the Good News of the one who is the Bread of Life, the Living Bread which gives life to the world (John 6:25-59). For more, go to: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sema-Leatherworks/116367071750964

December 15, 2011

As violence continues in the Democratic Republic of Congo, pray for safety for Believers and for opportunities to witness of the Prince of Peace. On a different continent, retired East African missionaries also need prayers. One couple shares: “We were members of a mission church, but felt that the Lord wanted us to work with African refugees. We visited a mission church with a group of French speaking Congolese on the last Sunday their African teacher was with them. The pastor asked us to teach their class… led by the Lord, we agreed to take the class of 20 adults and youth. They are a big blessing to us!” Another retiree shares her husband’s story:“Recuperating from heart failure, he has is staying occupied – He advises and counsels a Swahili speaking Congo refugee group that meets in our church. He preached in Swahili one Sunday sitting in his power chair!”

December 14, 2011

"You must live in a higher altitude until your health improves.” A missionary in tropical East Africa heard these words earlier this year. Discouraged, the man and his family accepted a new job among university students and moved ‘upcountry’ – although they still felt called to minister to their unreached People Group. Join this family in prayer as God uses them in a new way to draw others to Him and bring Him glory as He answers the desire of their hearts: “Planning a mission trip with 18 university students to our People Group during the December break. Pray that God would soften the hearts of those the students will encounter, for people of peace, and for the logistics of the trip - especially the food/cooking situation during the trip! Pray also for God's guidance and preparation as we offer Water Filters to families needing clean drinking water - families also in need of our Savior’s living water.”

December 13, 2011

Last weekend a couple serving in East Africa had a WOW moment. As they drank tangerine juice and ate paneer chapatis and chicken chapati wraps served with three sauces (hot, sizzling hot, and scorching hot) they realized they were the only people in the packed restaurant with green or blue eyes! Next came a realization that over half the diners wore clothing different from theirs, with many men wearing white, grey or black tunics (long shirt like garments) and women in black robes over their clothing and black or colorful scarves covering their hair. The husband asked: "How boring would our lives be if all the people around us looked like us?" Their next reaction: Praising God for allowing them to serve in East Africa, where so many People Groups come together, providing amazing opportunities to serve as our Father's Heart, Hands and Voice!

December 12, 2011

Shared by a Journeygirl working among the Toposa People: My new family, the missionary couple plus their boys (ages 11, 9, 4), the other journeygirl , and myself, spent the night out in a village. We set up our tents as well as a sheet and projector in a cleared area. Seven white people with funny looking cloth houses plus a loudspeaker attract a lot of attention in the middle of nowhere, South Sudan, … but it worked to our advantage… by dark there were almost THREE HUNDRED people gathered to see the Jesus Film … They loved pointing out the camels in the scenes… This was the first time most of them had seen a video… Ask God to encourage the new believers in this village. Thank God for saving so many people in that area and ask Him to help others understand what we are sharing. (Photo taken during an earlier visit to a village by the Journeygirl)

December 11, 2011 - SPECIAL THANK YOU!

Today's Prayer Nudge is a THANK YOU! Thank you for praying for those who serve as our Father's Heart, Hands and Voice in East Africa. It is also a thanks to God for the encouragement and strengthening He provides to workers in His Harvest Field - which His workers know is a result of your prayers! Sometimes encouraging joy comes from a letter from a prayer supporter or a visit with a grandchild on SKYPE! A moment of strengthening peace comes with an unexpected visit with Believers who are eager to share how God is at work in their lives or when a noon-time ballet/opera occurs in one’s yard, courtesy of a flock of Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters!

For a link to ten seconds of the “Ndege (Bird in Swahili) Sonata” which occurred on Dec 7th, in Nairobi, Kenya and definitely provided joy and peace to one IMB missionary go to: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/viayYX8l3JtRdAwwcWrxu9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink )

December 10, 2011

Francis, a Baptist pastor of 15 years, may have never heard of Lottie Moon, but his life has been transformed by the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO). “One of the original converts” of the Maasai People of Kenya, Francis was a child when he first met an IMB missionary working among the Maasai, thanks to the LMCO. After primary school, another IMB missionary convinced Francis to attend Mombasa Baptist High School, begun thanks to the LMCO, where an IMB missionary teacher helped Francis grow spiritually. After graduation, he assisted two more IMB missionaries working among his people. With their encouragement, he enrolled at the Kenya Baptist Theological College – also begun thanks to the LMCO. He had to drop-out one month before graduation in 1995, but today Francis is back in seminary, where some of his professors are IMB missionaries supported by the LMCO. Soon he will graduate, an equipped pastor ready to serve as His Fathers’ Heart, Hands and Voice among his people, where IMB missionaries no longer work as there are now trained/discipled Maasai Believers to share our Father’s Good News, THANKS to the LMCO!

December 9, 2011

VEHICULAR LANGUAGE – defined in Wikipedia as a “working language, bridge language… used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue.” Another definition: An open door for Believers in East Africa. Swahili is the ‘official language’ of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Swahili is an accepted ‘national language’, while it is a ‘Vehicular Language’ in Burundi and Rwanda. South Sudan, the world’s newest country, is teaching Swahili in school as a ‘vehicular language’ to supplement Arabic, an official language of Sudan, the country they separated from this year. Praise God today that Believers who have frequent opportunities to work/ study/ etc., in other parts of East Africa, can use Swahili as a ‘vehicular language’ as they serve as our Father’s Heart, Hands and Voice among those in need of His Good News, especially East Africans from People Groups with few Believers! (KINYOZI is Swahili for barber/ hairdresser.)

December 8, 2011

Pray today for strengthening and encouragement for those serving as our Father's Heart, Hands and Voice on international mission fields. Pray for balance as they view things that break their hearts (such as slum kids playing in trash) as they praise our Father for opportunities to minister (such as knowing that there is fresh water in the large black barrel and that there is an active sharing of our Father’s Good News at a nearby Baptist centre). Pray also for those facing medical problems. As you pray for good medical care and healing, pray for the added emotional healing required when needed treatments require moving their families to a place of adequate care or if they are on leave, telling a child eager to return ‘home’ to their place of service that their return to friends, pets, favorite toys is delayed.

December 7, 2011

Movement – a good word to describe ever growing African cities as thousands of people leave their rural areas daily in hope of a better life. Cities filled with people moving about to jobs and/or school, others moving in search of jobs and education. Many are searching for a safe place to sleep and store their possessions, while others search for food and water. People moving from one place of worship to another, trying different faiths, searching for true peace and joy. Pray today for the Believers in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Juba (South Sudan), Nairobi (Kenya), Bujumbura (Burundi), Kigali (Rwanda), and Kampala (Uganda). Pray that the word MOVEMENT describes their actions as they serve as our Father’s Heart, Hands and Voice among millions of people hoping to settle into the best life, the place of true life which is offered by our Saviour.

December 6, 2011

Baptists are known for carrying out the Great Commission – for sending missionaries who go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching new Believers to obey everything commanded by our Savior (Matthew 28:19,20). Three questions today: DID YOU KNOW that many non-Christian faiths spend lots of money sending missionaries around our world to testify and teach what they believe? DID YOU KNOW that sharing our Father’s love and salvation with a person of no faith is often less complicated than sharing with someone of a non-Christian faith? DID YOU KNOW that some Christian missionaries not only focus on sharing our Father’s Good News with followers of other faiths, they also teach Believers about these faiths and how to minister to followers of these faiths? Pray today for those who are our Father’s Heart, Hands and Voice among followers of faiths which do not offer the assurances of God’s love and salvation that Believers claim!

(Today’s photo is of a city along the Indian Ocean/East African coastline where many, many residents are followers of non-Christian faiths.)

December 5, 2011

What really makes a missionary of over 30 years feel like celebrating? Being in a worship service and hearing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation East African Baptists singing "Lord, you are good… People from every nation and every tongue, from generation to generation, We worship you."Added joy? Knowing the spiritual history of these worshippers – knowing that most are well discipled, some by early Baptist missionaries to East Africa and others discipled by those discipled by the missionaries – the multiplication process in action! Another joy? Knowing that most of these worshippers are active co-workers serving as our Father’s Heart, Hands and Voice in our world – a few as pastors, many as ‘home missionaries’ in prisons, universities, unreached people groups, etc., and many whose business jobs take them to places such as Egypt, Sudan, India and even war-torn Somalia – places where professional missionaries are not always welcome!

TODAY’S PHOTO: The girl’s father, a leader of home mission trips, recently left the business world to become a Baptist Pastor. As a youth, he was discipled by IMB missionaries with a heart for making disciples who make disciples. The girl’s mother is a prayer warrior for unreached Peoples in East Africa and an active disciple maker, who worked for many years for a religious organization sharing God’s Word via the radio to unreached peoples. She is also the daughter of one of the first East African church planters, a Tanzanian who began the Chamgamwe Baptist Church in the city of Mombasa, Kenya. WHICH makes the girl in the photo a 3rd generation East African Baptist and one who is already being discipled by an East African believer using a book published with the help of the Lottie Moon Offering – one more way her family has been touched by Lottie.

ADDED NOTE: Some IMB missionaries in East Africa focus on the Unengaged People Groups (no known sharing of our Father’s Good News), others on the Unreached (those touched, though sometimes barely, by the witness of Believers), and a few focus on what is known as the LEGACY. These men and women teach at seminaries and others teach in established Baptist churches and Bible Schools – all with the goal of strengthening and encouraging East African Believers as they serve as a multiplying army of workers in our Father’s Harvest Field, making disciples who will make more disciples who will make more disciples who….

December 4, 2011

A “testimony of saints continuing efforts to preach, teach and spread the Gospel," sent via e-mail by a Samburu man to IMB workers (on a short stateside leave) who work among the the man's East African People Group: “‘We are fine, my family is fine and all our churches are going well. We have baptized 22 at two places. Mbagas (one place) is alive again. I am working in the forest with morans team and j* is working with mamas teams. Our pre-school… and the training is going on well. Tell apiyo (8 year old MK) his animals are well. The cow is giving milk once a day … the people are missing your family… We have started two other schools for our evangelist teams… Pray for them because the mamas want to learn and read the Bible… The morans needs Bible … Say supa to all of your family.”

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A MULE and a CAMEL DERBY – both are tools funded in the past by the Lottie Moon Offering which opened doors to reach the Samburu People! For Memories of the first IMB missionaries among the unreached Samburu People Group can be found at the Special Praise Update athttp://bertandjackyates.blogspot.com/2010/12/december-15-2010-special-praise-update.html

December 3, 2011

Seven more Lottie Blessings from co-workers serving as our Fathers Heart, Hands and Voice among an East African People Group - which they describe as “ways you impact us personally when you give to the Lottie Moon Offering, which provided this year for: 1)Payment for renewal of our local work permits to reside in our country legally; 2) A homeschool conference for encouraging and training; 3) Homeschool books for our three kids; 4)Testing in to check the kids academic progress; 5) A thorough physical exam for the entire family which is done routinely every 4 years; 6)24 vaccinations to keep us safe from yellow fever, rabies, meningitis, etc.; 7)Pastoral care and encouragement from the Member Care team - sometimes missionaries need a pastor, too!” ADDED COMMENT: “Thank you for your role of encouragement in our lives and for your partnership in the Gospel with us.”

December 2, 2011

Not a “12 Days of Christmas,” but more than 12 Lottie Blessings shared by co-workers serving as our Fathers Heart, Hands and Voice among an East African People Group OR how God uses “the gifts from those who celebrate the Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions to keep us on the field, without your gifts our ministry would not be possible. 1)Rent for a safe and comfortable home; 2)Regular monthly support for our personal needs which helps us stay focused on ministry not finances; 3)Approximately 4,285 liters of diesel fuel for our vehicle to transport us for ministry; 4)Six oil changes, five flat tires, two fan belts, one air conditioner compressor…; 5)Travel funds for our supervisor to visit to encourage us and give us guidance; 6)A youth retreat for our older kids last year; 7)Encouragement and refreshment at a Cluster Meeting in April in Kenya.” More of their Lottie Blessings tomorrow.

December 1, 2011

Not a beautifully woven basket or colourful kitenge fabric, but an Indian purse sold in East Africa! People assume that missionaries to Africa focus on being our Father's Heart, Hands and Voice with ‘Africans’ – but "Jesus loves… all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white" covers the rainbow of skin tones found in East Africa. Did you know thousands of Indians live in East Africa? Some are descendants of builders of the the East African railway (19th century), while others came as traders from all over the world. Many descendants of former faraway colonial masters still call East Africa home. This means that many missionaries to East Africa learn languages such as Hindi, Gujarati, or Portuguese. Pray today for Believers in East Africa who must learn multiple languages and about many varied faiths to share our Father’s love and salvation with their friends, neighbors and shopkeepers!