Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:7-10
Greetings Brethren,
Hope all of you are well both physically, and more importantly Spiritually, as we patiently await the return of our Lord and Savior. Your Kenyan Brethren send you their Highest Greetings, and Heartfelt Thanks for the help you continue to give them. They pray for you always, asking our Heavenly Father to bless you and protect you.
Services were held at the Rigo congregation, followed by 9 baptisms. Finding enough water to perform baptism is often a challenge here in Kenya. I can remember one time during a drought when the Nkatch congregation had to walk 6 hour to find enough water to baptize. It was a river, and they were not familiar with it, so much caution had to be taken to ensure there were no crocodiles or Hippopotamus nearby
In our last update we discussed how Kelvin and his younger brother Klein were quite destitute after their parents died, they had no food, no clothing, no bedding or bed for sleeping, and the metal roof of their mud house was leaking. Thanks to donors, those issues were addressed and satisfied. But there was still one more important need, a toilet. That issue has also been addressed. A toilet has now been dug, and constructed out of bricks. As you will see in the pictures below, only the doors are now needed to complete that project.
Currently there are two congregations still in need of help in constructing new toilets: “Itongo” & “Nyatike”. As mentioned in a previous update posted September 27th, at Nyatike the hole has already been dug by the brethren, but they lack the funds for constructing the floor and walls. So they continue to use the old one, but in fear of it collapsing. There has been numerous times in the past when the old rotted wooden toilet floor gave out and the user fell into the pit of fescues. None of our brethren have died from these accidents, but often have had broken arms and legs from the fall.
Nyatike old toilet with wooden floor and still in use.
In case you hadn’t seen the past update, here is a picture of their meeting hall. (The toilet is directly behind the hall.) They use the name “voice in the Wilderness Church of God” only because without a registered name they would be arrested. But as we always remind the brethren, the particular name we register with is quite trivial, and it doesn’t make any of us part of the God’s church. What does matter is IF we have and are led by His Spirit. Romans 8:9
Nyatike Church
Combined services were held at Kimase just outside of Bomet on Sabbath of December 17, 2022. There were 5 groups that came together with approximately 200 brethren in attendance. Thanks to you donors, rice, beans and porridge was served for lunch. The porridge consisted of wheat, maize flour, sugar and water.
The brethren were so happy to get together, and this is so important for us (the members of the household of faith) to be doing now, in these end times, as we “see” the day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25. Let us also remember that “Iron Sharpeneth Iron” Proverbs 27:17. And our various gifts are to benefit all. 1 Peter 4:10.
Currently I’m in Kenya. Schools have closed and the children are home for the worldly holidays. We are continuing to teach these children trades, so they can become self supportive after finishing their schooling. Today we have been painting. I explained to them the importance of being meticulous, like the Scripture says “what ever your hands finds to do, do it with your might” Ecclesiastes 9:10. We observed some of the poor workmanship that a previous painter had done, carelessly getting paint on the receptacle covers etc. We discussed how if we take pride in our work, and do the job right, that good reputation will bring additional work.
James and Papa (Isaac) hard at work.
As you know our goal for these children is for them to become self supportive. We have reported on a number of them who have established small businesses, like Wako (brian) who has his very own carpenter shop making furniture. Kelvin and Thomas with their own sewing shop making clothes. Now we have another one of our orphans who is self supportive, Ian. We taught him how to drive using the orphanage car a couple of years ago, and he acquired a divers license. He is now employed by a taxi service and is doing quite well.
Ian standing in front of the taxi he now drives.
Now that the children are out of school for the worldly holiday, and the school year has ended. We wanted to do something nice for them. So last week we took them swimming, and they loved it. It has been two years since their last swim, and the cost was quite reasonable at $2 per child, and $3 per teenager. They also took their lunch there. It was a wonderful day for them, as they finally got a chance to relax and play. (Attached is a video that was taken as they were eating lunch.) they are a wonderful bunch of God fearing children. Even the management at the resort commented numerous time how courteous and polite the children were.
A wonderful day of swimming
Now I’m hoping to give the children one more treat before they return back to school and start another school year. It would be wonderful to bring them to Kisumu, Kenya. It’s only a few hours away, located on the shores of Lake Victoria, which all but two of them have never seen. Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa, with shores in Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, and drained by the River Nile. Kisumu also has a zoo with a variety of wild animals which these orphans have never seen before. This would not only be educational for them, but would also be a wonderful experience that they would remember for the rest of their life, to see the beauty of our Heavenly Father’s creation. We would also attend Sabbath Services with the Brethren in Ramula. The only problem is funds. It wouldn’t cost a lot to bring them there on a 3 day excursion, but schools will also be opening soon after the worldly holidays, and funds will be needed for their school fees.