Dearest friends,
Greetings to you in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Harvest. May this find you filled with faith in Him.
Thank you so much for your consistent prayer support. I have seen the Lord using us to serve His people and they use their spiritual gifts by opening their homes for fellowship. Many have discovered this as a means of serving the Lord.
This month I was able to visit and encourage God’s people in these places…….
Kericho
During my visit I found that the leaders I had trained were still moving on in making disciples for the Lord.
The seven leaders in Africa Pentecostal Church have a clear vision for using small groups in their churches as a base for evangelism, daily Bible reading, discipleship, prayer and pastoral care. They have established 56 Daily Bible Ready (DBR) fellowships. I trained them in Step 2 and 3. They were excited.
I shared God's word at the times of the revival meetings and 23 people gave their hearts to the Lord.
I taught on prayer walking and how to identify a man of peace in new areas which are ripe for the Gospel through friendly house churches.
Londiani
While visiting, I trained nine leaders of Maranatha churches. We explored Step 1, 2 and 3. They had planted 32 DBR groups. Many more are coming in for they are committed in mobilization, discipleship and outreaches.
I helped some of the leaders who were worried about their positions in case they are thrown out. After sharing and praying, the Lord opened their spiritual eyes that they are co-workers. They were able to understand and became ready to reach out.
Many gave testimonies of how the Lord changed their lives through His word. Here is Ogembo’s story and how he has benefited from the daily reading of God's word:
“In the past, I felt disgusted with myself, but now I have self-respect and inner peace. I live a clean life and feel God's forgiveness and support. I married Karolin a beautiful Christian sister who loves Jesus as much as I do. Our home is a haven of peace. We feel truly privileged to be amongst clean and loving Jesus disciples. The church in our house is vibrant, winning souls to the Lord. We extend our love around our community. Five families have given their hearts to Christ. They are committed to being discipled and making other disciples for the Lord.”
Nakuru
During my visit I followed up the eight leaders I had trained in my last visit. They had made some progress and established 27 new DBR groups.
They have encountered the Lord through the DBR of His word. Surely c@hs (church@house) is one of the most practical and concrete ways to display brotherly love. As brothers and sisters in Christ we are now a close-knit family. We are together, love one another and care for one another. This is now happening because our doors are open.
Through the leading of the Holy Spirit, men of peace are found and more DBR groups being planted.
Altogether they have established more than 35 DBR groups within the whole church.
Some groups have experienced challenges in growth. They became larger in numbers and turned into churches, so they built tin churches who now have many house churches. Today they have given birth to many DBR groups all of whom do Gospel outreaches.
Lilian is recovering slowly after having gone for a minor surgery on her right ankle which they found had a gap. It is fixed with a screw to enable her to walk well. We praise the Lord for that. Lilian has become a pillar in helping the women.
Our children are back to school after that long holiday.
Our c@hs are moving on. We are encouraged and excited. Our church neighbours joined our group and received training. They are now able to do the same.
Sept 22 to 27 : in Kakamega
Sept 28 to 4 Oct : in Yala
Oct 6 to 12 : visit Vihiga
1) Pray for God's provision for our upkeep and for the children’s school fees.
2) Pray for our family: for safety and good health for this is our portion in Christ Jesus.
3) Pray for the churches visited and all c@hs leaders to be committed in serving the Lord and attracting many people to be Jesus followers.
4) Pray for all the areas visited over the past 2 months – and that the people will seek and serve the Lord. For the new converts to be adopted and encouraged by the house church families.
5) Pray for the wonderful youth outreach through Kensha Football – youth changed and villages now with Bible Reading homes. For Shaban as he leads and pioneers.
6) Pray for our missionaries in East Africa as we move to new places for evangelism and that God's favour will be upon us.
7) Pray for the peace of our nation Kenya.
Thank you very much.
God bless,
Pastor Bob, Lillian and the children