Dear friends
Lockdown came with a lot of good but also with some tears. Now it is mostly lifted as infection numbers reduce and we are free to travel out of Nairobi city and meet up with people. We are however encouraged to still take precautions. The curfew (9PM to 5AM) remains and schools are only operating online with the possibility of reopening if the infection rate continues dropping as it has been over the last few weeks.
One thing we’re thankful for in this time has been the ability through technology to keep in touch with those we have discipled, as well as friends. A highlight for Moses was reconnecting with Dan, a friend from his early time in missions reaching out among the Maasai in southern Kenya near the Tanzania border. Dan traveled with our outreach team for two months on outreach and later trained with YWAM. Since then, he has planted many churches and is now a theologically trained Bishop overseeing over 100 churches. He attributes his ministry zeal to the YWAM outreach training experience. So you can understand our excitement that in Chad, the DTS finished their Lecture phase and paused due to lockdown but when the lockdown was lifted they went on outreach. We were able to contact them in the Djoli zone of Manda National Park. Pastor Herve, who is on our leadership, and our dear friend Sarah are part of the outreach. Pray with us for their fruitfulness and security as the area can be a bit volatile.
Tears came as we lost one valuable team member in Chad, Myrom Collette, and could only join the grieving from afar through phone and WhatsApp calls. All our leaders in Moyen Chari province were able to attend the funeral. In spite of her long fight against breast cancer and sickle cell disease, her joyful and supportive disposition always shone through, and she was a much loved member of our team family. This bereavement coming after the loss in February of a dear friend who was the Biblical Studies leader and collaborator in Madagascar was hard to process but God is faithful and we would appreciate your prayers. Moses also assisted on a home visit for a grieving family and brought a word of comfort, and we are thankful for God’s presence in a trying time. We are also grateful for the recovery of dear friends from Covid-19; a family that Moses discipled 25 years ago. We continue to walk alongside families impacted by these uncertain times. On the local church front, Moses continues to liaise with local churches to come alongside those most impacted economically as well.
After a few weeks off in August, the kids are back in school (online) again for the next two months and will complete the school year at the end of October. Although the national ministry of education has made the decision that all students will repeat this grade level next year, (since the vast majority of students here in Kenya do not have access to online school, and have missed most of this year) we are trusting God for the time not to be wasted and that they will continue to learn and grow in wisdom and knowledge, even as they get taller and taller. :-) We have a milestone when Katelyn turns 13 in October, we’ll have four teens in the house. Lots of laughs and noisy discussions…. and a huge grocery bill!
Thank you for your prayers and partnership.
Moses, Jo, Josh, Zack, Marianna & Katy.
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