The view of Mt. Eglon is in plain view from Martin's village where Neil and Francis are teaching at the Riverside Ministries church leaders training conference. They will be leaving for George's church on Tuesday morning. The Kenya/Uganda border is right across the top of Mt. Eglon where there is a national park with hiking trails. There are resorts in the park offering safari rides. When asked if Neil ever goes on a safari, he explains that for the price of a safari, we can support several Kenyan families for a year.
Neil finds pleasure in God's creation while in Kenya. Star gazing is delightful, because there is very little light polution so far from large cities, and the number of hours of daylight versus nighttime are equal on the equator. When he gets up during the night to make his way outside to use the loo, the sky is filled with stars. So far, he has enjoyed Orion, the constellation that can be seen in the northern hemispher in winter and the southern hemisphere in summer. It actually straddles the celestial equator, so in Kenya Orion can be seen all year around. But one constellation that surprised Neil is the Big Dipper, which is partially visible now in March in Kenya.
Martin's conference began last night after Neil and Francis arrived. It is already 3:00 a.m. Kenya time (7:00 p.m. Minnesota time). Martin is one of the pastors who received a sound system in March through gifts to Outfitters for Adventure. Martin's people were filled with awe that people here in the USA who have never met, would give them such a wonderful gift. Their joy sent their worship of Jesus to a higher level.
Neil was invited to speak in Martin's church, because Martin has been using Neil's book, "Navigating Life: A Mentoring Toolkit," as a training manual. Although not all of Neil's jokes made it through the cultural differences to create laughter, Vincent, one of Martin's students, wants Neil to mentor him. Neil is wonderring how that can work when there is no internet for Zoom conversations. Vincent and his wife Annette process and sell honey to support their family, so they work very hard. Another man in the church by the name of Tim, has also appreciated Neil's book. Even our friend Joe in Nairobi requested 2 copies of our book for his school. Thankfully, we had 500 copies published in Kenya a couple of years ago, so there is an abundant supply.
This year, the Holy Spirit has been inspiring Neil with messages during the worship. The prepared messages Neil brought with him have been pushed aside as Neil lets the Holy Spirit take over. Much excitement took place today with 2 children dedicating their lives to serving Jesus during Sunday School, and 3 more conversions during a crusade the church members were conducting down the street from the church. Neil told Martin to prepare a place for baptisms after church. Martin found a pool in a little creek nearby where 16 believers gave their testimonies and were dipped by the person who was most influential in leading them to Jesus. Martin was kept rather busy baptizing about half of the group. Martin overcame a drinking habit when he became a Christian, and that has inspired others to do the same. Martin's wife Sarah and his daughter Ruth have helped Martin in his ministry.
The other person chosen by popular demand to baptize the children was a leader in the Sunday School. The creek has rather steep 4-feet banks covered with slippery mud. The Sunday School leader had difficuly, slipping back down the bank into the water. Francis is tall enough to reach her, but she is rather poofy, and he couldn't get enough traction to pull her out until Neil and the others anchored Francis to the higher ground pulling both Francis and the woman out of the muck and the mire. Her Sunday best was in disarray, but her delight in completion of the baptisms was in no way dampened. That minor mishap will help make the day more memorable as the story is retold.
Neil and Francis have tried to send pictures, but there is no internet in Martin's village. Hopefully as they head into the Kisii District, their pictures and text messages will come through with no difficulty.
Prayer Requests:
- For Martin's training of pastors to help young leaders to become well founded in their love of Jesus and in their love of the Bible.
- For the Holy Spirit to intensify the teaching tomorrow that Jesus will be imprinted on the hearts and minds of those attending, and not forgotten as they head back home to their busy lives.
- For continued good rest for Neil and Francis when it is available.
- For safe travel.
- For good health, not only for Neil and Francis, but for the Kenyans they are visiting.
