Like Sheep Through the Wilderness

 

Psalm 78:52 But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness.

The picture above is of a Masai herdsman in the region Neil visited today.

Neil thanks everyone for their prayers. He can feel the Holy Spirit leading and guiding him --- and his digestive system seems to have finally adjusted to Kenya's food and water. In the 3-ring binder of interview materials, Neil asked me to include 20 new application forms for children and caregivers. He has already filled out all of those, and is now using the loose leaf notebook paper I also included. In one of the last families he interviewed from Hellen's church, all of the children are also HIV positive and their father is a drunkard. Some of the situations are so desperate.  

When I heard Neil was using the blank notebook paper, I made a list of the items that must be included from the worksheets, so we can match children with caregivers and caregivers with their churches. It becomes a frantic scramble to gather the missing bits from the pastors after Neil gets home. He assured me that he and Francis are doing a very good job, and called me "mom" again. 

I shared a prophetic word that our friend Brian gave at The Church in the Pines, Alexandria yesterday. I can't remember the exact words, but what I remember is:

The church building is not the church -- the people are. We are like seeds the Lord plants and then we need to grow. But like some pine seeds, there has to be a forest fire to open the seeds so they can sprout. Brian teared up as he continued. We wonder why these things are happening when we are in the fire, but the Lord wants us to know that he is with us in both the sorrow and the times of rejoicing.

Neil said he teared up when he read that word.

Then some friends of ours drove over to Morris in the afternoon to have a time of prayer for Neil and for me. What an encouragement! Our friend has been reading in Kings and came across the story of Josiah, the boy king who restored the temple after the scrolls of the law had been lost. We probably remember that part of the story, but what stood out this time our friend was reading was the part about the money used for rebuilding the temple:

2 Kings 22:3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord— 6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. 7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”

Just think how much trouble mankind would save ourselves if everyone could be honest in all our dealings with money? 

This morning before Neil left Sengera he visited the chief who has been very supportive of ROCK funds sent to care for the children and other humanitarian aid given through Outfitters for Adventure. The chief and his wife have been taking in more street children into their houses. There are 3 in particular whose parents had died and they had been wandering the streets. One little girl had gone from house to house hoping to be given just some food to live and maybe a place to sleep at night. When she arrived at the chief's house, they took her in and became a home for her. 

There is a story sent to those on our email list that I will not include on the blog. If you are receiving my emails, look for the email dated April 11.

Neil and Francis drove to Mary's village and she sent them to visit a young pastor who wants his church to become part of Riverside Ministries. Neil joined the prayer group from 5:30 to 6:30 before the evening service. As they finshed praying some young girls came in with 5 gallon jugs of water on their heads. When they picked up the empties to go back to fill them up, Neil stopped them and recruited the men to carry the jugs. Neil picked up two of the 2.5 gallon jugs for himself. It is 1/4th mile to the bottom of the steep hill to get the water. The 30-year-old pastor was gasping for breath, needing frequent rests on the return up the hill. What a great object lesson to help the men appreciate and learn to care for the women among them!

Francis helped Neil get more minutes to use on his phone. Neil called me from that village. It is right on the line between the Kisii people and the Masaii. There continues to be conflict between those two groups, so there are many orphans there. The pastor is a young man who relates very well with the children. After Neil preached today, he asked if anyone wanted to give their life to Jesus. Hands shot up, and about 50 children responded. Neil talked to the children about how Jesus is our shepherd and we are his sheep. Then Neil asked if the children knew how a sheep says "goodbye"? They didn't know, so Neil said, "baaa...." like a sheep. Soon all the children were saying, "baaa" to Neil as they waved to him. 

Thanks again for all of your prayers. Please continue to pray for Neil & Francis as they visit the rest of the churches in the Kisii District and along the border of Tanzania. They will need to find more gas, they need physical energy & health, but especially that they can hear clearly from the Holy Spirit and follow his leading.

Love,
Ruth