The Watches of the Night

Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at every street corner. (Lamentations 2:19, NIV)

Neil says he is sleeping better, but I still am receiving text messages from his phone throughout the night. He is like a night watchman praying for things that come to mind. There are so many people who need Jesus to heal, guide, and deliver them. And then there are those who need provisions. 

His day began with a prayer meeting at 5:30 with some of the people from Hellen's church. Her house is on a west facing hill where there is a great view of the sunrise. Neil enjoyed watching two planets in the eastern sky as he was heading to the prayer meeting. Later at breakfast Hellen's husband tried some of Neil's cajon seasoning on a salad. They don't have many spices, and really appreciate the seasoning Neil gives them. 

Today Neil and Francis visited two of the smaller churches. They interviewed our ROCK (Reach Out to the Children of Kenya) children and were also asked to preach. Before the first service, they walked to a house to pray for a recent amputee. Please pray for healing for this dear fellow! The children at the service sang and danced in worship. In his sermon Neil asked what happens if we have prayed to receive Jesus, and then just before a bad accident like being hit by a semi that takes our life we say a very bad word. Will we go to heaven? They thought we would be forgiven for saying a bad word if we saw we were about to be run over by a semi. Then Neil used an illustration that was a little more graphic, and the people had to wrestle a little longer before they answered. Neil's point was that Jesus' blood covers all of yesterday's, today's, and even tomorrow's sins when we truly put our trust in him and give him our life. 

One person gave his life to the Lord. Neil said the poor kid got frightened when Neil invited him to stand beside Neil. He had raised his hand that he wanted prayer to accept Jesus, but when he came up front, he froze and wasn't able to pray. So afterwards Neil asked to be forgiven for putting him under pressure up front. Then Neil asked if the young man still wanted to give his life to Jesus. "Yup!" So they prayed together. Another fellow who had walked away from Jesus, decided to turn back to follow Jesus again. The pastor also brought Neil to visit another home. There the man who had attended the service, but his wife had stayed home. The man is an alcoholic and needed deliverance. They prayed for deliverance from some demons, and then Neil told the man he needed to ask his wife to forgive him. The wife's eyes filled with tears. Please pray for that man to be totally set free from alcohol, and for him to begin treating his wife like one of God's precious daughters.

After the service, they attended a funeral for one of Hellen's HIV/AIDS clients. Then they returned to Hellen's for dinner. Neil fixed himself a beautiful salad from beans, spring onions, avocado, and tomatoes. He said it was the best meal he has had in Kenya. But --- Neil said his tummy was off again so he had to go to bed and let Francis take over preaching at the service. Please continue to pray for Neil's digestive system. I was tempted to say something about the ingredients in that tasty salad, but didn't want to be called "mom" again. 

It is now 5:00 a.m. in Kenya. Neil said his tummy is better, and he is joining the saints for pre-service prayer at the church. The SIM card in his phone is running low on minutes, so Neil didn't talk with me today, but continued to send text message. The SIM cards in the remote villages have only a few minutes on them. Please pray that he can continue to use his phone, and also please pray they will find gas for the vehicle and for the generator for the sound system.

Thanks again for your prayers.

Love
Ruth