NOT SO USUAL...

Since forming Burning Plow Ministries earlier this year we have been seeking God to show us areas to assist here in Kenya.  We feel God’s leading to help feed and clothe the poor, teach Bible and evangelize.  Here is Don’s account of a project that presented itself to us recently.

Just outside of Nairobi, on the northwest side, there is a small village called “Kawaida”. Kawaida in the Swahili language means “usual”. The village is surrounded by coffee and tea farms and is in a central location and convenient for the farm workers. In fact, this village is where many of them shop.

Vincent Mokaya and I became acquainted in 2010 and since then we have visited together many times. Becky and I have eaten in his home with he and his wife, Peris and I have taught twice in the church that he serves that has been meeting in homes on one of the farms. 

With the relocation of many workers from one farm to another and also because of the limited meeting times due to farm regulations, it became apparent that a more permanent location outside of the farm was needed. After searching and praying for many months, it seemed that it was now God’s timing to plant the new church in the village of Kawaida.

On Monday, April 30 we met at the chosen location, signed the rental agreement, and paid a building deposit and the first month’s rent. Burning Plow Ministries has committed to pay the building deposit and the rent for 6 months after which time the rent become the responsibility of the church.

The church has met for the last 2 Sundays. Those attending come from the home church, the un-churched, and the unsaved in the community. We are encouraged by the welcome from the community and the desire for some serious Bible teaching. Becky, Silas, and I will begin on Sunday, May 27^th to teach introductory Christian doctrines on Sunday afternoons and to serve a lunch meal to the attendees. I introduced the teaching to them as I preached at the church service on May 6^th.

We are excited about what God is doing in Kawaida. The community should no longer be known as “usual” but instead for the believers there to be known for their new life in Christ with a “glorious hope and a future in Christ”. In your prayers, please remember our ministry there and the new and excited believers eager to learn more about their new life with Jesus!

Blessings,

Don & Becky 

I WANT TO GIVE...

This is Don's great niece, Liberty. Her Mom and Dad share with her what we are doing here in Kenya. Last year Don posted a photo of himself with a little boy we met in a remote village whose clothes were literally rags. Liberty decided she wanted to do something to help Uncle Don clothe the children. On Thanksgiving day she presented Don with a Zip-lock bag of coins! We were so touched by her desire to help other children. 

When we returned to Kenya at the first of this year, we purchased 100 pieces of clothing in different children's sizes with the $28 US Liberty gave us. Here is what we purchased:

We took the clothes, food and Bibles in March to two rural villages near Kibweizi south of Nairobi. We did not have enough clothes for everyone, so the villagers decided who needed them the most.

  

These children were thrilled to get new clothes! We were thrilled to see what a difference one photo, seen by one little girl in the US could do. Liberty's willingness to share what she had to bless those who will never be able to repay her showed us how God works. We were honored to be able to see Him in action!

I'll be posting soon about the work we did with ABC Kids in a Maasai village on the border of Tanzania at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro.  It was a week of hard work but wonderful opportunities.

Blessings,

Becky & Don

Blankets

(Hi everyone! Melissa Gross here to share a story about blankets!)

Yes, blankets. It all started last fall as the Ladies' Leadership Team at Faith Fellowship Church in Lucas, Texas, was planning for our fall retreat. We were using the Wonder Full World curriculum where each session focused on a different continent. It just so happened that the theme for the session on Africa included a service project to create (and then donate) blankets. I knew it would be perfect if those blankets could actually end up in Africa, so I emailed Becky to see if there was a need and her quick reply was "YES!"

Before the retreat, several volunteers cut and basted the material. Then during the retreat our ladies worked in pairs to tie them together.

We took time to pray over the blankets, asking that the Lord would bless the recipients and that His light would shine into their lives through our labor of love.

Earlier this year, Don & Becky delivered those blankets to expectant moms, mothers with new babies, and pastor's wives in two rural villages in Kenya. Becky says, "They were 'warmly' received. Kenyans are very cold natured and these blankets were a welcomed blessing. I know they are appreciating them even more now that the rainy season is here."

It's so exciting to be a part of helping to meet the physical needs of the people so that the Gospel can be spread around the world!