From Don...

It goes like this. As part of our volunteer work with Biblical Life Ministries to provide post-graduate support for the pastors who have graduated from Bible School in a Briefcase, Becky and I are travelling to two villages in rural Kenya during the next 2 weeks to teach Basic Christian Discipleship. The topics are:

·         Who is God?

·         The Holy Bible

·         In the Beginning

·         Salvation

·         The Holy Trinity

·         The Holy Spirit

·         Prayer

·         Water Baptism

·         Holy Communion

·         Life After Death

·         Resurrection of the Dead

·         The Ministry of the Believer

Why do we need to teach such basics? First, all Christians, no matter how long they have been walking with Jesus, can benefit from a refresher. Second, many of those who will be in our class have never been taught. Third, the churches need to be ready to teach new Christians that we hope will come as a result of our showing the Jesus Film outdoors in their village market place.  I did not find a single church in our target area that already had a discipleship class in place.

So, who are we teaching? We are teaching the teachers. We have 25 people signed up for the first 2 day class and 33 for the second. Each pastor that is working with us has been asked to identify 2 people in their church who can take our class and then be ready to teach it themselves. I have prepared a 46 page book that contains lesson plans for each of the above topics which I will leave with each student/teacher. They can then use these lesson plans for 3 months’ worth of weekly teaching.

The churches that we work with are almost exclusively among the very poorest people of Kenya. Many of them can barely afford the staples of the Kenyan diet: corn, chapatti (flat bread), rice and beans. To make it even worse, the area where we are currently working is suffering a severe drought. This is one reason why we are providing food for all our students (at no cost to them) at the noon meal on our class days. 

Also, many of the student teachers have no Bible of their own. I really think that if someone is to be given the responsibility to teach the Bible, it would be of great benefit if they had their own copy. Therefore, Becky and I have made the commitment that each person that completes our class will receive a brand new Bible in the language of their choice.

Our cost for all this, including fuel for our vehicle and generator and our room and board, comes to about (in U.S. currency) $1,500 to $1,600. Quite a bargain!  Thank you so much to our friends, prayer team and our financial donors who make this work possible.

Don and Becky Cameron

Our Work Continues....

Our work here has taken us to Nyamira to scout out a venue  for the next Bible School in a Briefcase and collect applications from pastors.  The area is beautiful and the air is cool and fresh.  We toured three venues around the village.  One is in a corn field next to the main highway.  Another is high on the mountain top and the third is near town.  We are looking for a church that is centrally located in the town with plenty of room, with good lighting and place for the kitchen.  Please pray that we can find a good location soon.

A member of the Kenyan Board of BLM, Pastor Paul Sitati, went with us.  Pastor Paul has been praying for many years that the Bible School in a Briefcase would come to Nyamira.  He collected the applications and made sure the applications were complete.  He pastors a church in Nairobi but his heart was that the pastors in Nyamira would have the opportunity to attend Bible School.  This is  the type of  people we are privileged to work with!

Our next trip is this weekend (June 25-26) to Kitui.  We will meet with Pastor Ambrose Muluvo Wingi to prepare for a discipleship training class.  After we hold the training we will return to Kitui and show The Jesus Film in July.  We realize the importance of having people trained to lead the new believers in discipleship BEFORE we show the movie.  Discipleship  training is vital to new believers becoming active and growing believers.

The church we attend, New Song, encourages members to also meet outside of church and so we have opened our home for Bible study and fellowship.  We have met twice with between 10-12 each time.  Mary, one of the neighbors, told me last time how happy she was that we were here teaching Bible!  That means so much to us!  Don is teaching on discipleship and doing a great job.

We want to thank everyone who continues to pray for our work here and give so we can go out into the villages to train and encourage the pastors in their home churches.  We are able to do our work because God has prompted others to give. 

Blessings,

Don and Becky

White Goat Mountain Has Bibles!!!

May 19th was a great day near Kibwezi, Kenya!  We met the Christ for the Nations International (CFNI) team in the early morning and then drove as far as possible on an unbelievably steep rocky path.  When we could drive no further the team carried the Bibles, and we hiked for over an hour to reach the village church.

 

When we arrived the church members warmly greeted us.  We shared a time of praise and worship and members of the CFNI team ministered.  The villagers thanked us for coming to their church and for bringing Bibles!!

After the time of ministry and prayer we presented the 40 Bibles to Pastor “Goliath”!  He was so happy and the people of the church were grateful.  They fed us lunch and then it was time for us to go. 

Just before we left, the pastor’s mother-in-law presented me (Becky) with a gourd she had made for our visit.  I was so honored.  The people of White Goat Mountain have so very little and yet they gave to us! 

We caught this “white goat” watching us leave.  We had been able to bless this remote village with the Word of God because of those who gave!  We thank you and the church members on White Goat Mountain thank you as well!  Long after we are gone, the Word of God will remain on the mountain to strengthen the people in their faith.  

We have much more to share about our time with the CFNI team.  Thank you for your continued prayers and support of our work here.  We could not do what we do without the prayers and support of our partners!  We thank you!

Don and Becky Cameron

BLM Missionaries in Kenya East Africa 

NOTES FROM THE VILLAGE

Last Tuesday and Wednesday (May 3-4) Don drove Kelly Johnson to meet with potential students of the Bible School in a Briefcase in the village of Nyamira, Kenya. Nyamira is a hard five hour drive from Nairobi. I stayed at home and caught up on paperwork. Some things are the same no matter where you live!

Here are Don’s journal notes from the trip…….

Our new car got its first real test driving up a steep and rocky mountain path, so narrow in places that vegetation was touching both sides of the vehicle. In one section, the angle of the road crossways was enough to be unnerving!

We finally reached the mountain church where we could actually turn around. Our destination was Pastor Henry’s house that was built into the slope of the mountain. We took tea and chapati, then prayed God’s blessings on the home and family before we departed. The mountainside was gorgeous. Everything is emerald green. Vegetation grows on every inch of soil. There are tea fields, bananas, maize (corn), beans. It was truly beautiful.

Our meeting with the pastors interested in attending Bible School took place in a small church made of sticks and mud.

The church was surrounded by field of maze (corn). The men and one lady were demonstrably interested. As the meeting progressed each one’s excitement grew and they began to feed on each other’s excitement. I’ll be surprised if there is even one that doesn’t sign up………….Don

We want to thank all of you who have been praying for us! We are asking those who wish to join us in prayer.

· Don is submitting immigration paperwork today. Please pray for favor with the Kenyan government. This can be a very drawn out process.

· Pray for the Johnsons and us as we prepare to host a team of 16 from Christ for Nations for three weeks of non-stop ministry. It will be exciting and we know prayer makes all the difference in the success of mission trips.

Next time I’ll share Don’s “Forgive Me” story! It is amazing!!

We love and appreciate your prayers and support! May God richly bless you for your heart for missions!

In HIS service,

Don and Becky
Kenya, East Africa

PRAYERS ANSWERED!

We arrived in Kenya late Wednesday night and it is now Monday afternoon.  We have really been busy!  We bought a car (the only one we looked at!).  It was love at first sight!  Tomorrow we will sign the lease on a house! 

The car is a 2003 Toyota Prado that seats 8 and will haul the equipment and generator so we can take “The Jesus Film” into the outlying villages.  The fact that it has air conditioning and good shock absorbers is an added plus.

The house is in a secure area, has four bedrooms, a nice patio and a plot for Don’s garden.  There are some minor repairs to be done before we can move in; but we should be in it before the first of May!  There is extra room for guests, so let us know when you want to come!

We are amazed at how much God has helped us accomplish in our first week here!   Our thanks goes to God and to all our friends and family that have been praying for us.  We are so grateful to the Johnsons for all their help and their hospitality.  They are taking really good care of us!

We also want to thank our Pastor, Brad Howard, and the people of LakeShore Church for a wonderful send off on Sunday, April 10!  Anna Holland and the Mission Council outdid themselves!  We were so blessed by the outpouring of love and support.  We are so honored to have the blessing of our home church as we follow where God is leading us.

We appreciate your prayers during this transition time.  Setting up a household here is not like "back home", it takes twice as long to do half as much!  Please pray we will have patience and wisdom.

Our prayer for you is that you will be blessed and strengthened in your faith!

Your missionaries in Kenya,

Don & Becky

And They're Off

(Hi everyone! Melissa Gross here. I’ve hijacked Don & Becky’s blog to give you a quick update and share some prayer requests with you!)

Don & Becky are on their way to Kenya for a two-year commitment to serve with Biblical Life Ministries! It is with mixed feelings that I type those words. Sadness, because I will miss seeing them and the convenience of picking up the telephone and calling anytime. I’ll miss Becky’s counsel and compassion and availability to meet for lunch. I’ll miss Don’s teaching at Home Group and his enthusiasm for the scriptures he’s studying. Yet, I also feel excitement and anticipation for all that the Lord is going to do in and through them as they serve Him. I can hardly wait for the praise reports to start filling this blog with the wonderful ways that God is moving in Kenya. I’m sure many of you are experiencing these same or similar emotions.

I love this photo of Don & Becky. Obviously it’s not the best photo, the lighting was not good, they’re not looking at the camera, and neither of them is smiling. But look closely, I see the look of humility on their faces. They were listening to others talk about and praise their commitment to serve, and they were humbled. They would be quick to point you to the Lord, to give all the praise to Him. From talking to both of them over the past few months I also know that they were awed and humbled by the prayer and financial support that they received. The Lord told them to GO and the support of others has only served to confirm that directive.

As I write this, Don & Becky are en route, aboard a plane somewhere between Dallas and Nairobi, and I would like to ask each of you to join with me in prayer. Here are the most pressing prayer needs at this time:

*Travel mercies & a safe arrival in Nairobi.

*Location & purchase of a reliable, affordable vehicle. This will be essential in the work that they will be doing, reaching out and ministering to graduates of the Bible School in a Briefcase program and sharing the Jesus film in remote areas.

*Safe, affordable, comfortable accommodations in Nairobi where they can "set up house."

FAREWELL

We hope our friends and family can join us at LakeShore Church, 5575 South Hwy 205, Rockwall, TX 75032 on Sunday, April 10th from 11:30 - 1:00 pm.

We would love to see you there!  This will be our last Sunday in the US before we leave on April 12th.