IT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING...

In January we were introduced to a young man we know as Emmanuel.  I wrote about him in the January 31st blog “Sufferer” to “God With Us”.  See cameronsinkenya.blogspot.com.  

When we visited Emmanuel’s home in April.  School was in recess and Emmanuel had left home to visit family in another village.  Their living conditions were sparse.  There were no beds, they sleep on the concrete floor of a storage building.   We delivered beds for the family and before leaving we arranged for a chicken coop to be built and delivered along with chickens and feed. 

 

We are glad to report that when we returned in August we found the chickens alive and well and providing eggs for the family.

 

We check on the family each time we are in Kibwezi and Pastor Shadrack and his church continue to assist.  Unfortunately, Emmanuel has returned to living on the streets of Kibwezi.  We don't see this as a failure, as we continue to help his family.  Please continue to pray for Emmanuel. 

 

We will continue to bless those who God show us need our help.  Pray we will have funds to continue to bless the less fortunate here in Kenya.

Blessings,

Don and Becky 

Five Shillings

Five Kenyan shillings is currently worth about 5.9 U.S. cents.  It’s not much.  But it brought tears to my eyes in a rural church here in Kenya.

We realize that when a typical Kenyan makes less than $5 per day, have to feed and clothe their family, buy water, pay rent, and pay school fees and buy uniforms to send their children to “free” public education, there’s very little left.  Being able to own a Bible in circumstances like these is a real luxury.

Thanks to the generous contributions from our ministry partners in America, we purchase Bibles for distribution here in Kenya.  We delivered a few Bibles to a pastor in the village of Chuluni to share with his people.  During the church service, the first man to ask for a Bible was a visitor from another area.  The pastor decided to give the man one of the Swahili Bibles.  After accepting the Bible and with tears in his eyes, the man said he had been praying for years for a Bible.  He was so grateful that he told the congregation that he wanted to participate in buying a Bible for someone else.  He didn’t have much, only 5 shillings, but he marched right down to the front of the church and placed the coin on the table in front of me.

Five shillings.  A sacrificial gift from the heart of a man in a remote village in Africa.  What a blessing.

We have distributed all the Bibles we have.  Bibles bring life to the believers and new converts.  Let us know if you would like to partner with this man in getting more Bibles for Kenyans. 

Blessings, 

Don & Becky

Foundations of Our Faith

We take Jesus’ command seriously: “Go therefore and MAKE DISCIPLES…” I have written a 50 page teacher’s guide designed to aid in getting new Christians established in the faith. We have recently completed translating it into the Swahili language. The book contains 14 lesson plans for teachers intended to give new converts a firm foundation for their continuing walk with Christ.

 

Within the next 2 months we will be showing “The Jesus Film” on three separate coffee and tea plantations. Before each showing of the film, we will conduct a class at that farm for volunteers who share our vision and zeal for making disciples. The people in the class that you see here live and work on one of these farms.

As people respond to the film and pray to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, these workers will each welcome a new believer and immediately make an appointment with each one of them individually for follow-up the next day and for as often as possible for at least the following two weeks, then weekly thereafter for the purpose of getting them established in their new faith. To get them in the habit of regular fellowship with a local congregation, they will not just invite them to church but will literally “take” them to church.

 



Silas Odinga and James Oduor, are assisting me with the teaching. I have been mentoring them and training them to conduct this class.They are now ready for me to release them toconduct the entire training themselves.

This particular class was conducted on March 16-17, 2013. For the second half of the training on Sunday afternoon, we had several additional students, but only those that attended both days received the certificate.

This Maasai man, Simon Itinga, heard about the meeting to be held on Saturday at the plantation where he worked and asked if he could attend. We agreed and welcomed him into the class. He is not in the picture on the previous page because he had to leave for work before the photo was taken. He also attended the Sunday afternoon session and received his completion certificate. As I was teaching how to share your personal testimony, I called on him. He did not readily speak up and so I asked him if he was saved. He said “No, but I’m ready.” Praise God! He became a follower of Christ right there in the class. The teaching is at work already because one of the men in the class volunteered to disciple him.

 
We have held two more classes in other areas since then.  On May 30th we are taking it to Kalambia, a new location for us.  

 

Don Cameron

 

COINS FOR A CAUSE!!!

 

 

 

We want to brag on our daughter in law, Stacy Cameron, for mobilizing the students at Pioneer Heritage Middle School in Frisco, Texas to provide readers for the students of Kawaida Primary School in Kenya.  Stacy is the librarian at PHMS and she visited Kawaida Primary in July.  When she returned to Texas she organized COINS FOR A CAUSE to help the Kawaida students.  The staff and students of PHMS raised $105!

On February 28th we delivered 48 approved readers to the school.  They will be available to the students to improve their English reading skills.

We continue to be encouraged and motivated by how God moves on the hearts of people to help the people of Kenya.  We believe that providing education is a huge part of helping Kenyans live and thrive. 

Thanks so much to the students and staff of Pioneer Heritage!  You have made a difference in the future of Kenya!

Becky & Don Cameron

 

Revelation Seminar, September 2012

I want to share about our last outreach in Kenya in 2012.  It took two months of hard work to prepare for, but it was great. We spent a total of 10 days this past September deep in the interior of rural Kenya on our most challenging event since we first moved to Kenya more than 2 years ago.

 

Our Revelation Seminar in the village of Chuluni was the best ever. Don taught for 5 full days. Everyone that attended took away a much better understanding of one of the most difficult books in the Bible.

A typical day during the seminar began about 9am with prayer and worship followed by class, then tea, then more classes, then lunch and then more classes until about 4pm. Our generator provided power for our sound system and the PowerPoint presentations.

 

As part of our training on giving, we provided our Revelation Study Guide only to those who would contribute to help feed the poor. Some of those attending the class were so poor that their only meal was the hot lunch we provided each day, but our understanding of Jesus’ teaching on giving did not exclude anyone from needing to give. One man handed to Don two lions that he had carved out of wood saying that he had no money to give, but wanted to bless him with the work of his hands. By the end of the week, we had collected enough money to purchase three 200 pound sacks of corn. This we distributed to people in the class instructing them to use some of the corn for themselves if they had need but reserve some to give to someone they might know who is hungry also, sharing the love and message of Christ as they go.

 

In the evenings, our Burning Plow evangelism team, James, Pastor Maunda, Silas, and Pastor Mokaya, took our generator, big screen, and sound equipment to different villages. They showed the Jesus Film (in the Swahili language) outdoors in the market places. Many, many people responded to the call to come to Christ because of their work.

James Odour, Shadrack Maunda, Silas Odinga, Vincent Mokaya 

This outreach was expensive and took a lot of hard work from a lot of people, but God moved on the hearts of many. That makes it all worthwhile.

Asante Bwana Yesu (Thank you Lord Jesus).

 

Don and Becky Cameron

 



"Sufferer" to "God With Us"!

Pastor Shadrack Maunda noticed him first. He was sitting beneath the sign that was his home during the day. Nights found him sleeping in the bushes. When it rained, a kind watchman at a nearby school allowed him shelter. His food was whatever he could find that was thrown out by others.

He was born into the Kamba tribe and was given a name which translated into English means “Sufferer”.  He is about 16 years old now and for the last several years his mind has not been clear. People considered him “mad”. The last time he was in school he was in Standard 1 (First grade). For some reason unknown to us he left his father and mother and went to live with an uncle who would beat him. When he ran away from his uncle, he did not return to his parents but instead began living on the streets of Kibwezi where he has been for at least the past 6 months. The timing is not clear because his memory has not been good. In fact, he seemed to be only vaguely aware of his surroundings.

 

The boy called "Sufferer" on Wednesday at the crusade

Shadrack saw that he was “not right” and went to his house to find some food to share with the boy. When he returned, the boy was gone. “Sufferer” then showed up the first night of our crusade in the village center. He was surrounded by small children and did not speak. He left before the end of the program. The next night he was back at the crusade and the speaker that night, Evangelist Ghiorghi Cazacu from Romania spoke directly to him sharing the love of Christ. Again he left before the altar call.

 

 

Thursday, after the visitors from America and Romania had departed, he returned to listen to the singing and preaching from Pastor Shadrack. At the altar call, Shadrack called him to come down to the front. As he came, Satan released his hold on him, he came to his right mind and began to speak, asking for Jesus to save him. He also prayed the he might be able to return to school and also be able to return home to his parents.

Pastor Shadrack took him home to his family. “Sufferer” was so filthy they immediately removed his clothes and bathed him. Amani, Shadrack’s 12 year old son, took the dirty clothes, doused them with kerosene and burned them. Amani then gave him some of his own clothes to wear. The next morning, Shadrack took him to a local fish hatchery, baptized him in an unused pond and gave him a new name. Amani said that he name is no longer “Sufferer” but he is from now on to be called “Emmanuel”.

 

"Emmanuel" today
 

Today marks one week from the day Emmanuel began his new life in Christ. His mind is still clear and he now has hope.

Emmanuel still has many challenges. His parents live in a house with no bed, no mattress and no food. His mother is ill, but has been sent to the hospital for treatment. His father is recovering from a broken leg and cannot work. We want to get Emmanuel away from the conditions that led to his previous problems, get him into school, and assign someone from the church to nurture him and disciple him. However he has to choose to do this. Please pray with us.

 

Pastor Shadrack’s church took an offering to buy him clothes (Amani’s clothes are too small) and enough food for his family for a few days.

 

We need to be able to provide beds for his parents and small sibling and also food for them until his father is able to return to work. We need to purchase more clothes for Emmanuel and a school uniform. We need to be able to pay his fees for school and buy food for him. Pastor Shadrack has offered to let him live in his home until he is more able to take care of himself.

 

Thanks be to God for leading Emmanuel to us. Please pray with us for God’s guidance, wisdom, and provision as we care for our new son/brother in Christ.

 

In HIS service in Kenya,

 

Don and Becky Cameron

ONE BRIGHT SUNNY DAY...

Don is writing the post this time!  

It was a sunny day in Ukambani. Most days are. This part of Kenya gets little rainfall which makes it difficult to grow food. Pastor Amos Wingi had taken us outside a small, remote village called Katulani. We were walking from hut to hut visiting with those that were most in need of food. We had bought 200 pounds of maise (corn) which is the most staple part of their diet. Each family that we visit will get enough to provide for them for several days. 

As we approached a hut a woman welcomed us warmly. “Karibu!”, she said. Her home was a small structure built from brick. Bricks in this area are the easiest building material to acquire. The red soil here is very full of clay. The people mix the soil with water, form the stiff mud into bricks and let them air dry. Then they stack them into a structure the shape of an oven with an open passage on the bottom where they build a fire to harden the bricks. Her home was maybe 8 by 10 feet with a roof made of straw. There is no kitchen inside; she cooks outside. There is no toilet inside, but a small community outhouse nearby. No electricity. No running water. The people that live in this area have to walk some distance to hand carry the water for their daily needs.

She was holding a baby in her arms as we began to share the gospel message with her. Her acceptance of Christ or even listening to us is not a requirement for our gift of food, but she listened eagerly and her eyes began to moisten when she said “I want to be a Christian.” We are tremendously thrilled when people realize that we are here because the God that sent us loves them. Life is hard in Ukambani. People struggle just for food, water and shelter. There are no luxuries here, only survival. Like this woman, many people turn to the local witch doctor for their spiritual needs. They need some kind of hope, but the hope that the witch doctor can provide is severely lacking and they know it. 

Knowing her current reliance on the witch doctor, I asked this woman if she was sure that she wanted to be a Christian. The reason I asked is because I know that she cannot serve both the spirits of the witch doctor and Jesus Christ. I warned her that if she accepted Christ today, then she cannot return to the witch doctor. She knew this. Tears rolled down her cheeks and onto her clothing. She said, “Yes, I want to become a Christian.” At that point, her teenage daughter who had been listening walked up with tears in her eyes and told us, “I want to be a Christian, also.”  

Emotional prayers of repentance that are forgotten by tomorrow are not what we seek. We look for a life changing event in a person’s life that will build them into a true disciple of Jesus Christ. We want them to find the relationship with Christ that will not only give them eternal life, but fill their life here on this earth with hope, joy, and peace. Didn’t Jesus tell us “Go into all the world and MAKE DISCIPLES…”? 

This pastor lives far from the people he works with and he has no means of transport except walking for hours or hiring motorcycle transport which he can little afford as he is very poor himself. We are praying that God will put it on someone’s heart to give $1,000 to purchase a motorcycle for him. Your gifts into the ministry of Burning Plow, no matter how large or small, help make it possible for us to reach people like this family in Katulani.  Please ask God how you can help.  And pray for all those working with Burning Plow Ministries.

Blessings,

Don (and Becky) Cameron