A Busy Weekend!

Hello to all of you! We pray that this "post" finds you and your family doing well.

We had a VERY busy weekend, but it was wonderful to see the Lord working in the lives of our people here in Kisii Town.

Saturday began with:

1. "Children's Workers" meeting at 9 AM.
2. Visitation at 10 AM to 12 PM.
3. 11 AM our family went to make a "Home Visit" to a mother and new baby (we got back to town around 4:30 PM). A "Home Visit" is when we go to the home of a mother and new baby to welcome the baby. The tradition here is that a mother and baby do not leave home until the baby is 3 to 4 weeks old, so we go at this time to welcome them both back to church. Usually the mother and baby are able to come to church the next Sunday, depending on their health and distance from town.
4. Calvary BC Ladies also made a "Home Visit" to another mother from 12 to 3 PM. It was wonderful to see 12 ladies come out to visit this mother. They took up an offering (ksh. 1,300/= which is about $17) among themselves, and then used that money to buy items for the baby and mother. It is always a blessing to see our people reaching out to meet the needs of others! This has been a long time in coming for some of these ladies (people of the Kisii Tribe are known for their greed, selfishness, and hard-heartedness).
5. Youth basketball (boys) practice & youth choir (girls) practice was from 3 to 6 PM.
6. Then we were able to pick up a few groceries and head home to fix supper and prepare for Sunday services.

Please pray for these mothers and their babies: Winnie Maiko & daughter-Ann, Cecilia Paul & son-Luka. The statistics for our region in Kenya state that only 1 of every 10 children born will reach the age of 5! So, these babies really need your prayers. We had another lady in our church, named Caroline, who just had her baby on Saturday; Caroline was only 7 months along in her pregnancy, so she and the baby are both in the ICU at this time. Luke was able to get in to see her at the hospital since he is her Pastor, but the doctors are very concerned about the baby's health (weighs about 2 lbs.). Please pray for Caroline & her baby also.

Sunday we began with:

1. Men's prayer meeting at 9:30 AM. (We also found out at this time that our Youth Leader - Bro. Tom Maronga - was admitted to the hospital overnight. He has severe pneumonia, and is currently still in the hospital. Please remember him in your prayers too.)
2. Sunday school classes at 10 AM.
3. Morning Worship at 11 AM to 1 PM.
4. Quick lunch.
5. Youth (ages 13-19) Meeting from 2 PM to 5:30m PM. (We had prayer, a devotion, juice, choir practice, then indoor and outdoor games for all of the youth.) We had 30 youth come out for this meeting. Our youth class has been steadily growing over the past couple of months, and we thank the Lord for allowing us to minister to this next generation of leaders. Please pray that these young people will see the need to witness to their friends, and that they will have a burden to serve the Lord in ALL areas of their lives.

After playing basketball, football, and table games we were all quite worn out. But we had a wonderful time with these young people. The Youth Class will be taking care of the services (song leading, praying, ushering, singing all the special music, Bible reading, giving their testimonies) this next Sunday. So, please be in prayer with them about this Sunday's (10th) Services. Some of them are VERY nervous!

We really appreciate all of your prayers for our family and for our various outreach ministries. Thank you so much! May God richly bless you this week.

~The Shelby Family~