Friday 25 February 2011

January - February 2011 Prayer Letter

Dear Supporters and Friends, January—February 2011

We are glad to be writing you from the warm highlands of Kisii, Kenya; where the temperatures are ranging from over 100 degrees down into the 80’s at night. Kay-Leigh got her answer to prayer for snow on Christmas Day, but she kept praying and wanting more snow. And it almost caused us to miss our flight to Kenya, because we woke up to 6 inches of snow the morning we were to fly out of Little Rock. We have been able to get settled back in here, and most of our things are unpacked. We are waiting for the shipment of our crates, which should be arriving in April, which have the things that we gathered during furlough to use here in the work.

We have been able to meet with all of the pastors and leaders of our churches, and Bible College classes began the last week of January. We just finished the second month of classes; we have six new students, and seven others who are expected to graduate the three year course in December. This week 11 souls were saved during College soul-winning. God is good! We have scheduled most of the activities for the year, and we are excited about what God has in store for us this term. We are glad to see the stability of many of these men who are being examples to their own people. Though we have not visited the churches yet, we are encouraged by the reports that we have received. Updates on each of our ministries will be available through our website as we visit them.

We have also been able to organize and set a plan to begin our “Orphan Care Ministry.” We spoke to the pastors and asked them to get the number of orphans that their church members are caring for as guardians. This week as I spoke to them the second time (this report is from only 9 of our churches), we have a number that has been narrowed down to 101 children. These 101 children are classified as “destitute double orphans;” This means that both of their parents have died, and the guardians are not able to adequately take care of these children. There are many more poor children in these areas that these pastors would like to help, but our resources are very limited. We need to have over $1,500 a month support just for the visitation program of these few children. This visitation program allows us to visit in each child’s home and deliver a small care package (food and toiletry items) to them each month. With us being here and seeing these children face to face, it is so much more personal. We feel that we need to help all that we can in this visitation process, even if it is just a small “handful of purpose.” And that purpose is to get the Word of God into each of these homes so that souls will come to know Christ as their Savior. Please help us with small “handfuls of purpose” as we endeavor to reach these villages for Christ.

We have identified three locations already to set up Local Church Children’s Facilities based on land, security, and the number of orphans. The pastors are helping us by getting the personal details of each child, and we will be looking at the most needy children that we will be able to raise in these Local Church Children’s Facilities. We still have several steps to complete before we start the facilities; and as we visit the orphans in their homes over the next few months, it will give us time to know the most pressing needs and to train those who will care for them at each of the churches. Please pray for us and for the local leaders in these churches to use Godly wisdom in making the needed decisions in the weeks and months ahead.

We will be updating the “Orphan Care Ministry” with pictures and details about the children on our website, when we receive the information. Please visit our website (www.shelbysinkenya.org or www.shelbysinkenya.com) and pray for these children to receive the help that they so desperately need. God bless you.

For Souls in Kenya
Luke and Tonya Shelby
Missionaries in Kenya

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