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July 2016
Prayer Supporters and Friends,
We are excited to be back in Kenya with the people that God has called us to minister to with the Gospel of Christ. We have been very busy, and we will try to give you the highlights so that you can continue to pray for our ministries here. We left Abigail and Breanne behind in the USA, so that they can complete Bible College. They have had a busy summer, working at daycares and being able to attend Camp BIMI in Chattanooga for a week, as well as stay with Tonya’s parents. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue their studies in August.
On arriving in Kenya, we had a supporting pastor and former missionary to Kenya and Tanzania, Pastor Tim Whitfield, with us on our first weekend; and a young man, David Smith, who is just out of college, on a survey trip with us for the next two weeks. We had a good time with them while we were getting settled.
We visited one of our rural churches about 2 1/2 hours away from Kisii with David Smith; so that he could see a village ministry, and we held an evangelistic meeting there. 10 adults were saved, and it was a great time! David preached in English, which was translated to Swahili, and then on to the Dholuo language (the tribal language in the village). So there were languages going in all different directions. It was fun! Getting there was not so fun though. It was raining when we got close to the village, and the roads are not good when it rains. We were sliding around and almost slid down into the ditch. So we used the bumper jack to push the truck back up to the center of the road. At this point, we noticed that a leaf spring had broken and slid over putting a hole in the gas tank (with a pen size stream coming out of it). As we continued our journey, David and some of our college students were pushing the vehicle back to the center of the road as I drove to keep us from sliding down into the ditch. When we finally got there covered in mud, and we were able to slow down the leak by putting a screw in the hole until we could get back to Kisii and fix it. I think it was a good missionary experience for David. Please pray for him as he prepares to do deputation and to get to the field as soon as possible.
There have been several blessings over the last few months and we thank our new supporters for taking us on. We were able to increase our support considerably during our furlough, and we know it will help us do so much more in our ministries here in Kenya. Thank you! Also thank you to everyone who prayed for or gave toward the purchase of a dependable vehicle for our family. We were able to buy a newer vehicle (Toyota Prado) since our return. We have had approximately $5,000 come in to help with the cost of $23,500, and we would appreciate your continued prayers for the rest of the needed funds to come in. Please consider a gift from your church to help with this need.
God bless you and thank you for your prayers.
For Souls in Kenya,
Luke and Tonya Shelby
