Our Family is Growing & Kenya is Re-opening!

 September - November 2020

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Thank you for your prayers and support for our family through the difficulties of the corona virus lockdowns.  We were able to all come to the States for a short furlough for the wedding of our second daughter, Breanne. We will be in the states until after Thanksgiving, which is my Mom’s favorite time of the year.  It will be a blessing to share this time with all or our family together for maybe the last time in several years.  

As some of you may remember, my Dad went home to be with the Lord in June, while we were locked down in Kenya.  It was a very trying time for us as we also missed our oldest daughter’s wedding in person a few weeks earlier.  We were encouraged by several people and the Word of God.  These words, “And we know that ALL THINGS work together for good” and “HIS GRACE is sufficient” are so powerful in times like these.  Looking back at so many things that took place this year in many of our lives, it is evident that God has always been at work in all of the events of 2020.  I keep asking myself this question, “How can something so difficult, become so easy to handle?”  The answer is in those verses that GOD’S WILL and GOD’S GRACE make “ALL THINGS POSSIBLE” and all things bearable as well.

Wedding for Jeremy and Breanne Martin

It was a really special day for Breanne and Jeremy on October 24th; a special time that we had together in the weeks leading up to the wedding as we got to know Jeremy, got to spend time with Breanne, and got to see the love that they have for each other.  We have also been able to spend time with Abigail and Robert and hear about the special times that we missed during their wedding.   I am thankful to the Lord for His help in raising up these young ladies to have a desire to serve the Lord and stay pure.  And at the same time God’s leading these young men of God to follow His will, and through His providence putting them together in a way that we can only say that God was in charge of all of it.  Only God could arrange things the way that they have come about.

Jeremy and Breanne Martin will be heading to Mongolia in May of 2021.  Pray that the country’s borders open back up soon after the Corona virus lockdowns.

Robert and Abigail Cepec will be starting deputation to the field of Guyana after they work for a year of Internship at our home church in Arkansas.

RE-OPENING IN KENYA

Kenya is continuing to reopen with church services requiring masks and social distancing, but most of the activities in open air markets are returning to normal.  Schools have cautiously reopened in October, with the older students first, but all should be heading back to school by January.  Our Bible College is continuing well in 7 different local churches.  The pastors there are doing a great job, and we are looking forward to bringing them all to Kisii for a Conference in December, as they take their final exams together after we return to Kenya. 

We are excited about the new year and what it will bring.  I believe that this year has made the faithful men and women in our churches much stronger in their dependance on the Lord.   I believe that God will open up many doors and that there will be an expansion of our ministry in the area of Church Planting and training through our Bible College in 2021.  We continually thank the Lord for your faithfulness.  God bless you.

For Souls in Kenya,

Luke and Tonya Shelby

July-August 2020 Prayer Letter & Covid-19 Updates

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Dear Prayer Supporters and Friends,                                                                   July-August 2020

 

Greetings from Kenya!  We pray that this letter finds each of you doing well.  We know that there have been a lot of changes in the way all of us have needed to proceed with life in the midst of a world living with Covid-19.  But we are so thankful for the Lord’s watch care and provision during these months. 

Here in Kenya, churches have begun re-opening, although with many restrictions in place: only ages 13-58 only are able to attend, services can only be an hour long, and there must be 6 feet between each person..   So even some of our older Pastors are unable to attend their own church and have left the re-opening to some younger men they have trained to lead the services.  And our ladies who are caring for smaller children cannot attend yet. Basically one person from each family is attending the service, and they are relaying the message to the rest of the family.  The size of the building dictates how many you can have for the service.  With some of the churches having small buildings, they have opted to bring the chairs outside and meet under trees.  This is how many of our churches began in the first place, and we are thankful for the faithful members of all the churches being willing to meet outdoors so that church services can resume.

Concerning our Bible College, we had already been working on a plan for each church to train its own people; but due to Covid-19 and its restrictions, we will go ahead shift everything to the authority of the local trained Pastor to lead the Bible College in his church this year instead of in the future. This will help the Pastors to be able to train more of their own people.  He will train them 4 hours spread throughout each week (due to the restrictions on gathering together), and they will not have to travel away from home.  This will set up 8 satellite branches of our Bible College which will accommodate all of the current students, and it could easily expand to more churches by the beginning of the 2021 school year.  All of the Pastors are on board with this plan, and we are excited about getting things going again.  Please pray that it will be possible to implement this plan fully, and that we will not have any issues with the virus or  other hindrances.

We were even able to get our 3 year work permit renewed during Covid-19 lockdown!  That in itself is a miracle, and thank each of you who has been praying with us concerning this.  

We are expecting our shipping container the middle of August.  The Matthew Rose family and Erica Bohman are also planning to arrive this month to begin their first terms on the field, since the Kenya is also re-opening its borders and allowing international flights to begin this month.  

Our second daughter, Breanne, and Jeremy Martin got engaged on July 10th, and they will be planning to have their wedding in the Fall, or whenever we can travel back to the States once Covid-19 lockdowns ease.  We are waiting for Kenya to open up for international flights in the next few days.  Their goal wedding date is October 24, 2020, and updates will be available at https://www.theknot.com/jeremyandbreanne  Please be in prayer for their preparations and for the needed travel arrangements on our side of the world!  We also want to say that we recommend him to your church for monthly support, if it is possible for your church to have him come to present his ministry to your church either in person or virtually.  He has a presentation on his Facebook page (Jeremy Martin) that you can view, and you can contact him at +1 (615) 318-3621 or mongoliaforchrist@gmail.com  Thank you for considering him as your next missionary.

For Souls in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby

Missionaries in Kenya

Breanne & Jeremy are Engaged!

Our daughter, Breanne, and Jeremy Martin got engaged on July 10th, and they will be planning to have their wedding in the Fall, or whenever we can travel back to the States once Covid-19 lockdowns ease.  We are waiting for Kenya to open up for international flights in the next few days.  Their goal wedding date is October 24, 2020, and updates will be available at https://www.theknot.com/jeremyandbreanne.  Please be in prayer for their preparations and for the needed travel arrangements on our side of the world!

Here is their story and how it all happened so quickly:

At our home church’s Mission’s Camp meeting in June of 2019, I noticed Jeremy, a young, single man, on deputation to Mongolia, that visited our church.  He had a very good vision for what he wanted to do with his life and ministry.  I took his prayer card and started praying for God’s will for our daughter, Breanne, and for God’s timing in all that needed to happen to show us if it would or would not be God’s will for the two of them to get to know each other.  

Breanne surrendered to the missions as a teenager; then after Bible College, and after a couple years of teaching she was not satisfied with staying in the USA.  She had been praying about what God wanted her to be doing in missions and waiting to see what doors God would open for her.  While on furlough in 2019, we met a missionary to China who tentatively invited her come for the 2020 school year, and she was willing but still praying about the opportunity and waiting for the door to open up for more conversation.

We returned to Kenya in January; but before we left I talked with Breanne about Jeremy, and I showed her the prayer card.  I asked her if she thought it was a good idea for me to call him and see how he is doing.  She did not want me to.  I tried talking about it several times, and she was not ready to talk about any guys yet.

At the end of January, the missionary to China started contacting us and wanted to meet with Breanne to go over several of the details.  We talked extensively on the phone with them and everything was arranged that she would be moving there at the end of July to start preparing to teach at their school.

In February, our sending church was holding their annual Mission’s Conference, where Jeremy was invited back as one of the missionaries being considered for support.  Since I already knew that he was coming, I mentioned it to our pastor and our other kids in the States.  They all helped the two of them start talking.  After this first week of getting to know one another, Jeremy called to talk with us and let us know his intentions, if the Lord continued to lead him and Breanne together.  During this conversation, Jeremy made it clear that he wanted to be in Mongolia in the summer of 2021 and that he was interested in a serious relationship.

Then the Corona virus started happening around the world.  Breanne’s open door to China was looking like it may close; Jeremy came back to Arkansas, “got stuck,” and could not go back to North Carolina due to quarantine requirements; so they were able to continue to get to know each other in a most precious way before he was able to head back on the road with his meetings.

Many of Jeremy’s plans for his spring and summer meetings were cancelled due to Covid-19, but he stayed busy helping at his home church in North Carolina and back in Arkansas helping care for my Dad, and getting to know Breanne.  We all had planned to meet in Arkansas at the end of May, while we were supposed to be in the USA for our oldest daughter’s wedding; but once again, Covid-19 restrictions altered our plans (but not God’s!).  Jeremy arrived in Arkansas the last week of May, but we could not travel from Kenya.  At about this time my Dad’s health began to take a turn for the worse.  He was at home, but required 24 hour care.  My Mom, my brothers, all of our grown children, a few people from our sending church, and Jeremy all pitched in caring for my Dad in his final weeks.  By the time the wedding, caring for my Dad, and his funeral had passed, Jeremy and Breanne had nearly 2 1/2 months together getting to know one another better.

We have been able to talk to his parents and pastor over the phone and via emails.  Breanne has met his family in Tennessee, his church family in North Carolina, as well as Mrs. Cofer, the wife of the missionary Jeremy has been working with in Mongolia.

Since they got engaged on the 10^th of this month, they have been doing everything that they can to start preparing for their wedding, for beginning life together while on deputation, and for getting to their mission field of Mongolia.  Their goal date for the weeding is October 24, 2020.  Please be in prayer for their preparations and for the needed travel arrangements on our side of the world!

We have been so amazed about how these two have met, and how the Lord has been in total control of each of the steps that they have taken in their relationship together.  I am impressed by Jeremy Martin, because of his communication with me about even the smallest details.  

I recommend him to your church for monthly support, if it is possible for your church to have him come to present his ministry to your church either in person or virtually.  He has a presentation on his Facebook page (Mission Mongolia) that you can view, and you can contact him at +1 (615) 318-3621 or mongoliaforchrist@gmail.com  Thank you for considering him as your next missionary.

Shelby Family Corona Virus Update #2

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We are now in the second Week of a government ban on church services. The police are going around in some areas and arresting and tear-gassing church goers who are not obeying the orders. We have told all of our churches to not hold services at church but to stay home.

We heard a report today that a couple of our churches went to church as early as 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. to have a short service before going back to their homes. I discouraged them from doing that again. But they are so eager to pray and meet together under the teaching of the Word of God.

Our Pastors and members are struggling with not being able to attend services. Something that they never thought could ever happen here in Kenya. But as each church is locally led by their national Pastor, they are finding ways to meet in their neighborhoods and villages.

Since we don’t have the ability for online services due to the lack of internet availability in their homes, they are making a strategy to be faithful to the fundamentals of church ministry and using this great opportunity for witnessing.

Each person that knows how to ‘rightly divide the word of truth’ (especially the 70+ pastors and graduates from our Bible college) and others have been given authority to share the Word of God with others that live around them and that cannot go to their churches either. Many neighbors are lost, and they are listening to the truth. They are meeting under trees, on porches, or anywhere in their compound where they can sit and share the Word of God.

There were a few who did not know what to do, but we have discussed with them how they can do something in their own home and still give God the glory.

More than 25 groups have already shared with me, by the end of the day on Sunday, that they held meetings in small groups of 5-8 people. Many have not received my message yet, and we will be getting in contact with them through this week. We had a group of men at our house yesterday, and a group of ladies today met with Tonya for a Bible study. The 5 men that I met with on Saturday had meetings in their homes today. In the last two weeks at least 5 have been saved in these meetings that are cropping up all across our region of Kenya.

Thank the Lord for these Christians who are adapting to what is going on around them to continue with their burden for the ministry of sharing the Word of God.

As we get opportunity, we will share those stories with you and send pictures.

Thank you for your prayers and support for our family and ministry in Kenya.

Luke & Tonya Shelby
Missionaries in Kenya

Shelby Family Corona Virus Update #1

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I know that everyone is having a level of threat for the virus and it is affecting the daily life of people all over the world. We are keeping in tune with the news internationally and locally as well as assessing the situation on the ground with the local people. It does make things uneasy for us, especially since we have three adult children in the Little Rock, Arkansas area. My dad has been in the hospital since Thanksgiving for a brain tumor removal that he has still not recovered from. He had pneumonia last week and had to be intubated again to help his breathing with a ventilator. He was then moved from ICU, because they needed to use the room for a COVID-19 patient. There are other virus patients already in the same hospital. My mom has been staying with him in the hospital. I have told her that she needs to be staying at home when she can.

There has been a new level of travel advisory from President Trump being raised to Level 4. The major points for this level of advisory’s remains:

1. Urges Americans not to travel Internationally.
2. Informs Americans to return if they can.
3. Allows emergency medical travel to be allowed over the next 72 hours.
4. Americans that cannot travel to stay where they are and to not cross international borders.

We don’t know how long this will be in place, and I am sure that it will be there as long as it takes to ‘flatten the curve.’

As far as Kenya is concerned, there are 16 Corona virus patients as of March 22, in Nairobi, which is an 8 hour drive for us. There have also been several hundred that have been tested, but they have been negative. Others that have shown symptoms have come down with malaria and are being treated for it.

On March 22, the Kenyan government has banned all international flights effective on March 25th. Again there is no news about how long this will be in effect.

Other good news is that malaria drugs that are being tested right now show promise of treating the coronavirus are readily available here without a prescription. We understand malaria here that many in the US have never experienced. Our whole family has had it and will have it for life, and even our children in the states have some of the medication.

Tonya has COPD and would be in the category of people that have existing respiratory disease that could cause COVID-19 to be high risk. But as other results of blood types has come out, there have been a lot less patients with Type O blood. Tonya has Type O blood.

We are continuing to monitor the situation globally and locally, and we feel that staying here is our best option to staying safe in this situation. We have been here in Kenya during very trying times of Election Violence, where 1,300 were killed based on tribal ethnicity, and many other riots on the streets. People are afraid here, but they are calm and easing about their daily lives with caution.

Another concern is that of our support to continue with the downturn of economic activity globally, and the churches changing the way that they are holding services. We are trusting that God will keep us safe and not needing to take any extreme action until absolutely necessary.

Thank you for your prayers as we continue to manage our lives and minister to the Kenyan people the best way possible.

God bless you,

Luke & Tonya Shelby
Missionaries in Kenya

Safely Back in Kenya & Urgent Prayer Requests

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Dear Prayer Supporters and Friends, January-March 2020

We arrived back in Kenya in January, and everything is going well here. We have been able to visit 5 of our churches so far, and it is a blessing to see that God is blessing each of them. One of them, Agape Baptist Church in the Jogoo area of Kisii, celebrated its 1st Anniversary. There were a few visitors, and 2 got saved! Pastor Andrew Maiko is doing a good job. Continue to pray for him and his family.

One of the first things that we needed to accomplish upon returning to the field was to find the best solution to Tonya’s coping with COPD here in Kenya. We have been able to determine the main things that affect her ability to breathe in enough oxygen and to regulate her heart rate when trying to compensate for the oxygen levels are the following: high elevation, dust, smoke, and dead air at the heat of the day. We have been living in Kisii for almost 20 years at the elevation of 6,500+ ft. The pressure at that level has shown to be a problem for her. So we have been researching towns with the lowest elevation in our region of Kenya; and Kisumu, a town on Lake Victoria, is located at 3,700 ft. above sea level and is also half way between our 2 main centers of ministry. The humidity is higher here, but that doesn’t seem to bother her. We have decided to get an apartment there which is in easy driving distance to any of our works. All of our ministries with churches, Bible College, and orphans will continue normally, because we start each process with national leadership in place to make sure that each church is indigenous in nature. This small move will also assist us in helping other missionaries, who are coming to Kenya in the near future, who will be working with us with the goal of starting works in towns around us. We are still researching the best way to get air conditioning in our apartment.

Other issues that need urgent prayer in the light of the recent coronavirus that has recently taken center stage in the media:

• Tonya’s COPD places her in the high risk group.

• Our travel to the States for Abigail and Robert’s Wedding on June 6.

• Our travel here in the country while we finish moving into the apartment.

• My Dad is still in the Hospital in Little Rock, now in CCU, and has been moved in and out of ICU to get those rooms ready for coronavirus patients.

• Matthew Rose Family’s arrival has been delayed.

• Kenya shutting down non-essential business in the midst of renewing our work permit.

• $1,000 Still needed for Air Conditioning.

• $5,000+ Still needed for Shipping

We are praying for you during this time of uncertainty, and we covet your prayers as well. May God bless you.

For Souls in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby

Missionaries in Kenya