Fruitful Furlough Update and Prayer Needs - October to November 2023 🙏

 October - November 2023

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Dear Prayer Supporters and Friends,

We want to thank you for your prayers as we have been doing a lot of traveling, reporting to churches, and getting into new churches this furlough. Several more churches have voted to take us on for support, and we are praying that they will be able to start before the end of the year. Our daughter, Breanne, and her husband, Jeremy Martin, have arrived in the States for their first furlough after spending their first term in Mongolia. They need to raise more support for the ministries that they are getting started there. They are only here for a 7-month furlough, so please pray that they can visit churches and gain their needed support.

Many of the needs that we mentioned earlier have been met by the churches that we have been in the last couple of months. We thank the Lord for the generosity of the churches and individuals that is making all of this possible for our ministry in Kenya in the coming years.

Praise the Lord, these needs have been met: Oxygen Concentrator, Bibles for graduates, English Bibles, Songbooks, Shipping, Graduation expenses for December, Camping equipment for going into the villages, Ties, and Scarves for our Bible College Students.

Please pray for my two-week trip to Kenya in December, filled with visiting churches, holding 4 separate graduations, supplying training materials to start classes for 2024, and planning some of the new church plants that will take place next year.

Our ministry requires additional financial support to keep growing. We intend to establish a new area of training in our Bible College, focusing on young people who have recently graduated high school. Up until now, our main focus has been on working with families to establish churches in their home villages. As we move forward, we hope to expand our reach by training young people to spread the word of God to areas we have yet to reach. We pray that these young people will be instruments of God's work in new villages and towns.

One of our ministry goals has been to create an internship program that will provide training to the next generation of missionaries. During this furlough, we have had the opportunity to meet with young people in several churches and Bible Colleges who are interested in this type of internship. We are praying that this will help them serve the Lord and prepare themselves for a future in missionary work. If you're interested in learning more about this program, please let me know.

Please pray for these needs in Kenya:

• Return Airfare in February - $2,500

• Chairs for church in Narok 25@$4 each = $100

• Flooring resurface for BBC in Oltepesi - $100

• Solar power backup for our house - $800

• Swahili, Luo, and Maasai Bibles 100@$6 each = $600

Thank you very much for your love for the Lord and our family and your desire to serve the Lord.

For Souls in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby

Missionaries in Kenya

✨ 🌍 Exciting Updates from Our Furlough - August-September 2023 🌍✨

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Dear Friends and Supporters,           

Thank you for your support for our family. In the last few months, we have had meetings in the states of Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Arkansas and have traveled more than 10,000 miles.  Our meetings are fully booked through November with a mixture of new churches as well as reporting to supporting churches.  We have met 13 new pastors in churches that were already supporting us.  We thank the Lord for the young men in the next generation who have taken the mantle to carry on the work of the Lord.

We were able to be in 8 new churches in the last few months, and six of them voted to take us on for support. And the others will see if they can support us soon. We have one church that took us on through correspondence with them and two others reinstated our support after making personal contact with them since we have been back.  Including the one new church in June that took us on for support, nine churches have partnered with us through their support since we began furlough.  We thank the Lord for your prayers and for these new partnering churches in their willingness to give to the work of God in Kenya.

Our Bible College in Kenya has finished the second term exams with our 72 students; we are entering their grades and preparing for the final classes that will be taught during the third term leading up to our graduation, which is scheduled for the first part of December. The pastors and students are busy serving in their local churches, seeing souls saved, and the churches are growing.

Another Bible Study opened in the village of Ilkerin, out of our second Maasai church that was started in 2021, and there are more than 10 adults that are meeting under a tree in the village of Ilkerin every Sunday. Please pray for them to be grounded well in the Word of God during this time of Bible Study so that a new church can be started early next year.  A plot has already been designated by the leaders of the village to build the church when we are ready!

Our youngest daughter, Kay-Leigh, has moved into the single teachers’ dorms for our home church’s Christian school in Arkansas. She is teaching one of the K3 classes this year, plus taking a full load of Bible College via online studies. Please pray for her during all the adjustments of living on her own while managing her work and class schedules. She is also involved in our home church's bus ministry, children’s programs, and choir. We appreciate your prayers for her, our family, and our ministries in Kenya!

For Souls in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby

📣 Shelby Family in Kenya - June-July 2023 Prayer Letter & New Bible Study Started 📣

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Thank you for your prayers for our family, and thank you for your offerings for Caleb and Kay-Leigh for their graduations and Caleb’s internship. We have been able to have our annual medical check-ups with mostly good results, Tonya has been able to complete her first round of infusions and will get another round this Fall, and we will have a few more follow-up appointments to take care of later in the year. Please pray that all these visits continue to go well. 

We have started traveling, reporting to supporting churches, and visiting some new churches to raise some needed support. We already have 13 new churches scheduled, but we would like to be in 20 new churches as the Lord allows. We have two churches that have taken us on already, and we are thankful for that. Our goal is to raise an additional $500 - $1,000 in new support. This support will be used in new church plants, travel, and our Bible College.  

Since returning to the USA for furlough, our home church has gone through a transition, with Dr. Mike Files retiring as pastor; and with Dr. Jason Watford being voted in as our new pastor. We have stayed close to the church during this transition in case we needed to help in any way. The transition has gone very well, and we are excited to work with our new Pastor. There is a renewed excitement in the church; and we thank the Lord for His leadership through this transition.

Caleb received good training during his Spring internship in Israel, and he has started his missionary internship at our home church, Bible Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Arkansas. He will have another opportunity for a second internship in Israel and live with a family there for a couple months this Fall. Please pray that the Lord would continue to give him direction in this next phase of his life.

We are excited about how the Lord is continuing to work in the Maasai communities.  From the second Maasai church the Lord allowed us to start in 2021 near the Tanzanian border in the village of Oltepesi, people have been visiting from surrounding villages, and more have been saved from the village of Ilkerin.  In June, a new Bible Study was started and is being led by David, who just recently got saved.  Please pray as David is discipled and is passing on what he is taught to the others in his village.  “And I sought for a man among them...” Ezekiel 22:30. Praise the Lord for what He is doing!

We have a burden for the next generation of missionaries, and specifically the need for missionaries in Africa. We are praying that the Lord will open the doors in Bible Colleges, Youth Groups, and Youth Camps to be able to present this burden. Please contact us if there is an opportunity near you, and we will make arrangements to come if it is near where we will be traveling for meetings throughout this year.

Please pray  that we can raise funds for these needs during our furlough:
Stationary Oxygen Concentrator unit for Tonya -$1,500
Bibles & books for our Bible College Graduates - $3,000
Shipping expenses for donated items - $2,000
Gathering donations to take to Kenya: 
Used English hymnbooks
Ties for our Pastors and Bible College students

Thank you very much for your prayers and support for our family and ministry.

Luke & Tonya Shelby
Missionaries in Kenya

Caleb's Internship Information

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“Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.”—Romans 10:1

I am thrilled at the opportunity to participate in the fulfilling of the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:6-7: “For

there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God. For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.” As a follower of Jesus Christ, I desire to be a watchman for the remnant of Israel both here at home and abroad.

My name is Caleb Shelby, and I was born and raised in Kenya, East Africa with my three sisters for eighteen years by the two most wonderful, godly parents Luke and Tonya Shelby, missionaries to Kenya. At the age of seven, I had the opportunity to accept Christ as my personal Savior. I went to my mother and told her that I needed to be saved, and she showed me from a soul-winning booklet that I was a sinner, that I deserved to die because of my sin, but that Jesus came to the earth to die on the cross to pay for my sin, and that all I needed to do was to ask God to forgive me of my sin and take me to Heaven when I die. I prayed to God for salvation there in our family room on Sunday, June 29, 2008. Several years later, God put the burden on my heart to do what He wanted me to do; therefore, I began to pray for His will for my life. On Wednesday, July 12, 2017, God called me to preach and be a missionary to the Jews (of whom the most densely populated region is Israel). It was through the book of Romans that God showed me and confirmed His will for my life with a focus on Romans 10:1.

After finishing high school and graduating from Jacksonville Christian Academy, I entered Bethel Baptist College to continue my Biblical studies. Both institutions are ministries of my home church Bible Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor Mike Files where I am happily involved in serving the Lord as a weekly bus captain, Sunday School and Children’s Church teacher, usher, and choir member. Now having finished four years of Bible college with a Bachelor’s Degree in Pastoral Theology and Missions and awaiting my graduation this May, I have the opportunity to take a couple internship trips to Israel this year.

I am trusting God to raise $7,000 for both of these internships combined. The funds will include two domestic flights, two round-trip tickets to Israel, living expenses while there, and aid for the hosting missionaries and mission projects. I pray that you would consider partnering with me in prayer and financial support as I continue to seek for the avenue in which God would have me to fulfill His will for my life. Should you choose to partner with me financially, any support can be sent to my home church’s address: Bible Baptist Church, c/o Caleb Shelby, 3301 North First Street, Jacksonville, AR 72076. If you have any questions, feel free to call me at (501) 457-1776 or email me at caleb@shelbysinkenya.org. Thank you tremendously for undergirding me in your prayers this year. I look forward to reporting what the Lord does in my heart and in the hearts of those to whom we minister.

In Christ the Messiah, 

Caleb Shelby

Micah 6:8

May 2023 📣 Shelby Family in Kenya - May Graduations & other Happenings 📣

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Hello from the Shelby Family. Thank you for your prayers for our travel back to the States for furlough.  We have been able to see most of our family and catch up with friends in our home church in Jacksonville, Arkansas. We are also getting our presentation, display board, and prayer cards updated. We will be able to send these out to you and have them available on our website as soon as we get them finished. We are also getting our medical check-ups and appointments started with Luke’s physiotherapy and Tonya’s B-12 and Iron infusions. We are thankful that getting appointments are much easier than it was shortly after Covid.  Please pray that Tonya will be able to get all of the treatments that she needs because her levels were really low upon our arrival, since it has been several years since her last full course of treatments due to the problems with travel and restrictions during the Covid years.  

This month we will be having two graduations, first, Caleb will be graduating from Bethel Baptist College with a Bachelor degree on May 7th, and he will then take part in a couple of internships with Jewish Awareness Missions and IBJM.  He will be very busy and will use these opportunities to start moving in the next steps of following the will of God for his life. Please pray that God will open doors and give guidance and wisdom through these opportunities. We have attached a letter from him explaining these opportunities.

Also, Kay-Leigh, our last one at home will be graduating from Jacksonville Christian Academy on may 12th, here at our home church and will be able to travel with us for the summer. She is praying about the direction on College and other steps in her life. Please remember her in prayer. Her graduation announcement is also attached.

We plan to return to Kenya in February 2024. If you would like us to schedule a meeting while in your area, please send us a message by e-mail (mail@shelbysinkenya.org) as soon as possible, and we will work out the dates.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for our family and ministry.

For Souls in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby

March - April 2023 Shelby Family In Kenya News and Furlough Announcement

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Hello from the Shelby Family.  We are writing to let you know that our furlough is coming up very soon and we will be leaving on the 17th of this month.  We will have time with our family, graduations, medical appointments, and set-up time for our presentation, prayer cards and display for the first month before we start having meetings on the road.  We will be in Arkansas during this time.  

We are excited about the way the Lord is using our children to serve the Lord.  During this year, we are eager to be able to see Abigail and her family as they leave for the field of Guyana when their deputation is complete; to see Breanne and her husband come back from Mongolia for their first furlough in October; as well as to see Caleb before he begins a couple of ministry internships in Israel and hopefully be able to start deputation soon afterwards.  

Our Schedule is filling up with those that we have not been with in a while, and so far we have almost 30 meetings scheduled.  There are several that I will be getting back with by phone to set up meetings, and there are others that we will be able to stop by as we travel through the area.  We plan to return to Kenya in February 2024. If you would like us to schedule a meeting while in your area, please send us a message by e-mail (mail@shelbysinkenya.org) as soon as possible, and we will work out the dates.

We will need to raise a little support this furlough, because about 10 churches were not able to continue supporting us due to the Coronavirus pandemic and other economic issues that followed.  We thank the Lord for the many years that some of them were able to support our ministry; there is much fruit that will be added to their account.

We will also need to raise project funds for different projects here in Kenya for buying land and helping with building projects for some of the churches that we have started in the last several years.  God has continued to bless these churches and the faithfulness of their pastors and many souls are being won to Christ.  We are so thankful for the things that He is doing in these cities and villages.

Recently, we were able to have a wedding at our church in Kisii between a young man, Ezekiel, and a young lady, Anne. Ezekiel was an orphan that we helped finish high school as he lived with us and we mentored him.  He went on to university and got an Engineering degree  while also completing our Bible College at the same time. Anne is the daughter of a very faithful family in our church in Kisii.  It was such a special day to see these two young people, that we have poured our lives into, commit themselves to each other and to God as clean vessels for His honor and glory.  

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for our family and ministry.

For Souls in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby

October 2022 - February 2023 - Graduation, New Churches, New Bible Study, Furlough, & More...

Happy New Year from the Shelby Family! 

It has been a busy few months here, and there is a lot to write about.  I will not be able to go through too many details at this time, but we will in the next few months.

Hope Baptist Church

At the end of October, we helped a new missionary, David Smith, along with one of our Bible College graduates start their first church here in Kisumu.   Pray for Hope Baptist Church and the Smith Family, as we have now placed the weekly ministry responsibilities of this church completely in their hands.

South Nyanza Baptist College

God blessed, and we had 18 graduates to close out 2022.  Five of them graduated from our Pastoral degree program, and they are ministering in their local churches in different parts of our region of Kenya.  We also have several new students that have joined us for the new year of 2023.  Our current active student body is 72 enrolled students, who are studying in one of 9 local church branches of our Bible College in the Nyanza region of Kenya.

Youth Camp

We were able to have the first youth camp in 3 years, since everything closed down due to corona.  It was a very good attendance 50+ youth and counselors.  We even had youth from two new areas of Kisumu and Kericho, where new churches are getting started.  We had 13 saved and it was a great blessing to be able to make connections with many that we had not been able to see for the past few years.

Immanuel Independant Baptist Church

Another NEW church started in one of the villages around Kisii, Karogo, on January 8th, out of another church in Raganga, where we have a branch of our Bible College for surrounding churches.  

Also another NEW Bible Study recently started in the village of Sigoti, with one of our 2022 graduates. We are excited about what the Lord is doing in the opening new areas for the preaching of the Word of God through these men whom He  has allowed us to have had a part in training them for the ministry. God is so good!

Hip Surgery

Last summer while we were in Arkansas for a few weeks to meet our first grandson, I had some doctor appointments, and we were told that I needed a full hip replacement. We were told that I could possibly wait until our regularly scheduled furlough (see details below), but the pain has continued to get worse. So, we began seeking medical advice on this side, and the surgeons here agree that I need surgery soon, and they are sending me to South Africa for surgery. We will be flying to Cape Town on February 17th, my surgery will be February 21st, and if recovery goes as planned we will return to Kenya on March 6th. Once back in Kenya, I will be able to continue physiotherapy and finish any doctor’s appointments here. We are planning for 6-8 weeks for recovery time; and once I get a medical release, we will be ready for our furlough. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for all the extra travel and for a quick recovery.

Furlough

We want to let you know that we are planning to return to the USA in May 2023 for our regularly scheduled furlough. Our furlough will be approximately 9 months long, and we plan to return to Kenya in February 2024. Our schedule has already started filling up, so if your church would like to schedule a meeting, please send us an email as soon as possible to: mail@shelbysinkenya.org.  Please pray for our family during this time, as we will be getting our youngest daughter settled in Bible College and traveling thousands of miles while we are in the USA.

For Souls in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby Family