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
