God’s Work in Kenya: Tumaini Baptist Church Opening, Outreach Success, and Family Blessings

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Dear Prayer Partners and Friends,               May-July 2025

Greetings from Kenya! We hope this letter finds you well. We would like to begin by offering our sincere apologies for the delay in sending out this update. Many of you were expecting our letter in May, and we deeply regret the oversight. During this time, Tonya traveled to the U.S. to be with Abigail for the birth of our second grandchild, while I spent time in the Maasai area with limited internet access, which caused some delay in sending this out. We appreciate your patience and are excited to finally share what God has been doing in our lives and ministry!

Family Update – A New Blessing
We are overjoyed to announce the birth of our second grandbaby, Nathan Cepec, born on May 25th, just a few days after Tonya was able to travel to the U.S. to be with Abigail and her family. Nathan was born four weeks early and required oxygen for the first 12 hours. But we are thrilled to report that he is doing wonderfully now! Abigail is recovering well, and they are just waiting on Nathan’s passport before returning to Guyana. We are thankful for the Lord’s timing and guidance during this special time for our family.

Church Updates:
We are Excited  to report that a NEW CHURCH, Tumaini (Hope) Independent Baptist Church in Kipkirui, officially opened on May 4th, with over 80 in attendance. This event was made possible through the combined efforts of 6 local churches in the area. In the weeks leading up to the opening, we were able to finalize the land and property details with the local community and the government. We built the church building, and on the opening day, we dedicated both the land and the building. It has been such a blessing to see the men and church members we have trained step up to take ownership of this new work. We are excited about the future of Tumaini Baptist Church, and as we continue to work together as a team, we trust God to enable us to accomplish great things for His glory.

In Siaya, we are making progress on the building project. The county government approved our request to move the remaining structures from the previous site, and we have transported some of the materials to the new location. Our next step is to complete the church building. Once finished, we will set up rooms in the existing structure to house children in the orphanage. We also had a successful Youth Rally at the end of June with 40 in attendance!

In Ilkerin, we have completed the church building for Nkirukoto (Faith) Baptist Church. The process took longer than expected as we waited for the land to be officially processed, but the paperwork is now in place. The church members have been working hard to clear the land and get things ready for future projects. We have built a 20 x 40 ft. church and will begin the fencing soon. We are also excited to announce that we plan to open a branch of our Bible college in Ilkerin in January, with a focus on addressing literacy needs and using a simpler approach to teach the Word of God. There are so many open doors in this area, and we are eager to reach the Maasai people and beyond. We are planning a  Thanksgiving Service on August 24th to honor the community and its leaders for donating the land to Nkirukoto (Faith) Baptist Church. This will be an opportunity for us to thank God for His provision and for the local leaders who have partnered with us in the ministry. Please pray that this event will lead to greater community engagement and a deeper impact in the Maasai region.

In Narok, we have the opportunity to purchase the land where Berea Independent Baptist Church is located. The land has been leased for the past few years, but the owner has now offered to sell it to us for just $3,800. The church has already built on this land, so no further construction is needed, but we must cover the process fees with the government. We need to raise $4,500 to complete this purchase, which will secure the land for the church's future.

In Raganga, at Raganga Independent Baptist Church, we held a powerful crusade that included showing the Jesus Film and a week of door-to-door visitation. Five local churches came together to support the event, and 14 of our Bible college students participated in a full week of soul-winning. By God’s grace, 55 people made decisions to trust in Christ for their salvation throughout the week. Additionally, we hosted a Youth Rally, further encouraging the next generation in their walk with the Lord.

Thank You for Your Continued Support!
We are incredibly grateful for your prayers, encouragement, and financial support. Your partnership with us in spreading the Gospel is what makes all of this possible. We could not be here or accomplish all that God is doing without your faithful prayers and support. As we continue with the work here, we ask for your continued prayers, especially for the new churches and ministries we are starting, as well as for Tonya’s health and continued recovery. Thank you for being such an important part of God’s work in Kenya!

May God richly bless you as you continue to serve Him.

In Christ’s Service,

Luke & Tonya Shelby
Your Missionaries in Kenya

Prayer Requests:

• Tonya’s health
• Bible College
• Laborers for the harvest
• Leadership transition at Calvary Baptist Church in Uwasi
• Purchasing the land for Berea Independent Baptist Church ($4,500)
• Fencing at Nkirukoto (Faith) Baptist Church in Ilkerin and Tumaini (Hope) Baptist Church in Kipkirui ($1,000)

Please use the KENYA LEGACY FUND 

account #501 for these projects. 

Thank you!

All About Our Summer...

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Dear Supporters and Friends, June - July 2019

Thank your for your prayers for our family this summer. We were able to travel out west as a family and report to about 25 churches since May. Only a few of them were new churches, and we had 3 take us on for support in this short time. It was a blessing to see several of the churches who have supported us many of the twenty years that we have been in Kenya.

We thank the Lord for allowing us to see some of His wonderful creation as we traveled this summer, like the Grand Canyon, the Redwood Forest, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. We covered over 15,000 miles from sea to shining sea this summer, and we thank each of you who prayed for our traveling safety during this time. Needless to say, everyone was ready for a break in our travels and for us to get stopped and settled in Arkansas in preparation for the school year to start.

Abigail and Breanne are getting all their supplies and classrooms ready for their second year teaching in the preschool at our home church in Jacksonville, AR. Pray for them and for the Lord to continue to lead them in the next steps of their lives in the coming years.

Caleb is enrolled at Bethel Baptist College, and he has a job lined up for him to start at the beginning of August. The Lord has blessed, and we were able to find him a car. He is excited, but a little apprehensive about life on his own. He will be moving into the dorms next week. Please pray for him and let him know you are praying for him. His college address is: Bethel Baptist College, 8809 Mills Valley Road, Jacksonville, Arkansas 72076.

All of the money for Kay-Leigh’s Mission Trip came in, and she will be in Costa Rica from July 23-30. Please pray for her and our teens as they serve during this Mission Trip. Caleb will be able to go on a Mission Trip in January, but the college is still fine tuning the details of that trip.

We will be helping in our home church’s Bible college, Bethel Baptist College, during a transition of new leadership. Tonya will be helping in the office and in the kitchen. I will be teaching a class and helping in different areas while we are still in the USA until January, at which time we will be returning to Kenya. We will be scheduling meetings at our supporting churches on the weekends between now and January. If you have any young people looking for a small college, please call our home church, Bible Baptist Church, at 501-982-8826 for more information. The Registration deadline for the Fall Semester is August 7th.

May the Lord bless, and thank you for your prayers for our family and ministries in Kenya.

For Souls in Kenya,

Luke and Tonya Shelby

April - May 2018 Prayer Letter from the Shelby Family in Kenya

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Dear Friends and Prayer Supporters, April / May 2018

God is Amazing!! We are standing in awe at the mighty things that He has done recently. There is so much to write about how He has been good to us. Thank you for your prayers and support for our family and ministry, because it is through you and all of God’s blessings that we can share His goodness with others.

1. Abigail and Breanne are now in the Amazon Basin with the SMART TRIP with BIMI for several weeks. They needed to raise $3,900 each (base support only) to go on the trip, and God blessed them with $5,500 and $6,000 (which took care of ALL the other added expenses above what the base support covered)! God provided for ALL of their expenses to get ready for their trip and so much more. It was an awesome experience for us as parents to see our daughters praying and depending on God to meet their every need. Thank you so much for being a blessing to them. God bless you!

2. On April 15th, we started our newest church in the town of Isebania with a week of soulwinning, street preaching, and passing out tracts and flyers. There were 114 people that got saved, and there were 24 in attendance for the first service. They were given a place to meet free of charge, and we are able to put up our own structure. Right now we are using a tent until a structure can be built. Pastor Paul Isedia was over 70 years old when he finished Bible College. A few years earlier he had been very sick and knew that he was going to die. He bought the wooden planks to build his coffin and had everything arranged with his family on how the funeral would be handled. He had done everything except dig the grave outside his home, as is the custom here. Then he started getting well. A preacher came to his home and led him to the Lord! Since then, he has been on fire for the Lord. God will use him to do a great work there and reminds us that it is never to late for God to use us in His service!

3. During the month of April, we have been doing a soulwinning class in our church in Kisii. To several who have been in Bible College, it has been a good refresher course; but to others it has really helped them to get a burden for their friends and family. At the same time, we started home Bible Fellowships at a few of the members homes. And it has been a great tool to evangelize their neighborhoods. During the month of April alone, 35 people came to know Christ as their Saviour on soulwinning and at these home Bible Fellowships. God is so very good!

4. The funds have also come in the for the building projects that were delayed because of the political turmoil last year, and we are ready to build! The skeleton frames and the roofing will be finished this week. We are building a church building for the church in Rongo, which is the first church that we started back in 2001. It has gone through a lot of difficulties; but over the last 3-4 years it has been doing very well under the leadership of Pastor George Okoth. We will also be adding on to the church building at Calvary Baptist Church in Kisii Town.

Thank you again for your faithful prayers for our ministry and family.

For Souls in Kenya,


Luke & Tonya Shelby

Abigail and Breanne's Summer Mission's Trip

Our 2 oldest daughters, Abigail and Breanne, plan to go on a mission trip to the Amazon Basin this summer with BIMI's SMART Team.

1. We would appreciate your prayers for them as they prepare for their SMART trip, on-field training in the Amazon (Brazil, Colombia and Peru) and Medellin Colombia in the Andes Mountains, from May 13th – June 8th.

2. The Lord has provided almost 40% of the $3990 base support that will be needed for each of our girls, but this only covers their expenses once they leave the Atlanta airport. They need to raise additional support to cover their connecting flights from Little Rock to Atlanta, immunizations, plus supplies being taken to the missionaries and the ministries that our girls will be working in during this trip.

3. Please continue to pray that that the Lord will provide the remaining support needed by their deadline on April 25th.

4. Please pray for the entire SMART team, for their missionary hosts, and for their leaders as they prepare for this trip, that they may a blessing & that many lives will be changed.

5. If you feel led to assist our girls financially, we would count it a blessing.

6. If you live in the Little Rock/Jacksonville area and would like to help with their supply list or extra suitcases that will be needed, this would also be a tremendous blessing to our girls.

Please contact us via email (info@shelbysinkenya.org) to help.... and we will contact you with the details about where and how to send your love gift. Have a blessed day!

March-May 2017 Prayer Letter

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Dear Supporters and Friends,
                                            
Thank you for your prayers and gifts for our girls while they have been in College. Abigail will be graduating on May 12th with a Bachelors Degree from Providence Baptist College in Elgin, Illinois. She will return for post-graduate work next year. Breanne still has two more years and will graduate in 2019. Time has gone by so fast for these young ladies, and God has opened so many doors and has given them much needed experience in life and in different ministries since they began college. They will be coming to Kenya for about 5 weeks during the summer. We praise the Lord for all that He has done in their lives. 

Week of Evangelism in Kegogi:
In March, we held an evangelistic meeting in the village of Kegogi where we started Calvary Baptist Church in January. We had around 30 Pastors, college students, and members of our church in Kisii that helped throughout the week with visitation during the day and street preaching in the open market areas. It was great experience for the college students with several saying that they had the chance to win their first person to Christ. They were so excited! Paskaria, one of the most faithful older ladies in our church, started taking college classes this year. She can barely read and cannot write very well, but she has memorized all the verses and illustrations to lead others to Christ. She was one who led their first soul to Christ, a lady named Eukabeti. It is so exciting to see how God can use anyone who is willing to serve Him. We had over 90 people saved in the course of the week and had 85 in attendance the following Sunday. On Easter Sunday a visitor got saved and left her beaded necklace at the altar; she was trusting in this necklace to keep her safe from evil spirits that are associated with the witchcraft that is practiced in the Kisii area. This is an amazing step that she made in fully accepting God's protection in her salvation. 

10th Anniversary in Kisii
We held our 10th Anniversary at Calvary Baptist in Kisii on April 16th with Missionary Robert Mickey preaching for us. We had at least 250 in attendance, and we had over 30 visitors with 5 getting saved. The ladies brought more visitors than the men throughout the campaign which started in March, so the men served the ladies their food after the service in celebration of winning the contest. There were over 70 visitors in the 7-week Visitor Campaign.

Building Projects 2017
Bible Baptist Church 50' by 25' building in Rongo $5,000 needed
Extension on the Calvary Baptist Church in Kisii $3,000 needed
NOTE: There is an update on the Orphanage in Sidundo on the next page.

Serving Him in Kenya,

Luke and Tonya Shelby
Your missionaries to Kenya

Back to Kenya

The series of blog post that you will see over the coming weeks will show a current date, but due to the FULL schedule that we have had since arriving back in Kenya; we have not had time to post regular blog updates. We do apologize for that! We will post the date at the top of each of these new posts showing when the event(s) took place.

June 1, 2016



Preparing to fly back to Kenya this morning, we all are having some mixed emotions. This was our longest time to stay in the USA on a furlough, so we all made new friends and renewed and friendships. And as you know, saying goodbye is never easy. Yet this time is very different for our family…we had to say goodbye to 2 of our own children! Abigail and Breanne both started Bible college during our year on furlough and are staying behind to finish the studies that the Lord has given them to do at this time in their lives. But this is definitely a new phase in all of our lives, and we are thankful that His grace is sufficient!

We would appreciate your prayers for our family during this time of transition.

July 2016 Prayer Letter

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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

April 2016 Prayer Letter

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April 2016

Prayer Supporters and Friends,

We thank you for praying for our ministries while we are here in the States on furlough. On Easter Sunday Five Adults walked the aisle and invited the Lord Jesus to LIVE in their hearts. Those are souls that are added to your account. AMEN!!

We covet your prayers for all of the changes that Abigail and Breanne will be facing in less than two months. They are doing well as they are almost finished with their first year in college. The Lord is teaching them so many things in the local ministries of our home church like bus routes, nursery, choir, and junior churches as well as some American figures of speech that are still a mystery to them most of the time.

Please continue to pray for Tonya and her health. There are a few areas that have been understood since January, since she started seeing a natural doctor and getting chiropractic care along with her blood doctor. They are coming up with the same informal conclusion that she has Lupus, and they are working together and helping in several areas. Most of her levels have started improving since the change in her treatments, but there is still a ways to go.

Furlough is winding down, and we have purchased our tickets and will be leaving on May 31. I will be traveling in North Carolina and Virginia for the next three weeks. We will be in Arkansas through the month of May, as we get everything arranged for our girls before we return to the field. We will also be packing a crate and sending it before we go.

We have been able to raise $11,700 for building projects, and $2,500 for the vehicle that we had mentioned our last letter, but we are still needing to raise additional support. We are currently at 80% of our needed personal and ministry support. We have had several churches drop our support over our last term on the field due to finances and other things, and others have decreased the support they are sending. We must have additional support in order to continue to reach more people with the Gospel of salvation. These are the reasons why we need additional support.

1. Abigail (19) and Breanne (18) in Bible college
2. 5 churches that will start in the next year.
3. Opening 2 more Orphanages.
4. The need to add 10+ children every year in our Orphanages.
5. Starting 2 more branches of our Bible College over the next few years.

Please pray for these ministries to not be hindered, and that God will show Himself mighty through you and these opportunities that are wide open to reach souls for Christ.

For Souls in Kenya,

Luke and Tonya Shelby

January 2016 Prayer Letter

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Prayer Supporters and Friends, January 2016

Happy New Year 2016. It is a blessing to be a part of the work of the Lord in this present time. There are so many opportunities that have never been available before, as well as resources and co-laborers in the the Lord’s work to see souls saved and churches grounded in the truth. The Lord has given us a full schedule with over 40 churches to be in this year before we return to the field in May 2016. Please pray for traveling safety.

Thank you for your prayers for Abigail and Breanne as they have finished their first semester in Bible College. They are doing well, and we had a good time with them over the Christmas break. They were on a mission’s trip to the Dominican Republic for 10 days at the beginning of January. We feel that they have adjusted well with school, work, and church ministries here in the USA.

As we are preparing to finish our furlough, we are needing to raise the finances to purchase these things as soon as we get to the field:
1. Refrigerator $1,500
2. Photocopier $1,500
3. Vehicle $25,000

We also have the need for these church projects when we return to Kenya:
1. Calvary Baptist Church- Kisii (20'x35' extension) $5,000

1. Bible Baptist Church- Rongo (25'x50' church building) $5,000

2. Glory Bible Baptist Church- Kuresoi (25'x50' Church Building with rooms for 20 orphans in the back) $8,000

4. College/school building in Kisii (20'x50 three story building) $22,000

Using bricks to represent the above building projects, it brings the basic expenses to $1 per brick. So we are needing to raise money to buy 40,000 bricks! How many would you like to buy? We are depending on you to give towards these projects in order to help us accomplish these goals when we return to Kenya.

We are looking forward to the growth of the ministry in the next few years, as we have had over 25 graduates of our Bible College over the last two years; and we are excited about the places where God is using them and calling them to serve Him in the villages around us.

Thank you for being partners with us in the ministry,

For Souls in Kenya,
Luke and Tonya Shelby

November - December 2015 Prayer Letter

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Dear Supporters and Friends, Nov./Dec. 2015 Merry Christmas from the Shelby Family. This time of the year has become special for all of us; especially this year, because of having the opportunity to see all of our family while we are on furlough. We pray that you would also have a Merry Christmas with your family during this holiday season. We thank the Lord for His goodness to us on the road and in meetings where we have seen His hand at work in the lives of individuals. He helped us raise the money that was needed for Abigail and Breanne to make a missions trip to Dominican Republic in January. Please continue to pray for them as they keep up with school, work, and church schedules. We have also received special offerings for our orphan program ($1,500), vehicle fund ($2,100), and building fund ($1,000). There are several other churches that have promised to be a part of these special needs before we go back to the field. God has also blessed in getting meetings in nearly 40 new churches that want to be part of our ministry and several of them have already taken us on for support. Please pray that God will bless as we present the ministry in these new churches and pray that God will save souls and call laborers into His Work. Tonya and I were able to visit Kenya in November for 2 weeks for our Bible College graduation. We went soul winning with them and had 16 precious souls saved in one day! THE HARVEST IS SO RIPE!!! Thirteen men and women graduated from the 3-year course. We had over 500 in attendance, and It was a great day! Thank you for your prayers and support for our family. Luke and Tonya Shelby

June-July 2015 Prayer Letter

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Dear Prayer Supporters, June-July 2015

Thank you for your prayers for our family as we have started our furlough. We spent a month in our home church in Arkansas and with my parents, and then we traveled to East Tennessee to be with Tonya's parents the month of June, while also having meetings in their area. The Lord allowed us to travel up the east coast and through parts of Canada to visit our supporting churches and some new ones in July. Along the way we were able to see Washington D.C., New York City, and many other places. We have had a wonderful summer, and are so thankful that we were able to spend so much quality time as a family before the girls begin college. We also thank the Lord for His protection on the road, as we have already travelled over 8,000 miles since May.

We will be back in Arkansas by August 1st, to get Abigail and Breanne settled in at Bethel Baptist College, which is a ministry of our home church in Arkansas. Caleb and Kay-Leigh will be attending the Christian Academy there for this school year while we are in the USA.

Any mail can be sent to Abigail Shelby and Breanne Shelby to:
C/O Bethel Baptist College
8809 Mills Valley Road
Jacksonville, Arkansas 72076

We are excited about what the Lord has helped us to accomplish in preaching the Gospel and establishing churches in Kenya. Thousands have been saved, 26 churches have been started, and several men and women have been trained through our 3-year Bible College.

Some special needs that we will be trying to raise offerings for this year while we are on furlough are:
Personal Support: $600 monthly for Abigail and Breanne as they start College.
Ministry Support: $1,000 monthly for ministries in Kenya. Church Planting, College, and Orphan Ministries.
Vehicle Fund: $25,000

We will also have church, college, and orphan building projects that we will present once we get the details finalized. We would like to present these needs in your church when we come if possible. We are requesting that each church would pray about what you can do and try to have a special offering for one or more of these projects in the next year while we are here on furlough.

Thank you so much for your love and care for our family. God bless you.

Serving Him in Kenya,

Luke and Tonya Shelby

Walking in Kenya...

In these hills, adventure thrives, whether we go to a church member’s home for a late afternoon lunch, or go to the market for fruits and vegetables, or go on visitation. There is no telling what you may come in contact with on our walks in the area. Footpaths are the commonly used means of transportation; these paths wind up and down, and twist around every which way through the forests and across rivers. With the scorching heat of the day followed by the drenching downpours in the afternoons, the stench of the garbage and open sewers are normal. Crossing a garbage filled stream on a single plank of termite infested wood can be intimidating, but since it is something that I have grown up doing, it is not much of a problem. Since the way is normally slippery and muddy, every single step must be taken with the utmost caution and awareness. Each bend leading to an adventure, the walks that I have gone on with my family and friends are unforgettable. ~ written by Abigail

April-May 2014 Prayer Letter

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Dear Prayer Supporters,

Thank you for your prayers for our family over the past two months, while Tonya and Abigail have been in the USA for their medical furlough.  They have finished everything, and they will be traveling home to Kenya May 24th-25th.

Abigail also graduated from Jacksonville Christian Academy (our home church's school), got her driving permit, did a lot of practicing, and was able to get some needed medical testing done.  In 2007, Abigail was diagnosed with a juvenile form of osteoporosis, and she had a bone density test done while in the USA. Her doctor was amazed at her results! She tested just into the normal range, which technically means that she no longer shows signs of osteoporosis!  She will return to Kenya for a year, work on some Bible College course work through external studies, and then go on to Bible College when we return for our regularly scheduled furlough in 2015. Possibly she and our second daughter, Breanne, will both be staying in the USA at that time for college.

Tonya has had some good results along with also finally finding out the cause of some of her health issues. She has been diagnosed with Negative Intrinsic Factor (a protein that is completely missing in her intestines, and which is responsible for attaching to “B” vitamins so that the body can use them) and also with Pernicious Anemia (an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system mistakenly damages its own tissues, and this anemia depletes iron, B-12, and Folate serum/B-9). Her iron levels were all good; her B-12 level was fairly stable since her last labs; but her folate was critically low. Both the B-12 and folate affect the health of the brain and affect how the brain relays messages to either the glands or nerves throughout the entire body. Because of her diagnosis and the severity of her anemia, her doctors have told us to be prepared for her to continue to return to the USA (or another medically capable country) every six months for life. Although this is not the answer we were hoping for, we are thankful that the Lord has allowed us to finally know what we are dealing with. But we would like to ask each of you to join with us in making this a serious matter of prayer; both for the physical needs that Tonya will continue deal with, and for the extra finances that these kinds of trips and testing are going to require indefinitely. The Lord already knows everything that lies ahead of us; we just ask that you pray with us concerning these things, as we already know that Kenya is where God wants our family to continue to serve Him.

We have begun the work on the church building at Calvary Baptist in Kisii. Things are going well, but since we are on the side of a hill, we decided to put a couple of rooms on the lower side of the building. In doing this, it has added about $7,000 to the original plans, so it will increase the total cost of the building to nearly $20,000. We have already erected the steel frame and roof, built a retaining wall, built the walls for the downstairs rooms, and laid the foundation for the entire building. It will continue to be done in stages since the church itself is raising money for their building throughout the year. In the beginning, we promised the church that we would help them with half of the total amount, so $3,500 has been added to our part to fulfill our half of the total amount. We have never seen a church in Kenya do what this small group of people has done. If God lays it on your heart to help them, even with their remaining part (total of $7000); it would be a great blessing to their faith, and it will go a long way in helping us reach the town of Kisii for Christ which is home for about 183,000 people and is the central market town for more than 3.5 million people in the South Nyanza region of Kenya. Thank you for your prayers and sacrifice for Kenya!

Serving Him in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby

Abigail Graduates from High School

Building progress at Calvary Baptist Church - Kisii Town

Anything is possible with God

September last year there was a terrorist bombing in Kampala, Uganda, which killed about seventy-six people during the World Cup final. Al-Amin Kimathi one of the suspects of the thirty-eight that were arrested for the bombing was released from his charges of murder and terrorism on September 24, 2011. Most of those still on trial are charged with terrorism, murder, attempted murder, and the consideration of committing terrorism.

The government systems of countries all around the world today are finding different ways to prevent danger to come to those in the local communities. I understand the necessity of their laws and regulations, but does some of that stuff really work? I mean, when someone violates the laws or rules there are consequences, which that person has to under-go, but what does politics, have control over to keep that person from doing it again? The answer is that there is nothing THEY can do. The government cannot do anything to prevent Satan from accomplishing his goal. Only God and His servants can win that battle. We need to pray for those who think it is right to kill others. We need to reach out, wave them over to the road we are on, do anything to get their attention, and have faith in that ANYTHING is possible with GOD.

From your missionary friend,

Abigail Shelby

Psalm 22:27 & Philippians 2:10-11 (By Abigail)

Psalm 22: 27—“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.”

Philippians 2:10-11—“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of the things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

These verses tell us that at one point and time everyone will bow to the will of God. They will either see God as a loving Father or as a righteous Judge. It is up to us Christians to see that more and more people see God as their Father instead of as their Judge as the Bible mentions.

City Life & Village Life (By Abigail)

Living in a thriving, urban city compared to living in a remote village in Africa is probably considered as complete opposites; but there are a few similarities. for example, both living conditions have some kind of communication among themselves and with the surrounding cities or villages. The language may differ, or the communication system may vary; but communication is present. Another comparison to be made is transportation within a community. While a bustling city would have subways (although not in Kenya) and automobiles, a rural village's main mode for transportation is one's own feet or a bicycle. The last and perhaps the most important similarity is the fact that they all need the Gospel. Whether a person is a rich businessman or a Maasai warrior does not matter; they both have a choice of either to spend their eternity in burning flames or in glorious mansions in heaven. In conclusion, life in a large economic center or in a rural African village can be comparable in many ways.

Written by: Abigail Shelby

A Pre'cis of Romans 10:13-15 (By Abigail)

God says in His Word that anyone who simply asks God to save him, he will be saved. But how can one ask God unless he is told of the plan of salvation? Those that spread the Gospel have the blessings of God upon them.

Psalm 22: 27—“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.”

Philippians 2:10-11—“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of the things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

These verses tell us that at one point and time everyone will bow to the will of God. They will either see God as a loving father or as a righteous Judge. It is up to us Christians to see that more and more people see God as their Father instead of the terrible aspect of God (to those who are unbelievers) that the Bible mentions in Deuteronomy 10:17.

Written by: Abigail

Isaiah 42:5-7 (By Abigail)

“Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

“I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

“To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Isaiah 42: 5-7

This passage I find encouraging, because it first points out, in verse five, that God is in control of everything even down to the very breath we take. That breath of air that we often take for granted. And verse six is encouraging as well, as the Lord promises to hold our hand to guide us as a light, I believe, a light of the gospel. Then on to verse seven with the light of God’s Word penetrating through the darkness of the world, and bringing souls to Christ. I hope this has been encouraging to you to know that God is there, and that others see the light of Jesus Christ in you though it may not seem like it at the moment.

“Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

“I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

“To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Isaiah 42: 5-7

This passage I find encouraging, because it first points out, in verse five, that God is in control of everything even down to the very breath we take. That breath of air that we often take for granted. And verse six is encouraging as well, as the Lord promises to hold our hand to guide us as a light, I believe, a light of the gospel. Then on to verse seven with the light of God’s Word penetrating through the darkness of the world, and bringing souls to Christ. I hope this has been encouraging to you to know that God is there, and that others see the light of Jesus Christ in you though it may not seem like it at the moment.

Written by: Abigail Shelby