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Dear Supporters and Praying Friends, June - August 2014
It has been a busy few months since we wrote, and a lot has taken place. In July, while traveling home from our church in Sidundo (where we baptized 13), I had a serious problem with our vehicle. The engine threw a rod, which blew out a large hole in the block, so I had to get towed back to Kisii Town (should have been about 3 hours from where I broke down), and it took about 12 hours! We did get it running again by patching the engine, and it has not had any problem. We thank all of you who pray for us faithfully, because we never know when something will happen that we will need urgent prayers. We know that God hears your prayers. Thank you again for your prayers.
Also in August, Tonya held our 7th Annual Ladies' Conference at our church in Kisii Town. There were 45 ladies from 15 different churches in our area that were able to attend! Their theme this year was, "Draw Me Closer, Lord;" and all the lessons were about prayer. They had one lady get saved during the week! They spent many hours in prayer, studying the Bible, and memorizing Scripture during the 4 day Conference. By Friday, those ladies had said over 3,000 verses! Tonya has also started teaching the ladies in our Bible College, helping them with issues that will help them to be better Christian Women. She will be teaching things like: how to dress, how to present themselves, and how to do other things that are so common and often taken for granted in the United States; but these things are very needed and useful to these first generation Christian ladies.
Please pray for the following projects:
1. The ongoing building project at Calvary Baptist Church in Kisii town.
2. Orphanage project building in Sidundo is scheduled to be finished soon.
3. Church building in Rongo that will begin before the end of the year.
Again, we want to say thank you for your faithful prayers and support for our family and ministries in Kenya. The lives and ministries of your missionaries are all in the hands of the "…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man…" Thank you for praying for us and holding us up before the Lord!
Serving Him in Kenya,
Luke and Tonya Shelby
Your Missionaries in Kenya
Showing posts with label Ladies' Ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ladies' Ministry. Show all posts
Tuesday, 16 September 2014
Thursday, 1 November 2012
October 2012 Prayer Letter
Dear Supporters and Friends, October 2012
We want to thank you for your prayers and support for our family, and our ministries that God is continuing to bless. Over the last few months it has been very busy, and it has been difficult to get a letter out. Electricity and internet have also been a problem in trying to get a letter out. I know that it has worried some about the lateness of our letter; so we have tried to give you a few of the highlights, and we will fill in on other details later. I know that this is a long letter, but please pray for God’s continued guidance in these areas of our ministry as well as for our family.
Orphan Ministry Update:
We are now feeding over 40 children on a daily basis in two of our village churches (Kuresoi and Sidundo); and at the Orphan Home Project in Sidundo, the buildings now have windows, doors, and locks on one dorm building and the kitchen/dining room. In May, we also discovered that there was already a well dug on the property more than 20 or 30 years ago. So we re-dug it; and the water supply is enough for the college classes and even for the orphans, once we are ready to start housing them on the property. Our plan is to start with 10 boys and to work through the things that will be needed to take care of them. We will be meeting shortly with the guardians of these boys, whom we think would be the most needy, to prepare for the boys beginning in January. Please pray that the necessary funds will come in on a monthly basis to care for this ministry.
Current orphan support: At this time, less than $100 per month is coming in specifically for the orphan ministry. We are currently using close to $350 on a monthly basis for just our feeding program. We have received a few large offerings throughout the year that has enabled us to continue working on the project buildings in Sidundo a little each month, as we continue to help the children in our feeding program. Our plan, for housing ten boys, will need more funding by January. Please try to help on a monthly basis, as we try to move forward in the goal helping these precious children in our village churches. We are praying that the Lord will enable us to visit each of these 40 children individually in the coming weeks, in order to give them a Christmas package filled with food and many other needed items.
Bible College, Graduation, & New Students for 2013:
We are finishing up the 2012 year of classes, and we will be having 5 graduates, who finish the three-year course, this year. Graduation will be on December 1st. There are already 10 new students signed up to begin classes in January 2013, and we have several more appointments to interview others as well. Classes have continued to go well throughout the year in Sidundo and in Kisii. We thank God for the faithful pastors who are helping to teach and train others. There are several churches also who have not had students in our college this year; and before classes start in January, I will be meeting with them to encourage them in training up men and ladies to serve the Lord.
Calvary Baptist Sidundo:
Continue to pray for Calvary Baptist Church in Sidundo as they still do not have a pastor. We are working with about 5 men who are called to preach, and they are doing very well in different areas. They are alternating the teaching in Sunday school, Bible Study, and the Preaching services. Visitation is going well as the twelve students divide themselves 3 by 3; and the average attendance is running between 80-90, and several are being saved nearly every week.
A Busy August:
August was a full month for us. We had a week of VBS at Calvary Baptist Church in Kisii Town. And our Fifth Annual Ladies’ Conference was the last full week of the month. We had 38 ladies this year, and they came to Kisii from 8 of our churches for a week of refreshment and encouragement. Our ladies from Calvary Baptist Church in Kisii did a lot of the teaching for this meeting, and it was a blessing to see their growth and willingness to teach others. It was a wonderful week! Please pray for Tonya as she continues to minister to the ladies in all of our churches, and pray for the Lord to continue to give us faithful ladies that are willing to serve Him in their own local churches and communities.
Tonya’s Medical Furlough & Update:
We want to thank every church and individual family that has been praying for Tonya’s health throughout this year. And we want to say thank you to each and every one of you who have helped with the expenses of her medical furlough. Tonya is currently in the USA receiving medical care due to some drastic drops in her blood levels. The doctors have been keeping a close eye on her blood for the past year; and after her last labs, they determined that she must return to the USA for further testing and treatment. After returning to the USA, the doctors have ruled out the need for a full transfusion, but have diagnosed her with an extreme B-12 and Folate deficiency. We have learned that these deficiencies are actually more dangerous than the Iron deficiency that we have been watching over the past few years. She is improving slowly, and she is scheduled to return to Kenya on November 26th. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers.
Luke’s Malaria/ Typhoid Update:
I know that we wrote about this, and many have seen the news on Facebook; and we thank you for your prayers. For those who have not heard anything, I had a bout with malaria starting in June, then again in July where after several courses of treatment; I started feeling better. It took two weeks to get some relief, I lost a lot of weight, and for several days I did not even know what was going on. That was the worst part of it. Then I was sick again in August, I took another round of treatment for about a week. Then again in September with a bit different symptoms of being a bit sluggish during the day and severe chills every evening for about two hours and uncontrollable shaking again for about a week. I was then advised by some of our Kenyan friends to get checked for Typhoid as well as malaria. After being checked by a doctor, we were told that I had both malaria and typhoid; so I took the medicine for both, and I am feeling quite a bit better. The symptoms have not come back yet this month (October). We thank you so much for your prayers during this time. We praise the Lord for His healing and protection.
For Souls in Kenya,
Luke & Tonya Shelby
We want to thank you for your prayers and support for our family, and our ministries that God is continuing to bless. Over the last few months it has been very busy, and it has been difficult to get a letter out. Electricity and internet have also been a problem in trying to get a letter out. I know that it has worried some about the lateness of our letter; so we have tried to give you a few of the highlights, and we will fill in on other details later. I know that this is a long letter, but please pray for God’s continued guidance in these areas of our ministry as well as for our family.
Orphan Ministry Update:
We are now feeding over 40 children on a daily basis in two of our village churches (Kuresoi and Sidundo); and at the Orphan Home Project in Sidundo, the buildings now have windows, doors, and locks on one dorm building and the kitchen/dining room. In May, we also discovered that there was already a well dug on the property more than 20 or 30 years ago. So we re-dug it; and the water supply is enough for the college classes and even for the orphans, once we are ready to start housing them on the property. Our plan is to start with 10 boys and to work through the things that will be needed to take care of them. We will be meeting shortly with the guardians of these boys, whom we think would be the most needy, to prepare for the boys beginning in January. Please pray that the necessary funds will come in on a monthly basis to care for this ministry.
Current orphan support: At this time, less than $100 per month is coming in specifically for the orphan ministry. We are currently using close to $350 on a monthly basis for just our feeding program. We have received a few large offerings throughout the year that has enabled us to continue working on the project buildings in Sidundo a little each month, as we continue to help the children in our feeding program. Our plan, for housing ten boys, will need more funding by January. Please try to help on a monthly basis, as we try to move forward in the goal helping these precious children in our village churches. We are praying that the Lord will enable us to visit each of these 40 children individually in the coming weeks, in order to give them a Christmas package filled with food and many other needed items.
Bible College, Graduation, & New Students for 2013:
We are finishing up the 2012 year of classes, and we will be having 5 graduates, who finish the three-year course, this year. Graduation will be on December 1st. There are already 10 new students signed up to begin classes in January 2013, and we have several more appointments to interview others as well. Classes have continued to go well throughout the year in Sidundo and in Kisii. We thank God for the faithful pastors who are helping to teach and train others. There are several churches also who have not had students in our college this year; and before classes start in January, I will be meeting with them to encourage them in training up men and ladies to serve the Lord.
Calvary Baptist Sidundo:
Continue to pray for Calvary Baptist Church in Sidundo as they still do not have a pastor. We are working with about 5 men who are called to preach, and they are doing very well in different areas. They are alternating the teaching in Sunday school, Bible Study, and the Preaching services. Visitation is going well as the twelve students divide themselves 3 by 3; and the average attendance is running between 80-90, and several are being saved nearly every week.
A Busy August:
August was a full month for us. We had a week of VBS at Calvary Baptist Church in Kisii Town. And our Fifth Annual Ladies’ Conference was the last full week of the month. We had 38 ladies this year, and they came to Kisii from 8 of our churches for a week of refreshment and encouragement. Our ladies from Calvary Baptist Church in Kisii did a lot of the teaching for this meeting, and it was a blessing to see their growth and willingness to teach others. It was a wonderful week! Please pray for Tonya as she continues to minister to the ladies in all of our churches, and pray for the Lord to continue to give us faithful ladies that are willing to serve Him in their own local churches and communities.
Tonya’s Medical Furlough & Update:
We want to thank every church and individual family that has been praying for Tonya’s health throughout this year. And we want to say thank you to each and every one of you who have helped with the expenses of her medical furlough. Tonya is currently in the USA receiving medical care due to some drastic drops in her blood levels. The doctors have been keeping a close eye on her blood for the past year; and after her last labs, they determined that she must return to the USA for further testing and treatment. After returning to the USA, the doctors have ruled out the need for a full transfusion, but have diagnosed her with an extreme B-12 and Folate deficiency. We have learned that these deficiencies are actually more dangerous than the Iron deficiency that we have been watching over the past few years. She is improving slowly, and she is scheduled to return to Kenya on November 26th. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers.
Luke’s Malaria/ Typhoid Update:
I know that we wrote about this, and many have seen the news on Facebook; and we thank you for your prayers. For those who have not heard anything, I had a bout with malaria starting in June, then again in July where after several courses of treatment; I started feeling better. It took two weeks to get some relief, I lost a lot of weight, and for several days I did not even know what was going on. That was the worst part of it. Then I was sick again in August, I took another round of treatment for about a week. Then again in September with a bit different symptoms of being a bit sluggish during the day and severe chills every evening for about two hours and uncontrollable shaking again for about a week. I was then advised by some of our Kenyan friends to get checked for Typhoid as well as malaria. After being checked by a doctor, we were told that I had both malaria and typhoid; so I took the medicine for both, and I am feeling quite a bit better. The symptoms have not come back yet this month (October). We thank you so much for your prayers during this time. We praise the Lord for His healing and protection.
For Souls in Kenya,
Luke & Tonya Shelby
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Ladies’ Ministry
We have a very active Ladies’ Ministry which includes: weekly and monthly Bible study meetings, Retreats, teachers’ training classes, and lots of fun and fellowship! Please take time to check out what is happening in the lives of our Ladies.I am delighted that the Lord has allowed me to have a small part as a leader for our Ladies’ Ministries. God has allowed me to play a vital role in the spiritual growth and encouragement of the Kenyan Ladies in our region.
The ladies in our ministry come from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. I am praying that those who have not placed their faith in Christ will come to know Him, that those who know Him will grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, and that all of them will support and encourage one another in the Lord.
When God calls us to ministry, He gives us the power to accomplish the work that He gives us to do. It is not by our intelligence or our skills that we serve, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.
If you have a desire to help our ladies in any way, please contact me. I am here to answer any questions that you or your church might have concerning our Ladies’ Ministry here in Kenya.
May the Lord continue to bless this ministry and all of these precious women. Please keep us in your prayers.
With His Love,
Mrs. Tonya Shelby
Missionary Wife in Kenya
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Ladies’ Retreat at Camp Lukenya!
We had an absolutely wonderful time at the Ladies' Retreat at Camp Lukenya! There were 147 ladies from 13 Independent Baptist Churches represented at the meeting!
We want to thank everyone who prayed for our safety while we made the 9 hour trip to the camp on Saturday and for our return trip to Kisii on Tuesday. The Lord blessed, and we made the entire trip without difficulty! Thank you for your prayers!
Our ladies and I truly enjoyed our time together and enjoyed getting to fellowship with other Christian Women of like faith. All of the sessions were centered on the thought, "Experiencing Daily Joy!" Each speaker did an excellent job. We all learned so many things while we were away, and we would like you to pray with us, that each of will take these truths from the Bible and put them to work in each of our daily lives. Each of our ladies came away with something different, that God had spoken specifically to them about. And I will have some of them share their testimonies with you soon.
(10 of us from Calvary BC, Kisii went to the Retreat. 1 lady is missing from the picture above. But from left to right they are: Ferister, Rose, Jackline, Alice, Tonya Shelby, Milka, Jane O., Joseph [child], Robinah, and Jane W.)
Of the 10 of us, 8 of our husbands are saved and faithful in church; but there are 2 of our ladies whose husbands are not saved. Please pray that their husbands will be able to see such a change in these ladies lives that they would desire to have a relationship with Christ themselves. Please pray with us that Geoffrey and Josiah will be saved soon. This is great burden on our hearts, and we believe that if we join together in prayer—God will hear and answer that prayer!
Thank you so much for praying for our trip!
May God richly bless each of you,
~Tonya Shelby
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
"Women in Action"
Please be in prayer for our first "Women in Action" meeting, which will be on Saturday, February 14, 2009. This year our ladies will be continuing to study the lives of different "Women in the Bible." We started this series of Bible studies in 2008, and they have been a great help to our ladies. We are looking forward to what God will teach us this year from the examples of godly women He gave us in His Word. This month we have been studying Rebekah and her life up to the time of her marriage. I will also be teaching our ladies how to make a Valentine Card! That may not seem like much, but many of our ladies have never used a pair of scissors or glue before! But we are going to give it a try. Hopefully they will leave the meeting with a special gift for their husbands, and then they will be doing a small part torwards this month's theme of "Love in Action." Please pray for us; that we will be willing to make the changes, that the Bible tells us of, needed in each of our lives. So that we might have a stronger and bettter marriage.
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