July 2013 Prayer Letter

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Dear Supporters, Praying Friends and Family,

Greetings from Kenya! Thank you for your faithful prayers and support for our family and ministry in Kenya. We had a good time visiting with other missionaries for the 4th of July. God bless America!!!

Orphan Ministry:

We are currently using much more money to help meet the needs of the children than we have coming in. We have received gifts and one time offering gifts for the orphan ministry, but it is not enough to take care of the feeding program that we have in two different locations for over 50 children. There are 13 boys between the ages of 8-17 that we are taking care of at our orphanage in the village of Sidundo. Currently, we are using over $500 monthly for the basic feeding program and for the running of the orphanage; and we have paid almost $300 in school fees for a few of the older children, that we have been able to help during the first half of this year. At this time, we have less than $200 coming in on a monthly basis for this ministry, and this is causing us to cut back in some of our other ministry areas. Please pray with us that the Lord will send in the needed funds for this ministry.

Visiting Some of Our Churches:

We were able to visit some of our churches in April and May. We have one church in the village of Nyarenda that has a preaching point about an hours walk from the church, and several people are coming from all that way every week. We are planning to open a new church there in a few months. The rains have caused flooding through most areas of the country and in low lying areas next to rivers as they flow into Lake Victoria. Here is a picture of our church in the village of Sidundo. They had to meet under a nearby tree for three weeks before the water subsided. But the church continued well with an average attendance between 80-90.

Faith Baptist Church in the village of Erandi is also doing well; but we are praying for the men to be faithful, and to help Pastor Livinacs in leading the church so that it can grow. We will be planning a meeting to encourage this church soon. Please continue to pray for each of the churches under our ministry.

Calvary Baptist Church in Kisii has been doing very well with their giving (this is an area where 90% of the people are making under $50 per month). Since January, the offerings have been averaging over $250 per month. They have begun raising money to build a church building of 50ft. by 35ft. It will seat 200 people, and the existing building will be divided up into Sunday school classrooms. The total cost of the project will be $12,000. We have agreed to share the costs of this project with the church; sister churches and Calvary Baptist Church will work together to raise half of it, and then we would provide the remaining half. The church has raised $1,100 already towards this project, and they are trying to raise the rest of their part through the course of this year. We need your help to raise the remaining amount of $6,000 by the end of the year. We would like to be able to begin construction in early 2014.

Serving Him in Kenya,


Luke & Tonya Shelby

April-June 2013 Prayer Letter

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Dear Supporters, Praying Friends and Family,

Greetings from Kisii, Kenya. It has been a very busy few months, with a lot of traveling and tight scheduling. Thank you for your prayers! I have had a few bouts with Malaria since the beginning of the year, but we have been able to catch it early enough so it only lasts about a day or two. It has been nothing like it was last year. Tonya has been doing better as well, and she just finished her follow-up trip to the States this month. She was able to get her blood work done and pick up the supplies she needs for her B-12 shots and other supplements. Her tests came back with good results. Her B-12 levels were 4 points into the normal range for the first time in several years! Her doctor is still concerned with her ferritin level (stored iron in the body); it is still within the normal range, but has dropped to 1/2 of what it was six months ago. Her doctor wants her to definitely return to the States again in six months, and he says we should be prepared for her to have either an iron infusion or blood transfusion at that time if her ferritin level continues to drop at this rate. We are, of course, trying to add iron with diet as much as possible; and we are praying that the Lord will continue to strengthen her and her blood in the coming months.

Men's Conference:
We held our first Men's Conference in March, where we taught on fatherhood, leadership, relationships, and serving The Lord as laymen. This is the first time that we have done this without the emphasis being towards pastors only. We had over 30 men from 8 different churches present for the sessions for the three day conference. Many of these men accepted the challenge that was presented to them, and they chose to sign a resolution along with their wives before the church; they decided before their church family to take up the responsibility that God has given them to be godly leaders in their homes. We praise the Lord for the changes He is bringing about in each of these families!

South Nyanza Baptist College:
Both of our Bible College branches are doing well, and we opened this year with 16 new students and some new pastors that have joined with us for fellowship and training. Our four teachers, who are national pastors, are assisting me and taking on more leadership roles in the college; and it is a blessing to see these men continue to mature in the Lord. This will open more opportunities to add an additional Pastoral class that we have not been able to finalize because of past schedule conflicts. Please pray for: classes, new students, and the challenges of opening new branches.

Serving Him in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby

Men's Conference 2013


South Nyanza Baptist College - Kisii Branch 2013

March 10, 2013 - Update/Kenyan Elections

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and for Kenya throughout this past week. It seems like everything is back to normal in Kenya for the moment. We have not had any more reports of trouble since yesterday.

The opposition party still plans to take the election matter to court, so we may still see some tense moments in the days to come. Once they take their petition to court, the court will have 14 days to make a ruling one way or the other. March 26th is the day that is scheduled for the swearing in ceremony for the new President. So the court case could cause a delay for this date.

And we are happy to report that all of our churches were able to meet for services all across our region (Nyanza) of Kenya without any problems! After talking with many people all across this region, we are hearing the same thing from all areas; the Kenyan people just want peace to prevail, and they are willing to sit back and let the court decide the entire matter. This is a great answer to prayer!

Thank you everyone for praying!

Serving Him in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby
Your Missionaries in Kenya
Numbers 6:24

March 10, 2013 - Update/Kenyan Elections

Printable Version (PDF)

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and for Kenya throughout this past week. It seems like everything is back to normal in Kenya for the moment. We have not had any more reports of trouble since yesterday.

The opposition party still plans to take the election matter to court, so we may still see some tense moments in the days to come. Once they take their petition to court, the court will have 14 days to make a ruling one way or the other. March 26th is the day that is scheduled for the swearing in ceremony for the new President. So the court case could cause a delay for this date.

And we are happy to report that all of our churches were able to meet for services all across our region (Nyanza) of Kenya without any problems! After talking with many people all across this region, we are hearing the same thing from all areas; the Kenyan people just want peace to prevail, and they are willing to sit back and let the court decide the entire matter. This is a great answer to prayer!

Thank you everyone for praying!

Serving Him in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby
Your Missionaries in Kenya
Numbers 6:24

Election Results May Elicit Strong Response - News from the US Embassy Nairobi

This is to inform U.S. citizens in Kenya that on March 9, 2013, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission declared Uhuru Kenyatta the winner of Kenya’s presidential election.  The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi has received reports of violence in Kibera, Kisumu, and Kakamega.  The police are responding; however, these demonstrations could spread or erupt elsewhere with little or no warning.  U.S. citizens should avoid crowds of all types, and are advised to avoid common gathering places and protest sites, such as downtown areas, stadiums, large parks, and slum areas.  Also, expect major traffic congestion and possible road closures.  U.S. citizens are advised to use extreme caution and monitor local media for the latest information on demonstrations and traffic disruptions.

Election Results May Elicit Strong Response - News from the US Embassy Nairobi

This is to inform U.S. citizens in Kenya that on March 9, 2013, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission declared Uhuru Kenyatta the winner of Kenya’s presidential election.  The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi has received reports of violence in Kibera, Kisumu, and Kakamega.  The police are responding; however, these demonstrations could spread or erupt elsewhere with little or no warning.  U.S. citizens should avoid crowds of all types, and are advised to avoid common gathering places and protest sites, such as downtown areas, stadiums, large parks, and slum areas.  Also, expect major traffic congestion and possible road closures.  U.S. citizens are advised to use extreme caution and monitor local media for the latest information on demonstrations and traffic disruptions.

March 9, 2013 - Update/Kenyan Elections

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

We are doing well, and we want to say thank you to all who have been praying for our family and for the country of Kenya during the election process. This morning, Saturday, March 9th, at around 2:30 AM the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) finished tallying the results for the Kenyan Presidential Elections which took place on Monday, March 4th. It has been a very peaceful process so far. There has been celebrations taking place in various places around the country throughout the night, and it appears that all celebrations have been peaceful. The official announcement for the next President took place at 2:30 PM from the IEBC Commissioner. They announced that Uhuru Kenyatta to be the fourth President of Kenya.

Now we will wait to see what the opposition's response will be. The Kenyan people want a peaceful aftermath, but they are waiting to see how the opposition leader is going to react. Please pray that he will step up, accept the IEBC results, and continue to promote peace across the country. He received over 5 million votes during the election, and these 5 million people are awaiting his reaction.

The new President, Uhuru Kenyatta, also faces some challenges ahead. He has been indicted by the International Criminal Courts (ICC) with crimes against humanity from the elections in 2007. He and his running mate both claim innocence to these charges, but they will be required to face the ICC later this year. Because of these charges, the USA, UK, and other nations warned that there would be consequences to Kenya if Uhuru Kenyatta was elected President of Kenya. Exactly what those consequences will be is still unknown, and at this time we are not sure what affect they will have, if any, upon our family or other missionary families living and working in Kenya.

Thank you again for your prayers for our family and the country of Kenya during this time.

Serving Him in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby
Your Missionaries in Kenya
Numbers 6:24