A Word from Doug -- "It's All Good News"

From Doug:

Margie and I have been so proud of our team. When we left for Africa we were trusting that they would sense the importance of their role, even though they wouldn’t be the ones teaching the adults. That desire has been fulfilled way beyond our hopes. We wish you could watch them interact with the missionaries, opening their hearts, listening to their stories, learning about the challenges in their territories of ministry, and praying for them fervently.

The location here in Malindi, Kenya provides the missionaries with a true retreat. One of the missionaries from Nigeria—a single woman whose husband died while she was there—glowed with gratitude as she spoke of the luxury of having a soft bed, running water, electricity and an overhead fan. She never gets those comforts working for months at a time in remote areas among the Fulani Muslims.

Among the missionaries are five families with children under ten. Needless to say, their kids a lapping up the pool, the beach and the fun company. Speaking of the kids, Christie Kessinger has been doing a great job teaching the kids everyday. They are loving her creative activities and soaking up the spiritual lessons she is teaching. The children are learning what their parents are learning about prayer, and maybe even going a stretch farther as Christie is teaching them how to prayerwalk, speak blessings over their parents and pray for people they don’t even know.

We have had many times of prayer together as a team. Most of those times have been spontaneous. We didn’t want to have scheduled times, as if prayer was simply an activity on the agenda. But we weren’t sure how it would work. Well, work it has. For example, after lunch yesterday and talking with two young medical doctors with four kids, the team lingered to pray for them. That turned into more than hour together, praying in a circle in the middle of the poolside restaurant.

The teaching sessions are going great. There is much openness to our call to prayer and our encouragement from the Word of God that seeking God in prayer will result in more effective ministry. We’ll finish up here on Tuesday and head back to Nairobi where we will face our biggest challenge—ministering to about 30 Kenyan church superintendents and district leaders. Even though we’ll have to teach and pray for them through an interpreter, we are trusting that the God of all languages will be the One who brings encouragement, guidance, freedom and peace in ways each person can understand.

So far, evidence of His grace and kindness is all around us. We fully expect He will continue to bless us with His favor and power. Thanks for praying for us.