Saturday, August 31, 2019

Sensible Shoes Ramada-Mariani


As if Ramada isn’t far enough off the main road, which is it, Mariani is even farther after turning of the secondary road. So much so that I began to wonder if there were any people in this place at all and how on earth we would find 100 children to serve with Sensible Shoes ministry. Hidden behind tall bushes along the narrow trail were stalks of already-harvested maize waving in answer to my question. We soon found a tree under which sat a dozen people, eventually accumulating to more than 50, gathered at the last minute to hear an encouraging word from the white woman.

Mariani Baptist Church has been active for almost 25 years in an area where people live beyond what we would consider a reasonably walkable distance from any other church or school. This separation from urban life made the people of Mariani-Ramada the perfect recipients for our Sensible Shoes ministry.







How could we possibly say no to shoes and prayer for
an old woman who'd done nothing but serve others
for her entire life (and had no shoes).

In this place, both young and old received the gift of foot washing, prayer, and a new pair of sensible shoes. The true blessing came when the first young man whose feet I washed and over whom I’d prayed took a basin, filled it with water, and began washing the feet of younger children. And when I looked up, the oldest man in the group sat next to the pastor who were both washing the feet of the children and praying fervently over them. To understand the beauty of this act, it’s important to understand that in African culture women serve men and older men or men of high “status” (such as pastors) are particularly catered to. So to find these older men alongside the youth washing the feet of children with me simply filled my heart with gratitude.

Baraka, which means blessed, immediately began
serving other children and stayed throughout.

Pastor Raymond invited me to visit this church, which is not his,
and quietly began serving the children.

Mzee also began serving with any pomp. I could hear
him praying in whispers over these children.

Pr Isaac (right) served by matching shoes with children
while Onesimus (left) translated for me as well as aided
in shoe matching.

Gathered together after foot washing, shoe fitting, and individual prayers, we prayed corporately over the distant future of these children. We prayed they would be spiritual leaders in their families and churches, that they would be leaders in business practicing Christ-like character, we prayed that they would consumer government positions and make decisions aligning with Scripture, we prayed that they would one day become presidents of nations. We continue to sow these prayers into coastal Kenya believing that God is faithful and will answer our prayers in the days to come.

Your gifts make this Sensible Shoes ministry possible and your prayers make our vision for these children possible. Thank you from the depths of my soul.

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Mariani Baptist Church


As if Ramada isn’t far enough off the main road, which is it, Mariani is even farther after turning of the secondary road. So much so that I began to wonder if there were any people in this place at all. Hidden behind tall bushes along the narrow trail were stalks of already-harvested maize waving in answer to my question. We soon found a tree under which sat a dozen people, soon accumulating to more than 50, gathered at the last minute to hear an encouraging word from the white woman. For a moment I’d forgotten where I was and thought this would be a quick meeting between the pastor and me simply to see and pray over construction progress.


An invitation to visit a church under construction always leads to the greater responsibility of providing a word of encouragement for the church. First Chronicles 29 is always an excellent choice for it tells of when King David gave of his personal treasure for building the temple and then invited the people to do the same. Typically we walk around the church to pray, but in this case we joined hands together in dedicating this land and the building of the church structure to the Lord. What a lovely opportunity to remind people that THEY are the church, not the structure.

Pastor Isaac testified that, after 25 years of pastoring this church, he is finally constructing a permanent structure as a result of what he learned from our Kingdom Business teaching in Hadu a few years ago. We give thanks that he is a faithful servant of the Lord using the resources of the church wisely.

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Saturday, August 24, 2019

BibleWorks Short-term Ministry


Not unlike the western world, East Africa has a vibrant spiritual world, false teachers, misinformed church leaders, and people who are not well trained in using their Bible in Sword fighting (Ephesians 6:16). In response, we organized a single-day lesson for ten coastal Kenya communities to uncover how the Bible came to be and how it can be used to reveal the truth about who God is. Click here to learn more about the program and the seven questions we answered.

A short-term ministry team of three traveled to each location and ministered what participants told us was a very simple and essential training necessary for equipping believers to mature their understanding of God’s Word.

  • We ministered at 9 churches (1 church rescheduled for September).
  • We ministered to 264 adults, dozens of youth, and even more children (some of our content is child friendly).
  • We provided 87 Kiswahili Bibles for those identified as being most in need.
  • We received a total of $71.45 as a sacrificial offering from BibleWorks participants for Bible Translation & Literacy in Kenya.



A special note about the offering we received, add to that $24.00 that was given to Emmanuel Baptist Church for lunch food and returned to us because they catered for their own expenses. Praise God for Pastor Raymond's wisdom and understanding (and application of what he's been learning).

Christ Formation Church Kaloleni

Jesus Jubilee Church Bamba

PEFA Church Ganze

Light of God Evangelism Centre Tandia

Reconciliation Evangelism Centre Kanani

Emmanuel Baptist Church Hadu

Faith Gospel Pentecostal Ministries Langobaya

Kagombani Baptist Church

Mountain of Glory Church Ganda

As a result of this ministry opportunity, we believe people were not only equipped to navigate that great big book for themselves, but they also received freedom from ignorance, cultural strongholds, confusion, and oppression. Thank you to each one of you who made this ministry possible.

If you would like to match the sacrificial offering of $71.45, you may do so at https://www.btlkenya.org/ or at https://giving.surprisedbyhope.org/


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