hello friends,
it is always a great joy to see young ones coming to the saving knowledge of Christ through Vacation Bible school (VBS). this week alone we were able to reach about 100 boys and gals in the village through VBS.
in VBS we have games, songs, colouring, making puzzles and memorizing scriptures. this year our theme was God's LOVE
we divide the students into three levels:
-beginners - those in kindergarten
-lower - involves those in lower grades
-upper - those in upper grades.
we do this every vacation (when the term end's and the kids are free, like this month of December ). what a joy to see so many of them committing to serving God even in these last days.
on another matter, i will need your prayers and volunteerism (am sorry i can't pay u). i am greatly involved in writing and editing children's books. if u are gifted in writing simple children's stories, let me know (kericho120@yahoo.com). u will not need to travel over to africa (though u are most welcome). the internet is a great help.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Thinking Globally
hello friends,
it such a great joy to think globally.
in the photo slide show u will see me posing with some of the gifts that were given to our church through our bishop. i hope u enjoy the pics.
please note that wherever you live, your country is in this picture. we will surely continue to pray for each country to enjoy the peace that He (God) alone can give. it will be our joy to do so.
God Bless
Jonah
it such a great joy to think globally.
in the photo slide show u will see me posing with some of the gifts that were given to our church through our bishop. i hope u enjoy the pics.
please note that wherever you live, your country is in this picture. we will surely continue to pray for each country to enjoy the peace that He (God) alone can give. it will be our joy to do so.
God Bless
Jonah
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Jiko Jiko Jiko Jiko Jiko
hello friends,
please pray. we are getting nearer to our tenth jiko. though we are halfway now as five jikos are now being used. what a joy this is.
i pray that we might continue to trust in Him the more. thanks a lot for those who have contributed to this and those who will in the near future.
Notes: In the slideshow above you will see the built up area of mud and bricks which is the new stove and counter area for cooking. You will also see a woman I call "Mama Jiko" holding the "jiko" pot. Mama Jiko makes these pots. These are mini ovens and placed over the holes in the built up stove so that food can be cooked more efficiently, with less smoke and with less wood.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Ordination
hello friends,
what a joy it is to qualify for ordination in your church. it is the same for these friends and their families, who after serving faithfully in the church have been able to be ordained. most of them have served more than 20 -30yrs in church leadership and it was a great challenge for them to accept this call to serve even more.
it was also a great day for me to see friends who have mentored me over the years getting to the top and i was really excited. some of them have given me opportunities to serve with them in their churches. what a joy this was.
i was also privileged to introduce myself to new friends that i made that day. it was truly a great day for me.
enjoy the pictures
Jonah
what a joy it is to qualify for ordination in your church. it is the same for these friends and their families, who after serving faithfully in the church have been able to be ordained. most of them have served more than 20 -30yrs in church leadership and it was a great challenge for them to accept this call to serve even more.
it was also a great day for me to see friends who have mentored me over the years getting to the top and i was really excited. some of them have given me opportunities to serve with them in their churches. what a joy this was.
i was also privileged to introduce myself to new friends that i made that day. it was truly a great day for me.
enjoy the pictures
Jonah
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
1000 Kenyan Leaders - Part Three
hello friends,
this is the 3rd report of the recent leadership conference held in kericho.
the graduation night was very crowded both with people and with the program. those who attended were issued with certificates of attendance. there were farewell ceremonies for the conference goers as well as our teachers. we sang songs and received the final blessings in terms of the word of God.
our final Word was clear.
"Move with haste......and reach Samaria and Judea and to the ends of the world..."
i believe this is the same message i have for you.
look out, reach out to your friends...pray with them. the Lord is coming soon. have a great day and enjoy the pictures.
Pastor Jonah
this is the 3rd report of the recent leadership conference held in kericho.
the graduation night was very crowded both with people and with the program. those who attended were issued with certificates of attendance. there were farewell ceremonies for the conference goers as well as our teachers. we sang songs and received the final blessings in terms of the word of God.
our final Word was clear.
"Move with haste......and reach Samaria and Judea and to the ends of the world..."
i believe this is the same message i have for you.
look out, reach out to your friends...pray with them. the Lord is coming soon. have a great day and enjoy the pictures.
Pastor Jonah
1000 Kenyan Leaders - Part Two
hello friends,
i still have more information from my week long stay at the leadership conference. it was a very busy time for me and those that attended the conference. there were many "sideshows" and i intend to give u a few of them today and maybe part of this week to give you a better idea of what was happening here.
Women:
i observed that the women really love to sit in front of the conference hall. they were always the first in the hall too and were the initiators of the whole program in the hall.
Food:
to get food you were expected to queue up to the cafeteria. the food served mainly was 'ugali' (made from corn), beans/meat, chicken, rice etc. i learned this past week, that it is difficult to keep people in the line. everyone wanted to be the first. i had a hard time doing this 'job' of being a prefect.
Waiters:
our waiters are people who are used to the workings in the kitchen and serving large groups. they usually serve up to 600 students in the school, but at the same time they felt that our conference was a big one for them and a little more challenging (our number was 1000) as it contained people of various ages. watch this spot from time to time, to hear more great stories coming along.
Pastor Jonah
i still have more information from my week long stay at the leadership conference. it was a very busy time for me and those that attended the conference. there were many "sideshows" and i intend to give u a few of them today and maybe part of this week to give you a better idea of what was happening here.
Women:
i observed that the women really love to sit in front of the conference hall. they were always the first in the hall too and were the initiators of the whole program in the hall.
Food:
to get food you were expected to queue up to the cafeteria. the food served mainly was 'ugali' (made from corn), beans/meat, chicken, rice etc. i learned this past week, that it is difficult to keep people in the line. everyone wanted to be the first. i had a hard time doing this 'job' of being a prefect.
Waiters:
our waiters are people who are used to the workings in the kitchen and serving large groups. they usually serve up to 600 students in the school, but at the same time they felt that our conference was a big one for them and a little more challenging (our number was 1000) as it contained people of various ages. watch this spot from time to time, to hear more great stories coming along.
Pastor Jonah
Friday, December 5, 2008
1000 Kenyan Leaders
hello
we had a wonderful one week leadership seminar this past week here in kericho. we really learned a lot from the facilitators who came from far and wide. what a joy it was to sit with leaders who have been teaching about leadership around the world.
i really love getting to know the delegates myself. we had over 1000 leaders from Kenya. it brings great joy to my heart as i learn that indeed we are all in the same battle, and some of the struggles i was going thru are the same struggles that my friends are going thru.
thanks for your prayers for this meeting. what a great joy this seminar brought to my heart. adding to my joy in attending this meeting was that i was appointed as one of the leaders to coordinate the meeting. after a week of meetings i am just heading home to have a warm shower (we usually have cold ones), a good rest for the weekend and service on Sunday.
have a great day and God Bless
Jonah
we had a wonderful one week leadership seminar this past week here in kericho. we really learned a lot from the facilitators who came from far and wide. what a joy it was to sit with leaders who have been teaching about leadership around the world.
i really love getting to know the delegates myself. we had over 1000 leaders from Kenya. it brings great joy to my heart as i learn that indeed we are all in the same battle, and some of the struggles i was going thru are the same struggles that my friends are going thru.
thanks for your prayers for this meeting. what a great joy this seminar brought to my heart. adding to my joy in attending this meeting was that i was appointed as one of the leaders to coordinate the meeting. after a week of meetings i am just heading home to have a warm shower (we usually have cold ones), a good rest for the weekend and service on Sunday.
have a great day and God Bless
Jonah
Friday, November 28, 2008
The Joy of Jikos
hello friends,
we are witnessing more jikos coming up.
what a great joy this is. many new people in the village want to own this precious thing after seeing others in the village and how it is helping them.
in my last update on jikos i wrote that we hope to have at least 10 jikos set up in village homes before Christmas. we still need 7 more to make it possible for us to make 10 before the start of this year's Christmas. this would help us to make a difference in a quarter of our households. [here are some photos of the 3rd hut to receive jiko in the village.]
pray that we can achieve this. we do hope to have great smiles from the families in our community for their blessings. and these smiles bring us great joy when we can give joy to them.
otherwise know we are really so excited that we and you...can make a difference in the lives of these dear ones. let's wait for more of these great smiles.
Jonah
we are witnessing more jikos coming up.
what a great joy this is. many new people in the village want to own this precious thing after seeing others in the village and how it is helping them.
in my last update on jikos i wrote that we hope to have at least 10 jikos set up in village homes before Christmas. we still need 7 more to make it possible for us to make 10 before the start of this year's Christmas. this would help us to make a difference in a quarter of our households. [here are some photos of the 3rd hut to receive jiko in the village.]
pray that we can achieve this. we do hope to have great smiles from the families in our community for their blessings. and these smiles bring us great joy when we can give joy to them.
otherwise know we are really so excited that we and you...can make a difference in the lives of these dear ones. let's wait for more of these great smiles.
Jonah
Suffer the Little Children
hello friends,
ministry to the kids is the greatest joy of all.
over the past few weeks i have been going out in the village with my brothers and sisters to reach the little ones for Christ.
what a joy to meet them in their current situations and to see them happy. i realized that at the end of the day, getting the boys and gals to be friendly takes just a short time.
I love it when I can share the love of Christ with these little ones.
Mark 10:14 Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
enjoy the pics
and God Bless
Pastor Jonah
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Enjoying His LIGHT and LOVE
soon we shall celebrate and and enjoy the "fruits" of this wedding that recently took place here. this is my great expectation as the young couple [in photo above] who married looked very excited. we are so happy that the two young people love God and are ready to serve Him.many, many years ago, our weddings were traditionally done in the pitch of the night. but when the LIGHT [of God] came calling we had 2 change and now we do this [wedding ceremonies] in the middle of the day.
what a joy it is for the whole community, including the children, to witness this wedding. this is what is happening here as you people in America celebrate your Thanksgiving holiday.
Psalm 118:19 "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good: His love endures forever."
Because He lives,
Pastor Jonah
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