Partial Lockdown in Kenya
September 2, 2021
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and gone, and we are now at the end of summer and beginning the school year. It seems like the summer months just flew by, and now we are in the later months of 2021. It is hard to believe the school has already started. May we remember the students, teachers, and parents during this challenging year with coronavirus. We pray that all will be safe and healthy. We hope this finds each of you doing well and we thank you so much for your interest in missions around the world.
Please continue to pray for Kenya and the coronavirus. Our understanding is that there is a partial lockdown in the country now, with religious gatherings meeting in a limited capacity. There is also an extended curfew, which has been going on for months. Kenya is now getting some of the vaccines shipped to them from overseas, so please pray that the vaccines will get into the right places quickly and prevent the virus from spreading further. We trust the Lord in all these things and know He is in complete control.
Jeremiah 32:17 says “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:” Also, Psalm 121:2, ” My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” These verses remind us that our help comes from the Lord, and that nothing is too hard for Him. When we are going through challenging times, such as this past year, may we get into the Word and remind ourselves of the great promises of God. He will be with us and take care of us. May we trust Him always.
I (Nathan) am continuing to travel and report on the ministries in Kitale, Kenya. Please pray for me as I travel, for safety, as well as good meetings in the churches. So many of you have asked how you can pray for us, encourage us, etc. We are so thankful to each of you and your heart for missions. We could not do this without you and we are so thankful for your support and encouragement.
This month marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington. May we be mindful of those who lost their lives on that tragic day, and keep the families in our prayers. Also, for the brave responders who perished in the efforts to save others. How we need to keep America in our prayers, for safety, freedom, and for the people to remember the Lord. In closing, I love Psalm 20:7, which says “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” Amen. We will keep you updated.
Until next month,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Contact Info:
Nathan and Carrie Radford
naterad[at]yahoo.com
Furlough Address
1126 Smith Street
Milton, WV 25541
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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Faithfulness in Available Opportunities
In my last correspondence, I mentioned that there was a possibility that our governing authorities might extend the COVID lockdown for a longer period and that is what happened. In fact, we had to hold all the worship services during the month of March by live video rather than in person. There is an upside to this in that we are all getting more adept at using technology and social networking to further the cause of Christ. I know that I, myself, have gotten more adept at speaking to a camera with no one present, except Charlene, and I had never done that before. We have also seen a huge increase in the number of viewers of our services than what we were having in person. We improved the equipment we were using and plan to continue to minister with it even after returning to live services next week.
All of our outreach team members have been actively seeking opportunities to share the gospel in ways that differ from their usual public school presentations. The number of people that they have been able to reach was greatly reduced, but the Lord knows that and we know that what counts is faithfulness in the opportunities available. Nonetheless, they all are getting antsy to get back out on the highways and into the many towns where there are no evangelical churches. The Lord willing, the tight COVID restrictions will be lifted very soon and public presentations will be possible.
I ask that you remember us in your prayers, both for wisdom to know how to minister in these strange new times and that we’ll have increased opportunities to share the gospel in the coming weeks.
We are extremely grateful to you who have been faithful to pray for and support us in our labors.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
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Trying Times in Cruzeiro do Sul
Dear Brethren,
Grace and peace to all of you. The Creiglow crew is all in good health. I have been encouraged to see that the pandemic numbers have been dropping rapidly in the United States. The opposite is happening here.
This letter will be short. Why? There is not much positive to report. This is a new experience for me. I have had my share of difficult times, but this letter will be hard to write.
The second wave of the virus has hit Cruzeiro do Sul and all of Brazil for that matter. The numbers are alarming. Yesterday Brazil had 30,000 more new cases than the US and 250 more deaths with 120 million fewer people! We lost 2 more members last week. Then we had a border crisis, with 400 Haitians trying to cross the Peruvian border. On top of that we had a historic flood. 10 of the 22 cities of the Acre were under water. We had several families housed in our school buildings.
You, too, have had to deal with the pandemic, major winter storms and unbelievable flooding. We have been praying for you and hope that you will do the same for us.
We are under lockdown and had to stop our services for now. We do livestream 3 services every week. Our musicians, praise groups, the pastor and media folks are the only ones in the building. I also record short lessons that go on our FaceBook and YouTube channels 2 or 3 times a week. We are taking care of our members primarily through our small groups, even though they are not allowed to meet in person.
Since I can’t get out I have also been working on building my new shop. It is almost finished. My tools were scattered in 3 locations and I had no real place to work. Now everything including the boats and motors will all be in the same location.
Well I am sorry to not have much to report to you right now, but I hope you understand.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you during these trying times.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
CONTACT INFO
Mike & Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre
Brasil, SA
mdcreig@hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Doors of Opportunity Unlocked Amidst Lockdown
May 20, 2020
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
It’s still all Corona, Corona, Corona around here. And as a result of that not much has been altered since the last time I wrote a report.
Schools are all closed so the kids are all at home. Josiah is at home doing on-line schooling. He is finishing his final term as a senior at Rift Valley Academy. He has missed his interim trip, his senior trip has been canceled and his graduation ceremony is probably canceled as well. It is unlikely he will ever see any of his friends again before they all head off to their home countries and home continents. Chloe is home too. Julie is homeschooling her and I am assisting by teaching math.
Churches are all closed. I haven’t been able to meet with the folks at Upper Room Baptist Church for many weeks now except individually. Everyone I talk to wants to get our worship services started back up again but to do so would be against the lock-down orders. At what point do we say we have to meet anyway?
Nairobi is locked down. Nobody is allowed in or out.
At least we still have access to food, water, and medicines. Our supply lines are operating as normal and all the necessities of life are still readily available.
The one thing we are desperately trying to avoid is Kenyan quarantine. People who test positive for Covid19 AND everyone they come into contact with are quarantined in official Kenyan quarantine centers. We all hear that these places are nightmares – No care, crowded, Corona-contracting centers. Healthy people get quarantined and are not allowed to leave. They end up coming down with the virus. I was in town today and saw a sign at the store: “Help contain Covid19 – Donate here to send street kids to quarantine centers”. I had to shudder.
But not all is bad news. There are opportunities as well. The other day I was in town picking up some supplies and I was at the store of a Hindu proprietor. He started talking about Corona and I said, “All I can do is pray, and trust God, and leave the rest in His hands”. The Hindu store owner stopped and said, “Yes, thank you. I guess we should be talking more about God than about Corona Virus”. Now I know that the “god” in his mind is different than the God in mine but we have small opportunities to talk to people these days in a way we might not be able to during a normal time.
Another opportunity is to invest in the lives of other people. As a result of the schools closing, we have two Kenyan teenagers studying here at our house and Julie is overseeing their education and I am teaching them Geometry. One is staying with us around the clock, including boarding here and the other comes every day for school purposes and then leaves at the end of the day. Yesterday, during their morning break, the four of us (myself, Josiah and the two Kenyan teenagers) sat on the veranda while they drank their chai and we just talked. And the most amazing questions and discussions came out. We talked about salvation, heaven, missions, f=ma and e=mc2, the movements of planets, English idioms, biological taxonomy, sin, grace verses the law, Jesus’ interpretation of the 10 Commandments in Matthew 5, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and what happens to morally upright Muslims who have never heard about Jesus. It was all done in a casual way and I didn’t lead them to any of these topics. We just talked about whatever came up out of their brains. What an amazing time to try and make sure they heard wisdom from a Biblical perspective on all of these topics.
Let’s ask God to give us more of these kinds of opportunities during this chaotic and unnerving time of uncertainty.
Blessings to you all, Roger, Julie, Amy, Josiah & Chloe
Contact Info:
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Where is Light?
Hello praying friends,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Light in the dark…
Good morning from the land of lockdown! As the world experiences the uncharted territory (uncharted for us…the world has experienced plagues, etc., throughout history), the question arises, where is light? Can we shine the good news of Jesus while being distanced from others? Can we encourage one another to love and good works while being isolated? I would like to take a few minutes of your time and share with you how God has used what was meant for evil to do good in our corner of the world.
Since John and I are in Evansville caring for my sister, we try to be on the lookout for those God wants us to touch. We walk with trekking sticks in the neighborhood every day. Of course, that makes us an oddity! …but also opens doors to share (from a distance, of course). The COVID-19 has given an awareness to people of the frailty of life…of what is really important…and we have had opportunities to share the reason for the hope we have! Whether it’s on the street, in line to get into the grocery or the checkout lady, there are moments to point people to Christ, the only Hope.
Distance separates from our French friends who don’t know Christ, but we have internet connections and are able to say, “Hey, how are you doing? We are praying for you”. We want those we love to know that even though we are far away, our hearts and prayers are with them.
As a result of the virus, our church in France is not able to meet together as usual. They decided to get together online. They decided to meet in the afternoon for them, so John, Abigail (our granddaughter) and I could attend. Oh, the tears of joy that John and I shed as we sang, prayed and shared with our brothers and sisters on the other side of the world!
Our Christian friends in the Ariège keep connected and we can share with each other our needs and blessings…in short, be an encouragement to one another.
I would like to leave you with a verse God gave me through my reading this week: “Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!” Psalm 27:14 NKJV
As we wait, we can be the light, knowing that the LORD is with us.
Yours together for the sake of Jesus,
Judy
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
