Some Bibles and a short trip

We have been very busy this last few days. On Wednesday, our friend Richard left Kenya. We are praying for him as he goes to some nations that do not welcome the name of Jesus or those who are His followers. But before leaving, the Lord provided, through people donating to Richard, some money for Bibles. He left us with the money and said goodbye.

On Friday we went to Nairobi and had an extremely crazy, yet productive, day. We applied for our 3 year visas, applied for a bank account, visited a Swahili school, and bought 88 Bibles.


A box full of Bibles! There is nothing quite as exciting as caring a box full of God's Word, know that it will change the lives of hundreds of people!


You see here 4 different Bibles. On the left side, you see the Swahili Good News Version. The top is an average Bible which costs about $10. The bottom is a Swahili Study Bible costing about $18.
On the top right, you see a really small Bible. You have to have reading glasses or very good eyes to read this one because the text is so small. Also, this is the SUV version, something similar to the King James Version in Swahili. This one costs about $5.
On the bottom right, you see another language. This is a Pokot Bible. What a powerful gift! The Bible in your own heart language! This one costs about $9.

Why the Pokot language? The Lord has opened up a door for us to go to a remote village in the Pokot area. It is called Amaya. Don't bother trying to find it on the map, it is too small. But if you are interested in knowing the area it is about 150 kilometers east of Lake Baringo.

Many of these people have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Nobody takes a tourist trip to Amaya. It is in the bush... no water, no power, no toilets, no cell phone reception. Who will go to these people? We are going for two weeks with a small team from the U.S. and a Kenyan family from Kijabe. This man and his family are moving to Amaya to bring the Gospel into a very dark area.

As I am sure you have probably guessed, because we will be lit odds cell phone reception, you will not be getting any blog posts until after the 13th of October.

We have such a unique privilege... to be going to preach the Gospel to unleashed people on our one year anniversary! No better way to celebrate in our opinion :)

Please be praying for us! We are going as ministers of God's grace to a dark and unreached place!

May the Lamb who was slain receive the full reward of His suffering!

Yours in Christ
Phil and Leah Nelson

In prison

Today we went to Naivasha... but this time no paint was involved. We had our second meeting with Godfrey which included a trip to prison for preaching the Gospel. :)



Godfrey has been involved with the prison ministry for many months now, and today he invited us to join him. We went to the medium level prison (those with a sentence of 10 years or less) and had a chance to preach to the women.

The prison staff warmly welcomed us in and we sat in front of a row of empty seats. Not long after arriving, about 30 women (including 5 mamas with their babies) filled the small rows. We sang a few songs then Leah had a chance to present a Bible to a woman who was recently saved.



Leah then had an opportunity to speak to the women a brief message. The text was "the parable of the lost coin" from Luke 15. She shared how God's heart for those who are lost is much greater than a woman's heart for a coin. The woman searched for the coin because it was (1) important, and (2) precious to her. This is a shadow compared to heart of God! How precious every soul is to THE LORD!



Each face pictured here represents a precious soil that Jesus longs to see reconciled to God! "He is not willing that any should perish." "He now calls all men everywhere to repent."

These souls are precious to God. Are they precious to you? He gave everything to come to us, are we willing to go to them?

"Here am I send me!"

Painting and Praising God!

Today we returned to the orphanage at which we have been working. We finished the ceiling after 7 hours of work and 3 cans of paint.

Here are a few pictures of the finished product





After painting we headed to a house in Naivasha where a small team of 8 ladies are staying. This is the team we will be going with to a remote area called Pokot. It was a wonderful time of prayer and fellowship.

Phil shared a short message about Christ Jesus's supremacy.
He is supreme in His...
Power: His power is greater than all we imagine
Eternality: His the same yesterday today & forever
Authority: He has authority over all things
Character: He is absolutely perfect in all things
Existance: He is everywhere and always present with His people.

These are just a few areas of His supremacy. But notice they spell "peace." Those that trust and follow Jesus Christ may find peace in His supremacy! He reigns supreme in all His creation and over His Church.

We, His children, walk now in the supreme power of our Lord! Oh that we might learn to walk in this power!

Pictures of the Orphanage

Here are some pictures of the orphanage we are helping with...

Painting with pals

Our dear brother, Richard Lawson, was in Uganda this month. Since he was in the neighborhood, he crossed the boarder and came to Kenya. Richard is the director of Loving Orphans Global ( www.lovingorphansglobal.com ), he has been involved with establishing schools and orphanages in atleast 5 countries. And this, all for the glory of God Almighty!


We will share more about an opportunity which has come up with Richard in another post...

Today, Richard and I helped put a primer coat on the ceiling of the entry room at the orphanage which in Naivasha. We started at 8am and stopped at 5:30pm.

Here are before, during, and after pictures.










Some one today asked if Phil is a pastor. In replying "yes," they were shocked and said "I guess you are a multi-purpose pastor!"

We all: pastor, prince, or pauper, must be ready to serve! "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth" 1 John 3:18.
"even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28

Blessings!

Longing for More of Jesus

"Wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her." Proverbs 8:11
We would do well when reading the book of Proverbs to understand wisdom as the very nature of Jesus Christ before His incarnation. John says that Jesus is the "logos" or wisdom, thoughts, and logic of God.
Read now with this in mind... Jesus is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare to Him!
Oh dear believer, is this a vital reality in your life or just a nice phrase? You see Christianity is not a matter merely of right thought, it must be accompanied by a righteous life as well. You cannot just say such things with out living them. Oh lying lips are an abomination before the Lord! May this small phrase not only be the motto of our mouth, the meditation of our hearts, but also the mode by which we live!

Leah's first speaking engagement

Today Leah spoke for the AIC Kijabe ladies fellowship. She shared about being a new creation in Christ; how we are supposed to see one another now from His point of view, and not from the flesh. When we do not see each other with the eyes of Christ, we certainly do not share His mind and His thoughts. When we do not love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we live in open sin, walk in darkness, and demonstrate that we neither know Christ or obey His commands. May we ever grow more in the image of Christ! Our job as Christians is to be maturing in Him!
Oh Christ be honored!
The ladies have asked that Leah share again next week when the district (composed of 5 local churches) comes together for a ladies meeting. Please be praying for her as she prepares for that preaching occasion.

Doing things a little different

When you move to another country, you find yourself doing most things in different way. Today, Leah (with a little help from Phil) did laundry. Because the amount of power and water which are required by laundry machines is too much for this place, everything must be done by hand. While there are things that we certainly miss about the US, walking in God's will is of far greater value than any comfort this world has to offer.
Laundry, as we are used to, is one of the first luxuries we must be willing to forsake for the spread of the Gospel. And it certainly won't be the last.

Our co-laborer and a new shirt

Yesterday we meet for three hours with Godfrey Ng'ang'a. Phil worked with him during the summer of 2009, and he was the Chairman of the seminar in January of 2012. We talked about some of the things coming up in the next few months... including our next seminar in December! There is much to be done in the meantime! And so this little team of 3 will begin the work of getting CWFAN up and running in Kenya. :) And as a way of beginning our partnership in this labor of the Gospel, Godfrey gave me this shirt!

Breakfast with friends

We have been enjoying the presence of our friends here in Kijabe. In this picture (from the right to the left) is Leah, Margret, Joyce, and Gwen. Joyce and Gwen are from Cymru (Wales). A Kenyan morning not complete without chai (made on a stove with: loose black tea leaves, half water, half milk, and a local spice).

A place to study

We are spending our days studying the Word and Swahili...
Here is a little room in Simon's house that we go to hide away from the distractions

Our first post from Kenya!

We have arrived in Kijabe safely. We traveled all day Monday and Tuesday.
This picture was taken on Monday before we left the states.


On Wednesday we went to Naivasha and purchased our phones.
Thursday we went to Nairobi and met some new friends.
Today we went again to Naivasha and visited the Orphanage that Simon has been developing. Pictured below is one picture from inside the building.




We spent the day sanding the walls to prepare them for primer.

The Lord knows what tomorrow holds :)

We have started reading Principles of Prayer by Charles Finney, it is a 40 day devotional on prayer. We are ready for the challenge!

Blessings! Seek the Lord, He is faithful!