Millet Crop Ready for Harvest

He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate-bringing forth food from the earth. Ps. 104: 13-14

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
Habakkuk 2:14

Thanks for praying for our trip to Mwingi April 29-May 3. It really was a great time of ministry together for Lois and me. Andrew was left with the family of one of his friends so he would not miss any school.

The main purposes of this trip were for Lois to check on the progress of her work with Kyeni Kya Gai School and other ministry partners at the health center and I wanted to assess the progress of the new church planters we are sponsoring, the success of the well construction, and make preparations for a summer team coming from the U.S. in August.

Happy to have some water, though it used to be a flowing river

One of the first things we were struck with was the lush “greenness” of everything around us! In answer to our prayers, God has brought rain to this region! It was a reminder that our God, the author life, is the one who sovereignly and graciously gives water to the dry land and the one who pours out his spirit to bring the spiritually dead to life through the Gospel.

Meeting with Guardians and Students at Kenyi Kya Gai School

Kiondo baskets from Mwingi

Enjoying the Lunch Kianga Kids Provides

Lois was encouraged to find new life at the Kyeni Kya Gai School. The community group that sponsors the school, had worked hard to weave 120 baskets for her to sell. She was also pleased to find they have added another class and the government has given them a teacher.

Robert with Church Planters

New church in Kimangao

I was also encouraged to see the new life coming to the region as new churches are being planted. This is being done through faith in the Gospel in the face of so many challenges. For instance, at the Nzaini church, where we helped build a sanctuary four years ago, I was initially discouraged to see what little progress they had made in adding doors, windows or flooring, until they reminded me of the ongoing drought and famine they have been experiencing. Then I realized their situation. Now that rains have come, they are planning to go forward with these projects. As people harvest, they will hopefully give back to the Lord their “firstfruits.” I was surprised to find that, in spite of these limitations, they have been busy planting three more churches!

Mavauni Church Plant

Lois with the Mavauni Congregation

Rob preaching at Mavauni

While we visited other church sites we heard of other challenges. Most of these pastors have to walk or bike for miles from their home each week until they can have a church building and pastor’s house built. Church activities have to be scheduled around the growing seasons. When people are planting it is hard to get them involved in church activities. When they are harvesting, families must always leave someone at home to keep the birds off of their crops so they come to church in shifts.

One time consuming task most have to face in this region is getting water and we praise God that both of the wells in Nzaini and Kasyongo are now providing water for their communities. All that remains is to install retainer rings and hand pumps.

Nzaini Well

New church meeting under a tree

We also sensed God’s watering hand of blessing in our goat project research. We have a supporting church in Virginia planning to send a team of four people in August to do a pastor’s seminar and investigate the possibilities of sponsoring a goat project. Goats would provide milk for the babies of HIV-positive mothers and, after the children are weaned, the milk would be used for making cheese or soap as a cottage industry.

European Togenbach Buck

Togenbach's house

Our visit with some government agricultural officers was very helpful. We came to know the several types of goats in the area and some crossbreeding projects with which they are experimenting. One European goat is being cloned with a local goat to double the milk output. Providentially, when we visited Mavauni church, we found that a member of the church has one of these exotic imported goats and his home is the site of a “buck station” to help local farmers with the crossbreeding. This man may prove to be very helpful when our team comes to do their research!

Togenbach cross-breeds

Please pray…
1. We think you can stop praying for rain! We are told that all over Kenya they have been being receiving this blessing and it has even been flooding many places. We praise God for his blessing and provision after the trials of post-election violence, drought and famine.

2. Pray for these rural church planters- Jeremiah, Nicodemus, Jacob and Stephen in the Kyuso Presbytery. Pray for endurance, faith in the Gospel and love for their communities.

3. Pray for us and our whole mission as we meet in Athens, Greece for our bi-annual mission-wide conference- that God would bring the refreshing rains of his spirit into our parched souls!

4. When we return we will be moving from Nairobi to a place called Karen (after Karen Blixen, author of “Out of Africa”) that is closer to Andrew’s school. Pray for peace in our hearts as we deal with the complexities of the above trip coinciding so closely to this move.

5. To add to our need for grace, when we return we will be receiving five interns for two months. Pray for Stephanie, Heather, Jenny, Emily and Katie- that they will have a meaningful time here in Kenya. Pray the Gospel would work in them and through them. We want them to have a taste of missionary service in a variety of areas.

6. Please pray for our dear young friend, Christine, whose HIV has progressed to the point of needing to begin anti-retroviral therapy. Ask our Father to comfort her and give her hope for the future. Pray that we will be able to find a home and school situation closer to where we will be living.

Thanks for praying,

Robert & Lois Carr

Posted in Category: Changed Lives, Church Planter Training, Family News, Kenya Mercy Fund, Kianga Kids, Prayer Requests, Short-Term Teams, Uncategorized
Posted by Robert Carr