Nathan teaching in Burundi
Hello Everyone!
November and December are always very busy months for us. We are doing 34 ministry events, including: teaching in seminaries, conferences, and youth camps in the countries of Burundi, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. In our 8+ years of being in Kenya, this is the busiest two months we’ve ever had. All of our mentors are working really hard!
Matt went to Burundi for the first time in November. It is an amazing place filled with mountains, hills, and valleys. Burundi borders the second largest freshwater lake in the world (according to volume of water), Lake Tanganyika. Matt went with Nathan, another Kenyan mentor, and they were so impressed with the churches being planted and the amazing worship taking place. One thing they lacked was solid discipleship and youth ministry. They were so hungry to hear about how to reach the 40% of their population that is youth-aged.
One thing we are very excited about is our new smart phone app! We are launching a smart phone app this month for our devotional writing ministry on the Google play store. It is called “Kuza”, which means to grow or be nurtured in Swahili. The goal is to help youth grow and be nurtured in their relationship with God through these devotional materials we are producing in a Kenyan context.
In personal news... some of you know this and some don’t, but we are currently in the process of adopting an infant from the U.S. through Bethany Christian Services! We now just have to complete our home study (a series of interviews and check of home safety), and are coming back to the U.S. in mid-December for Kelly’s Christmas break to do so. After going through 7 years of infertility, we feel this is something God is calling us to do, and he has supplied everything we need for every unique challenge we’ve encountered adopting from the U.S. while living abroad! As you may know, unfortunately adoption is very expensive. Please know that we will be using our personal money for this adoption - every cent you give to our ministry goes specifically for that- our ministry here in East Africa. Please pray for us as we continue in this process- specifically that we will trust Him throughout, and that He will provide the right child for our family!
We hope to see many of you while we are home for the 3 weeks in December/January. If we don’t, we wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior, and a wonderful New Year. May our God supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19). Love,
Matt and Kelly