January 4, 2004

Dear praying friends, 

Happy New Year! I hope this email finds you doing well and you enjoying the New Year. May this new year be a year where we truly do more for God than we have ever done before, a year where we diligently seek His will for our lives, and a year where we truly see Him working on our behalf in the places that He has called us to serve Him. That is my prayer, and I hope you share it as well for this New Year.

One of the difficult aspects of missions is being separated from family, especially during the holidays. It is difficult to say goodbye to family when you leave for the field, but even more difficult around the holidays, times when families are together. It was even more difficult this year, as my fiancée was in Pennsylvania, and I was here in Kenya. Lord willing, this will be the final Christmas season that we will spend apart. It is never easy to be separated from those that you love, but it is what God is asking of me for now, and I want to be sure that I remain faithful to Him, and His call on my life here in Kenya. This past Christmas was extra special as my sister, her husband, and my niece Melia were able to come and spend the holidays with us here in Kenya. It had been many months since I had seen them, and it was so special to be able to celebrate our Lord’s birth with them. They all did very well adjusting to the culture here, and realizing that things do not work here like they do in the States. I was very proud of each of them and their willingness to travel so many miles to see me this past Christmas. Their current ministry is at the University of Michigan, where they use their time in evangelism, counseling, and discipleship. It is truly exciting what God is doing there, and how they are being used by Him. Please keep each of them in your prayers.

I have finished with the second evangelism class in the prison. There were around 25-30 that took the teachings, and many have already taken the exams and have done very well on them. We have already completed the “role play” time where each prisoner gets the opportunity to demonstrate before the group what he has learned. As each role play was completed, I found myself so proud of each prisoner, as they not only did very well on their exams, but also are able to use the training that they have received in real life situations. Please pray for these prisoners as they are now finished with the training and ready to begin sharing with the other prisoners this week. They face much opposition, as many different denominations and beliefs are represented in the prison, yet they continue to remain faithful and share the Word of God. I am so proud of each of them and the genuine effort that I have seen them make. Please pray that they would be able to share their faith with boldness, and that they would see many decisions for the kingdom of God.

There are many plans that we have in the future for the prison ministry. Please pray as meetings will be held and plans will be discussed for this new year. Among the topics that have been suggested are classes in theology, teaching on various cults and how to share with those with other beliefs, AIDS awareness and education, classes on the New Testament, how to live the Christian life, Walk Through the Bible, etc. Each of these classes will be very important to the future and Christian growth of the prisoners, so please pray that God would give us wisdom for each class to be taught as well as the correct timing for each class. We must never make decisions in our own wisdom. If we lack wisdom, we are to ask of God. (James 1:5) Please pray for me as I ask God for wisdom for how to proceed with new classes and education, so that the prisoners will truly grow spiritually and be challenged in their walk.

That is all the current news from Kitale. Thank you once again for your emails, letters, and prayers of encouragement. May we all be truly dedicated to doing more this year for the Lord than every before. God bless you.

Sincerely,

Nathan Radford