February 3, 2003

Dear praying friends,

Greetings from Kitale , Kenya . I am enjoying myself here in Kitale, and very excited about the ministries that God has allowed me to be involved in since my return from Tanzania two months ago. I would like to give an update on my current ministries, the ministries that I will pursue next month, as well as sharing prayer requests.  

Last week, I was able to go to the Kitale main prison with the assistant pastor of our church, Moses. We arrived early in the morning prepared to share the gospel message with the prisoners that we would encounter. There was a group of seven prisoners present, and I was able to go through the plan of salvation with each of them. Three of the prisoners received Christ, and will form the start of a new believer’s class, which I will teach later this week. There are also two other new believers that will form the class, which will make a total of five. One of these prisoners was recently saved through the tract which we passed out two days before Christmas. The title of the tract was “saa moja imebaki,” which means “one hour remains” in Kiswahili. It stressed the urgency and importance of the gospel message, and I received a letter through the mail from a prisoner (I cannot give the name because of confidentiality reasons) who said that he had read the tract, and received Christ as Saviour. I have been very busy planning the methods, books we will teach, and general schedule that we will follow. The assistant pastor, Moses, and I have decided on a plan to begin in small groups of six to ten prisoners. There is a large task ahead of us, as there are over 1,200 prisoners in the prison. We will work with two groups at a time, with one group meeting with us on Tuesday, and the other group meeting with us on Thursday. We will share the gospel as well as teach basic Bible doctrines. Each group will go through a certain level of training before another group is formed. In the future, we also want to form a library of Biblical materials for groups to choose from after they have finished our course. Many requests have been made for additional materials, and we are in the process of forming a library to accommodate these needs. We want to reach as many prisoners as possible with the gospel and Bible teaching, but this will take many months based on the amount of prisoners represented in the prison. I would appreciate your prayers for this ministry.  

To give the details of the groups which have been formed, each group has a leader, who is responsible to make sure that each person is accounted for, and present for the teaching. Notebooks and pens have been provided for the groups, so they can increase their knowledge of the Scriptures, as the Word of God is being taught. It has been exciting to see the enthusiasm and excitement that the prisoners have for the Word, as they are taking many notes as I am teaching, and are even memorizing Scripture. I have also seen leadership skills and abilities through some of the prisoners, as they have a burden to reach others in the prison for Christ. I also have been asked by the prison guards for Bibles and Bible study materials, which is very exciting. Many of the wardens have been taking notes as well, so I am able to minister not only to the prisoners, but also the guards and wardens. To date, I have received six letters from various prisoners, giving specific prayer requests, or asking for additional materials. I have also received requests to meet with them personally, and pray for their future. I am very excited at the progress that I have seen, and to know that the hand of God is upon this ministry. It is such an honor to serve God here in Kitale.  

So far, the plan is working well and going smoothly. I have only been doing this plan for two weeks, and God has been blessing, and it is exciting to see what He is doing, and be a part of His work in Kenya . I have other plans for the prison ministry, such as showing the “Jesus film” in Swahili, perhaps next month. There is a women’s prison which is totally separate, comprised of over 100 prisoners, and I have been given permission to show the video there. Please pray that God would open the hearts and eyes of more prisoners and that they would see their need of the gospel.  

I plan to start teaching an evangelism program in Kiswahili for the members of our church later this month. It is so important to know how to lead another person to Christ, and I would ask that you would please pray that there would be good attendance at the meetings, and that I also will be able to develop further in the language of Swahili. I have made a goal to learn ten new words six days a week, (except Sunday) and I would ask that you would pray that I would be able to make that goal, so that I will be able to communicate well with the people in their own language.  

I am also looking into the possibility of starting a small group discipleship class for the youth leaders of our church. There is a twenty-four week course that teaches the foundations of the faith, and is excellent to train the young people to be the leaders of tomorrow. Please pray that the participation for this class would be strong, as well as the for the development of the youth in their knowledge of the Scriptures.  

That is all the current news from this side of the world. Thank you so much for all the encouraging emails and letters.

May God richly bless you at the start of this New Year.

Sincerely,

Nathan
Mark 16:15