February 5, 2005

Dear praying friends, 

I hope this New Year finds you all doing well and continuing in service for our Lord. As I was traveling last year, and continue to travel, telling churches about the work in Kenya, many people are interested in my call to the field and my future ministries that I plan to lead with the Lord's help. I was recently ordained at Calvary Baptist Church, my home church, and was required to submit a document to the board which outlined my call to Kenya and my present and future ministries. This document took much work and preparation. This prayer letter will be a little longer than normal, but it is information that many have asked about and I feel it necessary to report this to those who are interested. 

Since many have asked about my call and my future plans, I thought it fitting to include this in the next two prayer letters. I will return to the original format of letters in April, but I find it necessary to address these issues for the next couple of months. Below is the information, and I hope it will help so many of you who have asked to know better how to pray for my wife and I as we plan to return to Kenya.

Missionary Call:

A missionary must be called of God to go overseas and to work for Him, as it is very challenging. I sensed a passion for the field when I was in college at Cedarville University. I went to Nairobi, Kenya for the summer of 1997, and got involved in a variety of ministries. After this trip, I knew that God was working in my heart and that I needed to surrender to Him. In 2000, I got involved in a variety of ministries and saw specifically how God could/would use me. I asked the church in Kitale to pray for me for wisdom, concerning how God would work in getting me back to Kenya. 

Upon return to America three weeks after this trip, the company where I had been working in Michigan (30 years in Grand Rapids) announced that it was being sold and that 1,400 jobs were being eliminated, mine included. This was hard, as I had many changes to make, but I knew that it was a direct answer to prayer, as the Kenyans and my parents had prayed fervently for me for wisdom. The Lord opened the door, in direct answer to prayer. I served in Kenya for over two years and saw the Lord do amazing things. I am definitely called without reservation to this work and it is my goal to serve Him passionately and faithfully in this area of the world.

Present ministries in Kitale, Kenya:

1. Prison ministry: This ministry has been my focus and passion. After serving in America with a prison ministry while in college, I developed a heart for prisoners, as so many of them are forgotten by society. My goal in going to Kenya was to first evangelize, then train disciples who would be able to carry on the work while I am away in America. God greatly worked and blessed in this ministry and has glorified Himself through it. We saw around 90 decisions for Christ in the prisons during my first term. Kitale main prison, where I taught, runs around 1100-1300 prisoners, a huge "harvest field." There are both men and women prisoners who receive the teachings.

2. Evangelism/Discipleship: This ministry was one of my priorities, to not only evangelize, but to disciple new believers in the faith. I was able to teach two evangelism classes in the two churches in Kenya, Calvary and Imani. I was also allowed to teach the classes in Kitale main prison, where both men and women were interested and using the materials. There are presently two teams that go out on Sundays from both churches and also prisoners who are using the materials. God’s work is going out and the gospel is being presented, and I am very proud of my faithful students. Around 40-50 were trained in the prison in evangelism and around 25-30 in the two churches.

3. Discipling top youth of our church: This ministry has focused on equipping the young men of our church who have shown great potential. The group originally started with three young men but grew to around seven when I left. We did many discipleship programs, including Navigators, and also discussed Calvinistic doctrine. One young man has already preached twice in our church and others are involved in Sunday School and leading the evangelism ministries while I am away. I am very proud of each of these boys and they have great potential.

4. Bible school: This ministry focused on equipping the current leaders of our churches. One problem that I noticed among the African leaders was their lack of solid Biblical teaching and training. It was one of my goals to prepare African pastors to continue in the ministries that God called them to. Not only pastors, but other Africans who wanted to be used in the work of God and were serious in following the Biblical commands and mandates. This school saw many good students pass through the various terms. 

5. Language study/fluency: One of my goals was to be able to speak and understand the official Kenyan language during my first term. Swahili is not an easy language, with around 12,000 words, but my teacher and I worked tirelessly during the weeks to prepare me to be able to communicate and understand the Kenyans. When I left, the Lord helped me to be able to learn around 4,000 words, but there is much needed work to be done in the future in this area. I was told I was around 80% fluency in the language upon leaving, so please pray that I would learn the remaining 20% of the language this next term.

These are the present ministries that are being conducted. Next month, I will discuss the future and also how my wife will assist greatly with the work in Kitale.  

Please pray for my parents, as they have safely arrived back into Kenya and are restarting their ministries after a six-month departure. Pray that the Lord would give them wisdom as they must address various problems. (James 1:5) I continue to pray for them daily.

Please also pray concerning your role in the ministry of my wife and I. We are not at total support, and we are praying and trusting the Lord to provide the remaining funds that we need. We are presently around 77% of our support, as we have lost some previous support from my first term. We also need more funds than we originally thought, as there are more expenses than we originally planned for, so please consider this as well. Please pray regarding your role in the remainder of the support that we need. We need to be totally funded before leaving for Kenya, so please pray and ask God how He can use you to further the gospel in Kitale. We are completely stepping out in faith trusting the Lord, as nothing is impossible for Him. (Luke 1:37) Thanks so much to the faithful monthly supporters of this work in Kitale, and if God would burden you to assist with this work, please email me or send the funds to the address listed below. God bless you and thank you for your interest in the ministry in Kitale, Kenya.

Mungu Awabariki, (God bless you - Swahili language)

Nathan and Carrie 
Ephesians 2:8,9 

For ministry donations:

Pastor George Sledd
Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL  32747-1280