July 1, 2003

Dear praying friends,

I will use this letter to bring you up to date with the things that God has been doing here in Kitale this past month. The past month went by very quickly for me, but it was full of many ministry opportunities for the kingdom, and I was able to see many results from the ministry here in Kitale.

I wanted to write to ask you to pray for this special opportunity that I have to work with and disciple the mayor of Kitale. This is a big opportunity for me, as the mayor is a new believer and has much influence in the high government offices, and with the officials here in Kenya. I am truly honored to be asked to help him grow in his faith, and I would ask you to pray that we would not be prevented from meeting together faithfully, that much would be accomplished for the glory of God, and that he would make positive changes in our city here in Kitale that would honor the Lord, as a result of our time together. I appreciate your prayers for this very special opportunity that God has given me. I plan to start this week with the lessons, and please pray that he will have continued availability to meet, as he is very busy.

I have been very impressed with the growth that I have seen in the lives of three of our youth in our church. These three boys, one of whom is our oldest orphan, faithfully attend the evangelism classes and discipleship every Sunday, and go out and share their faith, even in their schools during the week. One of the boys has even started a Bible club in his school, where he teaches from the Word of God weekly. I had the privilege of going out with Dennis, one of our orphan boys on evangelism recently, and he is doing very well, and God is really blessing him in his efforts for the kingdom of God. I know that God has big plans for all three of these boys, and as they continue to yield themselves to the will of God, He will continue to lead and guide them. I plan to start a new Bible study this week just for these youths to help them really grow and understand the Word, so that it will prepare them for ministry in the future. It is a blessing to see youths with such a tender heart for God.

Today, the assistant pastor and I started a whole new branch of our prison ministry especially with the women’s section of the prison. The women’s section is totally different from the men’s section, and there are many opportunities to serve the Lord there. When we arrived for our first ministry day today, we asked those who would be interested in our Bible studies to come and meet, and there were around 45 that came! God is so good and faithful! We presented the gospel, and after going through the plan and inviting them to accept Christ as Savior, around 25 responded to the message! Also, many of the guards were interested in our studies, and were asking us for additional materials. We are very excited at what God is doing, and will continue to do in this new ministry. I also bought some materials for them to help them during the week to grow spiritually. The men’s area of the prison is going well also. We are forming brand new groups of about 10-11 to start this week. Please pray that God would open their hearts, and that we would continue to see many results for the kingdom.

Finally, please pray for me and my continued growth in the language of Swahili. I am now striving to do a major translation each week to help me really grow in the language. I am teaching through an entire book with the deacons on Wednesday evenings, and translating each lesson into the official language of Kenya. These translations are major projects, and require much work, but I am pleased with the progress that I have seen, and continue to see, in the language. I also do many things during my language study times with my teacher, such as writing essays, reading the Swahili paper, conversing in the language for long periods of time, etc. Please pray that I will continue to grow and study hard so that I can communicate with the people in their own language.

That is all the current news from the ministry here in Kitale. Please keep me and the ministry in your prayers, and thank you for all the notes, emails, and letters of encouragement. God bless you.

Because of Him,

Nathan Radford
John 14:6