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Category Archives: Updates
Ahaviah Zahorah
Ahaviah Zahorah arrived at home on 28 September 2012. Ahaviah means “the love of the LORD” or “the LORD loves.” Zahorah means “to shine” or “to illuminate” or “brightness” or “light.” Our LORD’s love shines brightly and illuminates the darkness. We pray that this love of the LORD will fill our Ahaviah with its light and that she truly be a daughter of the light which the darkness cannot conquer. Then this same love will also shine out through her to others.
As is our custom, we’ve also given her a nickname, Zemirah. (Of course all these names are Hebrew … we’ve got to do something, after all, with that expensive seminary education.) There are two different words (homophones) in Hebrew spelled “Zemirah.” The first means “song” or “melody” and therefore also “praise.” The second means “strength.” Thus our blessing to our daughter is that her life will be a song and melody of praise that rises up to the Father in response to his perfecting love. But we also recognize that the love of God is the only sure source of strength, and so we pray that it will always be Ahaviah’s foundation.
(In case you’ve forgotten or never known, these are the nicknames for our other children:
Alitzah is Tzitzah
Hannah Gail is Shoshannah
Eliana is Tzahala & also Ailona
Zerachiah is Shomer.
Have you ever wondered why we named our other children as we did?)
Oh, and for those of you who will want to know:
She arrived at around 5:38 pm and weighed in at 3.5 kg (7 lbs 11.2 oz) and measured 55 cm long (21.65 in). And of course, she is beautiful. Her father delivered her, as she was in hurry and the midwife was still on the way. (Well, at any rate, her father caught her … like Eliana, she seemed just to have been delivered by God.)
grace and peace,
joshua & ruth,
alitzah, hannah gail, eliana, zerachiah, ahaviah
A vision for the Rendille
Today starts a week-long vision trip (Aug 24-31) for five leaders from Community Christian Mission Agency (CCMA) to the Rendille area of Kenya. CCMA is considering this area as its possible first disciple-making outreach. The Rendille, who live in northeastern Kenya more or less between the Samburu and the Somali, are less than 1% Christian. Stephen Silamo, one of the CCMA leaders, is himself a Rendille believer who has a heart for his people. Pray for safety in travel, open hearts/minds to hear God’s leading, and God to be glorified.
(Thanks to our teammate Kim Cluff for reminding me that this trip starts this week.)
August update
The power of stories, a TBTI course, a Story-telling workshop, a new church plant & baptisms …
Click here to view a PDF of our latest newsletter.
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The picture is of part of the TBTI class in May 2012. Each morning we started with worship. For some reason or another I couldn’t add a caption today. Visit our Video page for a clip of this worship.
PBS video: update
If it’s easier for you to read the interview than to watch it, you can do so here:
www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/july-6-2012/converting-the-masai/11685/
a brand new church!
I just heard that CCC has begun a church plant in Maai Mahiu (“Hot Springs” in Kikuyu). Last Sunday was there 2nd worship there.
Maai Mahiu is at the base of the Escarpment on the way to Narok at the junction of the Narok and Lower Road to Naivasha. It is on the border between Maasai and Kikuyu areas, and there are other tribes there as well. It is also a “truck stop town,” which tends to bring several sorts of unwholesome activity, so another church there to shine the light of Jesus brighter is wonderful. Maai Mahiu was also a centre of violence during the post-election crisis in 2008.
(Thanks to our teammate Lynn Cazier for sharing this news.)
Turkana worship at TBTI class
Joshua’s “Church History” class at Turkana Bible Training Institute in Lodwar, 15 May 2012
The Turkana Bible Training Institute meets in Lodwar to train Turkana church leaders. Joshua taught “Church History” and “Missions & Evangelism” for TBTI in October 2011. In May 2012, he taught “Church History” to a new group of students: 17 men and 2 women from the CCC congregations. Most class sessions begin with a worship song and with prayer. This is a short clip of the worship from 15 May 2012.
For more videos, visit our video page.
2011 church growth
In 2011, there were 38 new churches planted in the CCC.
There were 23 congregations planted in Maasai land (including two, I believe, in a tribally mixed area).
There were 13 congregations in Turkana land.
There was 1 new congregation planted in the Kibera slum of Nairobi.
There was 1 new congregation planted in Samburu land.
The growth in Turkana land is particularly encouraging. In addition to the 13 new churches, there were baptisms of 1,026 new Turkana believers.
Meisisi Olaitoriani! Kuperoi Ekapolon! Bwana Safiwe!
(“May the Lord be praised / Praise the Lord” in Maa, Nga Turkana, Kiswahili)
One of thirteen baptisms in March 2011, part of a new church plant in Changamwe, just outside Mombasa on the coast; pictured are pastor Moses, new believer Rana, and our teammate Joe Cluff
Mainosa! Tunakula! Let’s Eat!
The rough draft of the Swahili adaptation / translation of our Enkinosata Ororei le Nkai (“Eating the Word of God”) curriculum has been finished. On February 16th, I went to Narok to meet with our editorial committee. We were able to work through a number of important issues. I am particularly excited because the adaptation of this project was begun at the initiative of the leaders of our CCC congregation in Narok town. It is also wonderful that my five christian brothers working on this with me represent four different tribes (Maasai, Kisii, Kamba, Meru).
L-R: Joshua, David Kamunyu (Meru), Matthew Ngomo (Kamba), Daniel ole Denkel (Maasai), Samson ole Dikirr (Maasai). Not pictured (taking the picture): Elijah Ombati (Kisii)
This curriculum has not yet been taught in the Narok congregation because, being a multi-tribal congregation, Swahili is usually used rather than Maa. But as they have gone through the material, this group of leaders has been greatly encouraged by it and are excited about the potential it has to make a great impact on the maturity and growth of the church. This is especially true as the CCC is expanding across tribal boundaries. So, let’s eat! (Mainosa – “let’s eat” in Maa; Tunakula – “we eat” in Swahili)
Speaking of eating, Alitzah and Hannah Gail really wanted to come with me on this trip. While I was in this meeting, they were at the Ombatis’ house playing with their two daughters. After the meeting, they ran errands around town with me. (One of those errands involved making arrangements with a brand new christian bookshop to distribute our Maa language materials.) At the end of a long day, they were very hungry and happy for me to take them out for a Daddy-Daughters date at their favorite “hoteli” – Kim’s Dishes – for some traditional Kenyan fare.
