Moving and Two Conferences

The Lord answered your prayers while we were in Albuquerque, NM. We only had an extended weekend to move our stuff from storage, organize it, and load it into the trailer we rented to move everything up to Michigan. But we were able to finish the job. We were grateful for help that came in from a few family members to keep us going. My mom pitched in and babysat the kids many of the days. They even got to go to a local aquarium one day.
After dropping off the trailer in Michigan, we enjoyed Resurrection Sunday with New Testament Baptist Church, a partner church in Syracuse, NY, where Jen's family attends. No sooner had we arrived, it seemed, and I was off for another engagement.
One of my good friends from seminary days is a pastor at Community Baptist Church, Woodhaven, MI. The church's two pastors, a mutual friend, and I, attended a large pastors' conference in Kentucky. I can't remember a more spiritually enriching time of preaching from the Word, theological discussion, and fellowship around the gospel. I was glad to touch base with many contacts from college while I was there as well. We came home eager to return to our ministries in local churches. That Sunday I was able to present the ministry at Community Baptist.
Last week, I gave myself to catching up on a considerable task list that had mounted while we were packing and attending conferences. During the week, the pastor at New Testament Baptist made arrangements to take another church leader and me to another's pastors conference. This smaller conference was still characterized by great preaching from the Word and fellowship. The three of us had a few great theological conversations on the six-hour car ride each way. God is so good to provide these times of mutual sharpening and encouragement!
Sunday before last, I was able to introduce myself to the deacons of an area church that is currently without a pastor. I'm eager to see what opportunities to serve the Lord will provide through this church, New Testament Baptist, and others in the area. Building relationships through service is often the route to new partnerships for the progress of the gospel around the world.
Thank you for keeping our desire to reach Kenya quickly before the Lord in your prayers.

And Back Again

Jamin Explores Backwards

After our last update, we continued our time with Crossway Baptist Church in Bakersfield, enjoying the company of church members throughout the week. The Lord has been kind to guide us into partnership with this young church; it's exciting for us to be taken on as a church's first missionary family!
On that Friday, we left Bakersfield for the San Francisco Bay area. We stayed at the prophet's chamber of First Baptist Church of Pinole and updated the church on our ministry that Sunday. FBC Pinole has consistently helped us with lodging as we have sought partners in the bay area. We're thankful for the way they have reached out to us as a family and their consistent investment of resources in the prophet's chamber and missionary closet.

Josiah Goofing Around After Services

On Monday of last week, I had a meeting with a few pastors from Grace Baptist Church of Fremont. We spent several hours discussing missions philosophy in general and the Kenya work in particular. The goal is a thriving movement of churches, independent of foreign resources, planting churches locally and globally. We believe that the means to that end is church-based theological education—grounding believers and training leaders to defend and proclaim the true faith. We hope that more will come of that discussion and that we'll have opportunity to get to know the Grace Baptist better in the future.

Golden Gate Bridge

I spent most of the week working on the script for an updated video as well as expense reporting for the business side of my work for last year's finances.
Sunday, we enjoyed meeting Pastor Charlie Eldred, his family, and Fairway Park Baptist Church. They had a number of excellent questions about our ministry to Kenya. The next night we visited a missions conference at Calvary Baptist in San Francisco. We have high hopes of seeing more of these two churches in the future.
This week and next, we have the herculean task of going through a mass of possessions that are now in storage back in New Mexico and Texas. We need wisdom and grace to decide what goes with us up to the Great Lakes Region (and eventually to Kenya) and what we can live without. Pray for speedy, productive and wise work.
Thank you for your continued partnership through prayer!

Spreading the Word About Kenya

Our Name In Lights ;)

We praise the Lord for a great time with Community Baptist Church, Brighton, CO, just after our last update. We are grateful for the relationships we have had the opportunity to build over our multiple visits with this church.

That week I was also able to present our ministry to a number of pastors at a luncheon hosted by Grace Bible Church, Colorado Springs. More and more I find myself referring to Titus 1:9 as we explain the goals of our mission. There Paul says that an elder of a church "must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it." Kenya, just like Crete in Titus's day, needs strong local leaders in its churches. It needs pastors who can equip people to leave behind nominal Christianity for a vital, working, growing faith in Christ. It needs overseers who can guard the flock against false teachers who would arise like wolves from within or attack from without. We are eager, prayerful, and excited that God would use us as his means to equip his church in this area of the world. I was grateful for the opportunity to spread the word among these pastors about the needs in Kenya for theological education and to explain what we are doing to meet those needs.

7 Crazy Boys & 4 Smiling Parents

Next we met with Highlands Baptist Church in the southern Denver suburbs. We had such a great time here with some of the members here as they had us over for meals and fellowship. We were also glad to have an opportunity to finally meet Steve and Toni Hafler who have been missionaries both to Nairobi, Kenya, and to Kitwe, Zambia. We are hopeful that our friendship with this church will soon blossom to full-fledged partnership.

Two Sundays ago put us at High Country Baptist Church in Colorado Springs. We were housed by two generous families during our time there, both of which had children similar to ours in age. We all had a blast and doubt that we'll soon forget our time with this church. One outgrowth of our time there was an opportunity to present our work to Ordway Baptist Church on Wednesday of that week. When we stumble on surprises like this, we can only rejoice that God is setting up appointments ahead of us and making our path to Kenya straight for the sake of his Son.

Friends, Old and New

I've enjoyed this last week of fellowship with our friends in California. Tomorrow I will be updating Crossway Baptist Church and teaching the evening Bible study there.

So many are faithfully praying for us! God has been answering your prayers and providing for our needs. Thank you all for your prayers and partnership in the gospel of grace.

Texas, New Mexico, Colorado

Jonas Catching Some Zees

Last month we spent a good deal of time in El Paso, catching up with two partner churches, Sun Valley Baptist and Grace Bible Fellowship. Small group meetings, men's morning Bible studies, and prayer meetings kept our schedule full as we sought to reconnect and serve these two faithful supporters. We praise the Lord that a new member at one of the churches decided to take us on as an individual partner as well.

Then we hit the road to Albuquerque, NM, to visit two other churches where we've spent a significant amount of time. We visited Alameda Bible Church and had a meal with their new pastor. We were sad to see their previous pastor retire, but we're excited about how God is going to use the new pastor to continue to forward the cause of his Son through the church and continue to make a difference in that community.

We also saw our good friends at Northwest Baptist Church. We invested our Wednesday evening updating them about our last year in Zambia and our hopes for a quick return to ministry in Africa.

Yesterday we drove the 479 miles from ABQ to Brighton, a town north of Denver. Tomorrow we'll be updating Community Baptist Church about our ministry.

Praise the Lord for our safe journeys and encouraging times with fellow followers of Christ. Please pray for continued wisdom with raising children on the road, for healthy bodies and good attitudes, and for more partners among the churches we visit and people we meet.

We're so grateful for your prayers!