Missions to the World, Kenya, Africa - July-September 2002 Newsletter

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Greetings in Jesus Name,

To start the month of July off, Janet and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary on the 2nd by going out to eat and enjoying one another’s company. Gary was still teaching in the Bible College at that time so we did not go out of town for our anniversary. During the month we had some of our missionary friends that left for 6 months and we had them over for a dinner and also received several boxes of their things which we are storing for them until they come back early next year.

We went to Mukurweini on the 17th and conducted a leaders seminar which lasted 5 days. The response was very good and we feel that the Lord touched several lives while we were there. Mukurweini is a very small town and they do not get teachers to come, so it was something special for them. We had a very large turnout for the Sunday service and Gary gave out books to the congregation and to the attending Pastors.

On the 27th we were involved with a baby shower for one of our missionary friends and had a good day of fellowship. She delivered a healthy baby boy the following month and they stayed with us for a week before delivery.

Gary ministered at Filidelfia Church pastored by Rev. Ford on the 28th. The Church was packed and God touched the hearts and minds of the people. Since that time pastor Ford has told his congregation that he was stepping down from his position as pastor to go full time into missions. He has it on his heart to reach the unreached people groups of Kenya for the Lord.

The month of August was supposed to be a month of rest from the Bible College while the students took a 3 week break, but our schedule was still full. On August 5th we made a trip to Nairobi over very bad road to file some paperwork for the ministry here.

We took our Secretary of MTTWC and his wife with us and after we finished with the ministry work, we went and relaxed a little while at a shopping mall on the way home. We do not go to Nairobi very often so when we get a chance to go we usually try to relax a little and do some shopping for things which we cannot get here in Nakuru. It is a nice place and it makes us feel a little closer to home.

On the 8th we had another missionary couple and their family over for dinner to say good by since they left to go back home after being on the mission field here for over 20 years. We do as much ministering to the other missionaries as we do to the locals. It is important for us to feel connected when we are on the mission field. We become each others mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. We meet once a month for fellowship, food and a word of encouragement, which strengthens us.

On the 10th we took an Indian couple as our guests to a dinner to introduce them to Jesus. They are Hindu and they used to be our neighbors so we wanted to let them hear the Gospel from another former Hindu that knows how to minister to his own people. They seemed to really enjoy the evening with the testimony of this man and we believe as they continue to fellowship with us that they will want what we have. Please pray for the Hindu people of Kenya to have their eyes opened to the glorious Truth and Grace of His Gospel. We have many Indians living here that are in darkness.

On the 13th-17th Gary ministered at a Leaders Seminar at Pastor Ford’s Church. There was a very good turn out and many of the pastors had their eyes opened to things in ministry. The seminar ended by teaching on and taking communion. It was a very sweet time in the Lord.

Gary had no resting time between the Leaders Seminar and the next week of meetings held at Pastor Bonanza Wanjiku’s Church. He preached “A lifestyle of Faith” on Sunday the 18th and then taught every day the next week Monday-Wednesday at the lunch hour meetings as well as the evening services. The meeting was supposed to go through Friday, but there was another large meeting at the Stadium which, Pastor Wanjiku needed to help with so we cancelled the last two days of our meeting so she could fulfill her duties there. She and her congregation did not want the meetings to stop and asked us to come back in January of next year for another week of teaching. One of the things that are very needful here is teaching. They have had a lot of preaching for many years, but no teaching. What we are seeing here, is the Lord sending teachers, for this time for these people, because of lack of understanding of the Word.

The 25th we were at Pastor Makichi’s Church held at the Njoro Bible College compound. Gary taught on “What spirit are you of” and we had a very good meeting. We had several people that came forward for prayer and we had a time of ministry at he altar.

On the 27th Gary was asked to minister to the former street boys at New Life House on the other side of town. He spoke to them about “You are an original” and told them how much God loves and what He thinks about them. He told them that God made them unique and special. The boys received the Word happily and then we shared a meal with them.

We welcomed another set of guests into our home on the 30th, Bishop Mesenge and his lovely wife Ann from Kisii where we had ministered in June of this year. The Bishop and his wife needed some time to get away from their hectic schedule and we asked them to come and be our guests for the weekend. While they were here in Nakuru, we took them to the game park and had a picnic at the falls in the park. When we arrived back home from the game park we realized that something was wrong with the steering on the vehicle so we had to go in for repairs again. Bishop and his wife only stayed 2 days, but they said that they felt refreshed and were ready to go back to work again. Ann is the principal of a girls school in Kisii and has a lot of responsibility, so she was glad to be able to rest for awhile. She thought it strange that we would not allow them to help with cooking or dishes while they were here. They kept saying that we were very different from any other white people that they had been around. We just thank God that He has allowed us to have an extra room and apartment that is big enough to accommodate others so that they may be able find rest and be refreshed.

The beginning of September Gary started back to teaching at the Bible College on the Pauline Epistles. Pastor Chris Otieno from Letein came and spent the night with us on the 3rd on his way to Naivasha to set up some meetings for us with another pastor there. We had to put our vehicle in the shop to be fixed again because of the power steering box. It took one week to find a used part and it was very expensive. A new part would have cost over $1,000 and the used part cost $350 so you can see that it was worth waiting a week to locate a used one. Parts are sometimes hard to find here and when we have to wait on getting them, we use public transport once more. Gary found himself riding on a matatu (a van packed with people) to get to College on the 11th.

We were scheduled to make a trip to Kapsebet on the 11th for 5 days, but Pastor Francis Maina called and cancelled the meeting. It was all in God’s timing since the vehicle had to be repaired and we wanted to make sure that it would be road worthy after the repair.

On the 14th Trevor and Judy Naidoo, another set of missionaries from South Africa, came to spend the night with their baby Christian. Trevor is good with fixing computers and while he was here he was able to fix a few problems we were having with our computer. We enjoyed their company and it gave them a time away from the college campus where they stay.

On the 25th after Gary finished at the Bible College we set out for Nyahururu, which is about an hour and a half away from Nakuru, for a ladies meeting. He taught 2 sessions there and Janet used her talents in the kitchen cooking for 21 people. We finished the meeting on Friday the 27th and decided to spend an extra day just to rest and fellowship with the other missionaries in that area.

We were at Pastor Opicho’s Church on the 29th and Gary preached a message on faith. We have ministered to this congregation since 1995 and we feel at home when we get to go and minister there. The people said that they had missed us and it was a good time to get to see the fruits of our labor among the people. They have outgrown their building again and they will be starting to put up a stone structure in the next month. They have had to expand their building 3 times so far and they have no space to expand again. We praise God for what He is doing there. They have also started a Bible College there and it is going quite well.

Thank each of you for your prayers and support toward us and God’s work in Kenya.

In Christ's Service and Love,

Gary and Janet Priem