Mission Report– May 2023 (Part 2)
By Mrs James Tan

Campus Church Updates

“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me:
for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)

We have resumed Saturday Children Fellowship for the Campus Church this
year. They are held on a monthly basis and are meant to supplement the
weekly Children Sunday School. By having it once per month, the hope is that
children may also join their families for Adult fellowship, which is held twice
per month in respective groups (assigned according to home locations).

With regards to the Sunday School ministry, our constant prayer is for parents
to understand and to fulfil their first duty of guiding their children spiritually.
It is common to find children coming to our Campus Church for Sunday
School without their parents. At times, it is because their parents are
worshipping in another church, where there is a neglect of the children
ministry. However for some, it is simply because their parents are unbelievers.
We thank God for sending these children to our midst. Nevertheless, how we
pray that they may also receive good spiritual guidance at home. Thus, during
the April vacation, a team of Sunday School teachers and I visited some of
these children whose parents are not attendees of our Campus Church. Over 2
days, we visited about 12 homes located in 3 residential areas around the
College compound. On the first day, we faced torrential rains. And on the
second day, while there were only some light drizzle, we were out of the
campus for about 8 hours. I thank God for a team of faithful co-labourers.
Despite the pouring rain and long walks, there was not a single word of
complaint from them. Looking back, I cannot but thank God for His enabling
and grace – it was Him alone who kept us pressing on till the very end.

Importantly, the home visitations also gave us a better understanding of the
children’s spiritual needs. While there was a girl (Joy), who said that she was
not ready to receive Jesus as her Saviour, however, after hearing her mother’s
confession of faith, did the same. There was another girl (Winnie, in photo),
who spoke assuredly before her unbelieving mum that she believes in Jesus.
Praise God for His abundant grace in salvation! Still, we pray that God may
use the Sunday School ministry for the salvation of more young souls and the
edification of the saints. There are many churches in Kenya, but few proclaim
the Truth. There are many ‘professing Christians’ in Kenya, but majority of
them are found in liberal churches. Thus, we pray that God would bring more
children to us to learn God’s Word so that another faithful generation may be
raised for His Kingdom’s sake.

Additionally, we thank God for helping us to conduct a 2-day VBS during the April
vacation. It was the rainy season, but God brought the children and stayed the rain
clouds when the VBS programme was running. I was rebuked for my little faith. A
few days prior to the VBS, the weather forecast reflected a 90-100% probability of
thunderstorms for both days. I was worried that the heavy rains would prevent the
children from making their journey to the College. It had even rained throughout the
night and till the morning of the 1st day. I thought that the children would choose to
stay home instead. However, when 8.30am came, the first ones whom reported were
those who had to take a 30-40 minute walk under the rain! When I saw the water
droplets running down their little round heads and outer coats, I could only have one
spontaneous reaction – “Praise the Lord for bringing these children to us!” God is so
good. In line with the Saturday Children Fellowship, the VBS continued with the
theme of, “The Fruit Of The Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23). It is our prayer that
throughout this year, meditation on these verses may help the children better
understand what is genuine faith and true salvation in Jesus Christ. In a country
where Christianity has seemingly become a ‘cultural’ practice, we pray that our
children may find genuine life in Christ and to walk rightly with Him all the days of
their lives.

National Security

“Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our
God: Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth,
who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.” (Psalm 147: 7-8)

The rainy season had begun during end March and continues till today.
Truly, we thank God for the blessings of rain after a period of long drought faced
by the country. The country’s economy has taken a great hit due to the long
drought and Covid pandemic. A local lecturer told us that in the rural parts of
Kenya, one could have the money, but would still have no access to food as the
limited produce were all being sent to Nairobi where there is a ready market. At
the start of the year, we had shared of an observable spike in robbery cases
around Nairobi. Not long ago, major weekly demonstrations also erupted in the
city centre due to rising petrol and food prices. During those days of
demonstrations, we were cautious to avoid running errands outside the
compound. Businesses in the CBD area also came to a standstill. Thus, the
current rainfalls are truly God’s providence for the land. Admittedly, it was not
easy for me to appreciate how the locals ascribe God’s blessings to rains.
However, after witnessing the hardships of life brought about by a lack of rain, I
now cannot help but agree when someone remarks of God’s blessings with the
first drops of rain. The heavy rains right now may bring us some inconvenience
from time to time. Notwithstanding, we have much thankfulness unto God for
His mercies in providing these showers of blessings. We pray for the economic
situation of this country to be alleviated. We pray that political peace may be in
the land, that God’s work may not be hindered. May God continue to shower us
with His blessings!

A Last Prayer Request

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2: 15)

In addition to areas of service in the College and Campus Church, James
and I are still persevering on with our FEBC studies. It has honestly not been
easy and the progress is regrettably slow. Yet for how far we have come, it is all
by God’s grace and keeping. Our study of the Kiswahili language has also
stopped for some months now. However, we still desire to complete the
Kiswahili course eventually. Thus, with regards to these ongoing studies, we
pray that the Lord will keep us pressing on in His will. We pray that God will
continue to enable us as students too, that we may be better equipped to serve
Him in our calling. Amen.