Friday, February 29, 2008

We're off!


From Noel: You have given us all we needed to go--prayers and gifts. THANK YOU! Lord willing, we arrive late tomorrow evening, Nairobi time. Thank you for blessing us as we go and while we're there.

Thanks!


From Talitha:

Thank you so much to all who so willingly contributed to " The Piper Travel Fund". Also thank you to all who so willingly prayed for us while we were packing and those who so willingly are going to pray for us. We really really really appreciate all this help and prayers you have bestowed on us. Thank you Thank you Thank you!

May Jesus Christ's name be hallowed in Kenya forever!
Talitha

Agreement in Kenya

From Noel:

One of the effects of planning a trip to Kenya is that I'm lots more aware of what's happening there. According to my original plans I should have already traveled and returned. But post-election violence caused that trip to be postponed till now. I have paid close attention since then to the progress of talks between the rival leaders, Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga.

The area where we'll be visiting was not affected by the violence and foreigners did not feel threatened.

Just yesterday, an agreement for a coalition government was announced. There is great relief in Kenya, mixed with caution.

So today, let's give thanks and pray for peaceful follow-through.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Shot!



From Talitha:

I'm feeling a little sore right now--on both sides. Three shots today!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Prayers for Packing

From Talitha:

Hello Friends.

I want to say that I am so blessed to have all of you as friends.
Please pray hard that I will not forget anything when I pack. Also if you could pray that I will have patience when I pack. Packing for long trips has always been hard. And I need the Lord's grace and mercy as I pack. Thank you for all your prayers. They are appreciated.
God bless you!

May Jesus Christ's name be hallowed now and forever more!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Prayer Requests

From Talitha:

If you could pray for me, that would be great. Here are some ways that you could pray for me:
  • That the Lord would keep us safe traveling.
  • That the Lord would keep us safe there where we will be.
  • That the Lord would give us unity traveling and when we are there.
  • That the Lord would keep us from grumbling when things don't go our way.
  • That the Lord would keep our families [Daddy and brothers and their families] safe and happy while we are gone.
  • That we would encourage each other to have devotions, to pray, and to treat each other and everybody there with love.
  • That God would help us understand more about how important the environment is in people's lives and spiritual lives.
  • That we would always remember that we are there to serve and not to be served.
Thank you for praying for us. God bless you and keep you and give you peace, joy, and love for God and for others.

Going to Kenya

From Noel:

Talitha and I leave for Kenya on Friday. We will be visiting Craig and Tracy Sorley, missionaries sent out by Bethlehem Baptist to service with Care of Creation . Our main purpose is to find out more about Care of Creation so we ourselves can pray more intelligently and so we can bring back to Bethlehem a greater understanding and vision of the ministry of Care of Creation.

The combination of ecology and missions is not a familiar sort of ministry for me. Here's a parallel that I found helpful. We're used to the idea of medical missionaries trying to heal people's bodies, which provides a pathway for the gospel, with the prayer that people's souls will be redeemed and healed. Care of Creation is working to heal the environment, which provides a pathway for the gospel, with the prayer that people's souls will be redeemed and healed.

I know we're supposed to be stewards of the world God put us in, but I've always been wary of environmental activists, because so many seem to make the world itself into god. So I'm excited that to learn more about these things with a biblical foundation.

I found Ed Brown's book,
Our Father's World: Mobilizing the Church to Care for Creation, to be a very helpful beginning.