1 April 2008

 

Greetings in the Wonderful, Beautiful and Powerful Name of Jesus!

 

I wanted to get off to you a quick e mail.  There are four things happening in the country right now that need a lot of prayer. And a fifth needed for the Gafner family. 

 

Let me start with that one first. Prayer 5 – Kirsten will have her birthday on the 9^th (it is amazing that she will be turning 10 already).  On the 10^th, we will travel the dangerous roads of Kenya and go to Nairobi.  We need to get her passport on the 11^th.  We will wait around for about two weeks until it comes from America, and then come home.  In that time, we will do some shopping for furlough items, do visitation of family and friends, and rest from the stresses of life in Eldoret. I hope to work on our next booklet, the Do’s and Don’ts of the Christian Life from the Epistles. 

 

Prayer 1 – Though we now have a President and Prime Minister, they can’t agree on the number of cabinet ministers and who to fill those slots. Pray for them to cooperate for the good of the country.

 

Prayer 2 – The short rains did not come, which means that we have not seen any rain since August in most of the country. And then add the riots which destroyed a lot of foods along with the price of crude oil (we are now paying over $6 for a US gallon of gasoline), we are now having massive inflation.  For February, they say 19%.  Food was the hardest hit being at 24%.  People are struggling now just to survive with food needs.

 

Prayer 3 – We have had some rains come.  Those who can afford the inputs are busy in the fields.  I talked to one of our Christians the other day and he was planning to plant mainly beans, as they require little fertilizer. 

A. massive downpours have caused flooding in some parts of the country.

B. they say that the rains will be poor later on in the year and we will get a poor harvest of maize this year.  Pray that as normal, the weather predicting men will be wrong.

C. pray for the thousands of Internally Displaced People in the tents in the camps.  It is muddy, cold and wet and they want to go home, when it is safe. 

 

Prayer 4 – “IDP meeting” Tom Owuor, (a very good friend for many years) works for Open Arms International and I have a dream to help the resettlement of people back to their farms.  The government is planning to throw money to the situation and give people farming inputs and help build their houses.  That is good, but will they be accepted back in their communities?  With the help of John Kibusia (elder at the Mafuta Church of Christ and who lives on the Mafuta farm) and David Kibet Kemboi (preacher for Church of Christ and who lives at the Moiben farm) we organized a meeting last week of a few Kalenjin elders and a few Kikuyu elders from here in the IDP camp.  This meeting was to begin the two tribes talking to one another.

 

As a results of the meeting, a bigger meeting will take place this Friday (the 4^th), and it needs your prayers.  At that meeting to take place in Moiben, will be the following:

Tom and I

9 Kikuyu elders from the IDP’s at the camp

9 Kalenjin elders (two from the Rai, Mafuta and Moiben farms)

3 Chiefs in the area to represent the government

3 counselors of the areas

Preachers/Pastors from the churches in the area. 

For the Churches of Christ, Jeremiah Rotich and Zakayo KipRono will also be coming along with John Kibusia and David Kibet Kemboi. 

 

It is planned at the moment to start with the men talking and then as soon as possible to have a meeting for the ladies and youth to talk as well.  The healing process needs to begin before the IDP’s come home and continue thereafter. 

 

Thanks for your prayers!

 

In Service to Christ,

The Gafner Family

 

This was sent to me, enjoy and do!

 

NAILS IN THE FENCE

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.  His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.  Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down.  He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.  Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all.

He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.  He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence.  The fence will never be the same.  When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.  You can put a knife in a man and draw it out.  But it won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound will still be there.  A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Remember that friends are very rare jewels, indeed.  They make you smile and encourage you to succeed.  They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us."

It's National Friendship Week (last week now).  Show your friends how much you care.   

 

YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND I AM HONORED!

 

Please forgive me if I have ever left a "hole" in your fence.