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29th
April 2008 May
the Grace of our Lord and Savior be with you all! In
this prayer letter, there are three things that I want to communicate to you.
The first being, that we did go to Nairobi and did secure a new passport for
Kirsten. We did get the rest that we needed from the stress and strain of
living in Eldoret and the problems that we faced at the beginning of the year.
We had wonderful visits with the family, having time to just sit down and
talk. Toward the end of our stay, after reading a couple of books, I, Keith
was ready to get some work done. So, I taught some of the family members about
vegetable growing and even found a neighbor who was doing a wonderful job of
this on one of my morning walks. So, took them over to see what he is doing. And
the day before returning, we planted 51 trees on the plot of land. When
we got home, what did we find but some of the same problems we had left. On
Sunday morning, no water in the taps, no electricity, no rain (it rained almost
every day in Nairobi) and I told the worker if the chickens laid no eggs for
us, I was going back to Nairobi. Well, we had some eggs to eat on Sunday, so
we are still here in Eldoret. Secondly,
the police below us were gone when we returned. So there goes Sunday church with
the police. But wait, 7 new permanent police have come. They have moved
slightly down the road. Yesterday, I went to visit them. The leader of the 7
policemen is named Nicholas. Before he became a policeman, he went to
theological school and got a diploma. He wants to continue and get a Bachelors
degree in Bible. He feels that the Lord has called him to Eldoret for a
specific reason. As we talked, the main camp of police in Eldoret has over 200
police officers. He knows of about 10 of them who are Christians who meet twice
a week there in the main camp. We
planned this Sunday to have a meeting at 4 PM (about the time you are getting
ready to go to church). This meeting will include him and the 6 men under him,
the other Christians that he knows, 3 preachers from the Church of Christ and
myself. It will be a time of meeting each other, and praying for a vision for
how to reach other policemen and policewomen. I will take some food for us to
share together. Pray for us as we meet! Thirdly,
some of you know Paul and Jane Bwire. For those of you who do not know them,
Jane and Paul are the people who I love dearly. Way back in 1991, I used to
sleep at their house almost every Saturday night. Then, I built a house on
their land that was used by me and also we had lots of meetings there. From
there, we together started 7 churches in the Kaimosi Area. Sitting in the
kitchen and visiting with Jane, that is where I learned a lot about African
Culture as it relates to women. In
Kenya, it is a bit different when you marry as the girl has to be given to a
family, not just some man. Paul and Jane are the ones who accepted Grace into
their family, before we could wed. Jane is the one who gave Grace the burning
coals of fire and clay pot so that she could officially cook for me. Paul has
over the last 17 years been a dear friend of the family and has travelled
widely with me as I go out. He has helped me by many times translating for
me. As
they say here, Jane has been “Promoted to Glory”. She will be
buried on Saturday. I would ask two things to you who know her: 1.
If you have anything you would like to say to the family, please e mail me
before Friday noon your time and I will pass along to the family. 2.
Funerals are expensive here, if you would like to help in any way, let me know,
I will pass along your gift to them at this time and then you can mail a check
to our account to replace the funds. Thanks In
Service to Christ, The
Gafner Family The Cross from 7 Viewpoints From the viewpoint of Judas, it was about silver. Judas
was a thief and a traitor. He made a deal with the Jewish leaders to sell Jesus
for a ‘goodly price’ of 30 pieces of silver. From the viewpoint of the Pharisees, it was about
silence. The Jewish leaders knew that the world was going after Jesus and they
were afraid that the whole world would believe on Him. When they could not
stump Him or snare Him with their questions, they decided to silence Him by
slaying Him. From the viewpoint of Pilate, it was about
self-preservation. Although Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, he caved in to
Jewish pressure to crucify Jesus. He sacrificed Jesus in an effort to save
himself. From the viewpoint of the Roman soldiers, it was about
sport. The Roman soldiers brought Jesus into the common hall and mocked Him. At
the foot of the cross, they cast lots for His robe. From the viewpoint of the Father, it was about
substitution. In His grace, God sent Jesus to taste death for us by taking our
place on the cross. From the viewpoint of the Son, it was about submission.
Although the cross meant shame and suffering, Jesus submitted to the
Father’s will and went to the cross. From the viewpoint of the saints, it was about salvation.
The early Christians saw the cross, and the blood shed there, as the means of
their salvation. (copied) “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Gal. 6:14 |
