The Shelby Family in Kenya

This is the second of the two funerals that we had, that were so close to our ministries. We had a major role to play for Calvary Baptist Church in Kisii. Tito was the man instrumental in running things on the ground for the opening of a school, which has an outreach for orphans. Tito had this vision early last year, and he came to us. After talking to him and showing him the clear plan of salvation, he was saved in August 2008, and he was baptized in September 2008.

After knowing Tito only a short time, it was evident that he had a great vision for helping the people in his village to climb out of the grips of poverty. He noticed that the children are the ones who suffer the most. He explained to me that it was the traditions of darkness of people that is one culprit of sending the next generation into further grips of poverty; and that the only way to break the cycle is to teach the young people the Word of God and the traditions of Christians in the past to break the chains of darkness for the future.

Tito had the heart for the ministry of a school/orphanage in his area, because the average life span is only 35! And it is continuing to get younger every year, because of Aids, other diseases, and simply because of the lack of general education. Tito was able to get his brother on board to assist in different ways: getting funds sent from another missionary in Germany, building school rooms, feeding the children from time to time, and donating two acres of land for the project (which includes a portion for starting a church). Through the small amount of time that we knew Tito, there was a very big seed of ministry sown that will need to be nurtured for many years to come. But what a glorious harvest it will produce!

We have had a few saved in Tito’s village, after many Bible studies, to teach them the Word of God and to show them the Bible way of salvation. But only about 5 got saved in the year that we were working with Tito while developing the school. The family is deeply set in the roots of a traditional African religion which is called the “Spirit of Israel.” They believe that they are the lost tribe of Israel, and that they are wondering around in the wilderness even today waiting for the opportunity to go the Promise land. But even with these deep roots of traditionalism, we were received by Tito’s mother in a special way (she even treated me as a son). Tito’s father was one of the elders of the village, and he was known and respected as a man of wisdom in many of the surrounding villages. Since Tito’s father died, the same respect has been given to his wife; because she is the holder of his estate. I did not realize how much the people in the area respected her until a few days before the funeral. When the Elders of the village and the church came to her to ask her permission to carry out the traditions and the prayers for the funeral, she sat them down and told them, “Tito has a Pastor, and he has the Word of God, and he will do everything.” So because of Tito’s mother, God opened the door, and the Word of God was not restricted, but it was magnified!

There are several other things in dealing with the funeral service that made it last all day long; mainly, everyone who knew him asked for an opportunity to speak, sing, or just make themselves known. We also had a few politicians who had to try to drum up a few votes of confidence from the people; but in its entirety, there was freedom from any kind of traditional wailing for the dead, or appeasing the dead as is the case sometimes.

There were around 1500 people in attendance. Our church choir came from Kisii to sing a special; and then I was able to preach on the Kingdom of this World, the Kingdom of Heaven (from John chapter 3), and about being born again to see the Kingdom of Heaven. At the invitation it was estimated that about 100 raised their hands and prayed with me in their seats to be saved. Praise the Lord! We finished the service and buried Tito’s body. Afterward, there were so many comments on the simplicity of the way that we did the service. Many were pleased that we did not have any peculiar traditions of our own, and they truly noticed that God had sent us to do that work.

Since the funeral, we had another meeting for the children of the village. We held a VBS for them, and we thank the Lord that Miss Shauna Brockman (a young lady who came to help us during the month of July)was able to go and teach them. We had students from other schools as well as several parents who attended. It was held on Monday and Tuesday of the week following the funeral. There were 100 kids and adults on Monday and 160 on Tuesday. We had an invitation for the older youth and 45 of the young people got saved and 7 of their parents got saved too. This is the fruit that Tito had a vision to see. We will continue to send updates on the Alaro school project. Please continue to pray for it.

Thank you for your prayers for this family and village,

Luke Shelby

Bro. Tom Maronga’s Funeral Service

Thank you for praying for Bro. Tom’s family. Rose and her children are doing well. And we are sorry for the delay in getting this update to you. The funeral was on June 30, 2009; and there were approximately 600 people in attendance. There was a bit of excited emotions among the family members concerning different traditions; but the Lord enabled us (as the church where Tom was a member and other Christians who had fellowshipped with Tom in Bible College to advise in the situation) and we were given the final word that helped to solve the problem that arose. Praise to the Lord who always gives us the victory.

Tom was a member of two different Independent Baptist Churches in the five years that we knew him. He was baptized by Ben dyer prior to starting the Bible Baptist Church of Bomwanda. He was a faithful member and served as the treasurer. He was an insurance salesman for 15 years, and he used some of the teachings that he received in Bible study and from Bible College to relate to the field of insurance when teaching new recruits about character and about selling the product in concordance with soul winning. He was able to apply many Bible truths to the youth of Kenya in different associations of Athletics as well as being the youth leader of Calvary Baptist Church during the last 6 months he was alive.

He was a great asset to the church at Calvary Baptist Church in which he was a member for only a year. He was involved with teaching youth and adults, and he was much respected among the members. After another year, and with some milestones reached in his life, I had considered him to be the future national pastor of the church, during the time of us going on furlough in 2010. He graduated from our Bible College in November 2008, which is a three year program that deals with Basic Bible knowledge and learning how to preach. And he had started the Pastoral classes that follow the three year program.

Also during the court case that we experienced over the last two years with the church in Rongo, Tom helped me with details and procedures because he had taken two years of Kenyan Law. The other pastor and those that were advising him made Tom their enemy because of his stand on the truth of the Word of God. But that did not bother Tom; his only desire was to help the work of the Lord to continue in Rongo.

Tom was the kind of guy who, if he had a spare minute, he would come by the house or call me to meet him somewhere just to talk and fellowship with me and our family. Many did not believe that he was dead because of his personality, his friendship, and his testimony for the Lord. We will certainly miss him here, and we thank the Lord for allowing us to have the opportunity to know and work with Tom. And we know that we will see him again someday in heaven! Praise the Lord!

Please keep the Maronga Family in your prayers.

The Word of God was Preached, and Gospel was clearly given.             Mrs. Rose Maronga                 Lowering of the Casket

We want to thank the Lord for the opportunity to teach at Bosire Academy in Kisii Town; while Miss Shauna Brockman was working with us during the month of July. The Headmaster of the school welcomed us and gave us the liberty to teach the children, from the Bible, every Friday morning. And the school has requested that we continue these lessons, even after Shauna returns to the USA. We Praise the Lord for giving us this privilege. And we are looking forward to seeing what He will do in the lives of these precious children. The group pictured below is of the children in 2nd through 8^th grades. And we also taught the younger children (ages 3 to 1^st grade). The school has 650 children enrolled, and we are welcome to go every Friday and teach directly from God’s Word. Please pray that these children will hear and understand God’s love for them, and pray that they will be willing to give their lives completely to Him. This is Kenya’s next generation; and we need to reach them at a young age, before they make any other major decisions that will change their lives forever.

Please remember us as we continue this ministry, and that the Lord will continue to open even more doors for this kind of ministry.

We also want to say thank you to Miss Shauna Brockman; because she was a great blessing not only to our family, but also to these children. After teaching the first week, we would hear children following behind us as we walked through town; and they were ALL saying, “How are you, Shauna?” She made a great impression on these children, and they will never forget her! Thank you, Shauna, you were a real blessing!

I just wanted to share with you some of the things that I have been sharing with Rose Maronga. They have helped her in her time of grief, and I pray that they will be a blessing to one of you as well. We never know what God might use to touch someone’s heart, and since He has placed these thoughts and verses on my heart; I felt that I should share them.

Death/Grief

Grief is the price that life will require of each of who lives long and loves deeply. When we lose a loved one, or when we experience any other loss, darkness or depression can overwhelm us for a while; and it seems as if we cannot summon the strength to face another day. But with God’s help, we can! During times of heartache, we can turn to God, first for solace and then for renewal. When we do, He comforts us and, in time, He leads us.

2 Kings 20:5    Psalm 23    Psalm 30:5    Psalm 48:14    Psalm 73:26    Psalm 126:5    Isaiah 25:8    Matthew 5:4    John 3:15    Romans 8:38, 39        

Romans 12:15            1 Corinthians 15:55

We cannot always understand the ways of our Almighty God. But if we accept by faith His holy will—without looking back on what might have been—we will be able to be at peace.

~A Prayer~

Dear Lord, You have promised that You will not give me more than I can bear. You have promised to lift me out of my grief and despair. I thank You, Lord, for sustaining me in my day of sorrow. Restore me, and heal me, and use me as You will.    ~Amen

Help in Troubles

People of every generation have had experience with adversity, and this generation is no different. Thankfully, although the world continues to change, God’s love remains constant. And He remains ready to comfort and strengthen us whenever we turn to Him. When we are troubled, we must call upon God and, in His own time and according to His own plan; He will heal us. When we find ourselves overtaken by the frustrations of life, we must catch ourselves, take a deep breath, and lift our thoughts upward. Although we are here on earth struggling to rise above the distractions of each day, we need never struggle alone. God is here—eternally and faithfully, with patience and love—and if we reach out to Him, He will restore perspective and peace to our souls.

Psalm 9:9    Psalm 18:2    Psalm 18:28    Psalm 31:24    Psalm 32:7    Psalm 34:19    Psalm 37:39    Psalm 42:11    Psalm 73:26    Psalm 112:7-8

Psalm 120:1    Psalm 126:5-6    Psalm 138:7    Ecclesiastes 3:4        Isaiah 43:2-3    Lamentations 3:31-33        Nahum 1:7    Matthew 11:28-30

John 16:33    Romans 5:3-4    James 1:3-4

Often, in the middle of our greatest problems, we stop short of the real blessing God has for us. And as we are reminded through our burden of our utter weakness without Christ, we are then given the strength to go on.

God’s Protection and Support

We know that life is not always easy. Sometimes it is far from it. But as Christians we also know that we are protected by a loving God. In times of trouble, God comforts us; in times of sorrow, He dries our tears. When we are troubled, pr weak, or sorrowful, God is as near as our next breath. Let us build our lives on the Rock that cannot be shaken…let us trust in God!

    Deuteronomy 33:12    Job 11:18-19        Psalm 4:8    Psalm 16:8    Psalm 27:1    Psalm 55:22    Psalm 91:9-10        Proverbs 1:33

    Proverbs 3:24        Proverbs 18:10    Isaiah 41:13    Isaiah 43:1-2    Romans 8:31    Philippians 4:19    

The greatest lesson that we have to learn is the fact that God, and God alone, is enough for all our needs. Every trial or sorrow that we pass through is meant to teach us this; and this lesson will be the ultimate discovery of our whole Christian life. God is Enough!

~A Prayer~

Dear Lord, You have promised never to leave me or forsake me. You are always with me, protecting me, and encouraging me. Whatever this day may bring, I thank You for Your love and for Your support. Let me lean upon You, Father, this day and forever.    ~Amen

Dear Prayer Supporters,                                April—June 2009

Hello from Kisii, Kenya. This year, God has continued to give us renewed strength and opened opportunities for us to serve Him, and we thank you for your prayers for our family and ministries. Please visit us at our website www.shelbysinkenya.org to see a full view of our ministries as well as our schedule of events. Please subscribe to our blog post for more frequent updates. God bless you.

Alaro Orphanage Project

Please pray for a new orphanage project that we are starting to develop. We are still trying to get the legalities in place for the property and the government regulations. About two acres have been donated with another five acres that are available if the need for the project will require more land. At this point there are 12 orphans and a school with about 70 students. We are working with a Baptist Church in Germany and a national of the area who is trying to get the project off the ground. The project is an hour’s drive from Kisii; and we have started a Bible Study in this village, to teach basic Bible Doctrines with the desire to start a church.

Prison Ministry

Our prison ministry is continuing well, and there have been 157 saved in the last two months. More than 25 have become part of our correspondence Bible Study Program, with several already finishing. This is a panoramic view of over 500 inmates that we get to preach to every other week. There are 10 students and pastors who are taking part in this ministry.

Co-Labourers

We will be having some visitors this summer to assist in the work with us. Please pray that God will show them His will for their lives. Shauna is a single teacher who will be with us for a month, and she will assist us in Vacation Bible Schools, the orphanage, and other youth ministries. Also please pray for Kenneth and Kristy Ralph as they are finishing up their deputation. They should be arriving in September to assist us in the ministry. Please pray that they get the support that they need this summer to wrap up their deputation soon.

Other Prayer Requests and Needs

Land in Kisii—$4,000 remaining        Photocopier—$1,500                New Vehicle

Calvary Baptist Church            South Nyanza Baptist College            National Pastors

For souls in Kisii,

Luke and Tonya Shelby

Missionaries in Kenya

Dear Praying Friends,

Many of you will remember that we asked you to pray for Bro. Tom Maronga (our Youth Pastor at Calvary BC, Kisii) about a month ago. He seemed to do better and was at home for the past 3 weeks. Late last night his family rushed him to the hospital here in Kisii Town, but there was not anything the doctors could do. He went home to be with the Lord at about 5 AM today (6-12-09).

So, we are asking you to please lift up his wife and family in your prayers. His wife’s name is Rose; they have 4 children, and have been caring for some orphans as well. Please pray that they will be able to see the Lord working in their lives even in the middle of such tragedy. Please pray that the Lord will give us and our church family here, the wisdom and right words to say, in order to help this precious family through this difficult time in their lives. Please pray also that some of Bro. Tom’s extended family might come to know the Lord as their Savior.

Thank you for your prayers for this family,

Luke & Tonya Shelby

We had an absolutely wonderful time at the Ladies’ Retreat at Camp Lukenya! There were 147 ladies from 13 Independent Baptist Churches represented at the meeting!

We want to thank everyone who prayed for our safety while we made the 9 hour trip to the camp on Saturday and for our return trip to Kisii on Tuesday. The Lord blessed, and we made the entire trip without difficulty! Thank you for your prayers!

Our ladies and I truly enjoyed our time together and enjoyed getting to fellowship with other Christian Women of like faith. All of the sessions were centered on the thought, “Experiencing Daily Joy!” Each speaker did an excellent job. We all learned so many things while we were away, and we would like you to pray with us, that each of will take these truths from the Bible and put them to work in each of our daily lives. Each of our ladies came away with something different, that God had spoken specifically to them about. And I will have some of them share their testimonies with you soon.

(10 of us from Calvary BC, Kisii went to the Retreat. 1 lady is missing from the picture above. But from left to right they are: Ferister, Rose, Jackline, Alice, Tonya Shelby, Milka, Jane O., Joseph [child], Robinah, and Jane W.)

Of the 10 of us, 8 of our husbands are saved and faithful in church; but there are 2 of our ladies whose husbands are not saved. Please pray that their husbands will be able to see such a change in these ladies lives that they would desire to have a relationship with Christ themselves. Please pray with us that Geoffrey and Josiah will be saved soon. This is great burden on our hearts, and we believe that if we join together in prayer—God will hear and answer that prayer!

Thank you so much for praying for our trip!

May God richly bless each of you,

~Tonya Shelby

It is time for the annual Ladies’ Retreat in Nairobi! Please pray for Tonya and our ladies (10 altogether) from Calvary BC, as they travel to the retreat. They will be leaving at 7 AM tomorrow (Saturday, 30^th), and they will have about a 9 hour trip. They will be returning to Kisii on Tuesday. Please pray for their safety as they travel back and forth, that our van will not have any mechanical problems while they are gone, and that they will have a wonderful time studying God’s Word and fellowshipping with other Independent Baptist ladies from around the country.

All of our ladies are so excited to have this opportunity. Only four of them have ever been to Nairobi before, so this will truly be a big “Safari” (journey) for the others!

Thank you for your prayers,

Luke

Isn’t it wonderful when God answers our prayers! In our last blog “A Busy Weekend,” we had made mention of several things to pray for; and we just wanted to give you an update on our people.

Both Winnie Maiko & daughter-Ann, and Cecilia Paul & son-Luka are doing wonderful! Winnie and her baby have been able to return to church services and all other meetings. Cecilia and her family live very far from town (about a 3 to 3 ½ hour walk), so she has not been able to make the trip yet. But her and the baby are doing well and gaining strength each day. We also asked you to pray for Caroline and her baby (the baby was born at the beginning of her 7^th month); and we are so happy to tell you that God has miraculously answered prayers for these two. The baby is still in ICU, but she is gaining weight and does not seem to have any other health problems other than the low birth weight. The doctor has said that Caroline and her baby girl will be able to go home in about 2 weeks if the baby continues to improve at the same rate that she is now. Praise the Lord! And thank you so much for praying.

Bro. Tom Maronga, our Youth Leader at Calvary Baptist Church, is now home and doing better; but the doctors have said that his recovery will be slow. He ended up being in the hospital 2 weeks, and was diagnosed with “Brucellosis” (a disease that comes from infected livestock, unpasteurized milk, poorly cooked meat, etc. And it seems to be quite common here in Kenya.). He ran a fever of over 104 degrees for 10 days; and the disease has affected his lungs, liver, kidneys, and heart. He will be on medication and other treatment for about 3 months, but we Praise the Lord that he is at home and doing very well at this time. We do ask that you continue to keep him and his family in your prayers.

Our Youth Day Service (May 10^th), went very well! The youth did a wonderful job, and we are all looking forward to seeing what the Lord is going to do through these young people.

It is wonderful to see God answer our prayers, but we are always excited to see the Lord answer the prayers of our people. We KNOW that He will answer, but the nationals seem to have the mindset that God only answers the missionary’s prayers. So, we have been doing some in depth teaching on prayer; and praying with the FAITH and BELIEF that God WILL answer THEIR prayers as well. I would like to share with you one of our lady’s requests and God’s answer to her request.

Our Ladies’ Group has been planning a trip to Nairobi, because there is a large Ladies’ Retreat (Sponsored by another Baptist missionary) there each year. We wanted to go last year, but it was too short of a notice to come up with the funds. This year I was able to let them know in advance, so that they would have time to prepare for the trip. We will be gone for 4 days (May 30^th – June 2^nd), and the cost is ksh. 1,000/= ($13.50) per lady. This is just the cost of the Retreat; I will drive them in our van so that they will not have to pay bus fare on top of that. But just the ksh. 1,000/= seemed impossible to them when I first told them. So, I told them to just pray about it and to ask God to show them how and where they could get the money. All of these ladies have worked extra hard in their shamba (gardens) and selling their fruits and vegetables at the local market. One of our ladies is a seamstress, and she usually has enough work to keep her busy about 2 days each week. But since she prayed and asked God to help her get this extra money, she has worked from early to late each day for 5 – 6 days a week! She had her money in just 2 weeks. She was so excited; and when she told our other ladies, they got excited to see if God would answer their prayer as well. One of them, named Martha, asked each of us to pray with her that God would let the rains hold off for a few days; so that she could harvest her beans. She said that if she could harvest them; she would be able to sell them and get her money in full. You have to realize that she asked us this in the middle of our “Rainy Season” (it starts raining EVERY DAY at 2 – 2:30 PM, and then rains the rest of the day and most of the night as well!). She asked us to pray on Wednesday, May 6^th; and there were about 12 other ladies there that day. We all committed to pray with her concerning this need. Saturday, May 9^th, was our monthly Ladies’ Meeting. When she arrived she was literally bubbling over with joy! She had spent the whole morning harvesting her beans, and she would be able to take them to market on Monday! Yes, God answered her prayer, it did not rain one drop from Wednesday all the way through Saturday afternoon. The clouds would build up, it would look like a terrible down pour was about to start, the wind would gust, and the clouds moved right over without spilling a drop! You should have seen the faces of our ladies (there were 17 of us); you would have thought that they each had just been given a full pot of gold! They were truly amazed and what God had done for one of THEM! We have 10 Ladies who have been able to pay their fees in full, and we still have 2 weeks until it is DUE!! They now know that we serve a MIGHTY GOD, and NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE with HIM!

Thank you again for your prayers on our behalf and on behalf of our people. I hope that this as much of a blessing to you, as it was to all of us!

May God bless each of you,

Tonya

Hello to all of you! We pray that this “post” finds you and your family doing well.

We had a VERY busy weekend, but it was wonderful to see the Lord working in the lives of our people here in Kisii Town.

Saturday began with:

1. “Children’s Workers” meeting at 9 AM.
2. Visitation at 10 AM to 12 PM.
3. 11 AM our family went to make a “Home Visit” to a mother and new baby (we got back to town around 4:30 PM). A “Home Visit” is when we go to the home of a mother and new baby to welcome the baby. The tradition here is that a mother and baby do not leave home until the baby is 3 to 4 weeks old, so we go at this time to welcome them both back to church. Usually the mother and baby are able to come to church the next Sunday, depending on their health and distance from town.
4. Calvary BC Ladies also made a “Home Visit” to another mother from 12 to 3 PM. It was wonderful to see 12 ladies come out to visit this mother. They took up an offering (ksh. 1,300/= which is about $17) among themselves, and then used that money to buy items for the baby and mother. It is always a blessing to see our people reaching out to meet the needs of others! This has been a long time in coming for some of these ladies (people of the Kisii Tribe are known for their greed, selfishness, and hard-heartedness).
5. Youth basketball (boys) practice & youth choir (girls) practice was from 3 to 6 PM.
6. Then we were able to pick up a few groceries and head home to fix supper and prepare for Sunday services.

Please pray for these mothers and their babies: Winnie Maiko & daughter-Ann, Cecilia Paul & son-Luka. The statistics for our region in Kenya state that only 1 of every 10 children born will reach the age of 5! So, these babies really need your prayers. We had another lady in our church, named Caroline, who just had her baby on Saturday; Caroline was only 7 months along in her pregnancy, so she and the baby are both in the ICU at this time. Luke was able to get in to see her at the hospital since he is her Pastor, but the doctors are very concerned about the baby’s health (weighs about 2 lbs.). Please pray for Caroline & her baby also.

Sunday we began with:

1. Men’s prayer meeting at 9:30 AM. (We also found out at this time that our Youth Leader - Bro. Tom Maronga - was admitted to the hospital overnight. He has severe pneumonia, and is currently still in the hospital. Please remember him in your prayers too.)
2. Sunday school classes at 10 AM.
3. Morning Worship at 11 AM to 1 PM.
4. Quick lunch.
5. Youth (ages 13-19) Meeting from 2 PM to 5:30m PM. (We had prayer, a devotion, juice, choir practice, then indoor and outdoor games for all of the youth.) We had 30 youth come out for this meeting. Our youth class has been steadily growing over the past couple of months, and we thank the Lord for allowing us to minister to this next generation of leaders. Please pray that these young people will see the need to witness to their friends, and that they will have a burden to serve the Lord in ALL areas of their lives.

After playing basketball, football, and table games we were all quite worn out. But we had a wonderful time with these young people. The Youth Class will be taking care of the services (song leading, praying, ushering, singing all the special music, Bible reading, giving their testimonies) this next Sunday. So, please be in prayer with them about this Sunday’s (10^th) Services. Some of them are VERY nervous!

We really appreciate all of your prayers for our family and for our various outreach ministries. Thank you so much! May God richly bless you this week.

~The Shelby Family~