The Shelby Family in Kenya

Dear Friends,

    Hi, my name is Abigail Shelby, and I am a missionary kid in Kenya, east Africa. I turned thirteen years old on August 11. I absolutely love my home, because of its variety of nature and wildlife. It is, I think, the most wonderful place on earth, because of its beauty and jungle like appearance. I (as well as my mom) do not like snakes, but I do like other animals even “creepy crawlies.” My brother and sisters and I have many pets. Two female dogs, Lady and Sassy; a male hamster, Tiny; three female rabbits: Cocoa, Mittens, and Mustache; five male rabbits: Explorer, Mark, Chocolate-Chip-Cookie, Oreo, and Little Midnight. We also have twelve chickens which we have not named, because the look alike.

I hope you have enjoyed reading,

                    ~Abigail Shelby~

Dear Praying Friends,

Since this is the best way of personal communication and since our phone lines are not always dependable calling the states, I am writing this message by email for urgency.

We are trying to buy a better vehicle. We have been using a 10 passenger van for the last 5 years as our family vehicle.  It has been through some engine changes and a front end wreck last year.  The engine is running fine, but it is really a rattle trap. We will continue to use it to go out and visit our churches and for all ministry work. 

It has been too big for Tonya to drive; and it is not comfortable for the kids either, because of the diesel fumes (Kay-Leigh has the biggest problems).  We did not realize the problem that it had until the kids wanted to take baby rabbits on a two-hour trip and they all died.

We have found another vehicle that has been well taken care of, and it has been used by another missionary who is retiring from the field after 20 years.  We have seen and driven the vehicle, and Tonya is very comfortable with it.  He is asking $6,000 for it by October (by the time that they are leaving).  It is a 7-seater Pajero, and it has only been owned by 3 foreigners (that means a lot).

I know that the economy is not having a very good time; It is the same way here, but possibly worse.  That is why we have tried to find a good deal before we mentioned it to churches and friends.  If we could have 12 churches, who could give $500 to this need, then it would be taken care of.

If you can help us with this need, please let us know by e-mail (click here to send us a message) so that we can confirm the sell or tell missionary that we cannot buy it. 

Please forgive us for the urgency of this letter, but we have a deadline of October 15; we can then give them a check before they leave Kenya.

Money can be sent to our home church, BBC Jacksonville or BIMI with a note for “vehicle.”

May God bless you very much,

Luke and Tonya Shelby and Family

Missionaries in Kenya

Dear Supporters and Friends,                                                                                July/August 2009

Thank you for your prayers, cards, and notes to our family over the last two months. We celebrated our 14th Anniversary; and our two oldest daughters, Abigail and Breanne, had birthdays. Abigail is now a teenager, and she is turning into a young lady. Breanne is now 12, and we thank God for both them. They are teaching from time to time in the children’s church and Vacation Bible Schools. It is hard to believe that this year is our 10th year living in Kenya, and that the girls were only one and two years old when we arrived in Kenya.

July

We have had a busy summer break visiting with a few churches as a family, because during the school year it is difficult in the middle of the week for Tonya and the kids to see the different ministries going on. We also shared some of the time with Shauna Brockman, who is a teacher in Knoxville, TN. We did a VBS at the orphanage project in Alaro village with 100 and 160 in attendance for the two days respectively. There were over 50 who got saved, and 8 of them were parents who brought their children. We are still praying that God would open the doors to be able to start a church in this village.

We also had the opportunity to go to one of the Deaf schools in our area, and Shauna was able to teach about salvation. She taught around 200 children, and I know she was a blessing to each person she met. We also spent one afternoon at the ladies’ prison, she gave her testimony, I preached, and 23 got saved. There are now about 30 in the ladies’ prison doing Bible Study courses. In the men’s prison there were 64 saved, and several were added to the Bible Study program. Please pray for these ministries as they continue.

August

We held our 2nd Annual Ladies camp for all of our churches. It is held each year at Calvary Baptist Church in Kisii, and this is Tonya’s special outreach to all the ladies. We had 22 ladies from 4 different churches this year, and everyone is already looking forward to next year’s camp. Please continue to pray for Tonya and her various Ladies’ ministries. Pray that God will give her the wisdom needed to teach the pastor’s wives and other ladies in our churches, so that we will be able to see a generation of strong Godly women in Kenya.

Other Prayer Requests and Needs

Vehicle—$6,000 (We have been praying for over a year, for a dependable family vehicle.) Now we have found a vehicle that is available from a missionary who is leaving the field in October. He is selling his 4-wheel drive Pajero for $6,000. It has been very well taken care of, and this is a very good offer. If you can assist us in meeting this need, please note it on your check for “Vehicle” and it will be a great blessing to our family. Thank you very much for your offering.

Photocopier—$1,200

For souls in Kisii,

Luke and Tonya Shelby

Missionaries 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

FAMILY FUN DAY! What can be better than having fun? We try to reserve Friday afternoon and evening for family time. As many of you (those in fulltime ministry) know, you do not work a 9 to 5 job; you are on call 24/7. So, we “TRY” to keep Fridays for family day whenever possible; and we encourage every family to give it a try! It does not have to cost anything! But your children will thank you for giving them your full attention! Sometimes we just do popcorn and movie night, sometimes game day (water games outside & table games in the evening), and sometimes we just have a picnic (even if it is just in our own backyard!). So, on this particular day we explored the top of Manga mountain (it is located just 30 minutes outside of Kisii Town) together!

As you can see in the pictures, we felt like we were on the edge of the world! And we had a great time playing Frisbee and trying to keep the Frisbees on top of the mountain with us!

    Luke and the children.                 Miss Shauna Brockman.                    Frisbee Time.                         Exploring nature.

We hope that everyone has a wonderful day with YOUR OWN family!

Serving Him in Kenya,

The Shelby Family

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