Engashura !

Wowwwwwwwwwwww! What a day! It was such a wonderful Spirited filled, Hallelujah day! It was like experiencing a little bit of heaven on earth. For all our friends at home who prayed for us to have a great beginning in Engasura… Thank you …. Our Father surely heard your prayers.

This was the first Sunday gathering at Engasura and it was incredible! We arrived early and started putting up the tent, trying to figure out where the sun would end up, so our people would not bake in the blazing hot equatorial sunshine.

Our first visitors were a group of young ladies from a nearby high school. Their teacher is a member of our Church Fellowship in Nakuru. They were such a delight.

As soon as Abraham and Evan set up the P. A. system they began singing. After the gathering they asked  James and I if we could come and address their school, to which we said… “We’d love to.”

As they sang  people began  to come.

Once we all were seated, Thomas welcomed everyone to the celebration of the inauguration of StoneHouse Fellowship Engasura.

Then the Nakuru StoneHouse youth began to lead us in song.

As we started to sing, our Princess of Praise, Sara, led the children in a dance of adulation.

As we returned to our seats one of Margret’s daughter-in-law asked if she could speak. She said the Lord had given her a vision months ago. The mud-church building that was originally here and represented the last ten years was encircled by a great snake. She said it was choking the life out of the people who came there to experience the Lord's Life. But then, God showed her a striped green tent that would come and be filled with the Lord’s Spirit. She said He would crush the head of the great serpent and a new day begin. Hallelujah! The tent we were sitting under is green striped! Today Christ crushed the head of the serpent!

Then the StoneHouse Nakuru Sunday school came out and offered their praise in dance.

Next, the older children began to offer their praise.

Everyone loved their offering.

At that point the women came to the front and offered up their praise for StoneHouse Engasura.

That’s when James and I got up and began to tell of the meaning of StoneHouse. This StoneHouse would be the temple of our God, and would be a living example of the Life of Christ. Our StoneHouse Fellowship had already laid the first stone… Christ… and now the second living stone would be laid atop of that Stone. That would be Margret … the first living stone of StoneHouse Engasura!

Praise broke out again as the StoneHouse Youth broke out in thanksgiving.

They literally came off the ground!

Several young people offered their individual songs of praise.

All the children loved their singing.

Then there was a quick skit from our drama club about the importance of meaning what you say.

The High School girls offered up another wonderful song.

And then began the last part of the celebration. Margret and her family desired to give the property we were meeting on to StoneHouse Ministries International.

As she presented to us the deed to the land, Margret told of how she had promised to give a portion of her shamba (farm) to the work of the Lord.

Then she and her family signed the property over to StoneHouse Ministry International… with the full blessing of her entire family. One of her sons later said to me … “now we know that our dear mother can rest in peace for God has given her the desires of her heart.”

Then came the most joyful celebration of all. As her entire family knelt to receive God's blessing… James and I asked God to bless her entire family and to bless the offering of their hands.

Margret arose and said… this is the best day of my life!

For all of you that labored in prayer that this beginning be Spirit filled. Bless you!

Your StoneHouse Family.

Engasura

Well… this Sunday is the launching of the first Engasura Church Gathering. We have been very busy creating a place for the tent which will house our Engasura family till we erect a meeting house. We have been meeting every Wednesday in Margret’s house for over 6 months and all the neighbors have been waiting for this day.

So here is a pictorial post showing what we have been doing. Pray for us this Sunday that Christ will be lifted up and His people edified.

Engasura is located up in the mountains surrounding Nakuru and is very fertile farmland. Little shambas (farms) dot the mountainside. Located completely on a hillside, there are not many level places to build on so… if you want level… you have to create it.

Like the construction of StoneHouse Fellowship Nakuru, there are no power tools, bull dozers or transits… just a ton of hard work moving tons of dirt and eyeballing the surface, hoping it turns out level.

Then came the demolition of the mud house that served as a church building for 10 years. The members of this ‘church’ grew from four people to six over a period of ten years and drove Margret to almost giving up on believing in the Church.

 She suffered patiently till one day she walked into StoneHouse Fellowship Nakuru. With tears she asked … “Can you bring this Life to Engasura?” This sweet woman of God is a faithful hard working disciple of Christ.

It took two days to take down the eight by twenty-four foot building. Upon finishing the demolition, the ‘church leader’ came by and demanded half the roof panels that Margret and the other members had paid for. He also took his pulpit! Oh well… didn’t Christ say when someone asked for your roof panels that you should give them the pulpit too?

We also had to dig big drainage ditches on either side of the plot to accommodate the massive amount of water that comes down the mountain when the rainy season comes … which by the way… started four days ago. Pray that they divert the flow.

After leveling the section that we will build on, we put used cement sacks (cost of five shillings a sack) full of dirt to hold the edges of the foundation in place until the area hardens.

This last picture is where we are at now and where it will be when the StoneHouse Family arrives on Sunday. Like the StoneHouse gathering place in Nakuru, this project is being built with faith and hard work.

Should our Father put it on your heart to help us with the cost of the building we will be forever grateful. The building will cost about five thousand dollars and every donation helps. Like the widow giving her few cents, it’s not the amount of money, but the amount of love that accompanies it that matters. Our Father will make it grow!

                   God bless … The StoneHouse Family