To all our Family and Friends both here and abroad… Happy New Year and blessings to you for you’re prayers, concern, love and support. Two thousand and sixteen was a good and prosperous year for StoneHouse Ministries International. Much of our ministry this year has been as a result of the behind the scenes work, of our our newly formed board of directors. Without their organizational and administrative help we might still be walking in circles. May the Lord continue to bless all they do for us.
By the grace of our King, we have doubled (from five to ten) our number of church families. These are not just ‘Sunday go to meeting’ people, but people who have asked to be made disciples of our King. And we are actively training their leaders to make them just that.
Our other ministries have also continued to grow as we equip the Kenyan brethren to do the work of the ministry. Our vision and heart have always been to make them self-sustaining-servants and not always do the work ourselves or cause them to be dependent on us. This has not been the easiest of tasks, but we are making progress. All our churches take care of most of their own needs, though they are very poor. People from each church family are being trained to take care of their youth, check on one another and reach out to their neighbors.
James and Beatrice Nyaga have taken over StoneHouse Academy Primary School and are working to make a difference in the slums of Ronda and Ponda Mali. James, has also continued to faithfully teach the department store Nakumat fellowship every Saturday morning and the May Harvest restaurant staff on Sunday afternoon.
Wangui, our spiritual daughter, is now overseeing StoneHouse Sewing Center and has become quite the manager. She is now employing Lillian, the wife of our pastor in Keptembwa, to help run the shop and help provide for their family through what she earns.
Our children’s educational sponsorship program has suffered a few setbacks, but has been refocussed to better take care of our church families. This shift has allowed us to better train the parents of these sponsored children. Cynthia will post another blog explaining further.
Through our partnership with other ministries such as; Heaven’s Family, Island Family Community Church, Soaring Eagle Ministry, Saint Mary’s Hospital, local ministries in Nakuru and individuals like Robin Nail, Dr. David McGowan Jr. and so many others, we have been able to help many of our fellow Kenyans.
Things like building a widow and her children a new home.
Or getting a breathing machine for a little girl with health problems and paying her hospital bills. Providing micro loans for others to start businesses and much more.
Our once a year, free medical clinic, met over two hundred needed medical conditions and hosted a team from the University of Michigan.
Given bibles to school children.
We did six conferences. Two seminars and three apostolic journeys all over Kenya, visiting people who had almost never heard about the Kingdom of God, and so much more that would take pages and pages to fill.
We even finished building our house and moved in.
We even finished building our house and moved in.
I must admit though, even with all these blessings, my beloved wife and I have been majorly stretched out this year. In some cases, beyond what we thought we could endure, and yet we were never without the solace and strength of the blessed Spirit of God.
Outward spiritual battles can sometimes be fierce here in Kenya, but never as exacting as the ones fought within ourselves. Other people’s failures, never cause us such despair… as do our own. No ignorance …willful or not.. causes us more frustration than our own. No half-heartedness, no passivity, no display of the flesh, no lack of spiritual judgement, insight, foresight or hindsight causes us more grief … than our own.
If we had to face this coming New Year with just the testimony of our past, our self-confidence for today or our belief in a safe and secure future… we would run and hide from it. I know many of you feel the same way. Yet, thanks to our righteous King… we face this new year with a hope born of a promise to each of us… and that hope delivers. That hope is this.. that no matter how we fail, fall or faint… we are… always in His hands … always. Let us go out into 2017 with joy! Read Isaiah 52:12
This is the view of early morning from our porch. They shout of His presence.
May He who holds our lives in His hands and understands you more than you are capable of knowing… remind you of that. Have a blessed year… full of assurance and hope!
This is the view of early morning from our porch. They shout of His presence.
May He who holds our lives in His hands and understands you more than you are capable of knowing… remind you of that. Have a blessed year… full of assurance and hope!
Happy New Year and much love David and Cynthia
