A Blessed Wedding! 

Last Saturday, we had our first StoneHouse wedding and it was incredible! Our church family came together to bless and unite our dear Rose and Geoffrey. 

Although they have known each other for quite some time, three weeks ago Rose and Geoffrey surrendered their lives to our King and were baptised into HIs Kingdom. The couple’s desire was to begin their life together as disciples of Christ. For all of the StoneHouse family… their baptism was the beginning of their wedding.

There was a lot of preparation for this celebration preceding their baptism. The entire Nakuru StoneHouse family has been deeply involved with every detail. The bridesmaid’s dresses were made by Wangoe, the manager of StoneHouse Sewing centre. 

The best men’s and boy’s suits were made by Richard, the StoneHouse sewing center’s teacher. Both were assisted by the center’s students. 

My dear wife Cynthia made Rose’s wedding dress. All these labors of love involved many, many weeks of tireless work. Countless people worked diligently on every detail of the event.

When the day of celebration finally arrived, there were over 350 people attending. Even our neighbors joined in on the fun. 

There were people dressed in traditional African attire, the man in blue is the father of the groom. 

The were people dressed in contemporary attire, like Vincent, his wife Mary.

 And then there were people with no attire at all! 

It began with the parents of the groom ‘fetching’ the bride from our apartment in the morning.

As everyone’s eyes looked up to get a look at the beautiful bride... the drums began to beat and people began dancing up the stairs and then down again with the bride. 

Sheets of cloth were placed in front of her so her feet never touched the ground till she entered the Nakuru church gathering place. 

She was a beautiful bride...

Then we loaded into the Matatoos (public transportation) and headed for the church gathering place.

When we arrived at the gathering place, the procession began with the parents entering first, 

The groom and his Shepherd...

The bride maids and little children...

The best men danced the bridesmaids to their seats. 

James and I began with preaching the Kingdom of God to everyone present and explained the commands of our King for marriage to the groom and his bride. 

The pastors of each StoneHouse church spoke blessings over the couple...

Rings were exchanged...

And the official documents were signed.

Afterwards, the entire wedding party drove out to Solid Rock and had a great photoshoot. It was a great ending to a great day. 

Thank you Father for such a wonderful visitation of your Spirit in the uniting of this precious couple. 

 I have never been more proud of these people of God.

Pray for this young couple as they begin their walk together in the Kingdom of God.

Much blessings … the StoneHouse Family. 

Are They Worth It?

Are They Worth It?

A terrible and curious question… are they worth it? 

Just because they live in the slums and don’t have food everyday … does that make them worth it? 

Just because they live with disease, drunks, death, devastating disappointments and constant injustice … does that make them worth it? 

If we leave our closest friends, our hard earned security, our comforts and ease…. are they really worth doing so?

Should we forfeit our rest and retirement, the reward of our life long hard work … just because they need us?

 If we leave our children and grandchildren and suffer them our absence … are they still worth it? Should we just accept the terrible ache of missing the wonderful hugs, their precious smiles and the joy of being able to watch them grow up… is that even right?

Is it right that because of our absence, we should cause those at home such longing, such pain… such hardships…, whom we love so much? Are they worth it? 

Is it just us that we forsake the country of our birth, the family we love, the culture we are familiar with, to live in such poverty… such dangerous, unfamiliar, insecure, threatening circumstances … just for them?

Are they worth it?

Should I watch my wife, in her ‘golden years’, give up her strength, vigour… her very life, to the never ending flow of needy people who are constantly before us? 

Do we have to be there, when their fathers and mothers abandon them…

when they become pregnant… contaminated with fatal diseases… ravished and abused by those they should have been able to trust?

Do we owe them some sort of debt, because we have been so blessed by God? Why must we be here?

The answer of course is yes… because... if not us … then who? If not now … then when?

The answer to why is found in this…

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel “ (God is with us). Isaiah 7:14 

We didn’t need a new teaching, tract or book on discipleship, we didn’t need a new religion… we needed … Oh, how we needed … a presence… someone to be with us… someone to stay with us! 

Are they worth it? He seemed to think so. That’s why He came... and that's why we are here.

This Christmas remember … The gift our beloved King brought us… was Himself. We needed His presence, we needed Him. May all of us who call ourselves Immanuel’s disciples, follow in His footsteps. This Christmas take the time to give your family, friends and the needy around you … the very best gift you can give them … give them you. And remember to pray for missionaries all around this world who must answer these questions every single day. 

 Have a spiritually blessed Christmas and a Kingdom advancing New Year… from Dave and Cyndy Taylor and the entire StoneHouse Family.