Bwanabob

6/29/99

Dear Friends and Partners in Prayer,

The Lord is so good to us. This last week the Lord blessed me with a truck to use here in Kenya. I traveled to Nairobi with a couple of missionary ladies as their escort since they had business and shopping to do and I needed to look at the truck. We had a good time visiting but when it came to their shopping the Lord put me through some tribulation. I guess my patience needed to be worked on a little. I was able to purchase the truck that I had considered buying before, since the owner had converted it from a left hand drive to a right hand drive. It really fits the bill for what I will need. It is a 1993 Mitsubishi, 4×4, double cab. I will be able to take pastors and fellow missionaries when I go to visit churches in Turkana and Busia as well as carry building material. The bed of the truck is somewhat shorter which limits the load, but I plan to have a rack made for the top to haul mabati (tin for roofs), and timber for building rafters.

Our time in Nairobi was nice, but I must admit I’d rather spend a month in Turkana than a day in Nairobi. On the way out of the city I was stopped by a police woman at a road block. She immediately said I would be getting a 2000 shilling fine for having bad tires and would have to appear in court the next day. That announcement concerned me a bit so I said a little prayer and tried to start speaking as much Swahili as I could remember. I told her all I could about why I was in Kenya and that I was a missionary. Finally, she asked if I were single and then asked if I would be willing to marry a Kenyan woman. Hmmmm….! I did my best to be diplomatic and told her that Moses married an Ethiopian. All turned out well. I was allowed to go on and didn’t have to marry a mean Kenyan police woman. Later on the way home the missionary ladies came to my rescue. My new truck had a flat because the tires were really shot. The lock on my spare wouldn’t open. I ended up using the spare from their pickup and we were able to get to Eldoret before dark.

On Sunday we visited a church in central Busia district. The church is doing very well and the young pastor is a real fine man. The church is located in a predominantly Muslim area and has experienced some difficulties from their group. For instance, church members have been threatened for attending the church, the Muslims have tried to block access to the church, and a Muslim lady starts a fire outside the church every time there is a service so that smoke goes into the little room they are meeting in. The Lord has been so good to the little church there. He has blessed them with a plot to eventually build on and the church has seen three Muslim men come to accept Christ in the past few months. It was such a blessing to be in the church, even with a little smoke coming in. We had two different preachers, the children’s choir came marching in singing “Praise to Our Creator” then the adult choir sang several songs. There were about 25 adults in the church and close to half were in the choir. The service lasted for about 3 hours and was a real blessing.

Many thanks to those of you who have prayed for and given to the truck fund. It has already been a great blessing. Just today I had six people in the cab on the way back from Kapsaret. We had a little meeting there on the first phase of starting a new church. We are also planning to travel to Turkana with a load of cement for a new church building at Juluk. This truck will definitely be put to use in the Lords work. Thank you so much.

In Christ,

Bob Clark

June 21, 1999

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My week started with a run to Nairobi to buy a truck. Unfortunately I hadn’t been told the truck was a left hand drive, (made for driving on the right hand side of the road). Trying to travel in a left hand drive vehicle while driving on the left hand side of the road is really making your guardian angels work overtime and holidays. I had to pass on the truck, but pray that the Lord will direct me to the right one.

On Friday Jonathan Mohler and I packed up and headed to Juluk in the Turkana district. This was our first trip there so we were pretty green about what to expect. On the way our vehicle blew a rear wheel bearing. God provided a great “fundi” to fix the bearing for us. He was a real-live-bonified shade tree mechanic, he even had a sign hanging from his shade tree. Traveling for parts and then repairing took about four hours, but we were able to get into Juluk before dark. If you are wondering where Juluk is, you won’t find it on a map, (at least any map I’ve seen). To get there we traveled north from Kitale, then through Nasolot Game Reserve, pass the Turkwell Gorge Power project, turn north and travel along the west side of the Turkwell River for one and a half hours and your there. The last part is a real Safari ride, the trail goes through several dry riverbeds, heavy brush, crosses an Elephant Highway and finally goes into Juluk.

The Baptist Church at Juluk has met for four years under an Acacia tree, recently they have constructed a brush shelter. On Saturday we met in the village for a “crusade.” The singing started long before we got there, but we could hear them from where we were staying about 1/4 of a mile away. A veteran pastor here in Eldoret preached the message, he really is a great preacher and knows how to connect with Kenyans. After the service there were 26 that came forward to accept Christ! The following morning we had a regular service under the tree because there were too many people to fit inside the brush “building.” The people love to sing and when they do they get pretty involved in it, even to the point of making a big cloud of dust. All of the preaching was done in Swahili and then interpreted into the Turkanan tongue. In Turkanan “Aejoka” is the greeting and “Aejok” is the response. After the service we walked about a mile to the Turkwell River and had a baptism service. It was a real African setting and was such a joy to see people baptized in the “wilderness.” After the baptism they told my partner Jonathan ( he was the one baptizing) that there were Mombas (Crocodiles) on the other side of the river! The church is doing quite well in Juluk and the pastor has been a faithful man, working hard to spread the Gospel in his area. All we plan to do is firstly, get some discipleship material to him to teach with. Secondly, help train the young men who are called to preach. We plan to begin a Bible institute in January. Thirdly, assist him in building a permanent building. The termites in the area destroy anything built from wood. There is a great deal of work to do there, but the encouraging part is that the Lord has called men to preach in Turkana and all we need to do is help train them.

Am planning to go to Nairobi on Wednesday to look at another truck. Please pray that things will work out according to God’s will. Also, pray for our safety in traveling.

God bless and keep you all.

In Christ

Bob Clark

June 13, 1999

Dear Friends,

We’ve had a good time this weekend serving and traveling. On Saturday I escorted 6 ladies from churches in Eldoret to speak at a ladies meeting in Busia district. We had a safe journey and the meeting went very well. Here in our area there are more women in the churches than men. It is only right to train these women to minister in areas that God has given them talents. There are some churches that don’t have Sunday schools or visiting programs. The ladies meeting helped encourage women in these areas as well as spiritual growth.

While the ladies were meeting I was able to speak with the pastors of the area. It was a very good time of fellowship and discussion. They told me of the problems they faced in the rural areas. The greatest problem seemed to be polygamy. We discussed from scripture how to deal with this and lessons from the lives of Adam, Abraham, David and Solomon in relation to having more than one wife. Another problem we faced was the pastor sponsoring the meeting had asked me to pay for some of the food. That opens a whole different can of worms. I’ll try to explain from the beginning. Most Kenyans in our area never plan ahead, they don’t think that what you say you actually mean and lastly all white people are rich. With this in mind try to understand the situation I faced on Saturday, being asked to pay for food at the ladies meeting. For two months we had been telling the churches that sponsored the meeting to make provisions for paying for the food. We had given suggestions on how this could be done and we know that the churches had the ability. But when I arrived it was the same old thing as before, none of the churches or women had brought money to pay for the food and they just figured the missionary would pay. It put me in a hard place, but I believe that I did what the Lord would have me do. I explained that the churches wouldn’t always have a missionary, that we had told them we wouldn’t be paying for the food and that this was how they were going to become Local and Independent. It wasn’t an issue of weather I had the money or not, it was an issue of teaching them to take responsibility. We left on good terms and the ladies told me on the way home that they had a wonderful time teaching with great results.

On Sunday I was given the opportunity to preach at Kapsoia Baptist Church. It was really different preaching in the English service, I think many of the more educated Kenyans are becoming too much like Americans. When I began preaching there were about 50 people in the congregation, by the time I finished there must have been 300! They just kept coming in all service long. It was a blessing anyway because there were two that accepted Christ in that service. I stayed afterward for the Swahili service, the attendance had to be over 1000, and most all of them were on time. After both services they asked me to baptize. I had been practicing how to baptize in Swahili and was very glad that I remembered. I was allowed to baptize 23! Two were very old men, 63 and 65. Three were Sudanese, the first ones to be saved and baptized in that church. It was such a blessing!

The ministry here is filled with many wonderful blessing as well as many difficulties. I count it an honor to be doing God’s work here in Kenya. I thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement. Pray that the Lord will give me wisdom and understanding to face the difficulties here and praise Him for the blessings he has poured out on us.

Sincerely In Christ,

Bob Clark

June 11, 1999

Dear Friends,

Last week and this week have been rather exciting. On Sunday we traveled to a church in Busia district. It wasn’t very old but had about 60 members total. The church is wanting to buy a plot of ground to build on, the plot they are meeting on has been offered to them for 13,000/ Kenya Shillings. At the current exchange rate that’s $185 US. If needed I will help to buy the plot with the condition that they pay for the permanent building.

It was very encouraging to be with the young pastor and congregation, but on the way home the care we were driving blew the head gasket in a little town called Harambe. We didn’t make it home until 11 pm that night. We spent all of the next day towing the car into Eldoret. On Wednesday I was went to speak at Chebisas Boys High School. There were about 400 students there, ages 12 to 19. I spoke on making Jesus the foundation of your life and then building from what is written in the Bible. The students were very attentive and we had a few saved. The headmistress told us later that since they had begun bringing in pastors to speak on Wednesdays the boys attitudes, grades and discipline had improved greatly. Oh, what the American education system could learn from the Third World.

Speaking of Third World, the fiscal budget for Kenya has just been passed. There have been riots in Nairobi the last two days with several people injured and looting. This hasn’t affected anyone here in Eldoret, but do pray for our safety, the people and nation of Kenya.

Last night I attended a Bible study in Kapsaret Village. The village is in desperate need of a Gospel preaching church. Our study concentrated on proper leadership and conduct of Christians in the Church. We dealt with some very strong scripture about what our Lord will do to wicked servants and those that mistreat or abuse their fellow servants. I believe that the study dealt directly with several of the people there. Pray that God will direct us in Kapsaret.

I have arranged to buy a truck in Nairobi. Another missionary went and checked it out for me suggesting that I go ahead a buy it. The truck is a 93 Mitsubishi L200 pickup, 4×4, dual cab. It only has 55,000 km on the odometer and is in very nice condition. The price is right and the owner has thrown in a good set of used tires, new tires here in Kenya are about $200 each. I plan to get it on Wednesday, so pray that all goes well and the truck will be the right thing for the ministry I’m in.

Tomorrow, Saturday, I will be escorting some ladies to a women’s meeting in Busia. Please pray for me. Thank you for all of your prayers and E-mails. Remember to pray for the Kapsaret community.

God bless you all.

In Christ,

Bob Clark

June 1, 1999

–a summary

Dear Friends,

I arrived safely here in Kenya, my luggage came about a week after. Thank God everything was intact. The Mohlers and Stirewalts had set up a house before my arrival and I was able to walk in and go to sleep (jet lag you know.) Currently, I am taking Swahili lessons from a private teacher here in Eldoret. I practice what I have learned with my Kenyan friends and pastors I work with.

Every Sunday I have been in a different church. Jonathan Mohler and Randy Stirewalt have been taking me with them to visit churches around Eldoret. Their ministry here concentrates on planting Local New Testament Baptist Churches. Their method is to encourage the churches that have already been started. Train the young men who are called to preach. And finally assist in planting new churches by holding crusades and working with the new pastor. The potential for further growth is so encouraging; it’s hard to say how many new churches there could be in the next 10 years. There are about 86 young men being trained as pastors in the Bible Institutes. There are about 30 young men who have graduated from the Institutes and are working in their local churches. The teaching staff of all three of the Bible Institutes are veteran pastors from local churches. From these numbers you can see how God is calling men from Kenya to further the Kingdom. Praise God I am able to train in such a ministry as this!

So far I have helped at two different crusades. The first was with a new church south of Eiten. We figured that in three days nearly 100 people accepted Christ as their Savior. In one morning the pastor and I led 12 people to the Lord going house to house, field to field. At the second crusade we were invited into an area where two other established churches had failed to preach the Gospel and were loosing many of their young people to drugs and AIDS. Pray for God to give us wisdom as we proceed there.

I was allowed to speak at a local school’s Christian club, it was a real blessing to listen to them sing and afterward we had 19 children come and accept Christ!

Please pray for the following needs. A video projector to use during crusades. Showing a video on the life of Jesus has been very effective in evangelism here. Brother Stirewalt currently has one, but I have already seen that another one is needed. Secondly, pray for God to supply the right vehicle as well as funds to buy it. If you would like to help with either of these needs please contact my Pastor, Lee Parsons.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. I count it a privilege and an honor to be doing Gods work here in Kenya.

Sincerely, In Christ,

Bob Clark

Web Page Address: http://www.bwanabob.org

Snail Mail: Box 6909, Eldoret Kenya

June 1, 1999

Dear Friends,

So much goes on here in one week its hard to think of a starting place. On Wednesday evening I was in the yard pruning the orange trees. I was using my knife and slipped when cutting a branch. The result was a trip to the hospital and four stitches. All the years of filleting fish working in the canneries and whatnot, I never cut myself as badly as trying to prune that orange tree. I’ll appreciate oranges a little more now.

On Friday we held a crusade in an area that is having some real problems with their youth. The churches that are there do not preach the Gospel nor disciple the people. Some people in the community asked us to come in, but they weren’t sure how we would be received. The crusade went very well and we plan to go back. Pray for these people and that we would follow God’s direction.

On Sunday we visited a church in north Busia district. It is one of the older churches in the area, but has struggled in recent years. Churches here are much the same as in America, (people wise). Poor leadership from the pastor and elders has taken the focus of the church from preaching the Gospel to just maintaining what they have. Without following what we have been commanded to do how can we expect to be blessed of God. We tried to encourage the pastor to do what he is called to do and hope that our trip was a blessing to the people there.

Right now I have hired two men to dig the termites from my front yard. You have to catch the queen or they will just repopulate and start over.

There are so many wild things that go on here that it always keeps life exciting. I preached at the Busia Church this Sunday, it was a real blessing, but the distractions during a Kenyan service are a little different. Many babies don’t wear any kind of diaper, so you can imagine the accidents that occur.

Pray that God will continue to direct in my ministry and everyday decisions.

God bless and keep you,

In Christ,

Bob Clark