DON'T LEAVE ME BEHIND!

EVERY SUNDAY, in our Fellowship, we Break Bread, and share Communion, with those who have come to believe and trust in what God did for us through Christ dying on the Cross on Calvary.   I was reading through 1.Corinthians 11 yet again last week, and came across words, well known, but suddenly speaking to me - ' Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat (the Lord's supper) tarry one for another.'   WAIT for one another.     

Some Congregations vary in the way they deal with this occasion.   Some may celebrate Communion (or Mass) once a year; others quarterly, monthly or weekly.     Sometimes the Bread and the Cup are handed round where people are sitting, whilst in other places the people wishing to partake go out to the alter rail and kneel down to receive from the Priest.      In our Fellowship those who Believe come to the front where the Bread and Cup are laid out upon a Table, and then, as they pass by, they are given first the Bread and then the Cup, one by one, and then return to their seat.     This means that we NEVER wait for each other.    Never eat or drink TOGETHER as one.    Conversely those who receive the bread seated in the congregation hold it in their hand and then, when all are served,  partake of it together at the same moment.     With the cup - especially if only one chalice is used - this is not the case of course.    And the Scripture actually emphasises the EATING rather than the Drinking.   But our Catholic brethren tend to get over this problem by receiving a wafer of bread dipped in the wine and so are able to receive both at the same moment.

BUT MY ATTENTION was drawn just to the injunction to WAIT FOR ONE ANOTHER!    I felt sure this was not just a matter of eating and drinking together in unison.    Somehow there must be some other matter Paul had in mind.    PAUL had in fact mentioned the various differences in the church.

Those attending were all seeking Christ, but had their own opinions about how to go about it.   All were at different stages in their faith - in their appreciation of what it really was to be a child of God.  From being born again, there were many still babes, and others children, teenagers, adults in their NEW life.

No doubt this also meant that many judged each others spiritual worth and status.    They would come to the Table to remember the Love of God for themselves whilst perhaps harbouring unkind and un-neighbourly thoughts concerning each other.     Pride of status, and even sin, could be present in the communicant.........Greed and even drunkenness!?    I felt a little alarmed.     Most Bible Commentators manage to argue that this was NOT the case, 'the Christian was not a drunkard'......but the Word IS used to describe people IN the church Meeting, partaking and sharing...... AND there is little doubt that even today the outward Christian attending Church is not perfect - may even be given to strong drink!   The Grace of GOD???

Be THAT as it may, I felt spoken to in as much as it bothered me as to how much we DO love each other, and value each other in Christ.      AM I ready to WAIT for my brother/sister to catch up to where I am in my spiritual aspirations?   Or do I 'look down upon' or disparage those who seem to be less appreciative of 'so great salvation'?   Do I love some LESS than I love others as my brother or sister in the Christian Walk.    Do I hurry past some; do I neglect to pray for some, and even keep myself away from others who I feel do not see eye to eye with me.      

When I married Esther, the day afterwards we were walking in Nairobi, chatting as we went.   It was a beautiful sunny day and the street was full of people and action.     Suddenly as I was saying something I looked down (she is shorter than I am) to where I expected her to be - and she was not there!   I looked behind and found her some two hundred metres or so behind be talking to someone else who had momentarily demanded her greeting. I had not realised she was no longer by my side!  I WAITED for her to catch up.     I did not go on increasing the distance between us.   I loved her, wanted and needed her company and fellowship.  I WAITED and when she had caught up with me, we went on together.      Life is like this.   We, each one us, are not always quite 'TOGETHER' in thought, appreciation, opinion, and understanding.    It is easy to become ' out of step '  and we need to guard against leaving the other behind.   It is not pleasant to be outdistanced without being missed.      

WHEN WE CONSIDER CROSS ON WHICH CHRIST DIED, it is not for us to so selfishly see that it was for ME, but also for the one next for me, and indeed for each and every soul.    Academically clever and gifted,  or less able to grasp the ideas of others;  physically attractive or otherwise;  younger or older, spiritually gifted or still seeking.....our Father has longed and DOES long for the fellowship and intimate closeness of EVERY one.  AND HE WAITS for each one - for as long as it takes.    If He is in me by His Spirit, then should not this longing be in ME, in YOU.      Let us WAIT for each other, and and as we come to the Table of the Lord let us SLOW down enough to SEE one another as being with us, and be GLAD and THANKFUL for each other.       DO THIS as often as YOU WANT to, affectionately calling HIM to mind, AND  in doing so calling each other to mind as well.

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ALL IS WELL HERE.     We are hanging on, and JESUS is with us, steering the ship.   The weather remains uncertain,  cloudy and overcast at times.   In fact a few days this week the sky has had a yellowish look, as if it was burning.     At times sandstorms from the Sahara are carried here in part though this is the first time for many years that it may have happened.     Today the sky is clear again and the sun hot and welcoming to our children now on Half Term holiday.    A good many of them in the pool having a great time as I type.   Quite a breeze in the air, and the trees all enjoying a chance to be moved and energised to dance and jig their leaves into cool whispers and rustlings all around.

IN DECEMBER, whilst she was labouring with us, Tammy from Adelaide, felt a desire to help us renew some of our ageing bunk beds.   They had been made of metal more than thirty years ago, and were looking the worse for wear.     We cannot thank her enough for making is possible for

us to replace more than twelve beds.    We therefore want to enclose a few photos of them.   Some went to Jacaranda Cottage and others to Testimony House.     Timber bed frames are undoubtedly better and more stable than metal ones.    However, in Kenya these days, it is very difficult if not impossible to obtain seasoned timber.    There is always a risk it might twist or warp as it dries out.   We used a previously known carpenter to do the work, and he did his best, though in the end we have had to return one or two beds where the timber actually cracked and split apart.    But the final conclusion is good, and all are happy and glad.    We hope you enjoy the photos and the happy participants showing off their new beds, and we hope you will join us in our Thanksgiving to Father for moving Tammy's heart on our behalf.

Yesterday we saw three new children brought to us.     Their mother died of AIDS just a few days earlier, and the father is a drunkard.    The children are not fed, and have been locked out of their squalid home so that they were all without shelter or comfort.      They were brought to us by a concerned Pastor to hold for a few days whilst the Authorities decided what to do.     We ourselves can accommodate the two youngest, but the eldest is a boy of 13 who has never attended School.
Children her commence their first Primary School year at SIX having already learnt basic language and maths in Nursery School.      We have not completely closed the door on him, but it would be better if a more suitable alternative could be found.      The Little girl in arms is one and a half and her follower is 5.     Please pray for them, and for whatever the Lord wants of us relative to their future.
Some here are asking WHY we are taking in more children - three more are in the offing in fact - since we are experiencing economic problems.     BUT we are here for children in need.    We have never before made our own poverty a reason to shut the door on a needy child.    And we have always survived and the child has grown.       No, our hearts find it hard to shut the door.     When we SEE a child, dejected, alone, miserable WE find our hearts enlarged rather than hardened.    .....


Let me end this week with the sound of children laughing, and making a splash in the Pool.    It is a busy place through the week.      24 Classes all have at least one swimming class a week - sometimes two.    Additionally we have two other schools using the school during the week.     Weekends, staff and school parents, together with outsiders AND our own children all have times when they can enjoy the use of it.    The pictures you will see here were taken this morning when not SO many were there - a group LEARNING to swim and a few advanced swimmers as well..

We love you all with Thanksgiving.     We are praying with an for you.

John and Esther - and Daryl.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE?

COULD BE BANGLADESH!  But no, it is Somerset, England.   The huge onslaught of what is being referred to as ' Extreme Weather ' has left me feeling stunned.     I lived many years of my life in the South-west, and the enduring memory has been one of unchanging peacefulness and quietness.     THIS overwhelming surge of Wind, Rain, and Sea has suddenly rendered that serenity without security, indeed it is almost such a scene of uncertainty that one wonders if life will ever be the same.
The very coastal outline is being changed as cliffs crumble into raging seas, and the wind and waves rip up railways and homes that have been a never questioned part of the permanent scene for generations.     And WHEN have we seen such floods.     Of course other parts of the Country have been challenged as well.     The South-west has just been the recipient of the most recent  and, perhaps, the greatest attack upon the 'green and pleasant land' of England.      Most of all, to me, this has sounded an 'alarm' within my spirit; an alarm that perhaps events are overtaking us all.     Events that speak of global disaster.      Apart from any 'christian' believes and predictions, it may be WE have all unknowingly been part of our worlds soon to come demise.       Certainly we should be warned, and maybe most of us will find it hard to trust in a calm and easy future.

TO ALL our friends, and indeed to EVERYONE, suffering because of these recent

and continuing awful events that have taken lives, deprived so many of home and security,

and turned well known and loved areas into quagmires, we send our deepest sympathy

and sorrow for all you may be going through.

AND OF COURSE,  we know that the SAME, if at times different, weather has also attacked and confronted those living in the United States.     We do not forget you.     Indeed it has only woken us up to the terrible conditions and annual privations suffered all over the world - so far away from us that we have been previously oblivious of it all.    NOW it it seems we are to feel the 'lash' as well, and perhaps increase our pity for others - probably not if the 'Press' is to be believed.     Indeed we seem to care less for others, resenting the help and aid others receive, the more WE find ourselves in need and made uncomfortable.      Well we are all in the same boat you know - at least all on the same Planet!

Things are changing - for all of us, and all of us are going to experience all that such change will bring.

Not encouraging.      Our politicians have nothing to say or do about it.     Our scientists all in disarray and for the most part also in disagreement as to how to control the events confronting us, or even how to explain them.     We are all therefore forgiven if we should feel apprehensive about the future - even without nuclear weapons.       FAMINE is going to WIDEN its applications.    We ARE on a downward slide, and even the earth we stand upon is no longer as reliable as it used to be - it opens up beneath our roads and homes...... This to me is all, taken by and large, increasingly MORE than 'Wars and rumours of wars, and famines and earthquakes in place after place'  -  Mathew 24.   This is further on that the BEGINNING......... I begin to FEEL that we are getting close to what are today, lightly referred to as 'The Last Days'.    Things could be folding up.         Daryl said to me just this week -

'May be I have become Director

to supervise the end of Testimony Faith Homes'

What made him say this?   The sun is shining HERE, the weather has been good to us, we enjoy warmth, without discomfort, our crops are growing!   The children in our Homes all look well and happy as they daily attend school, play in the Pool, and in the fields, looking excitedly to the future.

And, of course people are marrying and being given in marriage........all, to some extent, without realising that at any second there may be 'time no longer'.       And the 'signs' are with US.  We have been forced to ask if we might have to close down as we no longer seem able pay our way.  OUR time is short.........Daryl has felt this, in just a week of taking up the reigns.      There is a TIME for everything, and may be our time has, or is coming, to an end here.      God will stand with us still of course - even at the end and even through it.     When the END comes for Planet Earth, GOD will still BE, and still be with those who TRUST in HIM.   He has promised never to leave or forsake us.

REVELATION is the END of the Bible, and it tells of the LAST DAYS, and the END.

In chapter 6v4 talks of a time when 'peace will be taken from the earth, so that men slaughter each other'

Do you think that time has come already.    We live in such a day.   Two World wars, and countless little ones everywhere.     That Day we have to recognise.

In chapter 6v5-6 speaks about a time when world economy will be in the balance.   food will be scarce and costly to purchase...............a time when OIL and WINE will determine many things.   Has this day come.     YES,  I believe it has.    We need to recognise it.

In chapter 6v7-- we hear when FAMINE and PLAGUE will take the lives of millions.    Has this day also come?    Yes I do believe it has.   We are in the midst of it.

In chapter 6v9-10 ...we hear of a host of souls whose lives had been taken from them because they had stood for the TRUTH.    No other reason.   For their TESTIMONY in Jesus.     TODAY we see that there is a drift of secular feeling against religion.    In the West we have and are still seeing opinion shift against and away from Christian Doctrine, and lifestyle.      It may not be too long before the Christian will be seen as an Enemy of the State - ....!!!!     I have seen this coming for many decades, but it is more real now than ever before.    ARE YOU AWAKE, or are you drifting.   WATCH and PRAY.     I have exhorted the Family now for more than forty years to DO this.     I say it now again, and never more needfully.      Rouse from all hope of comfort and indolence, and WATCH - and PRAY.     The END is coming - perhaps has COME!     Make sure you are ready, make sure the OIL of Gladness, the very LIFE blood of GOD is IN YOU, and that you keep AWAKE ..............

There I go again.    Can't help it.    It just comes over me, wells up and out............

I saw in the U.K.s Daily Mail that scientists in the U.S. have announced that Homosexuals are so, due to their DNA.     In a way they are saying (guardedly) that a Homosexual is so from birth, and that he/ she has inherited their sexual orientation.     Of course those who indulge in this type of sexual behaviour are always trying to comfort themselves by saying it is not their fault that they are different from the norm.    They were born, created, made like it.     If this actually exonerates them I doubt very much, or else they would not be using it as a defence;   basically they acknowledge their way is not the RIGHT way.       One of Britain's own respected Geneticists, Professor R.J. Barry, has written 'GENES do not cause homosexuality'.    BUT even if EVERY facet of our nature and personality could be traced to a Gene, does  that mean that we should just accept it, when it affects our life and our society for the worse.     Do we accept the behaviour of an habitual thief, murderer, drunkard, paeodophile to be right in what he does?

AND THE BIBLE insists that GOD does not accept homo-sexuality; it is an abomination, an abnormal, unplanned, and unmeant aberration of a man's reasoning.     It will bring destruction in society, in humanity, in the world.       AND again JESUS reminded us that as in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah so will the days just before the END.      Do you see this?     The world is being 'conditioned' and taken over by a minority which in itself maintains a life style and ethic which is ungodly and AGAINST world society.   And it is toward our children and grandchildren that these acceptabilities are being aimed.   Via the internet, electronic games, films, video and books,  attitudes to violence, sex, and even colour are being changed.

In recent years we have seen this more and more clearly until even the 'Christian' is beginning to believe that two men and two women is acceptable, healthy, and appropriate;  until we are barely horrified by voilent crime     I personally have always said that one should maintain a loving attitude to the sinner.   We should not hate the sinner with the SIN.

BUT TODAY I must say more clearly that where sin is discovered it should be REVEALED.

Sin, all sin, can be forgiven when it is seen and repented of,  but it may not be covered up BEFORE it IS repented of.     Jesus did not condemn the woman taken in adultery when she was brought to Him for judgement - but He STILL told her not to continue in that sin, and in telling her this He tacitly judged her lifestyle as being WRONG!  We must DECLARE the wrong and proclaim the Right fearlessly else we may not legally and properly claim that we are LIGHT and SALT in our society.       AND REMEMBER NOW

the words of Jesus, who is the LORD of every TRUE Christian -  He said in John 15v19 -

'IF you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection

and would love you as its own.

But because you are not of the world (no longer one with it),

but I have chosen (selected) you out of the world,

the world hates (detests) you.'  (Amplifed Bible Translation)

It is a long time since BUNYAN who wrote Pilgrim's Progress' and was imprisoned for his testimony of Christ, and the Christian may have got used to an easy going life without cost.    TIME to WAKE up and COUNT the COST of BEING a Child of God.

AND YES,   I did take Esther out on Valentine's Day - for lunch - just the two of us.  Wonderful!
And YES I am still very much a human being, and I try not to be a religious fanatic.   I know many who do indulge in unhealthy lifestyles.     I love them well enough, but I do not hide from them my fears for their life and soul.       Regretfully not many of them take any notice - some have walked away out of my life and sight, others have made changes in their lives, and we pray on for them.

Take care dear brothers and sisters - do not be conformed to the world.    Take a Stand.    Take a stand for God, and for God's WAY!      The pressure is building up against the Christian, to first of all lose his Faith, then his Courage, and finally his Hope.      We are praying for YOU ALL as WE go through our own time of Testing.     I do believe we can and will ALL come through and find power to ENDURE whatever may come, to the END.      And HE is with us ,,,,,,,

John and Esther

HANDING OVER . a bit at a time.

Well this WAS Valentines Day last year!   AND it will be the same this year, and every year till we fly away higher up.      We shall have been together 43 years this coming August, and I never tire of her face or of anything about her.   A real 'Darby and Joan' we are together really.   When we first met in June 1970 we both knew we would be together for life.   And from the Day we married we have been in this Ministry of Testimony Faith Homes together.    Esther has been the Mother of All, and even now after leaving being a houseparent, she remains closely connected to children - not just those in the Homes, to whom she is now known as Grandma,
but to all in the School where she is daily to be seen as a Class Visitor keeping an eye on teaching standards and school welfare in general.    She celebrates her 70th Birthday in August just a few days after our 43rd Anniversary.     I can't see her 'retiring' in any real sense.
I have continued to be the 'Director' since we began in 1969, even after announcing my Retirement in 2010, when I reached seventy.      I handed over then to our son Daryl, and he has been standing as Director since then, though somehow it just did not seem real - I mean I was still here - there - and butting in and 'finding fault' with how things were under a 'new' leader.    I found it hard to really take my hands off, and not BE (still) the Director.   I also hung on to the secretarial things such as looking after the Office, doing the letter writing and filing and so on.      THIS YEAR I knew things had to change if we were to see real progress.      Daryl went on a six month Sabbatical.   He went to give us all time to consider the future as well as the present.     I was very ready for his return after the break. He arrived yesterday, and was welcomed back by us all, including the Board of Governors.     We shared Tea, samosas, and mandazi together ( will leave you to discover what they are if you don't know) and had a very good fellowship.  
AT THIS TIME,  I FINALLY HANDED OVER being the 'Director behind the scenes, and welcomed Daryl as the 2nd Director of Testimony Faith Homes.      In the Beginning I had appointed myself, but Daryl has been appointed by the Board.    A NEW Era has therefore opened up.   Looking back the last three years have been rather tedious and tremulous as both Daryl, myself and the Board have waited for God to put His seal on our candidate for leadership.    It is good now to feel the Lord has, at last given us all a sense of settlement.

Daryl P. Green

I shall still be the Office manager for a while longer - until we find a new General Secretary to be officially given the responsibility of dealing with correspondence, and so on. In the past I had been Director AND General Secretary - both.    Now those offices will remain separate.  Momentous occasion and momentous decisions and a very special moment in our history.      It has taken time and courage to get to this point, and a determination to move on.   At 41, and going a little grey round the edges we have felt this is the moment for Daryl to finally 'Fly his own Kite, so to speak and to stand alone.     WE therefore commend Daryl to you for prayer and support.          Carol has not felt at this time that she should be involved with TFH.    But she is fully behind Daryl in his position and calling here. She wants time to seek God more carefully as to the way she should serve HIM.      It is always good and wise for each one of us to fully persuaded in our own mind what His Will for us really is when it comes to Service.    So you should pray for them together, as they also pray and encourage each other.  Their THREE children are all at School with us too, Jesse in Form 3 of Secondary, Becky in Class 8 of Primary, and Jeremy in Class 5.   They all are doing well and they make a great little family together.
CURRENTLY we have been going through a very unsettled time in every way.    We are believing that now the tide will turn, and that not only will we realize a more settled situation, but also a more prosperous one.     Still a time needing more than usual Faith, and Strength to face the immediate challenges,  and also one in which the 'nettles' of difficulty must be grasped.

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TO A GREAT DEGREE Government has not had its own way regarding proposed Bills.  One Bill seeking to curb the Freedom of the Press is still being fought.    Also another seeking to increase National Security Contributions has amassed quite a lot of adverse attention.    The Country itself is a little unsettled politically still, and the economy increasingly difficult to live with.    NEVERTHELESS there is also a lot optimism around, and we ourselves feel it for ourselves as we pray and seek the Lord.

THE WEATHER, hot and full of the prospect of SUMMER, has once again suddenly changed.  The sky now leaden, and RAIN no less, falling heavily from the grey canopy.    What is going on?   No one knows, and everyone appears completely baffled.by it all.     BUT the Pool is still open and every day is FULL to overflowing with children staff and other interested swimmers, all seemingly impervious to the cold snap.   It has at least saved the grass from going brown,,,,,,

Our Pastor, Wycliffe Ondanga, lost his mother on Sunday last, and he had to journey home to a rural area to arrange the funeral and so on.    It can be a long, demanding process.   She was of course quite elderly, and had in fact deserted Wycliffe when he was very young - they had not seen each other again, she having eventually remarried.    It must have been quite difficult for Wycliffe in many ways to be the one to arrange things.     He is still away, and so tomorrow I will be preaching to our little Fellowship - now swollen, with School open, to some 400 youngsters as well as our usual small group.

On the 1st February it was Carol's 40th Birthday. As Daryl happened to be away we decided to have her party today.    We hope to cheery her up since fortieths are not always looked forward to!! However we will have a good time together and
especially since expect Manu and his young lady to join us for Cake and ice cream.   Yummy!!!!
Regretfully NO photos this time since our camera was stolen just recently, out of the car.  Carol is just as pretty as the day I first met her, about 20 years ago.    May she be blessed with a truly wonderful year

Much Love to you all.    I know you have been walking with us through this week, and we have felt your prayers supporting us.      I hope you have been conscious too of many prayers that have gone up from here for YOU too.     God Bless and be with you all

John and Esther

LOOKING BACK TO SEE WHERE I CAME FROM

THIS IS A PHOTO of a street in a Wiltshire town in England called MELKSHAM.   it is the scene of my first job after leaving School, but taken much earlier than the 1950s when I worked there. My employers were Stratton Sons & Mead - Wholesale Grocers - their offices just to the right of the parked automobile within them driveway.   You can see the name advertised on the facing wall above.   Melksham was still at that time a small market town.    I worked there from 1956-58 as a junior office clerk.  ( Just came across the photo recently on the Web. )      I was just seventeen.   It was the year Jesus found me, and began to take my life in hand.      The very place that I had just previously stepped into the road in order to throw myself under a car.......... No John!    God does not want you to die but LIVE.....and I have lived, until here I am 57 years later still alive.....!      Amazing.       And it has been an exciting life. A life full of the unexpected that yanked me out of England into Africa in 1968.      A life full of surprises, full of children, full of challenges along the way.    A life dependant upon God's Promises.
A life not in any way to be regretted, but for my sins.    A life of continuous discovery of His Mercy and Grace in Jesus Christ.       A very colourful life - quite unlike the drabness of the little scene above.

TODAY, AFTER A WEEK OF THE HOTTEST WEATHER SINCE THE MID 80's we yet again experience clear skies and soaring temperatures.      Wonderful summer weather, day after day.   Ahhh!      BUT, such a pity life is full of buts.......BUT lack of rain, means diminishing catchment and diminishing water in the Reservoirs and rivers......and finally in our taps.     Kenya is NOT a desert land, but there is no doubt that increasing population and less rainfall, is causing water to get short, and areas within the country are turning into arid and semi desert lands.      This is having an increasing effect upon the Uuban areas, and thus even Eldoret has begun to 'ration' its water supply.     Not too bad but this last week water ceased to reach the School, and you can imagine what that meant to a School of 800 children using main drainage for its latrines!!!       We survived but with a lot of extra labour carrying buckets of water from the nearest water supply.        You would never know just disturbed we are, looking around.   So far the grass is only just beginning to lose its green-ness, the golden sunshine and the tempting blue water in the Swimming Pool more than attractive.      Just as well we filled the pool with water before the drought began!!!       The Pool provides weekly swimming lessons for ALL the students of the School, and also for two or three local schools as well.   It is also provides opportunity for others in the locality to use at certain times.

ELECTRICITY is also being rationed.      Most of the power is provided from hydro electric dams so once again it is water related.      To start rationing both water and power at this time of the year suggests that there is fear the Rains will come late this year, and that the NEED will increase.  For the last couple of years Rains have come in May!!!    Long time to wait.     WAITING seems to be the WORD these days.     I started waiting on my Wedding Day.     I fund myself impatient even then and I have never found it easier any time since to wait for anything

In this semi tropical land of sun-drenched days we also contend with HEAT,  Dryness, lack of water and power, rising prices in every sector, political unrest and TODAY the papers warn us of 'High Alert following terrorist threats'.      So when YOU feel cold and wet and depressed REMEMBER even in sunshine and comfort there ARE other worries, anxieties, and deprivations to bare.       In all the world it is becoming less and less possible to discover a normal human life without pressure and challenge.
It is even becoming difficult to find normal CHRISTIAN life as it is described in the Bible.   Slowly the world descends into further chaos, and disorder, and universal suffrage.     What comes next?

JESUS MUST COME NEXT.     Keep you eyes and ears OPEN.

Love from us all

John and Esther