March 5, 2013 - Update/Kenyan Elections

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

We are doing well, and we want to say thank you to all who have been praying for our family and for the country of Kenya during the election process. Yesterday, Monday, March 4th, the Kenyan people turned out in very large numbers to cast their votes. There were some some places where there was some violence (Mombasa/Coast Province, Northeastern Province, and in the town of Kisumu), there were over 20 people hospitalized after being trampled, and 15 people were killed (police officers and some of their attackers). But our area of Kisii has remained peaceful and very quiet.

The vote counting began last night (March 4th) around 5 PM, and is still continuing today. The government has said that they will announce the new President today, but they are unable to give an estimated time. They have had some difficulties with their electronic equipment for sending the counts to the main tallying center in Nairobi, and so there are only about 30% of the polling stations which have been reported. So it looks like we still have a ways to go!

In 2007, it was the actual announcement of the President that sparked the violence, so please continue to make this a matter of prayer. The candidate that lost during the 2007 elections and caused much of the violence, is currently losing again. So please be in much prayer.

If you you would like more frequent updates, please feel free to follow us on Facebook (please let us know your name and which church you are from when making a friend request), Twitter, or at either of our Blogs: Ministry - Prayer Letters and Updates or Family - Shelby Summaries.

Thank you in advance for your prayers for our family and the country of Kenya during this time.

Serving Him in Kenya,

Luke & Tonya Shelby
Your Missionaries in Kenya
Numbers 6:24

February 28, 2013 - Update/Prayer Request

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

We are doing well, and we are preparing for the upcoming Kenyan Presidential Elections. We are writing to you all to ask you to pray with us about these upcoming elections on Monday, March 4th. We are praying for a peaceful election process and for things to remain peaceful after the new President is sworn into office. Please pray with us concerning this matter.

During the last elections here in Kenya in 2007, we saw widespread violence for nearly 3 months after the elections. And there are still many villages that have not fully recovered from that time, which was 5 years ago. During the last elections, the Kisii area was peaceful; but all roads leading into and out of Kisii were closed off for a full 3 months. No supplies like food and fuel were able to get through during that time. We were also without water, electricity, phone and internet service for a large part of that time as well!

We have prepared for the same this time around, and we have made sure that we have sufficient supplies just in case there is widespread violence again. But we are asking for all of you to pray with us for the country of Kenya and its people during this time. And we will try to get updates to you as we are able to. We have already been trying for three days to get e-mail to go out; so we know that the government is already closing off some communication.

Thank you in advance for your prayers for our family and the country of Kenya during this time.

Serving Him in Kenya,
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Luke & Tonya Shelby
Your Missionaries in Kenya
Numbers 6:24

February 28, 2013 - Update/Prayer Request

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

We are doing well, and we are preparing for the upcoming Kenyan Presidential Elections. We are writing to you all to ask you to pray with us about these upcoming elections on Monday, March 4th. We are praying for a peaceful election process and for things to remain peaceful after the new President is sworn into office. Please pray with us concerning this matter.

During the last elections here in Kenya in 2007, we saw widespread violence for nearly 3 months after the elections. And there are still many villages that have not fully recovered from that time, which was 5 years ago. During the last elections, the Kisii area was peaceful; but all roads leading into and out of Kisii were closed off for a full 3 months. No supplies like food and fuel were able to get through during that time. We were also without water, electricity, phone and internet service for a large part of that time as well!

We have prepared for the same this time around, and we have made sure that we have sufficient supplies just in case there is widespread violence again. But we are asking for all of you to pray with us for the country of Kenya and its people during this time. And we will try to get updates to you as we are able to. We have already been trying for three days to get e-mail to go out; so we know that the government is already closing off some communication.

Thank you in advance for your prayers for our family and the country of Kenya during this time.

Serving Him in Kenya,
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Luke & Tonya Shelby
Your Missionaries in Kenya
Numbers 6:24

October 2012 Prayer Letter

Dear Supporters and Friends, October 2012

We want to thank you for your prayers and support for our family, and our ministries that God is continuing to bless. Over the last few months it has been very busy, and it has been difficult to get a letter out. Electricity and internet have also been a problem in trying to get a letter out. I know that it has worried some about the lateness of our letter; so we have tried to give you a few of the highlights, and we will fill in on other details later. I know that this is a long letter, but please pray for God’s continued guidance in these areas of our ministry as well as for our family.

Orphan Ministry Update:
We are now feeding over 40 children on a daily basis in two of our village churches (Kuresoi and Sidundo); and at the Orphan Home Project in Sidundo, the buildings now have windows, doors, and locks on one dorm building and the kitchen/dining room.  In May, we also discovered that there was already a well dug on the property more than 20 or 30 years ago.  So we re-dug it; and the water supply is enough for the college classes and even for the orphans, once we are ready to start housing them on the property.  Our plan is to start with 10 boys and to work through the things that will be needed to take care of them.  We will be meeting shortly with the guardians of these boys, whom we think would be the most needy, to prepare for the boys beginning in January.  Please pray that the necessary funds will come in on a monthly basis to care for this ministry.

Current orphan support: At this time, less than $100 per month is coming in specifically for the orphan ministry.   We are currently using close to $350 on a monthly basis for just our feeding program.  We have received a few large offerings throughout the year that has enabled us to continue working on the project buildings in Sidundo a little each month, as we continue to help the children in our feeding program.  Our plan, for housing ten boys, will need more funding by January.   Please try to help on a monthly basis, as we try to move forward in the goal helping these precious children in our village churches.  We are praying that the Lord will enable us to visit each of these 40 children individually in the coming weeks, in order to give them a Christmas package filled with food and many other needed items.

Bible College, Graduation, & New Students for 2013:
We are finishing up the 2012 year of classes, and we will be having 5 graduates, who finish the three-year course, this year.  Graduation will be on December 1st.  There are already 10 new students signed up to begin classes in January 2013, and we have several more appointments to interview others as well. Classes have continued to go well throughout the year in Sidundo and in Kisii.  We thank God for the faithful pastors who are helping to teach and train others.  There are several churches also who have not had students in our college this year; and before classes start in January, I will be meeting with them to encourage them in training up men and ladies to serve the Lord.

Calvary Baptist Sidundo:
Continue to pray for Calvary Baptist Church in Sidundo as they still do not have a pastor.  We are working with about 5 men who are called to preach, and they are doing very well in different areas. They are alternating the teaching in Sunday school, Bible Study, and the Preaching services.  Visitation is going well as the twelve students divide themselves 3 by 3; and the average attendance is running between 80-90, and several are being saved nearly every week.

A Busy August:
August was a full month for us. We had a week of VBS at Calvary Baptist Church in Kisii Town. And our Fifth Annual Ladies’ Conference was the last full week of the month. We had 38 ladies this year, and they came to Kisii from 8 of our churches for a week of refreshment and encouragement.  Our ladies from Calvary Baptist Church in Kisii did a lot of the teaching for this meeting, and it was a blessing to see their growth and willingness to teach others. It was a wonderful week! Please pray for Tonya as she continues to minister to the ladies in all of our churches, and pray for the Lord to continue to give us faithful ladies that are willing to serve Him in their own local churches and communities.

Tonya’s Medical Furlough & Update:
We want to thank every church and individual family that has been praying for Tonya’s health throughout this year. And we want to say thank you to each and every one of you who have helped with the expenses of her medical furlough. Tonya is currently in the USA receiving medical care due to some drastic drops in her blood levels. The doctors have been keeping a close eye on her blood for the past year; and after her last labs, they determined that she must return to the USA for further testing and treatment. After returning to the USA, the doctors have ruled out the need for a full transfusion, but have diagnosed her with an extreme B-12 and Folate deficiency. We have learned that these deficiencies are actually more dangerous than the Iron deficiency that we have been watching over the past few years. She is improving slowly, and she is scheduled to return to Kenya on November 26th. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers.

Luke’s Malaria/ Typhoid Update:
I know that we wrote about this, and many have seen the news on Facebook; and we thank you for your prayers.  For those who have not heard anything, I had a bout with malaria starting in June, then again in July where after several courses of treatment; I started feeling better.  It took two weeks to get some relief, I lost a lot of weight, and for several days I did not even know what was going on.  That was the worst part of it.  Then I was sick again in August, I took another round of treatment for about a week.  Then again in September with a bit different symptoms of being a bit sluggish during the day and severe chills every evening for about two hours and uncontrollable shaking again for about a week.  I was then advised by some of our Kenyan friends to get checked for Typhoid as well as malaria.  After being checked by a doctor, we were told that I had both malaria and typhoid; so I took the medicine for both, and I am feeling quite a bit better. The symptoms have not come back yet this month (October). We thank you so much for your prayers during this time. We praise the Lord for His healing and protection.
 
For Souls in Kenya,
 
Luke & Tonya Shelby

The Nile Monitor

This is similar to the critter that we found on our church property in Sidundo. A Nile Monitor Lizard at least 6-7 feet long. Not sure exactly because it is still there. Some of the students went after it with a machete and cut two feet of its tail off (so now I guess it would only be 4-5 feet long).


There are others that have been seen burrowing down under some of the ten or so termite mounds on our 5-acre property. They hatch their eggs in the termite mounds, and then the babies can eat the termites as soon as they hatch. And yes, our kids have already asked if they can keep one (a baby)!!

Sports can be a moulder of character. (By Breanne)

Sports can be a molder of character if one lets it do its work. One of the most important qualities that can be derived from sports is teamwork. I learned the lesson of teamwork a few years ago, as we played soccer almost everyday. The team captains chose their own team members, another player, Faith, and I were not the best teammates; of course, they always put us on the same team! One reason we never we never worked well on the same team, was because we both liked to be in the front getting goals, not guarding our own goal. But the main reason was because we were both hot-headed. Strife began to slip into our team, every time we played together we lost worse than the time before. I realized that I was not having good sportsmanship, and I am sure Faith realized it too. Though we never spoke about having good sportsmanship, we both began to try working together. Teamwork is not something learned overnight, and it was quite a few games before we both got in the "groove" and began to win again. Faith and I now work well together, but better still, I learned an important lesson; whoever you play with, treat them with respect, and adjust your abilities to match those of your teammate. Learning the simple lessons that sports offer, will improve your character.

Two Types of Cars (By Breanne)

Every car tends to have its own personality, this personality is what makes a Mitsubishi Pajero and an Izuzu Filly absolute opposites. First, our Filly, or more specifically, Momma's Filly, is a van that is always clean, neat, and white; it is quite spacious too. Of course one would not expect a man's vehicle to be neat, and it is NOT! Our Pajero (Daddy's car) has candy wrappers in the floor, old soda bottles, grimy tools, and who knows what else! The seats probably have not been vacuumed in years and it smells of mildew. Second, my dad's Pajero seemingly falls apart each time it is driven. One cannot even imagine how many times the mechanic comes to fix it in just one month; unlike our van, which holds together well on rough roads, even though it does not have four-wheel drive. Lastly, if our Izuzu Filly were a person she would be a white-gowned young lady with dark lashes. On the other hand, our Pajero is like an old man, run-down with years, he would have a gray beard and would eventually die of pneumonia. A smooth ride in our van is much more relaxing than bouncing around in the back of our Pajero that rattles with tools.

Why does everything have to happen in one week? First, Daddy has had malaria since the beginning of this week. Next, Mama had a virus that has kept her in bed since Saturday; and we have Swahili classes! But that is not the worst of it; daddy was also teaching institute, and we were have school on top of all of that. We are all tired and could use your prayers. Thankfully, Mama is better and Daddy is improving; and school is finished for the week.

Written by: Breanne

Hello! 

We want to apologize for not staying in contact with everyone through the past few months.  We have a very busy schedule; and then between power outages and computer software updates that had made our website program inaccessible, it has kept us from making updates as needed!  We are very sorry.

We do ask that you continue to be patient with us.  We are trying to make some changes to our websites, but not all of kinks have been easy to work out!  Since I am a self-taught website designer, I often have to do things the long way until I figure out the shortcuts!  But we are working on the problems, and hopefully we will get things all sorted out soon.

Our family is all doing good.  We had a good time during the holiday season, and we pray that you enjoyed the time with your family and friends as well.  We are ALWAYS amazed when we look back over the past year and see what the Lord has done in our lives and ministry.  God has been good to all of us, but then that is NOT a surprise!!  We are looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for us this year.  We pray that you, your family, your church, and your ministry all have a wonderful year!

Thank you for your patience,
Tonya

Thanksgiving (By Breanne)

Thanksgiving is one of the most savory of the holidays. Thanksgiving reminds me of our family's time together. Thanksgiving at our house, is completely packed with good things to eat, such as Momma's delicate herb-crusted, oven-roasted chicken; for some reason when Momma bakes this dish it reminds me of the pilgrim's meal, simple yet delicious. Cranberry sauce, which reminds me of fall; with its sharp tangy-sweet flavor, is more of a modern addition to the classic dinner. Without rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans, this meal would be unfinished; a main dish without the condiments would be like a house without furniture. Last, but definitely not least, pumpkin pie; the spicy aroma of cinnamon always saturates our house on this thankful holiday. It's not only the smell that helps incorporate a thankful attitude; but having my family around me, assists me in realizing all the blessings that have been showered down on my life.

Written by: Breanne Shelby

Grandparents (By Abigail)

There are many types of grandparents when it comes to how the react to their grandchildren.

THere are cases when some grandparents are not able to see their grandchildren often. But when they are able to, they spoil them. They give them every kind of sweet one can imagine. They also give them toys that they want and literally everything! Whether or not the parents approve is not even thought of. This behavior may not last long, but it lets the child know that his grandparents love him and miss him when they are apart.

Other grandparents are those that keep the children giggling. Acting like a clown. And playfully arguing about what the child knows. When a child has the knowledge that one plus one equals two, the grandparent will start a playful argument that one plus one really equals eleven! This behavior lasts throughout the child's lifetime - the grandparents consider them as children no matter what age they are, right?

Grandparents mostly are very good at story-telling. For the first part, they are usually experienced at it. And second;y, they have a very wide range of their own personal stories of growing up and such. This gives the grandparent a time to teach the younger generations through illustrations of right and wrong, and good and bad. But they can also teach history, Bible principles, and farts that the children will need to know in their lifetime.

Most grandparents have traits of all three examples given in this composition, but usually there is one trait that best stands out when grandparents are around their grandchildren.

Written by: Abigail Shelby

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Other than the work on Luke's car, we have been able to rest some while we have been in Nairobi. Yesterday we just took it easy, ate out, & did a little shopping. Today we spent the morning @ the Resource Library. Then we went to Rosslyn Garden Nursery (so I could get a few more herbs to add to my herb garden), then lunch & a little shopping @ Village Market. Now we are just relaxing Hampton House.