March - April 2001

Dear Friends in Christ,
 
Some of you who receive this letter may have already heard, but for those who haven't, the Lord has added one more to our family since our last letter.  We praise Him for the safe delivery He gave to Tina and the baby. The Lord gave us a baby boy, and we have named him Taylor Allen. Taylor was born February 11 in Nairobi, Kenya, and is growing, healthy, and strong.
 
The Lord has given us a good start to this new year at Jumapili Baptist Church, thanks to your faithful prayers.  One of the greatest highlights thus far would have to be the chartering service of the Jumapili Baptist Church on January 28, 2001.  Thirteen people followed the Lord in believer's baptism and then joined the church to become charter members.  It was great to see these people make that step of obedience. PRAY that others will make that decision in the near future. Several others have already expressed their desire to be baptized.
 
We have made plans to try and connect our church plot to the municipal water supply. There is a water line right next to our church. We would appreciate your PRAYERS in regard to this matter. Right now there is no water at our church plot, which makes it somewhat difficult to plan for future baptisms. A coffee farmer near our church, who has a water tanker, graciously came and filled the baptistery for us a couple days before our baptismal/chartering service. He is not saved, and we don't feel we should impose on him too much.
 
A couple of young men named Ali Wanga and Alfred Barasa have recently been saved. Pray that these men will grow in the Lord.  They seem to have a desire to do what is right and also to share the Gospel with others. They are very newly saved, so PRAY that Satan will not snatch them away.  Also, pray that they will find work in our area. Jobs are scarce here in Kenya,  which causes many people to shift from area to area looking for whatever work they can find.  If Ali and Alfred could find steady employment in the Jumapili Baptist Church area we could obviously have a better chance of discipling them.
 
If you have not yet had a chance to visit our website, we invite you to do so. There are several pictures of the work here in Thika, Kenya, for you to view.  As you have heard it said before, "A picture is worth a thousand words."  Since our last prayer letter, we have not added any new pictures for those of you who have already been to our site.
 
Sincerely,
Michael, Tina, Ashlyn, and Taylor Rains.
 
P.O. Box 38 / Thika, Kenya / Ph. # 011-254-151-21047
E-mail: mrains@mail.baptistworldmission.org
Internet: www.cometocalvary.org/michaelrains