We have been just pondering the Lord’s love and his mercy that surpasses all understanding; surely we cannot count and number his blessings to us. Each day that we spend is a clear testimony of his goodness.

In the past month we have witnessed warm fellowship amongst members of the church. The men at last commenced their monthly fellowship where men meet to discuss men issues from the Bible. In our first meeting in May, we looked at the command in Eph. 5 that men love their wives as Christ loved the church. The stakes are set high for men.

There has been a strong resolve to improve evangelism. Every first Saturday afternoon has been set apart for church members going out to evangelise together. Response from the public has not been very good since the greater public now treat church with suspicion. There have been many scandals that have bedevilled the church in this country. Things such as the infamous prosperity gospel have messed up many families. Pray that we will make a difference in this environment and we won't be discouraged with the negative responses. I am currently running a bible study series on "how to witness" which members seem to appreciate.

Since we moved to our new building, we have been seeing new faces almost every Sunday. Some coming out of curiosity. Others come to stay but only if we are the ‘praise and worship charismatic type’. Disappointed, they rarely come back. However, Maurice and his wife Everline seem to have found what they were looking for in GBC. They are even considering becoming members. We are still weighing them out and getting to know them better.

The church plant in Oyugis has been going through trials, but the Lord has neither left them nor forsaken them. As the Lord would have it, it is the same landlord who threw them out that has been gracious to offer a small space for them to use as he prepares to relocate them to a better and more accessible facility. But this is all at a cost per month. Pray for the finances that are needed to boost this work. Our own church, the mother church, has had a long dry spell of finances that is currently threatening to close down various ministries, the Maseno University being one of them.

On a sad note, one of our regulars, Edward, popularly known as Eddy to us, did pass on last week. I had once written about Eddy but here is a brief recap. He started coming to our church last year. By and by he got convicted of his sins. He was a young man with three wives from his previous life of sin and he got saved. Just when I had started having the new believers class with him (December last year) he was taken ill with cancer and many other complications. Since then he has been on and off in hospital until he succumbed last week on Thursday. Two of his wives who are close to us have asked if we can run a funeral service on Friday in church. Then on Saturday the body will be buried at their rural home. This will be a good opportunity to preach the gospel and I am working on my sermon from Eccl chapter one on the brevity and futility of life. Yes the conclusion of the matter in Chapter 12:13-14 is intended to end on a high note. Pray that this service will benefit many spiritually. Eddy was so dear to us and was obviously beginning to grow in the love of God and desiring even to show this by supporting the church materially. We have a clock on the church wall that he bought for the new church building while on his sick bed. Eddy never had the opportunity to see the inside of the new building but we know he has gone to see better things in heaven. Do pray for his wives and many children. We have had difficulty with he first wife Salome in coming to church but of late she has been making efforts. The second wife goes to a Pentecostal church in town (the biggest church in our town Kisumu,) the third one I have not even met. There is probably a fourth one. That is what life without Christ does to people, something Eddy regretted very much as soon as the Lord opened his eyes to his sinful living. Ironically, I first witnessed to Eddy in the mid 90s before he disappeared from the scene only to resurface in our church last year. And then he got saved! Our God is a God of humour! He was also a close friend of elder Paul who happened to be his neighbour and would always visit them for Bible study.

My MA programme is going well with straight A's in all the assignments. The problem with getting such good grades is that if you happen to score a B then it gives you sleepless nights! I am enjoying every bit of the course and I believe that it will add to my usefulness and service to the Kingdom of God. My next residential is in August 9th -14th. Melly is keeping on with a little improvement on her joint aches, and she is on some medication that we hope will eventually do her some good. Let’s keep praying. Lois is in the middle of her exams. Her words are few when she comes back home. We often ask, ‘How was it?’ The common answer has been fair. ‘Will you pass?’ Answer: ‘Let’s wait for the results.’ Does not sound confident enough but Gideon went to war a shaky fellow yet came out victorious. Nila is pressing on well as Billian (my niece) is still hoping for admission in Government College. Pray that the long wait for her will end soon. She is currently staying with my dad and helping with various chores.

Please, do pray as you find matters for prayer in this news letter.

Sam