In retrospective, 2013 was a wonderful year, with lots of personal and collective accomplishments in our family and ministry. We had our share of trials but are thankful for everything. This blog contains many testimonies and pictures of what was accomplished on the family front. Our main work/ministry here in Africa continued to be the spreading of God’s Word, mostly by digital means. We recorded the Old Testament in Swahili in February and since then it is amazing how many people have been blessed with the Bible in that language here in East Africa. Also, there are thousands of downloads being made everyday at our web site  and many of those are served to countries where Bible shops are rare – Tanzania, Indonesia, India, just to mention a few of the countries served by us.

Also, during this past year we updated Wordproject to a new format and it is now Mobile friendly. We added new text and audio files for languages of the Indian subcontinent such as Telugu, Bengali, Oryia,  Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarathi, Kannada,  etc. and in the last two months we have been working with two friends, Binu and Konstantine, on the development of Applications. We are happy to announce the availability of one, now online at www.wordproject.org/bibles/multiview/ . This application works online only (for now) and is ideal for mobile phones and smartphone of any making. Please try it out and let us know. The second application is downloadable and is just about ready. It is being tested and shall be out very soon.

Thus, 2013 was a wonderful year and can only be surpassed by all the future blessings that await us in 2014.

“The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it .” – Psalms 68:11

Our local outreach here was geared to the children’s club Bible classes and activities relating to the Christmas story. It was beautiful to see 5 – 12 yr. olds memorizing Isaiah 9:6 and many Christmas carols as well. We held a caroling service within our housing estate where many attended.  Cristiana led the singing with Jorge on guitar and the children made their special presentation.  The Lord supplied a tent covering, microphone, refreshments and chairs for the evening! It was a cold, starlit night, which may have been similar to the one  Mary and Joseph experienced that holy, silent night in Bethlehem when Christ was born!

Joana and Christmas Bible narration

Caroling with neighbours

Preparing Bible readings on cold Christmas caroling night

Practicing Christmas Carols

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

Maana kwa ajili yetu mtoto amezaliwa, Tumepewa mtoto mwanamume; Na uweza wa kifalme utakuwa begani mwake; Naye ataitwa jina lake, Mshauri wa ajabu, Mungu mwenye nguvu, Baba wa milele, Mfalme wa amani. (Isaya 9:6)

Porque um menino nos nasceu, um filho se nos deu, e o principado está sobre os seus ombros, e se chamará o seu nome: Maravilhoso, Conselheiro, Deus Forte, Pai da Eternidade, Príncipe da Paz. (Isaias 9:6)

因有一婴孩为我们而生，有一子赐给我们。政权必担在他的肩头上。他名称为奇妙，策士，全能的神，永在的父，和平的君。(以赛亚书 9:6)

Merry Christmas to ALL!!

[click on picture to enlarge]

By Jorge,

We have been invited to visit a school and a mission near lake Victoria, in the region of Nyanza. Along with Jason and our friend Isaac, we took off on a Friday for a weekend visit. We rode 350 kms in a pretty good paved road to this area which is part of the high lands of Kenya and not far from the world-famous Maasai Mara Reservation Park. The weather was good and we enjoyed a beautiful ride. After we visited the school and got acquainted with the children and some of the teachers we were invited to speak at the parents meeting that was held there that day, which was actually the last day of this school term. We were also shown around the school compound and introduced to the needs of the school. From our mission fund we were able to share some financial resources to help with these needs. We encouraged particularly the building of new toilet facilities, because the ones there now – 3 toilets for 300 children – are not sufficient and very much sub-standard (no tiles, hole on the ground, no flush).

We spent Sunday morning in that area and we had the opportunity to share some scriptures with the congregation at the local church. We shared from John 15, verses 1 to 5, about the vine and the branches. In such rural area, there is a perfect understanding of how fruit cannot be borne by the branches that are cut off from the vine… thus, if we do not remain in God’s Word, also, we cannot bear fruit. On that theme we left several audio Bibles with the leaders of the church and community which was also a reason for much jubilation.

by JS

While in Nyanza region, together with our Kenyan friends, we took a ride for a short visit to the Mara Triangle. Mara is a river that crosses the Maasai Mara region of Kenya and is famous for pictures like these. However ours was a short visit and we only had time to see part of the reservation. We did see the river, sometimes called the “river of death”, because so many animals die there. There rotten carcasses of dead wildebeests in several spots on its shores and the presence of crocodiles is visible as well as many other animals that live in this dangerous but beautiful region.

The peaceful and docile: [click to enlarge]

the big and dangerous: [click to enlarge]

by JS

At home besides the children and the school there is also the other things and people  that make life so interesting:

Visitors:

We had Mark, our friend from China, almost every weekend. He is leaving for China but before he goes he awarded us a dinner of dumplings: Home made, of course:

Joana and Mark: cooking dumplings.

Everyday, there are the cats… in a house without TV, they grant us some of the most entertaining times. They always a joy to watch, With their antics, acrobatics and cuddling gestures.

The Garden is bringing forth more and more fruit and we are enjoying eating it:

Beans from our garden

Activities

NOT least.

Thanksgiving dinner – we are all so thankful:

Thanksgiving Dinner

By Donna

Our weekly Neighborhood Fellowship has been a blessing. We meet on a rotational basis in members homes to study the Word and discuss how it affects us personally today. Our subject matter is a book called OMBI about prayer and the  present lesson is spiritual strongholds and how to break them.  Social, personal, ideological, mental, territorial and occultist strongholds are areas we are discussing and tearing down with scripture. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. ”  The victory is ours through Christ Jesus, and  there is no discharge in the battle.

Kids Club

Our effort to start the Kids Club has been greatly rewarded. Although we decided on the early morning schedule of 7:30- 8:30 on Saturday morning, we had nineteen kids attend last week!  Actually, in God’s wisdom we have seen this schedule work out for good as we have noticed the children are retaining the memory verse and Bible story information very well. Jason himself testifies that the songs stay in his head all day! The children  are opening their hearts to the Lord early, instead of watching cartoons on TV !I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Proverbs 8:17. 

Also, the first meeting of our Fellowship Youth Group was held this month. at the Brainstorm Breakfast various topics were discussed including the youth potential and ways in which they can reach out to others of their age group. The plan is to hold a BBQ this month as an outreach opportunity. So, we are well connected and involved in our neighborhood Christian Activities.  

Wordproject is a project, therefore a work in progress. We are constantly searching to improve and update and also we receive almost daily reports of links that do not work, or are wrong or simply requests for other features, materials, languages, etc. This month was particularly active in that area. We updated the site and its links, we fixed the language codes, in particular the languages from the India subcontinent, and we uploaded our verses section in several new languages that had not been done before.

Also, we have been contacted by a programmer who is interested in cooperating with us. He develops application for Android and Apple operating systems and he is very keen on publishing  the Bible. The improvement will be a dynamic approach to be able to display multiple languages in rows rather than columns. The columns are like this:

ipad: Multi display

And it will display in rows, as in this test: [click HERE. ]

We are also very interested in prospecting the potential of wireless mobile wifi storage for distribution of wordproject and other Biblical content.  We see that the use of smartphones  here in Africa is on the rise, probably like everywhere. These phones have the capacity of playing audio and video files and display screens that allow easy reading. Most also can connect to wifi and therefore the sharing of files. We have noticed an increase demand of Bible materials from India and therefore we have worked intensively on languages from the subcontinent for that reason. See some sample below: [click image to see full]

Bengali on HTC

By Donna

It was a blessing to attend the graduation ceremony held at the Nairobi Education Center for the 2012/2013 class of Emergency Medical Technicians graduates. Beautifully, it began with a word of prayer, dedicating the lives of the graduates to the Lord in service to their fellow man, invoking God’s blessing upon their ability to help save lives and requesting wisdom to do the job. The graduates were required to take the EMT’s oath, a solemn pledge to uphold honor, honesty and morality within the profession. Diplomas were distributed and speeches were made. The Kenyan Council of Emergency Medical Technicians is an internationally accredited organization and representatives from the World Health Organization and Bloomberg ‘ s Charities from New York were in attendance.  Kenya is definitely in need of more emergency medical training programs as there are currently only 670 qualified rescue workers in the entire country!   The rate of traffic accidents is very high and with the recent addition of terrorist attacks these trained people are a great asset to the nation.
Joana took part as a graduate and received her card and diploma. Congratulations Joana on a job well done! “

Joana with the diploma

by Donna

September 21, 2013 a day to remember, and try to forget.
Absolutely terrifying is the only way to describe the attack on the Westgate Mall. All thanks to Almighty God that we were not in the mall that fateful Saturday as Westgate was not a mall that we frequented often. It was heart wrenching to listen to the hourly news reports and follow the siege by radio transmission only to hear that so many innocent people were suffering so much trauma, many eventually losing their own lives or those of friends and loved ones. We and everyone here are still fighting a great battle in the spirit after the attack, hoping to understand the truth of what really happened, and how. Two children at the local Christian school that Gloria and Ben attend were injured in the gun battle, one still in hospital, and both children lost one of their parents in the attack. The Christian community rallied together in prayer during three days of national mourning as the nation buried it’s many dead and the wounded began the process of healing both physically and emotionally. The whole experience is definitely drawing us closer to Him as our refuge and strength and our only source of protection. Claiming the promises stated in the Word of God , we are fighting against fear, one of the enemies main tactics. But God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Tim 1:7. We continue to pray for this nation, it’s government and people. They desperately need repentance and a return to God. 2 Chronicles 7:13-15 – ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’

Inside the mall after attack.

by Joana
I was able to volunteer with the Red Cross during this period to help with the aftermath of the Westgate attack. They had set up a recovery centre where victims could go for first aid and counseling. It was heart wrenching for me to talk to some of the people who had been eye witnesses to the attack. One young man lay down on one of the cots provided trembling as he waited to be seen by a psychiatrist. He shared with me his experience in full detail. On Saturday he had just arrived at work in the surveillance room of Westgate when he heard the first explosion. He ventured out to investigate and spotted the assailants heading for him. He managed to hide in a store room with a young lady and her baby, he described the fear which engulfed them for the 4 hours that they were trapped. Hearing the gunfire and the footsteps and praying their last prayers. Eventually they were rescued by army officers. But the fate of his colleagues was not so fortunate. Now he could no longer sleep at night because of nightmares. I was reminded that fear is so real. The only way to fight it is to claim God s promises. (For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Tim 1:7 ) And by fighting fear is the only way to overcoming the power of terrorism in our lives.
I was immensely touched by the overwhelming numbers that turned out to donate blood. And singing groups came from all over the country to perform songs of inspiration. I felt that the outpouring of love and concern was beautiful and I cherished the chance to be a part of it. If only the world could be united through love at all times like that. But unfortunately, that will only happen the day that Jesus comes back to rule the world.
All did not end well in the attack. Many people are still missing and feared dead, and there are many questions that need to be answered. There is only the sobering reminded at the fragility of life. That none of us have any idea when our time will come. Hence, it is important that we always be prepared, we never know when our time will be up. (The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. Prov 21:31)

Joana with Red Cross