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Paul and Jill Craig
Missionaries with The Master's Mission
since 1988
Greetings from the Craigs!!!!
September 2007
It seems a
good opportunity for each of us to testify to the goodness of our God in
these days so ....I’ll start.
God has
provided in so many ways they are too numerous to recount. To now have a
roof over our heads that we can call our home is a real blessing. Many times
when we are in transit I am reminded of our citizenship in heaven because
that is the only constant ‘place’ that we can anchor to.
I will be
starting my Master of Education on 22 September if my application goes
through. I hope to do this right here at Cedarville University so that I can
keep an eye on Jenny and Audrey, :) Thanks for praying. I will be
ministering in the church we will be attending as well as picking up light
construction jobs as they come up.
We are
looking forward to the winter and trust that God will continue to supply all
our needs according to His infinite riches. Thank you so much for your
prayer and support. love, pc
Let me say,
as Paul did, that finally having a place to settle for a time is a real
blessing. It has been twenty years since we’ve lived in the U.S. just as a
family under one roof and with all of our earthly belongings gathered in one
place. There are years of stuff to sort through. This is good for us. Though
we are renting, we can consider the people in the houses next to us as “our”
neighbors, most of whom we have already met. Many are elderly, which I
consider a pleasant opportunity for visiting, as well as being available to
help them, if necessary. Most of my visits have been with Ann, next door.
She is in her later 70’s, has Parkinson’s and has just found out that a
cancer she thought was all gone has resurfaced again. She and her husband,
Nate, are friendly. Actually, most of the folks we have met are cordial.
Being a small town, it is common to see people standing in front of the
supermarket or in front of their homes visiting.
We even keep
running into our bank’s manager!
Yesterday,
Paul and I went to a parents’ meeting at Matthew’s school, Xenia (zee-nya)
High School. Part way through, the principle introduced several of the
newest staff members, including me, as secretary,. It was quite sobering as
the hundred or so parents who were there and the faculty turned around to
see me. Part of my responsibility is attendance for K-12, as well as working
with the assistant principal who deals with discipline issues. This will
definitely be a new field of ministry for me. Being that it is part time, I
will be able to continue on with home responsibilities and with visiting
(Audrey and Jennifer included).
I thank the
Lord for His meeting our needs and fulfilling the desires of our hearts. He
keeps you all close to our minds and in our prayers as we thank Him often
for you. Keep in contact with us. We are in America now!!:) With a grateful
heart. Jill
Yes we are
in America and it is so obvious that this is where the Lord wants us right
now. The day after we arrived in Xenia I filled out an application for work
at the large Schindler’s Banquet Center (run by Christians!) and was hired
very quickly. So far I have worked there full-time for 4 days and I am
enjoying it a lot (for the most part). I have been working in all different
areas to see where I do best - from washing dishes to food prep to dressing
up in my tux to serve! The only part I can’t really do well at is the
register and that’s mostly because of the currency - I wouldn’t really mind
register if people here used Kenyan shillings instead - it would be a lot
less confusing for me! :) I miss Kenya so very much and all my friends and
TMM family there but I have made a few new friends at Schindler’s. The Lord
is truly blessing us here - please thank Him with us and pray that I would
be bold for Him no matter where He has me...... Shannon
It is hard
to believe that we are already here in Ohio! I really miss Kenya, and it was
very hard to leave everyone there, but, like Shannon said, I am really
grateful that God has given me confidence that this is His will for us to be
here. Everything as worked out beautifully with school and jobs, God has
really blessed us.
Matt
joined his high school soccer team almost as soon as we got here and is
getting ready to start school shortly. Mom has her first day at work this
coming Monday, and Shannon has been working at the Banquet Center every day
now for a few days. It’s always fun to hear the stories she has about her
day after she comes home:) Dad hopes to get his Master’s degree as he has
already said and the Lord is working that all out. I am truly thankful for
how God has allowed this transition to go as smoothly as it has (Romans
8:28).
College
will be starting here soon for Jenny and I. It is definitely going to be a
new thing for us and a very big change, but I know that it will be a good
time of growth, spiritually and academically, and I am looking forward to
it. It is so amazing, how far the Lord has brought us in this and provided
in a wonderful way in order to make it happen. Thank you all so much for
your prayers, may God abundantly bless you as you go about your day:) In
Christ, Audrey☺
We have really been blessed as we have moved into a new life style. Things
here are so different from Kenya. It has been difficult for me as I have
been trying to finish high-school in time for me to go to college. But God
has been faithful and He has provided lots of financial aid and I will be
finishing up school soon. We have been meeting many new people and are very
sure that this is where God wants us to be. Heading to college, I feel that
this is going to be a time of major growth in my life. I hope to be pushed
out of my comfort zone and challenged in many ways. But I am looking forward
to it and God will provide as He has always done. I do miss Kenya very much
and I pray for godly friends to help me in college. I am really looking
forward to going to Cedarville and experiencing college life,... and my
first real winter :)! Thanks for your prayers, Love, Jenny
It is amazing what the Lord has done in our lives these past few months. It
has been quite an experience. I am currently enrolled in a high school and
will hopefully( Lord willing) graduate from the school. It has been
interesting adapting back to American life but it is not bad. I can not tell
you how much I miss Kenya, though. The best thing I am looking forward to is
seeing my first winter, which to most people seems strange but I really
would enjoy playing in the snow. Well, I can’t express how much God has done
in our lives up to this point, He has really taken us through some hard time
but He always lifts us up. Thanks again for all your prayers. Sincerely,
Matt
January 5, 2006
We trust that
you have experienced once again the faithfulness of our Lord in reaching
another New Year. We hope by now that you have received our year end picture
update. If not, let me know and we will try to make sure you get a copy. It
is hard to beat a good picture except by being here. Our doors are always
open if any are so inclined to visit us. :)
Here is a
little of what has been happening:
Our annual
youth camp was held last week and it was a great time. We are praying that
the teaching and encouragement the youth received will linger and that the
Lord will use it to change lives for His glory. Personal purity is a big
challenge when your whole culture encourages immorality. We had some frank
discussions and some great questions in the Q&A time.
Pray for us as
we try to follow-up a little more personally with some of the youth.
School is
consuming vast amounts of time as we try to make our April deadline with
Matt. He is doing better each week and so is
Jill. She
spends a lot of time preparing and is learning much herself. Ask her
anything about the Romans. :)
Jennifer is
working her way through her courses in hopes of starting 11 grade. She is a
big help in the kitchen these days, YUM. Our truck should be back together
by tomorrow. I started working on it Tuesday to repair what I thought was a
minor oil leak, WHOA!! .....not so minor. But it should be better than when
we began. Time management gets tricky when you’re 10 hours in the shop each
day and still have to teach 3 times during the week. God always makes it
happen, though.
We dispatched a
5 ½ foot cobra last week that was loitering around the compound. Our dog has
a ‘snake bark’ that alerts us to the danger and then the excitement begins.
Anybody within hearing comes to the hunt. It was heading for the fence and a
sure escape when I was able to deliver the death blow with a 1X4 I had in
hand. Several were throwing rocks but not hitting much. That is the weapon
of choice since they are usually spitting cobras.
This Sunday
we’ll be celebrating the Lord’s Table with the 20 or so folks who are
baptized. We’ll have almost 80 in the service but most don’t stay for
communion. It is a blessing to be serving in this place with these ‘wapendwa’,
which in Kiswahili means beloved.
We’ll be
leaving Monday morning at 3am to head for Nairobi to pick the Shannon and
Audrey. We are all very excited about their return to the family and the
work here. They do not arrive until the 18th but we would like to
have all our supply shopping done by the time they land so we can spend time
with them and then head out pretty quick after that, say about the 20th.
I’ll be pulling the trailer down this trip as we’ll be hauling up 3 or 4
drums of fuel in addition to 2 months worth of food and other supplies.
In Love,
pc (for the
soon-to-be-reunited clan)
October 2005
Sometimes I think, “I
don’t need to write another update because I just wrote one.” Then I look in
my ‘Sent Items’ and realize howlong it has been and am amazed. First, we are
so grateful for all your prayers and support for us these days. The work
here is toughsometimes especially when sincere, meaningful Christian
fellowship is at a premium. The joy of proclaiming the word makes up forthat
and we continue on in the strength of our Lord, but we sure miss you all.
Around the home...
It is still awful quiet
around here without Shannon and Audrey. We are so thankful for email, it
takes the edge off. They are savingtheir pennies for a trip out next summer
for which we are all looking forward to with great anticipation. Matthew is
plugging awayin his courses from Christian Liberty Academy and doing well.
He continues to be my right hand and there is always competition forhis
time. Mom gets him in the morning and dad gets him in the afternoon and for
‘emergencies’. Jenny will finish up a couple ofcourses with CLA as well over
the next few months. She is busy with her sunflowers. Her tallest is over 7
feet!!! The folks here areamazed as they have never seen a flower that big!
You can pray for the
following:
That Matt maintains a
good attitude in his studies. He would rather be with me.
That Jenny finishes her
next two courses in a good time and in a good way.
That Jill can juggle all
she has to do and still give the kids the attention they need from a
teacher.
That I would keep the
whole thing running in a manner pleasing to the Lord by maintaining in
myself an attitude of patience andconsideration.
In the Church...
In addition to pastoring
the church, I have been given the responsibility for the youth. It is a big
load as we run about 50 or soevery Friday night, but God is gracious as
usual and we always seem to get a few things done and see His hand along the
way. Lastweek we had a memorization contest that went quite well. So well,
in fact, the youth want to do it once a month. The girls won this month and
now the boys are hard pressed. They memorized Philippians 1:27. We’ll keep
you posted. Our pastoral intern, Martin, is doing well and is planning on
getting married; an answer to prayer :) This will be a BIG, BIG event for
our church, as we have never had a ‘home grown’ wedding yet. What a
testimony as two young folks who have kept themselves pure exchange their
vows in a Christian setting. I can’t tell you how excited we are.
Jill is hard at work
planning the women’s seminar coming up November 11, 12. They will study the
book of Ruth and Jill has already started training 4 other women who will
lead the small groups within the seminar. Jenny will lead the craft time and
they are also planning to teach the gals how to make tortillas; should be
interesting. :) She also leads a small group of women weekly who are
learning to study the Scriptures. What a joy it is to see the joy of
discovery as these ladies see for themselves what a God we serve.
These are all prayer
requests as well as praying that we personally would keep our eyes on Jesus
and not do ministry for ministry’s sake, but as an act of worship for a God
who has blessed us beyond what we deserve.
Again, we are grateful to
God as we see His faithfulness (Deut 32:4) in you.
In Love,
Paul Craig
Psalm
89:8 O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD? Your faithfulness
also surrounds You.
Isaiah 25:1 O LORD, You
are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have
worked wonders, Plans formedlong ago, with perfect faithfulness.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness. |
