Hey friends:
Did you know that some of the highest quality tea in the world is grown in Kenya? To make such quality tea, they harvest only the bud and top leaf from each tea plant. For that reason the leaves must be harvested by hand, one at a time. Thousands of people can be seen across the seemingly endless hillside fields, carefully picking the leaves one by one by one. Many of the people at our new Harvest Bible Chapel in Limuru, Kenya (20 miles outside of Nairobi), work in these tea fields.
That reminds me of the way we are commanded to work the field of souls. Jesus said, “The Harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the Harvest that He would send out laborers into the fields” (Matthew 9:37-38). In John 4:35, Jesus also said that those ‘fields’ are ripe for harvest! It was that exact passage which led to the establishment of our church in 1988. Now, by God’s grace in answer to our prayers, those verses are coming literally true before our eyes.
Please continue in prayer for our team, who were so blessed to learn of record numbers of people participating in our Risen for the Nations prayer times on all campuses this past Wednesday night. Keep bringing your burdens to the Lord and believing that He will attend to what’s on your heart as you give attention to what is on His heart. How encouraged our team was to hear of the more than 40 salvation decisions in our own services this past weekend, as well as more than 100 other public decisions for Christ and many other testimonies of God at work through our Risen for the Nations series. Your prayers are being answered, and we are so blessed by the strong connection we feel with you, though separated by so many miles.
Two especially encouraging stores were of a Harvest member who invited a Nepali neighbor, who raised their hand to indicate new faith in Jesus. Another report came in of a neighbor brought to church who professed faith in reincarnation as the service began, but faith in the saving Christ as the service ended. God is truly awesome!
The services in Kenya were the most energetic of the trip so far, and we have much to learn about passion in worship from our African brothers and sisters. Highlights include a spontaneous baptism; overhead shots from our team’s drone; highlights of the first-ever service for Harvest Bible Chapel in Limuru, Kenya; and Pastor Jeff as caboose in a dance line. 
You won’t want to miss the service this weekend, as once again our eyes are lifted to the matters on God’s heart among the nations. Jesus Christ truly is Risen for the Nations, and this series is changing us and our church forever. We miss you and covet your prayers until these final steps on our journey bring us back to you.
In the affection of our Savior,
James
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