Kaimosi Connection 22, May 2006

KAIMOSI CONNECTION 22
May 2006
Traveling in the Ministry

News from the Nugent Rehard family
FUM Field Staff in East Africa
Based at Friends Theological College in Kaimosi, Kenya
_____________________________________________________________

Dear Friends,

Greetings to you from Kaimosi! Let me begin by thanking you for your prayers, support, and encouragement . . . without it, we could not be here. If you are extremely observant, you might notice that KAIMOSI CONNECTION 21 has never appeared. It has--it’s on our blog (www.kaimosicnxn.blogspot.com). It’s some personal reflections about things that are hard. I never sent it out to the whole list because it became clear that this one was more important.

We are all doing well. Mary Kay is working hard in medical school, and is now in her first week of a three-week service project at a rural health center. I talked to her today as her group’s huge commercial bus had slid off the muddy murram road into a ditch, and they were trying to dig and push it out. I’m sure she’ll talk about it in the next “Eldoret Express.” At FTC we are delighted that we have signed a contract with our builder to begin construction of the meetinghouse. As of this writing, he is scheduled to take possession of the site tomorrow. Please pray that construction goes smoothly.

Traveling in the Ministry: an old Quaker idea. I’m not sure whether our visits among Friends to describe our work and encourage support really count as traveling in the ministry, but I try to approach it that way, because certainly the Friends among whom I visit minister to me, and perhaps they, too, feel blessed by what they see and hear.

We’re doing it again, but changing things a bit. I originally planned to come in March and April, but because of the leadership transition at FUM Mary Kay and I thought it best to postpone deputation. Though they have made no decisions about strategy, the General Board of FUM has been concerned that all ministry accounts, including ours, are in the hole most of the time, and the constituency has expressed concern about the expense of annual visits. Other mission organizations have a pattern of longer visits every 3 or so years, so we are trying an experiment. I will be in the US from early July till early January, an entire semester, trying to raise enough funds in cash and pledges to pull us through a year. Emma and Eliza will come with me. Mary Kay, most unfortunately, doesn’t have a break from school until late November. Emma will return to Kenya in late August so that she can pick up her school work at Turi: exams are two years away, and there’s lots to cover! Eliza will stay with my parents in the US, attending a school near them. Having home-schooled before we came to Kenya, she has never attended an American school. We thought this would be a good opportunity. I will take a desperately-needed rest at my parents’ place during July, and will attend yearly meetings in August, as well as visiting some friends and taking care of some FUM business and doing a little deputation travel. After Emma leave, deputation travel begins in earnest.

My plan is to block out weeks in Indiana, North Carolina, and Iowa, and to visit Friends’ meetings in each area on Sundays and perhaps a few evening gatherings. I also hope to make briefer visits to Kansas and Whittier. I plan to do intensive personal visiting with supporters in each place. If your meeting would like to host an evening or Saturday gathering or would like me to come to speak on a Sunday, please let me know. Otherwise, I will be contacting supporters and churches in each area. In order to cut down on expenses, I will try to stay in Friends’ homes wherever I am able. If you think you could endure my presence as a guest for a few days, please let me know--I will be very grateful and try not to track mud on the carpet! A very generous Friend in Indiana has arranged for me to use her automobile during my deputation, for which I am deeply thankful.

My goal will be to raise, in cash and pledges, $50,000 plus my deputation costs. My hope is that the regular giving will continue but that will provide a solid foundation. Of course, during the time I am in the US, it will be important for regular giving to continue! What all this adds up to is that pledges are crucial! FUM does not at the moment have a way of tracking pledges, so during my travels I will be asking Friends simply to write us an e-mail informing us of their giving intentions. These will be carefully stored and tallied up, and a record given to FUM’s central office.

This strategy may be risky: FUM has never tried it, at least not in recent memory. It success will depend upon the Friends whom I visit and those who have been the backbone of our support. It will also depend upon drawing new support from Friends who are not yet involved. Mary Kay and I are grateful for all the ways in which Friends support us; we hope that you can also help us draw in new supporters.

I’m sorry to spend the newsletter talking about money--I’d much rather share the joys and woes and rewards of working at FTC! But this period of deputation will be crucial, and difficult, for our whole family. We are not looking forward to being separated for so long. If all goes as planned, Emma and Mary Kay will come to the US for Christmas with my family and some time with Mary Kay’s family as well—she has just two weeks of holiday! Then we’ll all return home to Kenya together.

Please pray with us about this time, and do please write. We’d love to hear from you.

We can’t name everyone, but we continue to be grateful for Friends who send theology books, Bibles new and used, hymnals, and similar materials for the FTC library and bookshop. Thank you for your generosity!

Meantime, please continue with your wonderful support. This is a difficult month--after two fee payments to Turi and a few other things, we are about $16,000 in the red as of the beginning of May. The children’s tuition account is about $10,600 in deficit, and our ministry account (salary and expenses) is about $5,600 in deficit. We will be very, very grateful for any help you can provide toward alleviating this.

Finally, let me close with a blessing from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, of all things, based on a passage from Philippians. We often use it at FTC:

“May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus.”


With love from all of us,


Patrick.



P.S. We have recently updated our e-mail list. You may be receiving this newsletter for the first time. If you do not want to receive it, please just reply with a note to that effect. If you would like to see back issues, please consult www.kaimosicnxn.blogspot.com.