John & Wendy Bovard, IGM Missionary - Kenya, East Africa 9/22/09

Dear Friends,
I want to take this opportunity to greet you all in the name of Jesus Christ. A few months ago one of you sent a message asking how we were doing and I replied, “It is true that we are in the fire, but thank God, we are not consumed.” Thank you for all your calls and thoughtfulness in the past few months as we walked through some of the deepest rivers in our lives. We claimed Isaiah 43 1-3a as we walked through the fire, and we thank our God that we were not consumed and our faith is stronger than ever.
 
FAMILY NEWS
In May our adopted son David began breaking bones in his legs, and we discovered that he has a condition caused by the lifesaving ARV therapy that he takes for the HIV he was born with. He has been in a body cast and under the care of the Kijabe Mission hospital, where his bone density is being increased as his fractures heal. It has been a very painful and difficult time for him, but we thank God for his resilience and tremendous testimony through it all. It is our prayer that he may be walking again by Christmas, and we ask you to pray with us for this.
 
On June 20th, we got a call that every parent fears: our daughter Reah, who was married in August, 2008, to Pastor Philip Githaiga, called with the shocking news of the sudden death of her husband. He had a massive heart attack brought on by a large blood clot that traveled from his leg. We buried him at the Morning Star Children’s Home, where Reah continues to care for the numerous children. We know that God’s plans are perfect and we have accepted this new reality. Philip’s passion for Christ and the children he served, his enthusiasm, and that beautiful, constant smile will always be remembered, and we thank God for the years we had to minister together with him even before he became our son-in-law. It was our privilege to serve with such a tremendous young man of God and we are thankful for every precious moment God gave him to be such a loving and caring husband to our daughter. He taught us so much. Reah went into labor just days after the funeral and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Sandra Muthoni, but the baby was born with a fistula in the trachea and her esophagus was not connected to the stomach. After a very dangerous and difficult operation, we spent two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit as the baby fought for her life, and we prayed as we had never prayed before. We thank God for sparing her life, and we believe that He has a great purpose for this child. (Thank you for giving in such generous ways to help get the needed treatment and operation for the baby.) Please pray as her lungs continue to a full recovery. Reah is a wonderful little mommy and we are so proud of her. Beka has been able to come and spend some time with her, and it has been great to see them with their babies together and encouraging each other in the Lord. It has been very helpful to Reah to have all her brothers and sisters near her during such a difficult time. John had the privilege of dedicating baby Sandra to the Lord last Sunday in a very tearful but joyous service.
 
Please pray for Jonathan as he continues to drill water wells on the Somalia boarder in very dangerous conditions. His most recent report was the saddest yet. He spoke of watching grown men crawling on their knees toward the water and witnessing cattle drop dead right in front of him as he drilled day and night to get them water. Jonathan’s wife, Christine, and their baby, Jimmy, are doing well.  Ruthie is her last year of High school and loves it. Stanley is improving in his school work and is looking forward to Davey coming home.
 
MINISTRY NEWS  
The Children's Homes are doing well and the children continue to excel in school and in favor with God and man. The greatest challenge is the monthly finance for the homes, and we continue to need your support for this. The Naro Moru Baptist Children's Home is running a $900 deficit each month and the Glory Bible Home is $300 short of what is needed.  Beka and Ryan are doing well at the Mount Kenya home with the HIV children and are such a shining light to that dark community. Reah’s Children's Home, the Morning Star, ministers to numerous children in the home and in the community there in the more urban setting outside Nairobi.
 
In the Democratic Republic of Congo there are currently 13 Churches that I work with, 3 of which are within the deep forests.  You may remember that in May this year Reah’s husband, Philip, and I did a mission together there and saw 11 people come to Christ and hundreds of others dedicate their lives to Him. I didn’t imagine that this would be the last mission trip that I would ever have with my young “Timothy” but the pastors were so touched by his ministry that they traveled all the way to Kenya to help us bury the young missionary. We thank God that just last month we had the great privilege of ordaining 8 more pastors in the Congo and saw another 15 people give their lives to Christ.
 
Back home in Kenya, the new churches planted continue to thrive. Sunday, July 5, 2009, saw the Area Chief give his life to Christ. The only reason he came to church in the first place was because he had seen me park my car up the hill where nobody has ever driven, and he  came to ask us why we came. I said, "To bring you a very important Gift. Come into the church and I will tell you how you can get this Gift." My message was changed, and I preached on The Greatest Gift Given to Mankind. Praise the Lord, the chief received Christ as Lord and Savior of His Life.
 
I will travel back to Congo with our Kenyan pastors in November for a Pastor’s Conference and Evangelism Crusades. We look forward to this tremendous time of harvest. Wendy continues to work with the Churches in Uganda with HIV children and the New Life Centre in Northern Uganda with the traumatized children and young mothers. God continues to bless the work of our hands and we thank him for the privilege to serve at such a time as this. We thank you all for your prayers and support.

Special Needs:

• Bibles in French and Lingala for Congo and 1200 Acholi Bibles for Northern Uganda.  
• Evangelistic Outreach expense for 3 pastors and myself for the mission in the DRC in November by bus. ($700 US still needed.)
• Medical Expenses:  
  • Still need $2000 US to pay off a loan for Reah’s baby, Sandra's, hospital care.
  • Medical expense for David - $1200 US still needed.
• Support for Naro Moru Baptist Children - $900US  a month.
• Those of you wishing to help Reah or send condolences in this difficult time can also send funds to IGM for Reah Githaiga (Bovard).