AS WE BUILD ON OUR SCHOOL, THE NEW SCHOOL BEGINS IN THE VILLAGE

We are praising God for the fact that we have been able to begin construction on our school again. Even small steps are encouraging. It is with many small steps God has brought us this far in every one of the projects that have been completed since we began this orphanage about five years ago.

This school will be another one of those projects. It is a very long-term project, but we began it with a vision to provide a better education not only for our kids of the orphanage, but also for other kids of the area. There are many who presently cannot go to school at all because their parents do not have enough money to pay the school fees.

There are still many questions to be answered and much that we do not know, but God will bring it all about in His time.

As for the present, the school term has begun in the local schools, and the kids from the

orphanage are now again attending classes. With the new school year, changes have again come to the program.

The schools now have implemented a new curriculum, one that is called “Competence Based Curriculum” (CBC). Of course with this new curriculum come new fees. There are new reading and teaching materials, and a few other costs as well.

In terms of school costs for this term, the short of it is that it increases the fees for all of the children together an additional $1,200 for the three-month term. The total cost for us this term is $5,380 (equivalent in Kenya Shillings).

You will agree that that is a lot of money. It actually translates to something more than about $60 for each primary student, and $130 for each secondary student. We have not only the 49 children from the orphanage, but we also pay for the worker’s children to go to school. These are 12 additional children. Our workers are all volunteers in that they receive no salary, but they do get the benefit that their children are able to attend classes. As I said, this is something that very many other children in the area are not able to do.

You can see why beginning to build on our own school building is both a step of faith for us, but it is also something that we hope will be of great benefit in the future. As we move ahead, we move ahead depending always on God’s provision.

Thanks so much if some of that provision comes through you. You are blessed.

“You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, so that through us your giving will produce thanksgiving to God. For this ministry of service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:11-12)

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If you would like to help the children of the Log Church Orphanage of Kisii, Kenya, you may make your check out to “The Log Church” and write “Orphans” on the memo line.

Send it to:

 The Log Church

PO  Box 68

Tripoli Wisconsin 54564

We now need to pay a wire transfer fee with every payment, which amounts to $50 each time, but other than that, your donated money will be used only for purchasing food, clothing, schooling, and other necessities of living. We wait until we have $4000-$5000 before we make the bank transfer to make each transfer more economical. Nothing is held back or diverted for any other purpose. Thanks!

 

OH, THE WONDERFUL WRATH OF GOD - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, JANUARY 29

For the past 3 weeks, I have taught about the Good Shepherd and His Sheep. That is a pleasant image for us. It is a comforting image.

But today the focus will shift about 180°. The subject today concerns what we might consider the opposite image of the Good Shepherd. Today we look instead at The Wrath of God.

For some years I was on the teaching staff at a Bible Institute and Seminary in Venezuela. During the course of the school year, we had daily chapel services for the staff and students. The messages for these services were generally given by one of the professors, but the time was also intended to be practical instruction for the students, in that they were in charge of arranging the rest of the service.

It was for one of these services that the director of the school asked me to speak on the subject of the wrath of God. Two or three of the students were preparing the rest of the program and were to plan it around the same theme. When the young woman who was in charge of finding the music approached me with her dilemma, I understood her situation. 

The young lady told me that she could not find any hymns or other songs that had the “Wrath of God” as their subject. She said that for all the other attributes of God: the grace of God, the love of God, the wisdom of God, and all the rest, we have many songs in our song books.

But we do not sing “Oh, the Wonderful Wrath of God” or “We Rejoice in the Deep Wrath of God.” What the young student told me was true. Nor, if we think about it, do we even hear many sermons on the wrath of God.

The Wrath of God as an Attribute

God’s wrath is not a comfortable subject for us. We do not understand it fully and even somehow feel that it is below the dignity of God. We may even find ourselves embarrassed by the subject. It is much easier to talk about God’s power and his love. These, we think, are themes that fit the dignity of God.

Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the fact of the wrath of God. We find it repeatedly throughout the Bible as part of his character. Nor, if we think about it a little, should we be surprised by it. If we accept the great depth of the love of God for all that is good and just, then we must understand his opposition to all that is contrary to what is good.

Can there be true righteousness without a corresponding wrath against that which opposes that righteousness?

CONSTRUCTION ON THE LOG CHURCH ORPHANAGE SCHOOL RESUMES

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that we felt the time was right to begin to resume construction of the school building. That is now beginning. The builder ordered the materials to so that they can begin.

The first step is to put up the forms to pour the floor for the second story, at least, for what we in America call the second story. In Kenya (and actually in most countries), it is called the first floor. The floor on ground level is called the “ground floor,” the floor above is called the “first story,” and so on.

So clearing that up, this will be a three-level building—ground level, and first and second stories. Every floor will be concrete. The ground level was already poured more than a year ago, waiting for funds to continue.

We are now ready to put up the forms to pour the first floor. Concrete is very heavy of course, so to pour a suspended floor/ceiling

requires a lot of braces. There is the wooden

sheets or boards on which to pour the concrete, but these have to be solidly supported from below. If you look on the receipt below, that is what the 500 props are for.

They are getting ready now to set up the forms for the concrete pour. The concrete will also be heavily imbedded with rebar. There is much to get ready before the concrete can be placed, but we are on the way!

We appreciate all of your prayers for this project. We will proceed as the Lord provides funding.

But the kids are back in school, and the food and other living expenses continue. Our faith is always in the Lord for what he will do. As we look back at all that God has done since we began the orphanage, it gives us faith to continue and to press on.

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If you would like to help the children of the Log Church Orphanage of Kisii, Kenya, you may make your check out to “The Log Church” and write “Orphans” on the memo line.

Send it to:

 The Log Church

PO  Box 68

Tripoli Wisconsin 54564

We now need to pay a wire transfer fee with every payment, which amounts to $50 each time, but other than that, your donated money will be used only for purchasing food, clothing, schooling, and other necessities of living. We wait until we have $4000-$5000 before we make the bank transfer to make each transfer more economical. Nothing is held back or diverted for any other purpose. Thanks!

THE SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP - PART 3: THE SCATTERED FLOCK

By now we have seen that the prophet Ezekiel had much to write about the shepherd and sheep relationship between God and his people. The prophet was writing to the people of his own day, but never have his words been more relevant to a situation than they are today.

God views his people as the sheep of his pasture. Today, the flock of God is found in the church as established by Jesus Christ, and to this day, the flock of God is the most precious thing to him in the world. Because of this, it is understandable why his enemies should try to destroy the flock.

As we continue to read what the prophet has to say, we see that he describes to us yet another dangerous condition that can come upon the church of Jesus Christ. 

So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. (Ezekiel 34:5-6 ESV)

The Scattered Flock

THE SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP (PART 2) - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, JAN 15

For a time, the Good Shepherd lived with us. For a time, Jesus walked among us and led us. “I am the good shepherd,” he told us. “I know my own, and my own know me” (John 10:14 NAS).

But despite the fact that Jesus lived among us, remember that he also told us this: “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11 NAS). That is exactly what Jesus did; he laid down his life for us.

His death was not to be permanent, however. Jesus went on to say, “No one has taken [My life] away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father” (John 10:18 NAS).

CONSTRUCTION RESUMES ON THE LOG CHURCH ORPHANAGE SCHOOL

It has been more than a year since we were obligated to pause construction on our school building at the Log Church Orphanage in Kenya. At the time we stopped, all of the cement footings had been poured, the cement columns for the ground floor in place, the brick walls partially built, and the cement of the ground floor poured.

We stopped simply because we did not have the funds to continue. For a while, I asked Pastor Joel to withhold $400 or $500 from the food budget every month and place it in a special savings account until we had enough to continue to build, but the cost of food escalated to the point where we had to also use that savings so that the children could eat and go to school.

During the entire year of 2022, God provided so that the orphan children could continue to have food and to go to school, besides having all the other necessities for living, but the funds to continue building on the school were not provided.

But we now believe it is the time to build. Certainly we do not yet have in our possession the entire amount needed to proceed with the next phase of the building, but this week we are sending $5000 that is go entirely to

purchase the materials needed.

And it is as God said of Zerubbabel, who along with high priest who were among the first of the exiles to return to Jerusalem to begin the reconstruction of the temple, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.”

The beginning of this phase of our school building also will depend on the power of the Lord. We begin small, but we begin. It has been that way in all of our projects at the orphanage. “For who has despised the day of small things?” (from Zechariah 4).

January is typically the driest month of the year, so it is a good month to begin. The next phase of the three-story building is to pour the concrete floor of

the first story (what we call the second story in the US). This involves forming up the bottom of the floor supported by numerous posts to prevent the floor from sagging when the concrete is poured. Of course there is much rebar needed in the pour.

It’s a big step. Back when we stopped construction, the builder gave us an estimate of the equivalent of about $18,000. That it 1,800,000 in Kenyan Shillings. Since that time, the cost of materials has escalated

significantly – now Ksh 2,473,600. However, also during the past year, the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Kenyan Shilling has also escalated, so that the new amount, rather than equaling $24,736, it is instead something close to $20,000.

We now believe it is the time to again pick up the construction. Thank you for your prayers in this. We shall be posting regularly on the progress as it takes place.

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If you would like to help the children of the Log Church Orphanage of Kisii, Kenya, you may make your check out to “The Log Church” and write “Orphans” on the memo line.

Send it to:

 The Log Church

PO  Box 68

Tripoli Wisconsin 54564

We now need to pay a wire transfer fee with every payment, which amounts to $50 each time, but other than that, your donated money will be used only for purchasing food, clothing, schooling, and other necessities of living. We wait until we have $4000-$5000 before we make the bank transfer to make each transfer more economical. Nothing is held back or diverted for any other purpose. Thanks!

THE SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP (PART 1)

The Flock of the Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd,” Jesus said. “I know my own, and my own know me” (John 10:14 NAS).

Throughout the Bible, God illustrates his relationship with his people as the Good Shepherd caring for his flock of sheep. From the early days of the patriarch Jacob (or Israel, as he was known in his later years), God was viewed as a shepherd of his people. When the man Israel was in his last days on earth, he told his son Joseph this: “God has been my shepherd all my life to this day” (Genesis 48:15).

The prophet Isaiah said of the Lord: “Like a shepherd He will tend His flock; in His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ewes” (Isaiah 40:11 NAS).

It is true that throughout the Scripture, the Lord is seen as a God who is concerned for the individual, but in addition to that, he is shepherd of his whole flock.

In our present day, with so much emphasis on individual perspectives, we do not speak or think much in terms of the whole church as a flock. Our emphasis is more on the specific aspects that exist for the individuals within the church. We think more about our individual needs.

Because of this, it is easy for us to lose sight of how important the concept of the flock is to God. We are often less interested in the importance of the whole of the Christian church and instead more captivated by programs of self-betterment and individual goals and achievements. These may also be worthy pursuits, but they can easily become centered only on self. It is true that we, as individuals, are important, but it is also important to see the grander perspective of God.

Two Perspectives

LETTERS OF THANKS FROM THE LOG CHURCH AND ORPHANAGE, KISII, KENYA

Greetings to everyone there in the USA, below are the letters of thanks from Kenya Log church leadership, the volunteer staff for the children and the orphanage children.

From the Log Churches of Kenya

Our church leadership team unite together to congratulate Log Church USA for a commendable job in supporting Kenya church and the Log Orphanage under our care. The orphanage is existing through your support and donations. The work you have done to us over the years is excellent.

James 1:27 says “Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Also we read from Proverbs 19:17, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deeds.”

We are praying God to open financial doors so that we can be able to complete the school building: This will help our children access education easily and conveniently.

The Log Church Kenya is taking root and many converts have joined us! This is through crusades, house to house evangelism and also revival meetings.

We have a shortage of Bibles to help this young converts grow in faith and build their Christian life based on the word of God. We need to motivate them in  personal Bible study like the Berean Jews   examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul and Silas were teaching  was true (Acts 17:11). We pray God to make Bibles provision.

“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord and he will repay him for his deeds” (Proverbs 19:17).

Thanks for your generous support, God bless you richly. Amen.

From the Volunteer Staff of the Orphanage

The volunteer staff that includes cooks of the children, matrons and patron sincerely thanks you for the regular donations that you send to the orphanage. Your labor is not in vain!

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Hebrews 13:16).

We learn from the word of God that a righteous man knows the rights of the poor; but a wicked man does not understand such knowledge (Proverbs 29:7)

More grace upon you all.

From the Children at the Orphanage

All the children in the orphanage are extremely glad for the marvelous support they receive from your donations. You have kept their hope alive by continuously providing to their needs which include shelter, food, clothing, medication and education. The children are the witnesses of your true love since you have really struggled to bring a great change into their lives that they could not have imagined!

Let Jehovah God see you through and do you good all the times. The Bible says, “Give to the one who begs from you and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you”  Matthew 5:42).

The word of God has given us strength and encouragement by what you are doing to help the children here in the orphanage. “When the poor and the needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst the Lord will answer them; the God of Israel will not forsake them” (Isaiah 41:17).

God has used you to be answers to these children’s problems. Thanks very much for your donations we pray your doors to be open widely. Blessings Amen.

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If you would like to help the children of the Log Church Orphanage of Kisii, Kenya, you may make your check out to “The Log Church” and write “Orphans” on the memo line.

Send it to:

 The Log Church

PO  Box 68

Tripoli Wisconsin 54564

We now need to pay a wire transfer fee with every payment, which amounts to $50 each time, but other than that, your donated money will be used only for purchasing food, clothing, schooling, and other necessities of living. We wait until we have $4000-$5000 before we make the bank transfer to make each transfer more economical. Nothing is held back or diverted for any other purpose. Thanks!

"HERE AM I" (JUST NOT RIGHT NOW): THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, JANUARY 1, 2023

It is a new year and a time that we traditionally both look back at the past year and ahead to the year before us. It is a time when we traditionally take stock of our lives. We evaluate where we have gone and what we would like the trajectory of our lives to become.

This is not only a “young person thing.” It applies to all ages—all stages of life. This is what we will do this morning. I invite each of you to take these lessons to heart.

I begin with some verses that many of you have no doubt read in the past or have heard quoted. Even though these words are from the Bible, they are actually quite cheerless ones to read. They are especially so for those of us who have reached a certain time in our lives. Here are the verses:

We finish our life with a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty. Yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. (Psalm 90: 9-10).

This is a depressing thought, isn’t it? At least it is on the face of it ... After seventy or eighty years, we finish our lives with a sigh? And then we are gone?

We do not sigh when we feel our lives have been fulfilled. We sigh when we know that despite all of our effort, little has turned out right.

“Oh well, I tried…Sigh.”