Peter and Melody Morris Prayer Letter: Culture vs. the Word of GodI hope you are well and that the Lord is blessing you, your family, and your work for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Working here on the mission field of Kenya has, as you would expect, blessings and challenges. Recently, I had the blessing of leading a young man through the Gospel to find out that he was a graduate from university; he has many interesting questions. We are now on our sixth lesson of the Foundations of My Faith discipleship series, “The Holy Spirit,” in just three weeks, and he has memorized the required verses. Apart from the discipleship lessons, he is asking many questions about life in general, showing he recognizes that there are many differences between the life he has been leading and the life that is possible through Jesus Christ. I am really enjoying teaching him.

Kenyan cultural differences play a major part in the battle that takes place in a new Christian’s life, and overcoming or giving an alternative plays a major role in helping a convert develop a new life in Christ. Although there is much to be taught personally, the Holy Spirit is the one Who does the miraculous work of transformation and sanctification. Praise the Lord.

We continue with the Pastors’ Practical Training Academy, with pastors being trained and encouraged to go soul winning, disciple their new converts, and teach their people to do likewise. The course is starting a more challenging phase, which will be focusing on many other facets of the ministry, including a college-level diploma course and lessons from the TAN course. The country pastors are very enthusiastic. It will be interesting to see how several of the pastors adapt to the study requirements and to the increased workload. It is important for me to remember that these men often live and provide for their families at a subsistence level, requiring them often to grow their own food or labor to generate an income at a survival level.

I am enjoying the teaching. It is a blessing to see the “lights go on” and the interest level grow when they realize much of what they have learned is not correct, that others may have a different understanding, and that they now have the opportunity to develop into a mature, confident, soul-winning, seasoned pastor who knows what he believes and why he believes it—a pastor who cares for his church and loves his people.

I am also helping out a Baptist church with their preaching and Sunday school while their pastor is in the U.S. for a period of time. Melody is doing well in her dyslexic reading ministry, with regular enquiry from those outside the school where she is training the Reading Centre tutors. She recently started tutoring an adult lady who has two young daughters who have reading challenges. She is looking forward to finishing the Barton Reading Program so she can tutor her own children who are also dyslexic. What a great blessing that will be to their family.

Please pray for us:

• We need more committed men of integrity to join the Pastors’ Practical Training Academy.
• Please pray for our health and God’s protection.
• We are looking to buy new tires for our Toyota van. With alignment and repair or replacement of the calipers on our front end, we are looking at around $900.
• With increasing prices on just about everything, we are feeling the financial impact of having to bring the pastors to Nairobi from upcountry every month.
• We would prefer not to return to the USA to raise additional support at this time. We are looking for those churches who are looking to have a presence in Kenya, East Africa, through a veteran missionary who is willing to stay on the field with his family to do the work of the ministry.

Thank you to those who have supported us for many years as we have pursued God’s calling on our lives. We endeavor to lead the lost to Christ and to train pastors to build their churches through correct doctrine, soul winning, discipleship, church planting through national pastors, and teaching others to do likewise. Thank you for your commitment to missions and the Morris family in East Africa.

To hear music at the beginning of the Faith Baptist Church service, click here and click here.

Thank you and God bless you.

Your fellow laborers, and brothers and sisters in Christ,

Peter, Melody, and Lindsay Morris
Missionaries to Kenya, East Africa