Prayer newsletter

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Hearing from the Taylors this past week I am reminded how thankful I am to live with so many luxuries on a daily basis. The Taylors have experienced so many challenges since their move into their rent house all the while keeping a positive attitude, relating their home to camping out. Melody was happy they got a washing machine. She says she no longer has to worry about mixing colors with whites... all the clothes turn out brown. They have beds and they have gotten a couple pieces of furniture from other missionaries who moved.

I was excited to hear that the Taylors got their work permits because now they can get their remaining items. I was surprised to hear how much it cost to ship their boxes. I know they are all looking forward to having some of their things from home. Melody says it is amazing how you can get by with so little. Melody reminds me of their dependency on God and how God cares about every detail of our lives.

Melody said they live in a good part of Nairobi but would appreciate your continued prayers for safety. The month of December will tend to be more violent as various tribes try to seize more political power during the national elections.

If you would like to encourage the Taylor family and bring them some holiday cheer please consider a Christmas card. You can mail a card to their African address or mail it to me by December 15th and I will send it with Lowell (the eldest of the Taylor children who will visit with his family in Nairobi during Christmas break). Please send 5.5" x 8.5" envelopes or smaller.

My address is:
Linda O'Donnell
2606 Millbrook Road
Little Rock, AR 72227-3034

Taylor's Praises

1. Praise God for a home close to the children's school. It gives them more family time, more time for the kids to finish homework, and is less dangerous not having to commute so far.
2. Praise God for their work permit approvals. Yippee! (Now they'll need money to ship their boxes.)
3. Praise God they have plenty of water. They have a filter for making drinking water and hot water for showers.
4. Praise God for their good health. They jog on on the track at the children's school!
5. Praise God because Lowell gets to visit during Christmas break.
6. Praise God they have diverse neighbors: Hindu, Pakistani, Indian, and Kenyan. It is a great learning experience for learning the different cultures. The Taylor's prayer request is that they will have the opportunity to share Christ with them. We know they will be a daily example of Christ's love.
7. John was homesick... missing his dog back home. Praise God for the landlord sharing two dogs (Puppy and Guinness) for him to play with. The family is happy to have the extra protection as the dogs keep the monkeys in the trees and out of the yard...and house.
8. Praise God for orchestrating meaningful relationships with people who want to make a difference in the lives of orphans.

Taylor's Prayer Requests

1. Find a church home as the Taylors visit several Kenyan churches.
2. Pray for Lowell to finish his semester strong and for safe travel to-and-from Kenya during Christmas break.
3. Pray for men to mentor 5 teen boys Lewis got to know at Rafiki.
4. Pray that Rosslyn Academy will be successful in their Christmas project to raise funds and provide gifts for the orphans at "The Nest".
5. Pray for Melody to have clarity of how God will use her to mentor the young ladies at the Faith House. Also, pray for Melody helping develop a women's ministry for the ladies in Nairobi. Melody will co-lead with Chow Wangie, a Kenyan with Family Life.
6. Pray the Taylor children will find comfort with making new Christmas memories in a different culture.
7. Pray for Rafiki to transfer funds in their account to Go Near Ministry.
8. Pray for funds to be raised for shipment of boxes ($3,500).
9. Pray for funds to be raised for the summer furlough airfare ($20,000).
10. Pray for donations to be raised to sponsor two Mamas at The Nest ($123/month).
11. Pray for Lewis' trip to Kisumu to help a friend start a new orphan home.
12. Pray their interactions with Rafiki would be God honoring.
13. Pray for their continued safety and protection .
14. Pray for continued support for their family to remain in Kenya and to expand their outreach to even more ministries, orphans, and nationals.
15. Pray for communications with their supporters.

If you would like to send the Taylors a tax-deductible, financial Christmas gift you can do so by making your check payable to Go Near Ministry. Be sure to write "Taylors" in the memo line and address the envelope to: