All Things

May 16, 2024August 3, 2024 by Jonathan In Nairobi Church Plant 5 Comments

For the last twenty-five years our family has benefited from the songs of Sovereign Grace Music. Their God-centered, Christ-exalting lyrics definitely played a part in our becoming part of this family of churches in 2006, and now we’re excited about our partnership to plant Sovereign Grace Church Nairobi!

They have released four songs so far from their album, based on J.I. Packer’s classic, Knowing God. We especially love this one, All Things, reminding us that there is nothing that comes into our lives apart from the sovereign hand of God. Packer said it this way: “All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28). Not just some things, note, but all things! Every single thing that happens to us expresses God’s love to us, and comes to us for the furthering of God’s purpose for us.”

What a comfort that he promises to use both the good…and the hard, for the purpose of conforming us more and more into the image of Christ. If we really believe this is his highest purpose for our lives, we can truly rest, knowing he is working all things for our good and for his ultimate glory!

Updates for Prayer

• Jonathan leaves for Kenya on Sunday! He’ll spend several days in Nairobi with our pastor, Rick, along with Brian and Michael, the pastor of Trinity Fellowship in Ethiopia. They’ll travel to Addis Ababa for just a couple days before returning back to Minnesota. Pray for their travels, health, and fruitful conversations and planning. We’ll put together a video update when they get back!
• Jonathan preached on his favorite passage (2 Corinthians 4:7) at Cornerstone Community Church on April 28. It was a reminder that God loves to use ordinary people, even in ordinary circumstances, to accomplish extraordinary things – so that it remains crystal clear to whom the glory goes! You can watch/listen here.
• Please pray for our monthly financial support. We’re currently at the salary amount we had in 2016, and obviously the cost of living has soared since then. We are praying to increase this amount by $1,500 per month before we return to Nairobi in September. We know it’s not a popular topic, and we trust God to give us what we need. So many of you have been so faithful and generous in this area, not only to us, but to members of our family as well. Thank you! And thanks for praying!
• Hannah and Henrik recently experienced a miscarriage after praying for a child over the last year and a half. He writes, “The past weeks have been filled with heartache and grieving for this loss, though the Lord has been incredibly kind and has given us great comfort through His words and His people. We are trusting the Lord in His wisdom and would love prayers for peace, healing, and patience as He is not done with our story.” Henrik is transitioning out of his role at Campus Outreach in June and will bring his passion to spread the gospel into a management job working with Fedex Office in Minneapolis.
• The rest of our fam, Tiana, Josh, and Sophie will be spending most of the summer in Myrtle Beach, SC at Summer Training Project! It will consist of training in the Word, discipling, evangelizing, working, and much more! You can find out more here. I’ve said this before, but I sincerely believe that one of the most strategic ministries in the US is evangelizing and discipling college students. They would be really encouraged by your support!