God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. Hebrews 6:10
This was the verse I lived by as I spent the first six weeks of this year in Australia. Mary and Bryan Keef invited me to stay with them at Kangaroo Grounds at the Wycliffe/SIL base. I knew many of the people working there from Dave’s and my time in Australia 25 years ago.
Mary’s thank you below is really for all of you who made it possible for me to serve in Australia.
Dear Leah,
THANK YOU very very much for coming to visit us this past month. What an incredible BLESSING
you have been in SO MANY WAYS! Thank you for all the practical help you gave us which was such a
help, boost, encouragement, HUGE blessing to us. Thank you for all the meals you made for us which
helped strengthen us during our exhausting, busy time helping in Wycliffe Summer School. They helped us physically and emotionally!! Not having to think about cooking while we were so tired lightened my
load a lot.
Thank you for tackling a big job in my estimation–taking down all our curtains, washing them on the trampoline, hanging them all out and putting them all back up again. So much effort and you made it seem so easy! They hadn’t been done for years as I never seemed to have the energy to do it or there were more important things clamoring for my time. So pleasant now (and healthier too) to have clean curtains!
Thank you for all the help with the housework and washing the dishes. Again, it helped me more than you can imagine! Thank you for helping me with the childcare. More than once you saved the day by lending a helping hand!
All the jobs you did to help others here at Wycliffe were greatly appreciated. The many shelves you built and installed, the book cases, the desk, the gate you built, curtains you sewed will be long remembered with gratitude.
Summing up your time with us is best described, I think, by my friend Kathy. When I told her about all you were doing, she said, “Leah sounds more like an angel to me!” We truly thank God for sending
you to us and thank you for your servant heart and very willing hands. May the Lord reward you one-hundred fold for all the help you have given us. Fellowshipping with you in the Lord was also like the icing on the cake! Thanking God for you, Mary and Bryan
Elay congregation in Gambella, Ethiopia started this church building in 2014
out of cement block. Their churches in the past built out of wood and mud were destroyed by termites. The church is near the Teachers’ and Health Science College and many of the students from other villages are worshiping here.
Those of you who gave money towards a memorial fund for Dave are now part of this building project. I sent the money to pay for the tin roof. Dave grew up among the Anywaa and so I knew that your gifts would be used well for a church where he and his family are remembered.
What is next for me in 2017? I am asking the LORD this question.
In the next few months I will become Grandma to Josh and Steph’s fourth child and Jim and Becky’s second. God is good and I am truly blessed. As I travel to visit these new gifts from God I will be reconnected with people from my past.
This summer I will be at NWMC and hope to see many of you there and hear just how God is working in and through you.
Here is some of the partners that I am looking at helping in the future.
1. Providence Presbyterian church, Charlotte NC and Evanafrica. My goal is to take a group from the church to visit this ministry in Mozambique. http://www.evanjafrica.org/
2. I am looking for partners to help both at the Jack Jordan Bible School and other groups working on in Gambella, Ethiopia.
3. I am looking at ways to help the children at In Step in Kenya to prepare for their futures. http://ww.rehemainstep.com
4. The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Synod of Harare, in Zimbabwe, needs help building a training center.
I would love to hear from you if you would like to partner with me on any of these projects.
A special thanks to all of you who pray and give and make it possible to for me to serve others.
Let me know if you need more information about any of the above projects or if you have ideas on how God could use me in the future.
Serving in Love, Leah Preston