10/11/2020
The West’s Family Newsletter November 2020
| Dear Friends, We really hope this finds you and your family well? When we last wrote, we were praying about departing for Kenya in late December. More recently it has become clearer that departing next month is not possible. So we find ourselves, once again entrusting everything to the Lord as we wait patiently for His plans to be revealed and His will to be done. It is a great thing that we are having to be wholly reliant on Him. While remaining in the UK, we have enjoyed organising 15 Bible + food parcels to be delivered to families in need around the local area where Tim’s parents live in Kenya. The school children are still stuck at home, and so it has been a joy to help a few families around the local area. Tim’s mum has continued these distributions, and the hope is that every local family around where they live, will have a parcel. If you would like to be a part of this project, please click on this link. We hope to raise £600 for this, to enable another 40 families to be blessed. Tim is thankful that he can continue working as a teacher in Bath and Christian is also able to keep working as a children’s Speech and Language Therapist for the NHS. Eliza and Josiah are both doing really well and growing up so fast. Eliza has just turned 5 and has really embraced starting at ‘big school’. Josiah is also growing in confidence and is displaying a great sense of humour. We live very close to Christian’s parents and are so thankful for the stability we and our kids have at this time, particularly given all the uncertainty. We recognise that God has kept us here in Bath for this season and we are excited about how we can serve him in the here and now. Our primary work, at this time, (other than being parents) is to whole heartedly serve our workplaces and to keep our eyes open for opportunities to be a good witness. We are praying, more than ever, “Lord not our will be done but Yours”. We have been really comforted by this scripture “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28. Thank you so much for the support and encouragement we have received along the journey thus far. We are thankful that we were able to trade in our flights for a voucher that is valid until 2022. Thank you to all who gave generously towards this. Please do be in touch to share your news and how we can also pray for you. We would also love to catch up in person in due course/when the lock down eases. In His love, Tim, Christian, Eliza and Josiah |
https://mailchi.mp/4789707a32ff/update-from-the-west-family-november-2020
06-06-2020 Covid-19 Update
Update on plans for Kenya
Main Headline Prayer Points
We are still going to Kenya and thank God for his unchanged and unshakeable nature. Please pray for..
Our hearts to stay strong as we plan for a delayed departure in late December.
A work permit and flights to be granted and changed swiftly.
Practical preparations like shipping, housing, schooling and fund raising.
Click here for a brief video update
Dear Friend,
We hope and trust that you are well, especially with all the covid-19 challenges over the recent months. We are aware that it has been a really tough time for so many and want to offer our prayer and support to anyone who needs it.
It has been lovely for us to spend so much time together as a family, especially as my mum has been with us. She is hoping to return to Kenya soon but is waiting for flights to re-open.
We have spent quite a bit of time praying and assessing the situation regarding our departure for Kenya and still feel very much led to go overseas and serve the Lord out there. There will however be a slight delay of 3-4 months as we hope and pray to depart in late December. Tim has been in touch with his headmaster and the school is supportive of the change in plans. Christian can also continue working at this time. Eliza will transition into Reception at her current school, to minimise the amount of change she will experience, particularly with the likelihood of starting a new school in Kenya, the following term. Josiah is enjoying being back with his lovely childminder.. We are really thankful for God’s provision and grace.
Currently, Kenya is still quite locked down and there are no international flights arriving in the country. We are aiming to re-book our flights once this door opens. Things in Kenya are, thankfully, not escalating like they have in Europe, but we need to keep praying as the economic fall out has already started to effect people; particularly in the coastal and wildlife regions where tourism has ceased.
We still need to get a work permit granted, as do the other ministry workers. The Kenyan Government has not been processing any application at this time. This is a very important area of prayer.
Above all the planning, we are so excited to meet and share the love of Jesus with the precious people God will place on our path. The preaching of The Gospel needs to keep going out. “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14 .
We want to encourage you to keep trusting God at this time and not to let go of the dreams that He has placed in your heart. Initially, it was hard to make the call to delay our departure but we know that God has already gone before us and have been greatly encouraged by His peace.
We leave you with this great scripture “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love” Romans 8:38.
Much love,
Tim, Christian, Eliza and Josiah
11-01-2020 Our flights are booked…
Our big move date is 23rd August. We plan to complete our flight purchase in the next couple of days!
Dear Friends,
We are so excited to share that we have currently ‘reserved’ our flights out to Kenya for 23rd August 2020.
We felt prompted to look into the flights over the last week and God has blessed us with a great deal; flying direct on British Airways. Only £1834.20 for 4 people on a return flight is a fantastic answer to prayer!
We plan to get to Kenya before Eliza starts school in early September but will also enjoy some precious ‘family time’ in the UK with Christian’s family, before we go.
In order to secure this great price, we currently have 48 hours left to confirm/pay. Would you prayerfully consider contributing towards this cost?
This is a great opportunity to play a part in quite literally sending a young family to the mission field in Africa…
Thank you so much
With much love from
Tim, Christian, Eliza and Josiah
Gift aid through RFM – https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/sendthewests
If 10 people gave £15 a month over the next 12 months our flights would be covered. Click HERE for regular giving.
Direct Giving To the West’s – UK Account No – 26626411 Sort code – 070436 – IBAN: GB06 NAIA 0704 3626 6264 11
Our vision is “to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Luke 9:2
We have some exciting news to share. August 2019
The Wests are heading into FULL TIME mission in Africa, as of September 2020.
We are thrilled to be able to share with you that, after much prayer and waiting on the Lord, we are responding to God's call to the Mission Field in Africa.
Our vision is simple to “to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Luke 9:2
God has given us these three verses Luke 9:6 “And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the Gospel and healing everywhere.” Combined with Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.” and, Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
- With who – We are going to serve under Revival Fire Ministries (RFM), Tim’s parents’ Missionary organisation “Preaching the Gospel in the Nations of Africa.”
- Location – We will start by living on the RFM base called ‘CYARA’. This is about 40 minutes out of a town in Kenya called Nanyuki.
- Doing What – Tim will be helping run the partner relations and media department as well as supporting the ministry when out on missions trips. Christian will be mainly focused on family life and settling the kids for the first year. Preaching, teaching, giving out Bibles, praying for the sick and tent revival meetings are just a few of the things that we will be doing.
- How Long for – Until Jesus returns.
We need your help to send us.
#1 Please pray for us. This is the most important part! Please do tell us if you are praying for us.
#2 Please prayerfully consider financially supporting us.
Currently we are raising money for RFM to support us on this journey. Finances will go towards purchasing a ministry vehicle (to support all ministry work), help with relocation costs, and housing. Our aim is to raise £15,000 to go into RFM. There is a possible opportunity to buy a car by for RFM this July, so that we can ship it out to Kenya, when we depart, duty free! A 1-year ownership is needed in order to do this.
Long term, the best way of supporting us is by a regular monthly gift. Please pray and consider partnering with us on this basis. UK tax payers can gift aid 25% through PayPal to RFM’s registered charity.
If you would prefer to give directly to Tim and Christian, then you can do so through their UK bank account. Sort code – 070436 Account number – 26626411
With many thanks and lots of love from
Tim, Christian, Eliza and Josiah.
Check out the following web pages for more info.
www.westsfamily.com – Our family news website.
www.trcwest.com – Tim’s personal website
www.rfmafrica.com – Revival Fire Ministries official website
www.biblesfund.com – A dream that Tim is working on