Dear Prayer Partners,
In any or all your prayers for me and the base; if God gives you an insight, a scripture, a Rhema word of any kind, a word of encouragement etc. please do share them with me. You have NO idea how much I need such input and connection with you!
PRAISE GOD and THANKS to all of you who were praying for our recent YWAM Kenya financial crisis, because God has once again helped us.
Just to give you a bit of background, over the past 25 years, as YWAM Kenya leaders have come and gone, much important administrative information was not known or passed on. For example, YWAM Kenya had a tax-exempt status and that information was known by some; what was not communicated was that even when you are tax exempt, you must file tax returns every year.
None of us were aware, and so we didn’t file. In 2015 Kenya converted from paper to digital record keeping and so, last year our failure to file came to the light.
There were months of meetings between our auditor and different KRA officials, and we feared the outcome. Finally, in July, KRA came to a decision and demanded almost $3500 in penalties for all the years we had failed to file returns. To us it seemed like a Red Sea situation because we do not have this kind of money in our bank account. But, if we do not pay the penalties, we cannot apply for a Tax Clearance Certificate and without the TCC, none of our expatriate staff can get a work permit, or have their current work permit renewed.
Today I am so happy to report that we filed a late return for 2018 and paid the late/failure to file penalty for 2012-2018. KRA accepted this as sufficient, forgave years 1993-2011 and gave us our Tax Clearance Certificate. So, we are up to date, and learned some valuable lessons along the way!
We would appreciate your prayers for us as we continue to expand the ministries to our community: Since Masai relocated with his family to U.K. last year, the responsibility for the Alpha for Prisons ministry has fallen to Shadrack Nyota. He has really grown spiritually and in his ability to communicate effectively. He reported last week that seven of the Muslins who are taking the Alpha course in Shimo le Tewa prison gave their lives to the Lord last week. What a miracle! Please keep praying for these men as they will face strong pressure from their families. One big challenge the Alpha for Prisons has is financial. You can read about this in my Pryorities July 2019 newsletter.
As our land leases were due to expire in January 2014: I began in 2011, with the help of Martha Pontier, to visit various government offices both here in Mombasa and in Nairobi to begin the process of applying for new leases on our 2 plots. In February 2014, accompanied by Valerie and Richard Vicknair, I went to the Ministry of Lands in Nairobi, received the approval of new lease, and paid the new rent fee (which was increased from $1 per year to $500 per year, per plot). We praise God for this miracle! However, at that time, no one told us that we had not completed the process.
From February,2014 until today I am still working to get the final 5% of the paperwork; the actual Certificate of Lease. I have made more trips to Mombasa Municipal, another trip to Nairobi and also hired an agent in Nairobi to follow-up. After a year of back and forth communication, the agent told me that we would need to pay, in addition to his $400 fee, $2600 in “incentives” in order to bring things to conclusion. This is simply extortion by government employees. I have written to Osborn, a friend in Nairobi, who is an MP and have asked if he knows any righteous men in the Ministry of Lands who would be able to help us. Please be praying with us for God to intervene in this situation: and that He will give us favour ; give Osborn wisdom and direct him to the right government person—the one God has already prepared.
2 Thessalonians 3:16,
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