You Prayed—God Answered! (Bibles & Laptops Made It!) 🙏
- Dr. Daniel Gilbert
- 19 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Tuesday, May 26
7:00 am
Dr Daniel & Mary Beth Gilbert
Before I left for Kenya, I asked you to pray for something specific: that 22 Bibles and 4 refurbished laptops would make it through customs without being confiscated or hit with massive duty fees.
You prayed. And God answered in a powerful way.
I have to tell you this story.
The Challenge
A few weeks before the trip, I tried to ship the Bibles and laptops ahead of time. I went to DHL thinking it might cost around $500.
The initial quote? $3,943.
They worked with me and got it down to $1,943.
I said, “Thank you, but I can’t do it.” I loaded the boxes back into my car.
So I decided to bring them in my luggage—22 donated Bibles from Crossway and 4 refurbished laptops for our instructors.
But there was a problem.
Kenya customs has gotten very strict. They’ve been marking luggage with chalk X’s—signaling to customs officials that the bag needs to be inspected and possibly charged duty fees.
Last time I shipped Bibles to Kenya, the government confiscated them. I couldn’t let that happen again.
So I asked you to pray.
What Happened at Customs
When you arrive in Kenya, your checked bags go through a scanner before they’re placed on the belt for pickup.
If customs has questions about what’s inside, they mark your luggage with colored chalk X’s on all four or five sides.
When you pull your bag off the belt, you have to go through another quick security scan. If your bag has X’s on it, you’re pulled aside.Â
You have to explain what’s in your luggage. And often, you’re charged duty fees—or worse, items are confiscated.
I was praying the whole way.
When my bags came off the belt, I saw it immediately: One of my suitcases had SIX chalk X’s on it.
My heart sank for a moment. Then I remembered: Folks back home are praying. God’s got this.
I put that bag on the scanner as instructed. The other bag (without X’s) didn’t need to go through.
The customs official looked at the screen.
Looked at me.
And said, “Go ahead. Go.”
No Questions. No Duty. No Confiscation.
All 22 Bibles made it through.
All 4 laptops made it through.
No duty fees. No questions. No problems.
Our prayers were answered!
Those 22 Bibles are now in the hands of pastors and Bible students who desperately need them.
Those 4 laptops are equipping our instructors to teach more effectively—with projectors, presentations, and resources they’ve never had access to before.
Because you prayed, pastors are being equipped.
Because God answered, the Gospel is advancing.
This wasn’t luck. This wasn’t coincidence.
This was the power of prayer—and God’s faithfulness to answer.
Thank You for Praying
I can’t tell you how much it meant to know that you were praying for this trip.
You prayed for:Â
✓ Safe travel—answered
✓ Bibles and laptops through customs—answered
✓ Unity and health for the team—answered
✓ Protection for Mary Beth and Maria—answered
✓ Breakthrough in teaching—answered beyond what we imagined
Every single prayer point was answered.
The teaching week was the most engaged we’ve ever seen. Students were begging for “two more minutes” in every small group session. They were shouting answers in unison during the summary session. One instructor brought the small group model into his Sunday service and couldn’t get people to stop discussing Scripture!
That’s what happens when God’s people pray and God shows up.
The Exodus 40 Glory is Coming
You gave generously in our Exodus 36 moment—raising 130% of our $30,000 matching goal.
You prayed faithfully for this trip—and God answered every request.
Now we’re watching for the Exodus 40 glory—when God fills this work with His presence and power in ways we can only imagine.
And I believe it’s coming.
Thank you for praying.Â
Thank you for giving.Â
Thank you for being part of this ELIM family.
Your prayers made a difference. God answered. And pastors are being equipped because of it.
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