Kenya

On Friday, the team travelled from Eldoret to Kitale to spend time ministering with Pastor Josphat Idaya and the churches in his network. On the way out of town, we made a stop at Creation Hive, a local craft ministry that trains women in various skills to sew and make crafts and then sell them to provide work and help fund the ministry. Upon arriving in Eldoret, we had lunch and then headed out into the Kenya interior to visit some small local villages and made a couple of home visits. At the first stop, we saw and experienced the extreme poverty that is present in much of Kenya. Many people gathered to hear a gospel message given by Pastor Wilson Atambo and a majority of them responded and acknowledged they wanted to receive Jesus Christ. The team also gave out some food and clothing and Pastor Josphat and his team plan to follow up with this group to continue to minister to them in the future. We also stopped by another household where the man was involved in a polygamous relationship with three women but has since come to know Christ and be born again. We shared some tea and a small meal with them and then headed back to Josphat’s home to stay for the night.

Today, the team led a leadership training with some other pastors and ministry leaders in the area. We used the First Principles resource to teach on the first principles of Bible Study and helping them to build a commitment to accurately handling the word. The training went very well and it was very encouraging to hear some of the convictions already in place along with encouraging others to be diligent to rightly handle the word of truth. After the conference, we visited the home of Pastor Robert Wasabulo who was involved in a serious accident almost 4 months ago along with his wife. Robert has almost recovered but his wife sustained some very serious injuries and is still in a lot of pain and not able to do many things. Please join us in prayer for healing and for a full recovery.

Tomorrow, the team will be going to four separate churches and each of us will be preaching in the main service. Please pray as we prepare tonight and that we’re able to be bold and confident and present a clear message from scripture. Tomorrow afternoon, we will be driving back to Eldoret to catch a flight at 5pm to Nairobi. We will be staying the night and then visiting the Mully Children’s Family center on Monday before we depart on a late flight on Monday evening.  Please pray that our travel continues to go smoothly and that we’re able to make all of our flights as we head back home.

Today the team spent the morning ministering to a group of church and community leaders in the area. Andrew Jones was able to preach a short message on Acts 10:24-48 and Isaiah 53 and we discussed as a group the content of the gospel message that Peter gave to Cornelius and his household  and the importance of baptism.

In the afternoon, we traveled about 1 hour to Matete and went to the church of Pastor Ronnie Opicho. On the way, we stopped to see some baboons along the side of the road (see pics). At the church, we led discussions using the First Principles resources about what it means as an individual and a church to participate in the mission of the Church and using our individual households as mission centers. It was a great day and everyone was very encouraged by our time.

Please continue to pray for the health of the team and for our families back home. Tomorrow we head to Eldoret where we will be spending the next two days, ministering in some individual homes as well as joining another missionary as they minister in the slums and then joining a men’s bible study in the evening.

Yesterday, the team finished up their time in Kisii at the church of Pastor Wilson Atambo. Eric was able to preach a sermon on God’s plan for the Church by looking at the book of Ephesians. After the morning services, the team was able to spend some time with the congregation and with Wilson’s family.

On Monday morning, the team left for Kakamega where they visited Rush Academy, a school with approximately 300 students from grades 1-12. The team split up and spent the afternoon with groups of middle school students, high school students, as well as staff members, working through some discipleship resources and discussing the gospel message given by Peter in Acts 10:34-48. Everyone reported having very fruitful conversations and we pray that the Lord will continue to grow His word in the hearts of all these individuals that we were able to spend time with.  .

On Tuesday, the team plans to preach and speak to a group of 150 individuals from the community in the morning and in the afternoon, they will be visiting another local church and going through a discipleship resource discussing what it looks like to participate in the mission of the church. Please pray for continued boldness, wisdom, and discernment with each group and also pray for continued strength and health for the team.

Kenya Team arrived safely at their destination. Their travel was smooth with no issues. Stay tuned for a longer update tomorrow!

Kenya team leaves today (May 20, 2025) at 2:00pm. Please pray that the team is able to make all their flights, for sleep while traveling, and for strength when they arrive. They have 3 flights ahead of them (Denver to Atlanta, to Amsterdam, to Nairobi). They are scheduled to arrive in Nairobi at 10:00pm tomorrow evening local time. Thank you for praying!