Mt. Elgon

A Faith That Can Move Mountains – Or Build on Them.

I don’t imagine very many outsiders have had the privilege of standing on Mt. Elgon, looking out across the valley below. It is a valley dotted with huts made from mud and sticks with thatched grass roofs.  There are no electrical lines.  There are no telephone lines.  There is no road.  I’m not sure there is really even a path in some places.  Only experienced drivers can navigate the bumpy slope.  There is often unrest among the neighboring tribes.   Yet this unlikely place is the site of the future GFE Pastor Training Center.  

We were privileged enough to be at the ground breaking celebration.  The congregation gathered under a tin roof supported by a wood frame.  It is not a temporary structure erected for the day’s festivities.  It is their regular place of worship.  Nearby string stretched taunt between sticks marks off the dimensions of the new Center.  There is also a stack of stones, not imported from some distant quarry but pulled from that very ground.   These stones will be used to lay the foundation and build the building.  Mike Curry, who partners with GFE and was the visionary for this project, highlighted God’s goodness by asking “Do you know what the most expense building material in the US is?”  He explained to the pastors and congregation that it is the very stone that God has provided as part of the land. 

It has taken years of prayer and trust in the Lord to get to this ground breaking.  It will likely take years more to get everything built.  But when I stood on that spot with those people and saw their joy I knew that someday many outsiders will make the bumpy ride up the slope of that mountain.  They will come to train pastors who are eager to learn.  They may even be able to see the little wood and tin structure standing as a testimony to God’s power and faithfulness.

I may never have the privilege of seeing the finished structure. Yet I count myself blessed to have sat in the shade of a tin roof and felt the gentle breeze on my face as I gazed across a beautiful valley and witness the joyful thanksgiving of a people with faith.  A faith that did not move past this difficult mountain but trusted God to build on it.

These three pictures were taken on the "road" to the site of the Pastor's Training Center on Mt. Elgon.  Good thing we had to skip lunch that day.

 

Most of the homes we passed were a traditional
hut like the one on the right.  Some, like the one on
the left, had tin roofs.



The local congregation and their place of meeting.  As
honored guests we sat in chairs while everyone else
sat on little benches, the ground or just stood.



We were treated to a performance
of song, musical instruments and
dance.





The view is beautiful!  This picture does not do it justice.



These are just a few of the GFE pastors who recently
completed an intensive training course under Bishop
Ben Bahati. 

  
Many of the pastors who were training under Bishop Ben had never had the chance to become legally married to their spouses.  So recently GFE held one massive wedding ceremony and made all the marriages "official".


Shy but sneaking a peak.
(You know I can't go a whole post
without adding one "cute kid"
picture.)



The Congregation

Left - Bishop Ben Bahati, head of GFE, takes a turn at the groundbreaking.  Center - In the background you can see some of the stone that has already been gathered from the property.  Right - Bishop Ben, Jeff, and Ben's father who has been designing and constructing buildings in Kenya for a very long time.  He will be heading the construction of the new Pastor's Training Center.



Light School and Feeding Station

Giving medicine for a very bad cough



Located in the town of Kakamega, Light was  the second feeding station we visited.  It was the first one where we were together with the medical team from Rock Creek Church.  In addition to sharing a Bible story, crafts and our usual fun the team was able to minister to some physical needs.  Children were given de-worming medicine and treated for a variety of illnesses. 

Fungal infections and lice
are a common problem.



One of the teachers translates instructions to the mother of this very sick little girl.  She
had a fever of 105. The medical team was
able to give her Tylenol to bring down her fever and antibiotics to help her little body fight off the infection.



In the afternoon the feeding station was transformed into a medical clinic for the surrounding community. 

Eye infections were another common problem.

While the medical team worked, the rest of the team entertained the kids (and adults) with coloring pages.

You're never too old to color!
We started handing out coloring sheets and crayons to the kids who were waiting with their parents to see the medical team.  We quickly realized that the adults didn't want to miss out on the fun.  Whether they were reliving a sweet childhood memory or enjoying it for the first time, there were lots of smiles and giggles.  The kids had fun too.

To read more about the work being done at Light School and Feeding Station click the page at the right titled Pray for Light Feeding Station - Kakamega.

Seeds Academy

This was the first feeding station we visited.  The needs of this one may not seem as dire in comparison to the first one I posted about, but they still need your prayers.  To learn more about the mighty work God is doing there and how you can pray for them specifically click the Praying for Seeds Academy link at the right.

A Lesson on Faith

It would be easy to feel sorry for the people of Kenya.  I do believe we should have compassion and concern for the difficulties they face.   We should pray for those in Kenya who are still lost and for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are trying to take them the good news of Jesus.  I believe that when God gives us the opportunity we should come alongside them and join them in the kingdom work they are doing.  I quickly learned, however, that while most believers in Kenya do not have the abundant material comforts I have, they have riches I do not possess.  They have a proven faith, which is described in 1 Peter 1:7 as being of greater worth than gold.  The men and women we met posses the mature, complete faith described in James 1:2-4 which says “the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”   It is a faith built on nights spent praying for the healing of a child’s fever or a father’s swollen body because medical attention was not an option.  I pray for healing but in the back of my mind I know that if things get too bad I can take my kids to the doctor.  It is a faith built on days spent spooning out food for a long line of children and praying there will be something to put in the last child’s bowl.  Theirs is a faith that makes what I call faith seem like only a child’s game. 

During the Pastors’ Conference, Mike Curry made the statement that character is not built when we are comfortable.  The same is true of faith.  It can only be forged in a refining fire and the refining fire is not comfortable.  The Lord has brought me through a few seasons of refinement.  To His glory I can say that each time I have emerged with a stronger faith.  But I am not yet “complete” in the way the book of James describes.  

I am not strong enough to choose the refining fire. Maybe my brothers and sisters in Kenya would not choose it either if they had a choice.  The end result, however, is inspiring.

A Modern Day Feeding of the 5000

Harvest Academy and Feeding Station 

Our team leader Jeff said it best when he discribed Harvest Feeding Station as a "modern day feeding of the five thousand."   Harvest is located near Kakamega, Kenya.  Pastor Elkana leads a church there.  The church feeds over 200 children a day and provides them an education.  Operating this feeding station on a budget of $1000 a month would be a challenge but only $250 a month is currently available to fund the work.  The 9 teachers are volunteers.  Not because they don’t need a paying job.  They do.  But they are willing to serve God and trust Him to provide.   

Some of these needs were shared by the Head Mistress and some of them were hesitantly shared by the teachers after I asked how I could pray for them specifically. 

·         a well on the school property to provide clean water for cooking and washing.

·         pay for teachers – Yes, currently the teachers are volunteers.

·         more funding for food – So they can purchase better quality and more of it.

·         books for class (grade) 4 & 5

·         more readers for students in class (grade) 1-3

·         workbooks for all students – Currently several students must share one workbook and write their answers on separate paper. 

·         loose notebook  paper

·         tablet paper

·         spiral notebooks

·         pencils

·         pens

·         desks for students

·         playground equipment – They specifically requested swings and a slide.

·         storage cabinet or desk that locks for each classroom – Currently teachers must take their materials to the office at the end of each day and bring them back to the classroom in the morning.

·         toilets for teachers – I didn’t ask for specifics but my guess would be they are talking about a nice outhouse. 

·         new classroom buildings – They are currently in a metal building.  There is an open space around the top of the wall to allow light and air in.  The roof extends several inches past the wall to keep the rain out but it also keeps the breeze out. Most classrooms have one small window. A concrete or brick building would keep out the heat much better.

Learning about Prayer

Mike Curry, who has been partnering with GFE in Kenya for many years, shared the following words of wisdom at our team meetings last November.  “You cannot fix Kenya. It is not about you and it is not up to you.”  It is in my nature to “fix” to study and analyze and find solutions.  I knew this was going to be a difficult lesson for me but also a valuable one.

Several times during our trip I found myself saying, apologetically, that I would be praying for someone’s needs.  As if this was somehow a consolation prize.  “I’m sorry I can’t provide you with the medicine you need but I will pray for you.”  “I’m sorry I can’t provide you with Bibles for your church but I will pray for you.”

The truth is God’s ways are not my ways.  He is able to do abundantly more than I can imagine.  He also knows the plans He has for me and everyone else.  I don’t.  If I had been around in the days of Joseph I would have organized a fundraiser, gone to Egypt and purchased Joseph back from Potiphar, and returned him safely to Jacob.  Or at least that would have been my plan.  My plan would have eased Joseph’s difficulty and heartache.  My plan would have turned Jacob’s morning into dancing for a while.  But my plan also would have resulted in the fledgling nation of Israel either dying of starvation in the coming famine or intermarrying with the surrounding pagan people.  Either way, Joseph would still have been dealing with ten jealous brothers who had not yet had time or reason to come to repentance. 

I don’t know God’s plans and that is why prayer should be my first response and not what I turn to when I can’t do anything else.

I have committed to pray for the teaching staff at the feeding stations we visited.  I asked them for a list of their needs so I could pray more specifically.  I was very careful to explain that I could not provide but I would pray and I would ask my friends to pray.  I hope God will give me the privilege of gathering some of the supplies to send back with a team next year.  But right now the Lord is teaching me to spend more time praying and less time “fixing”.   Do you suppose they would be encouraged to know that God is using their needs to teach an American a lesson on prayer? (In addition to God’s purpose in their lives.)

If you would like to join me in praying for the needs of the three feeding stations I will be posting more about each one in the next few days. 

Worship

“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.  Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in Heaven.”       Lamentations 3:40-41a

The most glorious worship can be found in the most unlikely places – a tin building with a dirt floor or a tent next to a garbage dump.  When I read the story of Job I always wonder if I would still praise God if everything was stripped away.  Many of my Kenyan brothers and sisters in Christ can answer with a confident “Yes”.  They lift their hands and their voices to praise the Most High God from rented buildings that would only qualify as sheds in America.  They sing and sway while standing on uneven concrete floors or dirt ones.  They listen intently from uncomfortable wooden benches or rented plastic chairs.  And they bring an offering despite the fact that lunch will likely consist of greens and baked cornmeal or nothing at all.  They worship God because He is God.  He has given them life and breath and salvation through His son.

A portion of a popular Christian song comes to mind.   “When the music fades, all is stripped away and I simply come, wanting just to bring something that’s of worth.”  For most of the worshipers in Kenya the only music is the melody of their voices and the rhythm of their hands.  Everything else has already been stripped away.  Yet I know their worship drifts up as a sweet fragrance to the Lord.  Can the same be said of me?

I was back in my home church in Memphis today.  I felt homesick in a way I cannot explain - in a way that seems irrational.  I exchanged little more than passing greetings with most of the people I met in Kenya.  Yet I miss being there as if I had known them a lifetime.  I miss the sweet fellowship and worship I experienced there.  I don’t mean to imply that there are no true worshipers in the church I attend.  I know there are many.  But frankly, there are a lot of people there for other reasons.  I know I have often been guilty of filling a seat rather than truly worshiping God. 

Thankfully I learned from the example of my Kenyan friends that worship is about God, not about what or who is around me.  So I worshiped God because He is God.  He has given me life and breath and salvation through His son.  He has given me the promise of heaven where I will spend eternity in worship even more glorious than what I experienced in Kenya.  Maybe that homesick feeling isn’t so irrational after all.

One of the churches in the Mt. Elgon area.

Women's conference at a church in Nairobi.  The ladies are learning to crochet sleeping mats, handbags and baskets from discarded plastic bags. The plastic chairs are rented because a former landlady has locked up the ones the church owns.   She began seeing dollar signs when she found out that they received support from an American organization.  

This church meets in the dinning hall of a feeding station in Kipsonga, which is a poor community near Kitalie.  The church members are parents and grandparents (mostly grandparents) of children who are served by the feeding station.  They were drawn to Jesus by the love and care shown to their children at the feeding station which also doubles as a school.   Notice the small benches the congregation is sitting on in the background. 

The children come in and out during the service.  Mostly they play outside. They are taught about God and His son Jesus at the feeding station all through the week.  The little girl on my right with the beautiful smile spoke excellent English and helped me communicate with the younger kids.

Outside the Seeds Ministry tent church in Kitalie. You can see the public dump in front of the church.  Services are held every weekday at noon in addition to the regular Sunday service.

Inside the tent church during one of the noon weekday meetings.

Home Safely - With Amazing Stories to Share

We arrived back in Memphis around 6pm Monday evening after 29 hours on airplanes or in airports.  I have many pictures and stories to share but right now I am just trying to get back on "Memphis time"  (There is a 9 hour time difference between Memphis and Kenya and for some reason my body still thinks it is in Kenya.) and get school back up and running smoothly for the kids.  Thanks to everyone who prayed for us.  We could feel God's presence every step of the way.  I will share more with you in the coming days.