Saturday, May 02, 2009

Fence n Music at Light n Power

Light and Power Centre is now overflowing with nearly 25 members. The Centre has grown rapidly due to an influx of young men looking to keep their minds busy and find positive work. Recently the guys constructed a new wooden fence behind the Centre and prepared the ground for landscaping.

A new music programme has also begun at the Light and Power. One of the mentors, Tim Omwanza, teaches daily lessons to those interested in learning drums, saxophone, or keyboard.

----photos r coming. . .darn u slow internet. . . . :)

Youth Fun Day

On April 25th, Lucy and I helped lead a “fun day” for youth at our church. There were games and team building activities, food and fun, and all kinds of practical life lessons. The time went so well we are planning to continue for the rest of the year, every last Saturday of the month.

smiles in a line

class participation

Dave and Lucy inside the tent



Game time

Interns at Work

I'm now working with 6 interns at Church Army. It has been a lot of fun teaching and mentoring, and the interns have been a great help in our work at the office. The interns are all recent high school or college graduates, and each week they participate in classes, service projects, and outreach events. Currently, they are gaining job experience and serving in six different positions: information technology, media and journalism, administrative assistant, missions, creative communications, and video production.

So far, the interns have participated in a variety of missions and outreach activities, including visiting orphans affected by AIDS in Embakasi, cleaning at Church Army Academy, and serving at Light and Power Centre.

Interns on the roof

Christabel with kids at Light and Power

Cleaning at the Academy

Carrying Chichi up the stairs

Study session in the banda

Visiting Orphans Dying of Starvation and AIDS

On Thursday, 16th March, we went for our second Mission to Augester Preparatory Centre. This centre is a Community Based Organization run by Pastor Augustus and his wife Esther. While growing up, both Augustus and his wife experienced the challenges of abandonment, neglect, and destitute poverty. Through their experiences, the Lord put on their hearts a passion to care for orphaned and vulnerable children. Now they work together with a team of counselors and nurses in Embakasi, where Augustus serves as a pastor, and where there are thousands of abandoned and neglected children. Their Centre assists orphaned children, some of them HIV Positive, by placing them in homes with guardians through adoption or fostercare. Currently they are supporting 68 children placed in 30 homes. Most of the families who have adopted the needy children are themselves living in very difficult situations. It was very sad to see the suffering of these children and their new families.

During our trip we visited four families, all of them affected in some way by HIV/AIDS and living in conditions of destitute poverty. Despite their own challenges, each family agreed to take in and care for at least one orphan or vulnerable child as best they could. One of the families we visited was run by a single mother named Mwende. She was supporting eight needy children along with her sick brother. Through encouragement from Pastor Augustus, she also adopted her niece when the parents died of AIDS. In total, there were 10 people living in one small room with poor ventilation and no running water. The family had not eaten on the day we visited and Mwende's brother was sick with atypical pneumonia. He was also drunk on a locally made brew and appeared to be near death. We shared a few words of encouragement and challenge for the family and also gave them some food to last for two days. . .It was difficult to leave the family in such a situation, not knowing if or how long they might survive. Many are dying in the informal settlements and throughout Kenya right now as a result of famine and high food costs.

Sharing the story of Jesus

In late February, The Jesus Film changed lives forever in Western Kenya. The mission to Southern Nyanza was organized by the Diocesan Bishop, Rt. Rev. James Ochiel and was conducted in partnership between Life Ministries and Church Army Africa. It featured four days of intensive training for pastors and their spouses, and emphasized personal evangelism and communicating the Christian faith. There was full representation from clergy in the Diocese and the training equipped church leaders to be more effective witnesses for Christ in their communities.

After the first two days of seminars, teams of two were sent out to witness on the streets for a period of 45 minutes. The 28 people who participated in the training reached out to 61 individuals during that time, and 31 responded by surrendering their lives to Christ as personal Savior and Lord. Amazingly, some of those who accepted Christ came from religious backgrounds that are normally hostile to Christianity. The high rate of response demonstrated the clear working of the Holy Spirit and was an indication of a deep spiritual hunger in the area.

The next day, on 25th February, the Jesus Film was show at Homa Bay. Over 680 people, both adults and children attended the full event and were exposed to the life and love of Jesus Christ. Among those who were counted, 210 individuals accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. Even after the event was over, people continued to come to us and share their testimonies. The following morning, a man called Otieno came to the room where we were meeting for training and confessed that “Christ had been formed in his life”, and he asked us to make sure that we do all we can to help him “remain a faithful child of God.” Many of the pastors were also deeply moved as they watched the film. Rev. Raphael Shade shed tears of joy and recommitted his life and ministry to Jesus Christ.

We are trusting God for a major follow-up to see new believers connected with the church and strengthened in their faith. The local churches are actively involved in counseling and discipleship efforts for these new converts, and we thank God for the lives that have been forever transformed.