Final Night in Kitale
These last few days seem to have flown by. Classes by day and dinners at night. These students have been so receptive to the teaching I have provided, I am truly humbled by their desire to be better equipped for ministry. As they share their lives with me, it is clear that the resources they have are so meager and the need here is so great.
Did I mention that Lois Chege was pregnant? Yesterday, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. She and Bernard gave her the name, Grace.
Tonight, I had dinner in the home of John and Caroline Masonic. These are missionaries supported by our church. John was a young man when he first met Arthurn Rouner in Kiwawa. Today he is 53 and everyone around calls him "Babu," which means Grandpa in Swahili. John is employed by ICM and has a ministry to 3800 children from Eldoret to Mt. Elgon. He is on the radio each week and many know him as "Babu" from this show. As we drove through the streets of Kitale, many called out greetings to him.
His wife Caroline has about 20 Mom's in Touch groups in roughly the same region. She, too, has a weekly radio show that reaches many thousands of women.
Most of their support comes from the grant from our church. It is not enough for this family to make it on. The tires on his car are balding and recently he had two blowouts in the same month. He can only afford used tires for his vehicle as he goes from school to school and town to town with a message of hope and love. New tires would cost $300; something most of us Americans could afford, but well beyond their family or ministry budget. Theirs is a faith ministry and they depend on Jesus for the daily provision for their family of seven.
About 90 percent of the students at ICM cannot afford the tuition, room and board. There is no or little financial aide. The school charges a low tuition (something like $50/course). Most come on faith, knowing they need the education to improve their ministry skills. One student, Aggrey comes from Kisumu in the Lake Victoria region of Kenya. Here the Aids pandemic has hit hard. He is doing all he can to provide support for families and children where the parents have contracted this dreaded disease.
Another pastor, Hezron, shared that his church faces issues that I do not think any American Church faces: polygamy. What happens when a family of one husband with several wives and many children decide to join the local church? Currently they receive them into membership and do not allow the huband to have any leadership roles. They encourage the children to become monogamous as they consider marriage. WOW! I thought I had it tough in ministry!!!!
Greg Snell introduced us to Martin, a bright middle aged unemployed man who has land and a vision for combatting the Aids Pandemic near Lake Victoria. He wants to raise funds to build a clinic to treat Aids victims and to assist families with Christian Counseling. Here is someone who has nothing but a vision and his own personal integrity. Now the question is, will those who can make this vision become a reality help it happen? I thank God for his vision and have been assisting his development of a case statement.
Today, a student from Kitale, Dixon Ouma, brought a gift for me to take to Kathy. It was an extravagant gift given the meager income I know he lives on. I had visited his home and brought a few simple gifts earlier in the trip. I feel quite humbled as I experience this gift of love.
Tomorrow morning, the students will take my final exam for the Gospel of John. I hear that they are all up late studying. They may be surprised when they see the final. I want to encourage them and feel we have learned so much together. I have taught them techniques for studying the Bible that will be useful in whatever book they study (the books of the Bible and otherwise). I really believe that teaching methodologies and approaches that are transferrable are often the most important content of courses like this.
In the evening, I fly to Nairobi and on Saturday, I rejoin Arthur and Molly Rouner and the Pilgrim Center Team in the Masai Mara. I look forward to adding some of my many photos to this journal when I return to the USA on Jan. 25.
Did I mention that Lois Chege was pregnant? Yesterday, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. She and Bernard gave her the name, Grace.
Tonight, I had dinner in the home of John and Caroline Masonic. These are missionaries supported by our church. John was a young man when he first met Arthurn Rouner in Kiwawa. Today he is 53 and everyone around calls him "Babu," which means Grandpa in Swahili. John is employed by ICM and has a ministry to 3800 children from Eldoret to Mt. Elgon. He is on the radio each week and many know him as "Babu" from this show. As we drove through the streets of Kitale, many called out greetings to him.
His wife Caroline has about 20 Mom's in Touch groups in roughly the same region. She, too, has a weekly radio show that reaches many thousands of women.
Most of their support comes from the grant from our church. It is not enough for this family to make it on. The tires on his car are balding and recently he had two blowouts in the same month. He can only afford used tires for his vehicle as he goes from school to school and town to town with a message of hope and love. New tires would cost $300; something most of us Americans could afford, but well beyond their family or ministry budget. Theirs is a faith ministry and they depend on Jesus for the daily provision for their family of seven.
About 90 percent of the students at ICM cannot afford the tuition, room and board. There is no or little financial aide. The school charges a low tuition (something like $50/course). Most come on faith, knowing they need the education to improve their ministry skills. One student, Aggrey comes from Kisumu in the Lake Victoria region of Kenya. Here the Aids pandemic has hit hard. He is doing all he can to provide support for families and children where the parents have contracted this dreaded disease.
Another pastor, Hezron, shared that his church faces issues that I do not think any American Church faces: polygamy. What happens when a family of one husband with several wives and many children decide to join the local church? Currently they receive them into membership and do not allow the huband to have any leadership roles. They encourage the children to become monogamous as they consider marriage. WOW! I thought I had it tough in ministry!!!!
Greg Snell introduced us to Martin, a bright middle aged unemployed man who has land and a vision for combatting the Aids Pandemic near Lake Victoria. He wants to raise funds to build a clinic to treat Aids victims and to assist families with Christian Counseling. Here is someone who has nothing but a vision and his own personal integrity. Now the question is, will those who can make this vision become a reality help it happen? I thank God for his vision and have been assisting his development of a case statement.
Today, a student from Kitale, Dixon Ouma, brought a gift for me to take to Kathy. It was an extravagant gift given the meager income I know he lives on. I had visited his home and brought a few simple gifts earlier in the trip. I feel quite humbled as I experience this gift of love.
Tomorrow morning, the students will take my final exam for the Gospel of John. I hear that they are all up late studying. They may be surprised when they see the final. I want to encourage them and feel we have learned so much together. I have taught them techniques for studying the Bible that will be useful in whatever book they study (the books of the Bible and otherwise). I really believe that teaching methodologies and approaches that are transferrable are often the most important content of courses like this.
In the evening, I fly to Nairobi and on Saturday, I rejoin Arthur and Molly Rouner and the Pilgrim Center Team in the Masai Mara. I look forward to adding some of my many photos to this journal when I return to the USA on Jan. 25.
posted by Glenn Barth at 10:24 AM
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