Three volunteers who went to Kenya on a mission project share personal stories of encounters with people there.
Charity Kawira Echenga, by Patricia Pinkney
I was working with the children’s program where Charity was the interpreter. We seemed to bond right away. The more we talked, she touched my heart in such a way that I wanted to do something to help her realize her dreams. She wants to become a journalist.
At 21 years old, Charity is the oldest of five children. She graduated from the local secondary school and now wants to go to college. I understand she had very good grades in school, but now she lacks the money to move on in her training. Charity was baptized about a year ago, out of a Catholic background. On this trip all her siblings were baptized in the river (Sabbath, Aug. 6). Her mother remains Catholic.
She wrote a note to me that said:
‘When you go to America remember that [someone] in Kenya loves, thinks and misses you so much. You’re worthy to be loved. Safe Journey. Charity.”
I’m not sure how, but God will show me and give me the means to help her reach her dream.
Daniel Ruguri, by Pastor Marcel Sigue
Daniel is one of the notorious men of the Mankau village. He considers himself a “black sheep.” Even though his younger brother has gone from the village to school and become a preacher and influential leader in the Adventist Church (Pastor Blasious Ruguri) Daniel hasn’t cared much about God. He is the leader of his clan, with two wives and many children; 13 with his first wife and five with the second. He is very influential among the village people.
The children of Daniel’s second wife received Bible studies during our Mankau visit. At the end of the studies, three were baptized.
On Sunday morning, the day after the big baptism, Daniel came to visit the compound of his brother where we were staying and asked to speak to me, the pastor who had baptized his children. I invited him to join our Bible study group. Daniel told me that the visit of the missionaries from the United States to Mankau was like the mission of Jonah to Nineveh. I wondered if I was being compared to Jonah’s attempt to disobey God, but Daniel continued. He said he had heard the gospel of salvation and right there was declaring his commitment to follow Jesus. He made a promise to join the Adventist Church and asked me to baptize him when we come on our visit next year.
Julius Mutiga and Victor Mutheng, by Reger C. Smith Jr.
Julius and Victor, both members of the Everlasting Gospel Bicycle Ministry, are young men with families who took two weeks from their other duties to work with our mission group. They (and the rest of the bicycle ministers) stayed nearby, away from home, during our entire visit. They helped interpret and also showed their skills in the building trade, helping the group adapt to local ways of construction.
When we Americans were confronted with the pile of large rocks waiting to be broken, we attacked it with zeal, selecting the largest sledge hammers and using great energy to smash those stones into smithereens. After three blows we were spent. Julius and Victor and the other locals smiled patiently and then took a small hammer, crouched down by the large rock in their rubber sandals and, with a few well-placed blows, soon had the rock in small pieces.
Julius supports his wife, Lucy Kanini, and children by wholesale distribution of cereal in the local village area. It’s a business he would like to expand but he has no access to capital to enable him to grow. About 100,000 Kenya shillings would make the difference, he figures (U.S. $750). Julius is also head elder of the local Mankau church.
Victor and his wife, Munica, live off his business as a broker of cows. He trades in the local area, but would also like to expand so that he could support his family better and his children’s schooling. Again a small amount would make a big difference.
Julius and Victor are young men with big hearts and spirits. They are already paying large dividends on the investment someone made in their spiritual life. And they gave a great boost to ours.