Kenya Shihome Church Plant, June 22-July 3, 2024 – Divine Appointments

As the Lord built the Shihome Church Plant Team, starting in August of 2023, prayers went forth for the team to have those vessels the Lord intended to use for His glory, to reach the village He had selected for the summer of 2024. Prayers asking for Divine Appointments, where the unique testimonies of team members would be used to bring His people in Kenya to a saving faith in Jesus Christ or to encourage believers.

The following are some of those Divine Appointments which team members journaled to report back what the Lord did:

Grandma Agnes and Grandson Benstar – The Lord led us first to Agnes, a woman in her late 70’s, who was suffering from the loss of her husband 20 years ago and then her son 10 years later, and generally was angry with God for the situation she was currently in. She was trying to be a good person in spite of her struggles and believed that would earn her a place in heaven. After sharing the Gospel and my testimony of how I, as a young man, too had put my trust in my good works, Agnes clearly understood that she was saved by grace through faith, not her works, and of God’s great love for her. She was very happy and I asked if there was someone else nearby who needed to hear the Gospel. Agnes then took Pastor Isaac and me to an adjacent house where her grandson Benstar lived, he was about 30. Agnes left and I began sharing the Gospel with Benstar and he gladly received the good news and put his trust in Christ alone. As I was praying with him, Agnes returned and demanded he apologize for a letter he had written to one of his sisters which Agnes didn’t think was appropriate. I reminded Agnes of the salvation she and Benstar had just received and that she should forgive him for his past sins as the Lord had just done for her. Agnes received this and said that she would before leaving. Benstar then responded that the letter was not appropriate and that he would write an apology letter. The Lord not only saved them eternally but restored their broken relationship as well.

A special family – On our last day in the field, my translator, guide, and I came to a group of huts with a nice yard in the middle. Eight kids, who I’m guessing were between the ages of three and fifteen, were playing soccer in the yard. All of them stopped their game to greet us. The oldest girl, who was probably fifteen, like me, went into one of the huts to get her mom, who came out and greeted us. My guide introduced me and my translator to the woman.  By this time, the kids had gone back to playing their soccer game. I started sharing the gospel with the woman and, as I talked, five more adults arrived and listened.  The kids put another pause on their game and also joined us. Each time someone joined, I would give a quick summary.  Five adults and all the kids trusted Jesus as their Savior! After I share the gospel, I like reading Romans 15:13, which was our team verse this year. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” I handed out tracts for everyone, and said, “Jesus wants all of us to be missionaries and share our new hope of heaven with others!” I even gave tracks to the three youngest, who couldn’t read.  I told them to find someone to give the tracts to.  One sweet woman gave me a hug and wanted to be friends with me. We promised to pray for each other often.  The whole mission trip was full of incredible experiences like this one, and it was amazing to see God at work!!! 

Jonathan at the Malava marketplace – My translator and I went to the huts surrounding the market. At one of the houses, we encountered a man named Jonathan. My translator introduced me to him and I began to share the Bad News, Good News with him. Along the way, Jonathan asked many questions about good works. He explained that he had been told that good deeds were what got one into Heaven. I showed him Ephesians 2: 8-9 and put emphasis in the “NOT by works”. Soon Jonathan accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. As I gave Jonathan the tract and he inspected it, he asked me for extra tracts to share with his church. While I gave him extra tracts, my translator asked Jonathan what church he attended. Jonathan explained that he did not attend a church, but rather PASTORED one. It turns out he was a Catholic priest who didn’t own a Bible and all his sermons had been written for him by another priest. Before we came to him, Jonathan thought his works got him into Heaven and even if he did the good works, it might not be pleasing enough to God and he would go to hell. How great a God we have that he can use a 14 year old girl from America to lead a 60 year old Kenyan priest to Himself!

Birthday blessing – Due to political unrest, many schools in the area were closed so we were not going to be able to visit them during the week. But even this seemed to be part of God’s plan. I was looking forward to our day in the field as it was my birthday and my hope was that many would put their trust in Christ and this would be their “new birth day”.  Pastor Kennedy and I spent the day in one compound. We entered one house, invited by a woman who was working in an adjacent field. We realized that she had already gotten up early to wash clothes as they were hanging on a wire to dry. As we began to share with her, many children began to gather inside. When we finished sharing, two of the children took us to another house.  They sat inside as we shared with the lady of the house. Then they took us to another house. It was the home of a 65 year old woman and her 17 year old grandson. The two children were still with us listening intently to the gospel for the third time. After asking many good questions Dyson and Zembia made the decision to put their trust in Jesus as their Savior. As they were praying, I could hear a faint voice from one of the children. We asked if they understood what we had been sharing. They nodded. We then asked if they also were ready to put their trust in Jesus. They responded “Ndiyo!” (Yes!) The Lord gave me the desire of my heart and many people now share my “birthday” with me, among them Milton age 12 and Natasha age 11.

Prison day blessings – Another team member and I were sent to a prison in Kapenguria, about 3 hours from where we were staying.  We took off with our driver, Pastor Timothy, and Pastor Sampson the prison liason. We arrived only to learn that the government had shut down the prison, due to political unrest in Kenya, meaning that the inmates were to stay locked in their rooms. There were about 350 male prisoners there. Even though the warden was extremely apologetic and allowed us to give them the tracts for the inmates. This was a huge disappointment. They did allow us to talk with five of the men, and we prayed with them. Then, we went to the newly formed women’s prison next door with the male and female chaplains.  Here the women’s warden, Regina, was apologetic that we couldn’t go in to speak with the women, they brought out two of them to encourage and pray for them. Then, they told us about a problem that the women’s prison was experiencing. The funds they received for toilets was not enough to complete the work, the project was only a about two feet off the ground and there was no more money. We all went out to look at the situation and discussed the problem with Timothy and Sampson.  I was asked about a last minute large donation that was given, I then realized why we were there. We told the warden that there was some money given and the two men with us would oversee the project to get the toilets completed. We prayed over the situation, I placed my hands on the shoulders of the Regina and the female chaplain to pray for them, after praying both the women turned and hugged me. They were so happy and as we walked away, I said to the chaplain, “The joy of the Lord is your strength”, that is a Bible verse and a song.  I sang it for her and she wanted to look it up on her phone. Later, just before we left, she said she was going to learn the song and said “If you come back next year, you can help me teach it to the women.”  I told her “That would be lovely,” knowing that only God could make that happen.

Esres and her grandparents – The Lord led us to a home right behind the crusade stage. Pastor Dan and I first spoke with a married couple in their 80’s and they were both saved. I asked if there was any one else there who needed to hear the Gospel and grandma went outside to bring in Esres, a university student in her early 20’s. She spoke perfect English so no translation was needed. I asked Esres if she was also saved but she responded that she was exploring other religions and that there was probably many ways to get to God. I asked her what she was majoring in and she said business and finance. I said that is great, how was she planning to use her degree and she responded that she was going to France. As I had been to France many times on business trips, I let Esres know that most people she would meet there did not believe in God and many don’t even want to hear the name of Jesus. I explained that if she went there as an unbeliever that it would be a dark place but if she trusted Christ today that God could use her as His light in that country and when she comes back to Kenya that they need strong Christian leaders, perhaps as a Member of Parliament, or even as the President. Esres then listened to the Gospel and gladly trusted in Christ as her Savior.

Overcoming confusion – We met a family with a young girl who had a troubled mind. We were able to pray for her and share the Gospel with them. In doing so, they realized the stories they had been told about the Bible Community Church were false. The church was not evil, just because the land was purchased and the church was built so fast, compared to other Kenyan churches in the area.

Peter and his family – God led us to the home of Peter, he welcomed us in and listened intently as I shared the Gospel with him. He trusted Jesus as his personal savior and had a beaming smile on his face afterwards. Peter was so overjoyed and kept urging us to stay for tea to continue in fellowship, but we had to tell him that we need to go to continue spreading the gospel. At that point he led us to his uncle’s home where we were able to share the gospel with his uncle, aunt, and cousin, who all trusted Jesus as their Savior as well.

Women’s prison – A profound experience was the unexpected visit to a women’s prison for me. Although it wasn’t part of our initial plan, it became clear that it was meant to be. Observing the inmates’ worship and having our team members share their testimonies was nothing short of awe-inspiring. The way our message resonated with the women there, leading some to place their trust in Christ, was a testament to the power of faith and the perfect orchestration of Gods Will being played out.

Lady on the way to church – We were approached by a woman who appeared to be on her way to church. She actually looked to have two bibles with her. She was very argumentative and at one point it appeared that she might not have been sober. So Stephen and I were finally encouraging her to be on her way, but she stayed and listened as we shared the Gospel with some other people on the road. After talking with her about how Jesus could see her through the many challenges in her life she chose to trust Jesus. It seemed to me that even in her less than optimal condition she still knew that she was hungry for the good news and that she wanted to really trust Jesus.

At the Market – Just as we got off the bus, sitting under the tree were a couple of gentlemen enjoying the shade. Silvanos, Phillis, Moses, and I went up and greeted them. We opened up with introductions and talked about going to heaven. More people stopped to listen.  We shared the Bad News and the Good News, and as we were sharing a couple of men came, making the group about 20 people of all ages.  It was exciting to see them stop and listen.  Then we asked if they had questions and we were able to share about how trusting in Jesus is what God’s Word says we need to do. We talked for quite a while and they were all so interested in the answers to their questions and how much God loves them. We wanted to be sure they understood and were satisfied with their questions being answered. Then we asked if there was anything stopping them from trusting Jesus. A couple of people walked away but most said YES, they wanted to trust Jesus today!  So we led them through the sinner’s prayer and welcomed them into the family of God.  Then we spent some time praying for their needs. It was such a blessing to me to be able to share God’s word and see it changing people on the spot.  God is great!  Even better, I saw a couple of the guys in church on Sunday!

God’s utter goodness and love – It was obvious through various confirmations that God had invited me to celebrate my 40th birthday with Him, His followers in Kenya, and those who were lost and needing Jesus. What He surprised me with was far above and beyond what I could have imagined. On the day of my 40th birthday, God invited me to visit and preach at a women’s prison. The beautiful warm Kenyan women even sang me happy birthday before I shared the gospel message with them and witnessed seven raise their hands in response to trust in Christ. It was such a surreal unforgettable moment that will stick with me for the rest of my life. God’s thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours.