Kenya Bondeni Church Plant, June 21-July 2, 2025
To God be the glory, great things He has done!
Again the fields were ripe for harvest in Kenya, even during additional unrest which occurred immediately before and during our time in country. The demonstrations, mostly in Nairobi, affected some of our ministry opportunities, schools were closed early in the week, we were only able to minister to one but we were able to go to one women’s and three men’s prisons. We were also privileged to go to the police academy in Kitale. Over 150 trusted Christ as their Savior in the school, police academy, and prisons and more than 700 people trusting in Him during personal evangelism in the village, with a total of greater than 850 new believers being reported. It was one of the best turnouts we’ve ever seen on dedication day, for men’s, women’s, and children’s Sunday Schools, with approximately 300 attending the dedication service, including all the overflow outside the church.
The following are some of the testimonies which team members journaled to report back what the Lord did:
Personal Evangelism
Today was our first day “in the field”. I had the privilege of being paired with Pastor Kenneth from Ngeria again this year. Bondeni is a beautiful village. Lots of corn, cows, chickens and children. It was told to us that the schools were on “Spring break” so there were many kids and teens everywhere we went. It was a blessing to be able to share with three young men today.
One named Kennedy had a lot of questions. I was very happy that he wanted to make sure that what we were telling him was the truth. He listened intently and trusted Christ when he heard the gospel clearly explained to him. The Lord led us to another house where a 16 year old girl was busy in the yard. She sat us in a living room and went to get her grandmother. She informed us that her parents had died and she was left alone to care for her grandmother. Monica was her name. She trusted Christ today. We encouraged her to attend the new church where she’ll meet her new family of brothers and sisters in Christ.
On our way back to the church, Florence called us over to her yard. She sent her grandson to get chairs for us. We learned that she was 90 years old. Barbara, one of our team members, had tried to share with her earlier in the day but she was busy “*dunging” the floor of her house. (*Resurfacing the floor with a mixture of mud and cow manure which hardens and helps with waterproofing). She happily put her trust in Christ. She was grateful that she had not missed the opportunity to hear this good news that the Mzungus were sharing in her village.
Wednesday morning began the same as Tuesday: breakfast, worship, head to the church where there was more worship and devotions. I was assigned two translators: Pastor Steve (I later learned Steve is the brother to the pastor of the new church, Pastor Felix), and Chumba, who I knew from the school the day before. Everyone hopped into the bus and we rode about ten minutes to get dropped off further away from the church. We all fanned out from there.
This day I shared the Gospel with twelve Kenyans; nine of whom put their trust in Jesus!!! The first person I shared with was a woman named Elizabeth. She pulled up the Bible on her phone, and I had her read the verses aloud in Swahili. After I shared the Gospel, I asked if there was anything keeping her from trusting in Jesus alone, and she immediately said “Hakuna” (there is nothing). I prayed with her and then gave her a tract. She was so happy and promised me she would study the tract and then share the Gospel her friends and family!
We had a visit with Tutuna, an older woman who appeared to be lame and possibly had vision problems. She told us that the night before she had some horrible headaches that kept her from getting any sleep. We prayed for her and she shared that she received healing from the headaches with our prayers. She was a believer, however during our visit her grandsons, Michael and George, decided to trust Jesus. Tutuna then told us to take Michael with us, probably to help with this ministry. That idea did not appear to be shared by Michael, but it is my prayer that God guides him in ministry. There was something about Michael that made me think of him as a future pastor.
I was given four translators on Saturday which was kind of fun. I had Pastor Peter, Eric, Chumba, and Peter. That day we led thirteen people to Christ! One of the first people we talked to was a woman named Victoria. She led us into her hut, and seemed very excited to us. She was very happy to hear the Gospel, and nodded at every point I made. She trusted Christ and then told me something that shocked me. She said that God had given her a dream a long time ago that I would come to her house! She told me that although she had no idea when I would come, she knew it would happen. And it did! That day I wrote in my journal, “God is at work! He was preparing hearts and minds in ways I never imagined. The harvest is truly ripe.”
The next person I talked to was a pastor’s wife. She invited me into her hut, and I shared the Gospel with her. When I was done I asked if it all made sense; she shook her head. She couldn’t tell me what part didn’t make sense, so I went through the whole thing again. This time she got it, but when I asked her if there was anything keeping her from putting her trust in Jesus alone for salvation, she nodded. She told me that she had been praying, but God was not answering her prayers. She was going through a hard time, but she didn’t think He was helping her at all. She told me it was getting hard for her to keep trusting Him.
I was able to share some of my testimony with her. I told her that I had also gone through a really hard time, and that God had allowed nearly all my friends to leave me. At first, I didn’t know why He allowed that, but soon I discovered it was to teach me that He is the only One who will never leave me, and how much He loves me. He used that trial to draw me closer to Him. I told her that the Bible says God works all things together for good. It might not always make sense at the time, but He has a perfect plan. The woman nodded, and this time, when I asked if she wanted to trust Jesus, she said yes! After we prayed, she looked so joyful! I gave her a tract and told her to share it with her husband, which she promised to do.
The last hut I stopped at was an older woman and her daughter, who was probably in her thirties. The daughter, Elizabeth, really got into the Gospel, and interacted with me a lot more than most of them do. It is so much fun to share the Gospel with someone who really wants to hear. I completed the message, and Elizabeth wanted to put her trust in Jesus! She was very happy, and when I gave her tract, she told me that she would read it and then go share it with others!
The last day on the trail we ended up visiting a family with multiple issues. The wife and a child had malaria and the flu. Nevertheless, she welcomed us in typical Kenyan fashion. She answered the question about how she knew she was going to heaven with “repentance and following the commandments.” She let us go through the bad news, good news and still hung on to those statements. However, with the help of the translator (Pastor Felix), she did acknowledge that she trusted in Christ’s work for her on the cross as her assurance of heaven. We prayed for healing for her and her son.
About this time, her husband, Fred, sat down to hear what we were talking about. He said that he had been “witnessing in town,” believed in Jesus sacrifice for sin, but that he needed help with stopping drinking alcohol. He did trust Christ for his salvation. He then said he believed that God had sent us to him. We prayed for deliverance of his habit and encouraged him to come to the church and be accountable with Pastor Felix regarding his sobriety and discipleship. What a blessing it was to see him in the church service that Sunday! Still praying for him.
Personal Growth
The crusade was awesome! Many of the kids remembered me from the school. There was singing and dancing, and Hannah, Nadya, Julie, and I danced with the kids, which was tons of fun! Two people from our team shared their testimonies and then Phil preached. During the preaching, those of us doing children’s ministry took the kids around the corner to another field for a Bible story. I borrowed Josh’s guitar, and Hannah and I taught the kids some songs. Then we did a Bible story on the felt board we had brought for the new church.
The whole thing was barely-controlled chaos because the kids were so excited they keep smashing their way closer to us, until we had no room to move. Also there several young men hanging around. There were five of us young ladies this time: Hannah, Nadya, Julie, Luiza, and I. It was annoying and a little concerning, but we had several translators and couple men from our team keeping an eye on things each day. It may not be what they were there for, but at least those guys were hearing the Bible stories each day!
The trip was so amazing! I wrote in my journal on that last Saturday, “God is using Me! He is using me as His tool to reach people way out in the middle of Africa. He is giving people dreams, He is preparing hearts, and He is making minds ready for the Gospel.
He has taught me how powerful prayer is, He has worked in me to pray more, and He has given me complete trust in His faithfulness. God is good. He works all things for good. He uses the people who will willingly follow, and He has blessed me personally. What a God I serve!”
As early as last summer, I felt a call to go on the mission trip to Kenya. There was a lot of fear and uncertainty for me leading to my decision to be faithful to the call and go. There was uncertainty in my heart about whether I was doing this under the correct motivation. There was certainly fear over the toll that such a trip would have on my body given my particular set of health issues. But most of all, there were doubts and uncertainty as to whether I was “worthy” or that I had anything to offer given my past history as a backslider from the faith. In spite of all these things, I still strongly felt that the Lord was telling me to go, so not knowing what I had to offer, I went.
I found the answer for my motivation in my own heart. Simply put, I did not want to go. Therefore, the call I felt must be coming from the Lord and not my own desire for adventure. And so I went.
Travel to Kitale was indeed hard on me physically. The daily trips from Kitale to the church site in Bondeni no less so. Upon the first time leaving the town of Kitale, where the pavement ended, one of our drivers, Jimmy, turned to me and said “this is a real African road,” complete with pot-holes, deep ruts, and protruding rocks. The trip was about an hour each way, and each bump took its toll. But when it was time to load up the vans each morning, I went.
For me, assignment on the first day was door to door evangelism. The Lord blessed this time with amazing fruit. Day number two started with leading a devotion for the ministry team, both local and foreign. The Lord laid on my heart to share from the book of Joel. This was followed by a continuation of the door to door evangelism. After this, the schedule had me preaching at the crusade that evening, which happened to be a market day. Again, this was a very fruitful time, with many people giving their lives to Christ.
On day three, my assignment, along with James, was to go to the Kitale Main Prison and deliver the Gospel to the prisoners there. James and I decided that he would give his testimony, and I would follow up with the gospel presentation. At this point, I felt led to give my testimony also and weave it into the gospel presentation. This is where the Lord answered my third question. What did I have to offer?
I shared my story of being a backslider. I shared how after having attended Bible College, after having gone on many missions trips, and after having experienced the love of God firsthand, I slowly drifted away, eventually becoming ensnared by substance abuse, particularly alcohol. I shared my shame. But I also shared that by the grace of God through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, I was no longer the man I had been. I shared the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. When I led the prisoners in a prayer to accept Christ and then asked for how many people had believed in Jesus Christ to save them, I was astonished at how many hands went up.
After the service with the prisoners, we were taken to meet the warden in charge of the facility. Pastor Edward, the chaplain over the prisons in the area, introduced James and I and then told him of my testimony asking him permission to have me come back to the prison and deliver the same message to the guard staff there. I was surprised by this because he had not mentioned anything of the sort to me beforehand.
What I had not understood before I went on this trip was that Kenya was a place of great spiritual darkness and also that drunkenness was a huge problem there. Many people find themselves ensnared by strong drink in much the same way that I had been before the Lord drew me back to him. What is not common is recovery. At this point, God began to move powerfully in the area.
I was invited to come give my testimony again to the police academy. Even among the police there, depression, drunkenness, and even suicide were prevalent problems. Indeed, without Christ, there is no hope for sustained recovery.
But God also began strongly moving in my own heart. While I was still ashamed of my past behavior and sinful history, I embraced my testimony and the words of Paul the Apostle as he wrote in Romans. “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believeth” (Romans 1:16). I realized that this applied to both me and my testimony. From that point on, I shared my testimony and history freely. During subsequent door-to-door evangelism my translator realized I was willing to do so and brought it up when the situation fit and asked me to share it. Each time I did so, God blessed it with incredible fruit.
I began to understand that I was not sharing a story about when I was lost, I was sharing a story about when I had been found. I was sharing a story of redemption. I was sharing the work that God had done in my life. I was sharing the story of the power of God unto salvation. Although I could not see it before I went on this trip, God knew exactly what I had to offer.
Through the prophet Joel, the Lord said “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25). Those years spent away from the Lord, in my own misery, and in the bottle were, for me, the years the locusts had eaten. God showed me that he was working all things for the good of them who love him (Romans 8:28). This was not just for the salvation of the people to whom I spoke, but also a work that was done in my heart. He showed me that He was indeed redeeming the years that the locusts had eaten. That He was using those years to do a work for His glory. He used those years to lead hundreds of people to Himself and to plant seeds that are going to bear great fruit both in Kenya and in Oregon.
No matter how hard the trip was physically, I fully intend to return if I’m called. I look forward to boasting in my weakness, for in so doing, I’m able to share the strength of God. For power is perfected in weakness, and His grace is sufficient for me.
God did amazing things in Africa. This was my first missionary trip. God had been stirring in my heart for a while to go on a missionary trip, and in 2025, I had the opportunity to join the Kenya Africa team.
Initially, I was filled with nerves. Back home, I hadn’t shared the gospel, and I wasn’t sure how to do it. I worried that I wouldn’t have the words or the courage to reach out to people. But then, I realized how the Holy Spirit works through us, providing us with the words and the boldness to share the gospel with lost souls.
The simple message of the gospel is incredibly powerful in saving lives and reaching the lost. When I arrived in Kenya, I was greeted warmly by the people. They were willing to listen to the message of Jesus. Our team prayed fervently for the hearts of the people to be softened, so that they would recognize their sin and be ready to receive Jesus.
And God answered our prayers. Praise God!
I had the privilege of speaking with people of all ages, from young children to elderly grandparents, in the villages. Many of them repented and gave their hearts to the Lord.
I particularly remember an elderly woman who was working in the fields. When she saw me and my translator, she invited us into her home and I shared the gospel message with her. After hearing the bad news and the good news, she wanted to receive Jesus, and we prayed with her. I know that heaven rejoices when even one soul is saved, and it’s an incredible sight to see an unbeliever become saved. It truly encouraged me.
There were so many more amazing testimonies. I am filled with gratitude for the opportunity to have witnessed what I did and to have been a part of this missionary team. All glory to God!
School and Police Academy
The school team got into one of the vans: Pastor Fred for translating, Anncarol and Chumba for singing, two boys about my age (one played the piano, and the other to help set up). The school normally had around seven hundred kids, but there were, quote, ‘only three hundred’ as they had already released the rest for mid-term break.
The kids were on the younger end; it was primary school through middle school. They fell in love with us right away! All of them were completely fascinated by us, and kept coming up, waving and practicing their English on us. We were a little tight on time because at noon the van had to take a team to a prison.
Chumba asked me if I sang, and I said that if Phil sang I would do hand motions and sing with him, she laughed. I shared my testimony, which the kids really enjoyed. Then Chumba and Anncarol had Phil sing, which surprised him because the two women had come specifically to sing.
Phil sang Hakuna Mungu Kama Wewe, which is kind of like singing Amazing Grace here; almost everyone knows it. Of course the kids were delighted that we sang in Swahili! Then Phil shared the Gospel; the kids listened attentively, engaged in the message, and about twenty-five of them put their trust in Jesus for the first time!!!
We were also privileged to go to the police academy, a large compound in Kitale. We had been told that several policeman had recently committed suicide and at least one of those had killed his family as well and the people we would be speaking to needed encouragement. We were also told we would be speaking to between 50 and 100 officers.
As it turned out, God had a different plan, when we arrived there was only three people there, the head policeman for that county, the head chaplain for the police in that county, and his son (around 20). As we spoke, they and we were hoping more would arrive, but that didn’t happen. I explained what we were doing in Bondeni with our team doing house to house evangelism, planting a church.
The chaplain responded that perhaps we could go house to house to the officer’s homes and I responded that we were there for them and would do whatever they wanted us to do. A decision to go into the meeting hall was made and that opened up a divine appointment with the head policeman. As no one new had come, I had the opportunity to speak with him one on one and ask where he was spiritually. He responded that he had gone to a protestant church for a long time but it was full of hypocrites and gossipers so he was now attending a Catholic church. I asked him if he died that day whether he was sure if he would go to heaven and he replied that he didn’t know. As we were sitting next to each other on a bench, I asked if he knew the story about Nicodemus and that we must be born again. He didn’t know it which allowed me to open my bible to John 3 and we were able to read it together. I explained that in spite of all the head knowledge Nicodemus had, he still didn’t know if he was going to heaven and Jesus said we need to have a spiritual rebirth.
About that time two other constables came so Josh gave his powerful testimony about the Lord’s work in his life and then I shared the Bad News/Good News gospel presentation with them all. The head policeman and both the constables put their trust in Christ alone for their salvation. I then took the opportunity to share with them about the special role God has given them as policemen, the authority they have, and that we needed to submit to the authority God has given them.
I also let them know that before they trusted Christ that they were spiritually dead and had no ability to have godly wisdom or understanding but since they are born again His Holy Spirit now indwells them and these gifts are available for the asking. I encouraged them that policeman that are born again can be used by God to change all those who are under them or serve with them. That they, along with the chaplain, could use the 100 tracts we were leaving with them, to lead the officers and their families in the compound to the Lord.
At this point, the chaplain’s son stood up and testified that he had only come there that day to sing for us but he was so encouraged by what he heard, that it was from God, that he wanted to be involved with the work. His plans are always so much better than ours!