SIFAT Graduation

Rahab Kinyua has completed the ten week course at SIFAT (Servants in Faith and Technology) in Alabama. The curriculum was training in Christian Community Development and Appropriate Technology for Basic Human Needs. Nineteen international leaders took part in the intensive course and will implement the training in their home countries. We look forward to Rahab's employing the SIFAT technologies at Providence. The photo is from the graduation ceremony Nov. 6.

Kenya Dig It?

On Oct. 15 Beth Cayce offered her business facility on the main street in Roswell, GA as home for Providence during Roswell's Alive After Five, a time for the merchants to open for friends, food and music. Will Fortanbary, a high school senior and part of our May Kenya mission team from RUMC, provided music and his DJ expertise. The theme was Kenya Dig It? T-shirts were available along with hot cider and desserts for the city-wide open house. Information on Providence was handed out and several people signed up to be a part of future mission teams. The evening was great public exposure for Providence.
The photos are the sign out front, the event T-shirt, some of our friends who dropped by, the info center and Will and his DJ crew.

Consulting with Dr. John Brown Okwii

After spending three months in Kenya doing field research, Silas has returned to the USA and he stopped by Lineville, AL to visit his wife Rahab while she attends the ten week course with SIFAT. During his visit he was introduced to Dr. John Brown Okwii who was teaching Conflict Resolution and Development at SIFAT. In addition to teaching all around the world, Dr. Brown also runs two seminaries in Nigeria. On Sept. 4 Beth and Sally joined Silas and Rahab in a consultation meeting with Dr. Brown at SIFAT. Dr. Brown is a wealth of information regarding schools for pastor training, and he was most generous with his advice and wisdom based on all his experience. As an added bonus, Dr. Brown has agreed to teach a session at Providence in 2010. We are thankful to God for placing him in our path for such a time as this. Dr. Brown is on the right in the photo above with Silas on the left.

Rahab Receives Training at SIFAT

Following her May graduation (magna cum laude) from Asbury College, Rahab Kinyua is now attending a ten week course in Lineville, AL sponsored by SIFAT (Servants in Faith and Technology). the course is designed to train international missionaries and community leaders in practical skills that will impact the poor around the world. They learn everything from water purification methods, alternative energy sources, sustainable agriculture, and appropriate technologies to delivering babies. These are skills we plan to incorporate into the training curriculum at Providence, and Rahab's training will be a bonus in their application. In the photo above, Rahab (center) is enjoying her international roommates at SIFAT.

Rahab is the wife of Silas Waweru who is completing his PhD at Asbury Theological Seminary. The original vision for Providence was Silas' passion and he returns to Kenya to teach at most sessions. Silas, Rahab and their son Solomon have been guides for many of RUMC's mission trips to Kenya. They will return to Kenya permanently in May 2010 where they will devote themselves to Providence.

July Team Trip

As July marked the end of the third 2009 training session in Nairobi, Providence Director Paul Njuguna sent the following letter regarding the RUMC team visit in July:

Once again I want to take this opportunity to thank you for all the support you have given us both materially and in prayers. It is always a joy to see the pastors leave for home with a new zeal to serve the Lord after being in school for a session. We saw the Spirit of God move in a new way as the class of pastors began to share their life experiences. Every testimony became a confirmation of God's will in our pursuing the vision of Providence Training Center. Let's keep on looking upon the Lord as He takes us into areas we've not been to before.

The interaction with the RUMC team was very rewarding for the pastors. Both the Micro-Enterprise training and the Children's Workshop were very appropriate for our student pastors. As I sat in these classes I kept on thinking how far we can go in equipping pastors. In business training I look forward to an in-depth training that would end with the pastors being empowered to break free from poverty that is such a huge hindrance to the furtherance of the gospel. All in all, the session by Julia and Kelly (pictured above) was an eye-opener to the pastors especially in the area of the right (biblical) attitude on financial matters.

From Paula and Sue, the pastors went back home with a new perspective on children's ministry. Most pastors confessed to never having been previously involved in what the Sunday school teachers in their churches teach the children. There was much that the pastors picked from both Sue and Paula. Please once again pass on our appreciation to the whole team especially for squeezing us into their tight schedule.

May/June 2009 Team Trip

Our May/June trip to Kenya proved to be most productive in several ways. The team of ten RUMC members and one Sugarloaf UMC member was able to gather much information beneficial to the future plans of the school. Most exciting was the ability of our team to actually see the school in action, to learn first-hand all the needs being met by the school in the lives of the pastors, and to realize the impact training will make within the Kenyan Church... and beyond.

We arrived during the second week of a school session so we were able to interact with the pastors and teachers.On the middle Sunday we accompanied the pastors to Peter's church which they have adopted as their "school church." One of the student-pastors was appointed to teach the Sunday morning Bible study at the church prior to the worship service. This will become a regular feature with different students teaching each time. Samuel taught this time and impressed his teachers as he aptly applied what he has been learning at the school. His message was meaningful and was presented with much clarity. I am certain the congregation was most blessed.

Orality Training

During the May session the pastors were introduced to orality teaching/learning methods that are especially helpful in reaching the many non-literate people in Kenya. Tom Ogala, a trainer with our partner T4Global, conducted the orality sessions and distributed wind-up MT4 players loaded with oral representations (stories, songs, dramas, poems) of Bible stories from Genesis to Revelation all pointing to Jesus Christ. The wind-up devices are merely tools to aid the pastors in teaching and in evangelism. By the end of the school session the pastors were performing their own versions of teachings from the MT4 players.... with much drama and expression. What unforgettable lessons!

Celebrating with the Pastors

The last night of the school session the pastors hosted an appreciation celebration for the RUMC team who are sponsors of the school (picture above). Following a time of praise, prayer and worship several pastors in the class presented testimonies as to how the school has affected their spiritual growth and their roles as pastors. Some of their testimonials follow:

• "Knowledge of the Word of God is power and now that I am increasing in that knowledge I will be able to reach the unreached."
• "I am so thankful for everything I am learning here and I want all pastors to learn what I have learnt. Every month I invite all the pastors in my region to come to my church and I teach them everything I am learning."
• "Before I was really confused, but since coming to the school I have been able to arrange my teachings. Before I was counseling in a very confused way, but now I'm not."
• "Traditionally the pastor has much influence in Kenya but there is a big problem; most pastors are not educated. What we are learning here is life-changing. Go tell your people that when you teach a pastor, you are transforming the whole nation of Kenya."
• "I was called as a pastor and entered the ministry without any training and I was challenged so much. I didn't know what to preach and I couldn't answer people's questions. Now I am able to preach from the Bible. I even can teach Christ from the Old Testament, and for the first time I am able to take a book of the Bible and teach it verse by verse all the way through."
• "What you are supporting will live for many years.... long after you and I are gone."
• "We have been preaching without knowing what we are preaching. This school is a prayer answered. Many times I have been asking God to give me a chance to be trained. I did not know how to study inductively. I did not know how to preach Christ from the Old Testament. I did not know Bible doctrines. I did not know what is orality. I did not even see the need for counseling. I did not know how to arrange my preaching. I could not even teach a Bible study. In Maasai-land people are dragging behind; they are not educated. This school has been a great resource and a great providence for me. Now I take it as a challenge to educate my people through what I am learning here. The sponsors of this school are doing a great work."
• "When I first started preaching I knew only one verse and I really didn't understand that one verse. Now I have learned how to study the entire Bible inductively and to preach with understanding."
• "In African tradition they don't consider educating women. This school is an answered prayer to me. We women have needs and want women to counsel us. Because we are not privileged to get knowledge, we don't know how to counsel women. We don't know how to incorporate them into the Word of God. We don't know how to tell them or give them an example that women can serve God and also be wives. I have had this desire in my heart to get trained to know the Word of God and to learn how to teach other women and to show women that we have a part in the Christian society. When I was accepted to this training I felt like just crying because God had really answered my prayer. I was told that Bible theology was man's work so I would never have the chance for training, but God has opened a door for me and my heart is filled with joy. Thank you to our sponsors because if it were not for you, I wouldn't be here. You have done such a great job because it is said, 'When you educate a woman, you educate a whole community.'"
  

Property Search

Probably one of the most exciting yet apprehensive events of the trip was the property search. We have found a beautiful five-acre plot that overlooks Nairobi (see picture above). We currently are in negotiations for its purchase. Another bonus that the Lord has provided is an architect here in Atlanta who has offered to work up a land use plan, design the whole school compound and assist in its phased execution. The school compound will serve also as a source of income for the school as it will double as a guest house/conference & events center during the times the school is not in session. The team was also able to inspect several models of self-sustainability and assess their adaptability for the school once the property is secured. We also saw our new hydraform block making machine in action. This form of building will save us significantly in construction costs.

February 2009

The first session of the school's two-year cycle was held at J. J. McCarthy Centre in Nairobi. Our first group of 24 student-pastors represents six Kenyan tribes and four different ministries. The tribes represented are Maasai, Kikuyu, Luhya, Samburu, Turkana, and Kisii. This fusion of multiple tribes in one small group is a synthesis that exhibits the homogeneous spirit that exists through union in Christ.
We were delighted to have Eric Miller of Nairobi as a guest teacher for five days of the session. Teaching inductive study skills, Eric led the pastors through manuscript study of the Gospel of Mark. As an added bonus on the second Sunday of the school session the entire class helped dedicate the new church of one of our teachers, Rev. Peter Kinuthia. After the service the pastors participated in evangelistic outreach in the area.

January 2009

It was announced at Roswell United Methodist Church's Global Impact Celebration that Providence Training Center has been selected as a strategic partner for the next two years. We are most grateful for RUMC's continued support.