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.