In 1977 we began our ministry in a little outpost town in
western Kenya called Makutano, which in Swahili means intersection or meeting place. It was a town that had no electricity or
running water. The tribal people of
Pokot would come to Makutano to sell their chickens, goats or vegetables for
cash.
Makutano is about 106 kilometers from where we lived and
the roads were bad so it took us usually three hours or more to get there. We would leave our house on Sunday mornings
about 7 a.m. and not get back home until late Sunday evening.
Our first services were held in a mud schoolhouse. My Swahili wasn’t very good, I wrote and read
out my sermons the first several months of our work. One of the earlier attendees told me, “Your
Swahili is so bad no one is going to keep coming to these meetings. You need a translator.” My reply was that I will never use an
interpreter and my Swahili would get better.
It did, though I must admit it is just good “upcountry” Swahili.
Our Lord’s great command to His church was, “Go into all the
world, and make disciples” Matthew 28:19.
Because of the distance between our home and W. Pokot I spent three days
in nights in a mud hut teaching our first converts. Having only a kerosene lantern, cook stove
and sleeping on the ground in the hut with chickens, that’s how we implemented
Matthew 28:19.
The picture below is the men who completed our training
course a couple of years later. Left to
right, Paul Gichuki who was the first pastor of the Makutano church, and 40 years
later is still the pastor. Fred Mugoya
pastored a small church in W. Poktot for a while and today is pastoring in
Uganda. Markio Lumria was our first
pastor in Turkana. Mark is in heaven
now, but his ministry in Kalemenyang lives on.
David Gagula, also from Uganda and cousin to Mugoya, pastored as well in
Kenya for many years and now leads a fellowship of pastors in Uganda and Bible
school.
They tell me that there are now over 300 churches
established in Kenya, Uganda and Sudan out of this initial effort of disciple
making. To God be the glory. Make disciples.
