Make Disciples

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.

It's Near, If You Have The Money

It took just took forty minutes to fly from Kitale up to Lodwar, the district city of Turkana in northwest Kenya.  On a bus the three hundred kilometer trip is about twelve hours as the roads have deteriorated dramatically over the past several years.  Accompanying me on the trip was Rev. Paul Gickuki, a longtime friend and pastor of his church in West Pokot for thirty-five years.  Overhearing his conversation on his cell phone he was telling someone that, “If you have the money, Lodwar is close.”

Paul’s comment reminded me of the power of money; not the common thought of power to wield power, but the power money has to make life just a bit easier.  The twelve-hour bus ride costs about $15, whereas the forty-five minute flight, round-trip, is $150.  Instead of jostling in a packed bus in ninety plus heat, the flight is clean, cool and enjoyable.  Flying to Turkana is not a necessity, but it does make the trip bearable.  In my case, if it were not for the flight I could not have visited the pastors in Turkana as my schedule was tight which did not allow for two twelve hour excursions.  Having resources means that a person can do more in less time. 

Everything is close, if you have the money and if you have a lot it you can do more.  A private or chartered flight would have been even more convenient as you could schedule your day(s) based on your time rather than on the airline’s schedule.  And, if the airline had mechanical problems or delays due to weather, rather than fret about whether you would miss that one flight a day into the bush and back, having money takes the worry out of whether you will make that international flight you scheduled that night in Nairobi. 

Someone has rightly said that rich people plan for next week or next month, while the poor plan only for the next day.  If you have enough money you can chart the future.  If you don’t have the resources you live each day the best you can.

In many ways missions is a money game.  The ability to create programs, to help those in need, to generate a vision based on the resources available is not a bad thing.  Money is a power, if used properly, which can advance Kingdom work in a positive way.  The lack of resources makes missions even more difficult in an already difficult profession. 

The power of money or the lack thereof, of course, is not absolute and it can be a detriment in missions.  The notion that one cannot serve because they don’t “have enough” resources should be measured.  Do we live by faith, really, or is it based on the funds that are either in the bank or forthcoming?  If the trip to Turkana is vital are we able to suffer the bus for the greater cause, or do we scrap it because it is not convenient?  Is the motivation for service hinged on what God is leading us to do no matter what we have in the bank?  These are important and difficult questions, but significant in the life of every servant of Christ.

Indeed, Lodwar is close if you have the money, but whether by plane or bus, the greater issue is not how near we are but how far we are willing to travel to serve Him.

Amazing Story of God's Work of Salvation

In my class at the Africa Theological Seminary is a guy who lived in Agra, India for seven years.  Wayasa was a Kenyan student studying there and he told me that, though he was a Christian before he went to India, he wasn’t living anywhere close to being a follower of Christ.  It was a pastor in Agra who discipled Wayasa to a fuller walk with Christ, to the point that he came back to Kenya and is now a pastor.  Another Kenyan, Dickson, studying in Agra was not a Christian but became a follower of Jesus because of this pastor.  And you think that is an interesting story, listen to the pastor’s story.

Hemet Patel is from a Hindu family who move to the U.S. when he was 12 years old.  After high school he joined the U.S. Airforce, though not yet a citizen.  It was through the faithful witness of American Christians in the Air Force that God used to bring Patel to Himself.  Disowned by his family, who was told by his father not to listen to Christians because they were Hindus, Hemet continued his spiritual journey by himself, eventually going to Bible college after he left the armed services.  Hemet married an American, though he never applied for U.S. citizenship, and have been living in India for the past 15 years. 

The working of the Lord is truly amazing.  A Hindu becomes a Christian through the witness of American Air Force guys who in turn leads Kenyans (a country that is 80% Christian), living in India (with less than 5% Christians) to Christ.  

A great lesson for those who are Christ followers; always be the best witness where you are to allow God to bring people to an understanding of wonderful salvation that is only through His Son, Christ Jesus.

The Best Of Kenyan Music

If you like Kenyan church music you'll love this. The first church we established West Pokot the Makutano back in 1976 is still going strong.