Nations - Africa 2003

Kenya, Africa 2003

We flew from Seattle to Amsterdam and then from Amsterdam to Nairobi. All combined, we were “in the air” for around 17 hours. A long trip. We arrived in Nairobi on October 4th. There we met our host who escorted us to our place of lodging for the evening. Nairobi is a fascinating city, rich with culture and lots to see.

The following morning we flew from Nairobi to Kisumu which is located on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria. Upon arriving in Kisumu we made a short trip to the church where I preached my first message. It was an experience I will never forget. We were very warmly received by the congregation. Although I was exhausted from the trip, I could sense an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation.

It is one thing to think about preaching overseas and preaching in a different culture; however, it is entirely another thing to actually do it. Words fail me to describe the experience. Here you are, thousands of miles away in a different land and different culture, yet there is a common bond between you and those you are ministering to.

This is African worship music from a tape we bought in Kisumu. "Mtoni" is the group and "LULU" is the name of the recording. We are told they are very popular in Kenya.
Suffice to say, the depth and strength of your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, is going to be measured and measured quickly. Having said that, I can also say that it is a most wonderful experience to be used by the Holy Spirit to minister to people that you have never met before. People who in a way seem so different but yet, in another sense are no different at all. We all serve the same God and we all come into the family of God the same way. It is a wonderful thing to see and experience this first hand. The value of such an experience cannot be measured in human terms.

We spoke at a pastor’s conference in the Vihiga District of a city called Kakamega. The first day, there were around 50 pastors. Then, word got out that we were there, and there just so happened to be another ministerial organization holding a pastor’s conference at a location nearby. The leaders of this conference decided to cancel the following day and told everyone to come over to our conference. The following day we had around 250 pastors in attendance! There were pastors from a variety of denominations and backgrounds. We were told that one pastor happened to be a district superintendent in his denomination and that he was the overseer of 40 churches! We were beginning to understand the magnitude of what was taking place and the influence that we could have on the Body of Christ in the nation of Kenya.

We were treated with great respect everywhere we went. We were invited to come back to Kenya by everyone we met. Despite events in the recent history of Kenya, we found a very positive attitude toward us and what we were doing there.

The churches in Kenya are very open to the move of the Holy Spirit. We encountered very little resistance to the move and flow of the anointing. As one leading pastor stated to me in a private conversation “we are ready for deeper revelation of God’s word…if we don’t receive deeper revelation, then how will we advance to the next level”. This conversation has had a profound effect on my perception of missionary ministry and has proven to confirm some of my previous thoughts about how missionary ministry has been traditionally conducted overseas.

The first few days we were in Africa, we stayed at a hotel in Kisumu that had a balcony facing west over Lake Victoria. We got to see several sunsets on the lake and also got to see many large birds and hippopotamus.

The trip was described by our hosts as being very successful. The ministers attending the conference had many positive things to say and invited us to come back soon. The door is wide open for the gospel message in Kenya.