NAIROBI NAIROBI
MISSION JOURNEY MISSION JOURNEY
At the beginning of our journey, we visited a Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) preschool, Lifespring Academy. We enjoyed coloring and kicking soccer balls with the children. Ms. Lillian is their teacher and she and Elder Albert are doing a beautiful thing to provide loving care for twelve toddlers who live (as does Lillian) in the slum village next door and who wouldn’t have daily care without this preschool. The children are loved, fed porridge, and taught early learning skills. IPC Community Ministries and IPC Foundation provided funds for the porridge during recent years’ historic droughts.
We drove a few hours north of Nairobi to Karatina and Tumutumu, passing beautiful countryside. Our first stop was to visit PCEA leadership at their new Kirimara West Presbytery administration building which IPC Foundation helped to build. The presbytery contains numerous churches, and their leaders along with representatives from PCEA Karatina Church and others, were so warm and welcoming. They proudly showed us the new Administration building and fed us a delicious lunch.
Afterwards we visited with a couple hundred school children who attend the PCEA k-12 school next door. The children were eager to shake our hands, hug us, and tell us their names. Then they sang for us, and we introduced ourselves. We then drove to four different churches to visit and pray with them before heading to our guest house at Tumutumu.
We drove to Kalandi where the Presbytery is building a Home for the Aged with funds from IPC Foundation and Kirimara West Presbytery. They were gifted 3 acres of land with many different trees and plants: avocado, macadamia, eucalyptus/blue gum, and bottle brush. Reed and Gray Warburton helped plant two trees an endangered Cyprus and a common palm.
We also dedicated the cornerstone of the Home for the Aged, which is still very much under construction. During the past they had laid the foundation and had cinderblock walls/rooms. They have also graded the property next to this building and will expand. They intend to put a second floor on the first property and will eventually add a third building, which will include a chapel and pharmacy. Rev. Chris was so glad we visited and were able to see with our own eyes and experience the beautiful people and land for ourselves.
We were warmly greeted by Rev. Wilson Maina and the elders and deacons of PCEA Karatina Church. There was a lot of excitement as they prepared for the students to lead Sunday worship. The one-hour service turned into two hours of dynamic worship—music by several choirs, prayers, and announcements of the many ministry opportunities in the church and presbytery. Our group was invited to introduce ourselves, and Rev. Patrick preached from Hebrews 12:1-2, the Presbytery’s theme for the year.
After the English worship service, we were ushered back to the Vestry room to receive more prayers and prepare to process into the Kikuyu service. We were introduced and then after a few hymns and prayers, the entire congregation processed across the way to break ground for Karatina Church's new social enterprise: A five-story apartment building which will produce income to support the church's missions.
We took a tour of the PCEA Tumutumu Hospital with its many new and modern upgrades, the PCEA School for the Deaf, and PCEA High School for Girls. It was an enlightening and fulfilling afternoon spending time with the deaf children as we played soccer and volleyball, learned about medical care from hospital administrators and nursing school directors, and learned about the high school curriculum and leadership opportunities for girls.
We headed from Tumutumu toward Masai Mara, stopping at an elementary school in a remote area. The school has seemingly been forgotten by the government. There’s no electricity or running water, and the 100 children learn in classrooms that are old, dark shipping crates. One of our drivers who is from the area vowed to return to make a difference.
We passed over the Equator a couple times before stopping to make photos. We also stopped at Thompson Falls before arriving at our safari lodge. Along the way back to Karen, Kenya, where our guest house near Nairobi is, we enjoyed driving up Maimahiu Mountain and stopped at the top to view The Great Rift Valley.
We followed the advice of IPC member Pat Forman and visited the nearby Kazuri Bead Factory. It’s a wonderful social enterprise dedicated since 1975 to be a beacon of hope for single mothers and to create employment opportunities.
In the afternoon we visited a special school, The Green Garden School. Created in 1970, the school is a place of academic learning and Christian faith development.
