a Ministry of
Emp o w e r m e n t e q u i P ping c h u rc h es to transform t h eir comm u nities by HELEN OROMBI
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t the age of 9, Florence Muindi had a life-changing experience. “At school during recess, my classmate shared that she had accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, and she really wanted me to experience it, too. So she explained in a way that I understood enough to make that decision. When we went back into class after recess, I asked the teacher if I could make an announcement, because my friend had made clear that if you accept Christ you have to confess him. So I explained to them what had happened, and many people in that class actually made a decision out of that confession!” So began the native Kenyan’s lifelong passion for sharing and incarnating the love of Christ. When her father died in a tragic accident some years later, Muindi, who was just getting ready to graduate from high school, began asking God some tough, existential questions. “What was Dad’s purpose in life that you would believe he had completed it and would take him home?” led to “What is my purpose? In what particular way do you want me to bring glory to you?” As she sought God’s will for her life, Miundi began to understand that she would one day minister to the poor by bringing health to communities. College led to medical school, which led to a master’s program in public health followed by further training in systems management to learn how to respond to crises that affect large populations. While in Ethiopia with a mission agency with her husband, Muindi felt God leading them to create an organization that would give them the structure and accountability they needed to do good work among the poor. In 2000, they founded Life in Abundance International, a nonprofit that PRISM 2008
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