April 2019 – Kitale Kenya SDA Mission

Journey to Kenya 3

Mid-January for much of the United States typically means cold temperatures and snow. My buddy, Coco, and I were a few hours past the halfway point on our 2-day trek from Kansas to the East Coast. I had driven 12 of the total 20 hours and was getting VERY sleepy. I saw a cluster of lights at the next exit. I pulled off I-70 a little bit north of Dayton, Ohio, and found a vacant parking lot. I decided to leave the truck idling because of the cold. I leaned the seat back and fell blissfully asleep. I awoke to a wet doggie tongue on my face. Then I noticed the absolute quiet and the numbing cold. The truck had run out of fuel in one of the 2 tanks. I flipped the switch to change to the second tank, which was full, and tried to start the truck. It wouldn’t start!

Little Samuel Sees White

Our village was looking forward to the arrival of Sister Karen from America last October! None of us knew what to expect: Was she old or young, was she easy to know and most of all, would Jesus come with her? I can say with assurance that Jesus came with her! All who met Sister Karen soon fell in love with her. The children loved hearing her stories and they seemed to want to be with her wherever she went.

My 4-yr-old son, Samuel, first saw Sister Karen as she walked to the pulpit that first Sabbath. He could hardly keep his eyes from her and moved to the front of the church seating. After her sermon, Samuel got the chance to shake her hand. I noticed his excitement but I couldn’t quite figure out why he seemed so animated whenever he looked at her.

Journey to Kenya 2

In November of 2016, I got a friend request on one of my social media accounts. I get numerous requests every week from people I don’t know. I usually ignore them for obvious reasons. This time, I clicked into the account and looked for the telltale signs of a bogus account. It appeared to be genuine. It was a gentleman from Kenya who pastors a church. We’ve occasionally exchanged greetings and light conversation ever since.

As I drove back to Kansas from the oilfields of Texas, I was thinking about Karen Zarska Styer’s trip to Kenya and I immediately thought about the need for someone to continue the her work after she came back to America. I mentioned to my Kenyan friend what Karen was doing and where she was located and we were delighted to find out that Kitale is just in the adjoining county! He invited me to come and speak in his church, if and when I made it to Kenya.

Gideon Moves From Nairobi

About a year ago, Gideon and his family lived in the hustle bustle of Nairobi, Kenya. He worked in construction while his wife was a grade school teacher. Their 3-yr old son, Samuel was often at the babysitter all day and he was beginning to talk. Those who have children know that things you don’t want your children to know or say, creep into the child’s vocabulary!

Gideon made a difficult decision: he decided to forgo the higher wages of the big city in favor of small-town values. He wants Samuel to learn about a loving God by watching his parents; he wants his boy to feel the soil in his chubby fingers as he helps his dad plant a vegetable garden, and he wants him to hear his mother’s voice as she sings in the kitchen and reads him bedtime stories.