March 11, 2013

Unengaged People Group … the Kenyan Teso

This is a neat story of some work for the Gospel made possible by God connecting a lot of different people…….I love seeing how God works.

A friend of mine, Randy, was investigating the ethnicity and language data available on the people in western Kenya, near the LSH orphanage and he noticed a people group named that Teso that existed along the Ugandan / Kenyan border, southwest of Kitale, the region where the LSH orphanage is. On the Ugandan side, they are well engaged with the gospel, have a complete Bible and many churches. The data shows that the Tesos of Kenya are only marginally engaged with the gospel. It seemed ideal that the Ugandan Teso could be helped and encouraged to evangelize their Kenyan relatives.

Questions were asked of Pastor Moses and The Lord’s Ministries (TLM) group that we work with in Kenya about this apparent opening for the Gospel and it was investigated. Pastor Moses’ associate Pastor Ben visited the border town of Malaba and he met Pastor Godfrey of the Portable Bible Center (PBC). Pastor Godfrey is a Ugandan Teso who moved across the border to Malaba and established the PBC in Malaba with a mission to train Pastors to reach the Kenyan Teso people.

We met Pastor Godfrey and several students of the PBC during our recent mission trip as we were traveling from Kenya to Uganda. There are fledgling churches among them established in the past few years of effort. They are a determined and passionate group. Pastor Ben, from Kitale, Kenya has been led to adopt the Teso as his mission. He will work to encourage and help them. I hope that we can help in some way, possibly providing digital audio media and printed tools through Pastor Ben to help the PBC reach the unreached Kenyan Teso.

“…….I established there are many people who have a zeal for the gospel. This was from the way I was received and found out from a number of Pastors around. In conclusion brother, there is a great task ahead. God bless you, Brother Ben – Kenya TESO MISSIONARY”

From Wikipedia….In Uganda, the Teso live mainly in Teso sub-region, i.e., the districts of Amuria, Soroti, Kumi, Katakwi, Ngora District, Serere District, Pallisa, Bukedea and Kaberamaido, as well as Tororo District and Busia District. They number about 3.2 million (9.6% of Uganda’s population). Until 1959, they were the second largest ethnic group in Uganda. As of 2002 they were the fifth largest.^[2]The Teso in Kenya, numbering about 279,000, live mainly in Busia District, Teso District.^[3]Teso traditions relate that they originated somewhere in what is now Ethiopia and migrated south West over a period of centuries.^[4] They were part of a larger group of Nilotic peoples who migrated from Sudan in several waves. A splinter of this group later formed a branch called the “Karamojong Cluster” or Ateker. The Ateker further split into several groups, including Jie, Turkana, Karamojong and Teso.^[5]The Teso established themselves in present-day north-eastern Uganda, and in the mid-18th century some began to move farther south. During the course of this latter migration, conflicts ensued with other ethnic groups in the region, leading to the split of Teso territory into a northern and southern part. In 1902, part of eastern Uganda was transferred to western Kenya – leading to further separation of Teso.^[4]

Please pray with us for Pastor Godfrey, Pastor Ben, and the Teso people.

Men from the Teso at the PBC

Showing the Jesus film as an example of media technology available in Ateso language.

Greg and Pastor Moses giving a message to the Teso Pastor Trainees

Posted in Prayers, Updates From Kenya
Tagged 2013, 2013 Trip, Kenyan People, mission trip, Teso, Ugandan People

March 6, 2013

Orphanology…and other thoughts

I just finished reading a book called ‘Orphanology’ by Tony Merida and Rick Morton, a biography on George Müller, Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans, and some of the many Bible references towards orphans. I enjoyed it all and was encouraged in what we do through Mission Servants at The Lord’s Servants Home. Although ‘Orphanology’ is a book slanted towards adoption as the best option for an orphan because of the connection to family, a bond with parents, and a sense of having a home, it recognizes that in many countries, adoptions are not possible. It is true that orphanages in many places are mere institutions and do not provide a sense of family, bonding with a parent, and a home. At the Lord’s Servants home, we have full-time and on-site caretakers, a family atmosphere, and priorities to care a child into an adulthood that has an education, life options, self-worth, knowledge of how to love others, and knowledge that God loves them….just like most of us were blessed with in our families. We will have 60 children at the LSH soon. I marvel that George Müller had these same goals and had 2,000 orphans while pioneering the orphanage institution in 19th century England.

Merida and Morton state that orphans live under the banner “Rejected, Unwanted, and Optional” and without someone showing them love, will grow up feeling “worthless, hopeless, and unloveable”. The world is full of evil people who will use a child that feels that way about themselves. “God has called us to be a defender of the defenseless because that is who He is. We are returning worship to God when we show His character to the world by what we do…”

James writes in 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accept as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” God takes notice because orphans are among the least powerful and most vulnerable people on earth. I read many references to there being around 150 million orphans worldwide. I realize through the Bible that there is more than that, billions in fact. Before we were “adopted” into God’s family by God’s effort and God’s plan of salvation through Grace through Jesus, we were lost, vulnerable, and hopeless. It is Jesus that put the value on us by what He paid, and made us His Family with full rights to His inheritance. It will change a person that realizes they were an orphan and was adopted. It did me!

I also feel there is great value in a “Godly Family Orphanage” for several other reasons… First, these children are part of their society and it’s future. I pray that we prepare them to be part of the solution to the problems in their society because solutions must come from within. Second, a “Mercy Ministry” like an orphanage is a hands-on way to show the love of Christ working in a tangible way and it makes the words of evangelism come alive to those watching what is happening. Lastly, each group of children is an “unreached People Group” and will remain unable to comprehend the kind of love God has for us if living a live without somebody showing them love and giving them value and hope.

Thank you for joining us in prayer, efforts, and in worshipping God by joining him in loving and defending the defenseless.

I love the ‘honesty” in a child’s face…

Posted in Prayers, Updates From Kenya
Tagged 2013, Kenyan People, Lord's Servants Home

March 1, 2013

Video from our visit to LSH in Kenya

Tony and Terri put this video together of our trip to The Lord’s Servants Home in Kitale, Kenya a few weeks ago. They did a great job with illustrating how God was working through our projects and time there. The water well and playground project completion was a huge blessing to the home as well as the whole community. Our time connecting with the kids and sharing with the churches was a blessing to us. The kids and people are so full of life as you can see….

Click here to the video on YouTube.

Posted in Updates From Kenya
Tagged 2013 Trip, Kenyan People, Lord's Servants Home, mission trip, Projects

March 1, 2013

Prayer Request: Peaceful Election in Kenya

On Monday, March 4th, Kenya will hold their general elections. During the last election, 5 years ago, controversy sparked national violence along tribal lines. Over 1,000 people were murdered during the tribe on tribe violence and over 500,000 people were driven from their homes, many farms burned, and most of them permanently displaced and forced into refugee camps. I visited Kenya roughly 1 month after this in 2008. It was tragic that one of Africa’s best and most stable countries fell apart and turned on itself, compounding the existing tragedies of HIV/AIDS, drought, famine, and poverty, among others such as poor education, high unemployment, over population, growing numbers of orphans, poor infrastructure, and insufficient health care.

I was going to include some links but I suggest you simply google: kenyan elections. You will have many choices to learn about the circumstances after the last election and the complicated issues revolving around this election.

Please join me in prayer that democracy prevails and peace is kept. Pray that the leadership in Kenya are convicted to serving her people and resolving the heartbreaking issues plaguing Kenya.

Posted in Prayers, Updates From Kenya
Tagged 2013, Elections, Kenyan People

February 19, 2013

We’re Home! Incredible Trip!!! ….Post #11

We arrived home on Saturday afternoon and share the view that we had much more than a great trip. We were blessed to be exactly where and do exactly what we were supposed to. It is hard to explain in a few words just how we know that things could never have happened like they did under our control so all I’ll add to this brief summary and few photos for now is PRAISE GOD!

We did witness God’s will in making a new well come into completed existence despite our belief that it was not possible to even start it.

We did witness God’s provision by making it possible that all the right people, organizations, equipment, supplies, skills, time, funds, weather, and timing was just right to make this large project get completed in less than 2 weeks.

We saw several other projects come to fruition to support the home and even harvested honey from the hives started last year. Terri was the right person at the right time to fill in for an absent Nursery School teacher and Dorothy who just had a baby.

We witnessed the power of Jesus’ name in seeing people …. praise Him in faith and joy while in desperate situations we couldn’t imagine before, love one another in a selfless way, dedicate themselves to spreading the Good News of Salvation, give their lives to Him and be baptised, and see a demon cast out of a young teenaged girl.

We witnessed God’s compassion by placing us in the right place to provide help with food, medicine, emergency dental service, love, and encouragement. We received His joy by being His hands and feet!!!!! God brought Dorothy’s daughter, baby Stephanie into the world while we were there.

Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement. More to come……