This article appeared in last weeks Daily Nation. I think you will appreciate reading it. The papers surprised us by honoring our work. Thank-you for being a part of it in prayer and giving.
You can see the original article at http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgindex.asp . Go into archives for March 26.
Oscar Muriu.
____________________________________________________________
Halfway Point Back To Normal Life.
(The Work Of The Nairobi Chapel In Restoring People)
DAILY NATION, Living Magazine, Wednesday March 26, 2008.
Someone called my father from outside and I thought it was one of his friends who often called him to go and chew miraa with him. My father opened the door and went out to meet the man calling. I didn't give it a second thought. But he never came back.
"When I woke up in the morning, I went outside to wash my face and the first thing I saw was his badly mutilated body. It was floating in a stream next to our house. He must have been murdered and thrown into the water. I was so frightened that I literally ran all the way to the road. It did not matter to me where I was heading; I just needed to get away from what I had just seen. I ran without looking back.”
As many Kenyans try to settle down to business as usual following the very rocky start to the year, others, like 14-year-old Paul Ngatuk Erumu, are wondering where to begin to pick up the pieces. He is now an orphan - thanks to the post-election chaos in which thousands, including his father, were killed, and thousands others rendered homeless. The Standard Seven pupil's mother died several years ago in a village in Turkana while giving birth. Both she and the baby died, according to his father.
Paul was living with his father, an ODM elections agent, in a rented one room house in Isiolo town when the violence broke out. As he ran away in fear, he was lucky to get a lift to Nairobi. He arrived in the city in the evening and slept on the streets.
“I narrated my story to some strangers and a Good Samaritan gave me Sh20. The next morning moving from street to street, I found myself at the Kenya National Theatre where someone else me another Sh20 and told me to head straight to the Jamhuri Park showground. He said many fleeing Kenyans were being housed there.”
But by the time he got to Jamhuri Park following the directions he had been given, Paul found the gate closed.
"I started to cry. I didn't know what to do ' " says the soft spoken and traumatised boy.
I saw a man and asked him where I could go. After explaining to was from Turkana, he took me to some Turkana people who rejected me. I started crying again, feeling completely lost."
The man then took him to the Nairobi Chapel situated nearby and they asked him to stay with Paul for a few days while they looked for a place for him to go. "He bought me a meal and put me up for four days after which I went back to the church. From there I was brought here."
'Here' is a halfway house in Karen, Nairobi. The house is an initiative of the church; some members of the congregation have temporarily opened up their homes to accommodate Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). These halfway houses have proved to be a saving grace for those who have no homes to go back to or are still too frightened to even consider going back. Paul is one of many who were caught up in the violence and are unsure of how to start again. But for now, he and others like him are safe.
The halfway house has also been home to 55-year-old Naomi Wanjiku, who fled from her home in Burnt Forest after a celebration jig following President Kibaki's disputed election win.
"Immediately after the elections results were announced, we (women from my area) all came together to sing and dance in celebration. Within minutes, our neighbours from different communities started throwing stones at us. Even before we could recover from this shock, houses were being torched. They burnt our maize farms, which were ready for harvest. I remember going to check why my sheep and goats were bleating only to find them roasting alive. I couldn't do anything to save them."
That night, Naomi says, nobody slept. Having lived through the 1992 violent clashes, she took her title deed and tucked it deep into her pockets.
"In the morning, people started to flee with whatever they could carry," she says. "By this time, arrows were flying all over the place. This was very scary. More houses were being torched and I fled at seven in the morning with only the title deed and my life."
Naomi is thankful to God for coming out alive, but says she can never go back. "It is hard to forget the things that have happened. No matter how much the Government insists on reconciling communities, it is hard. I lost literally everything in 1992. I rebuilt and resettled; now here I am, back at square one! Where is my future and that of my children? My grandchildren? Will the Government guarantee my family a future?"
Naomi's family was divided as people fled in different directions. At the halfway house in Karen, she has only her two young grandchildren. Her four children are living with relatives in Kinangop and Githunguri. Although she left 4.5 acres of land in Burnt Forest, she has no plans of going back. She is thinking of settling in Limuru and hopefully set up a business there.
Mercy Wanjiku, a 31-year-old mother of three, fled from Cherangany in Kitale. She weeps as she recalls how 27 women were whipped and taken away to Kaboret forest in Cherangany where they were raped. She says she lost her two-acre maize plantation. With her is 25-year-old Anne Wangui, a mother of four. She was a resident of Chepcion in Molo when the violence erupted. She believes her husband is still trapped somewhere in Molo even though she hasn't heard form him since she ran with the children. Maria Njeri fled from Elementaita leaving everything behind apart from her four children. "Everything was razed to the ground. The only clothes I had were the ones I was wearing" she says.
At the halfway house are about 40 people. Twenty-four year-old Moffat Njau is the caretaker. He worked as a chef before the violence broke out and when businesses in Nairobi and its environs came to a standstill, he decided to volunteer to help in the halfway houses programme. He was introduced to Njenga Muigai, the owner of the halfway house in Karen. Njenga is one of those who have given their houses to be used to accommodate IDPs. Njau was charged with ensuring the smooth running and administration of the halfway house.
Njau says nothing gives him greater satisfaction than to see people come to the halfway house in a very needy condition and be transformed through care and counselling, until they are ready to face life again. Indeed, about a week or two after they come in many of the IDPs are ready to leave.
"Some are transported to their up-country homes if they feel that the structures are still in place for them to resettle. But in most instances, they choose not to go back. " says Njau.
Situated about five kilometres away is the Jordana House, a bungalow that used to be a guesthouse before the post-election mayhem. Alyta Githire, the proprietor, attended a service at the Nairobi Chapel on the invitation of a friend. Little did she know that this visit would change the nature of her business for several months. She had been watching news clips on television about how much IDPs were suffering in the camps.
"I always wondered how all these people coped up with living out in the open. How did they cook, eat, shower, dress or undress with all those people around them?" Alyta says. During the sermon, the pastor leading the service made an appeal to the congregation and Alyta raised her hand and volunteered her guesthouse to be opened up to the displaced. From then on, displaced people and their families started streaming in. In the first week of February, Alyta received the first bunch of 30 people. And it has been like this ever since - after each group has been resettled, another one comes in and the numbers have not gone below 30.
Alyta, who reveals that she was previously a very private person, says the whole experience of opening up and having her private space invaded has taught her some lessons in humility.
"I feel humbled. I used to complain a lot about small things, but now I do not. I have learnt to appreciate what I have, including people from backgrounds different from mine.” She has grown spiritually, too. "I thought I was close to God before, but now I know differently. Now He is right here with me' "
The halfway housing project is funded and supported by Nairobi Chapel, some partnering organisations, various companies and individual well-wishers. "The church has played a big role; individual members of the congregation have also been very helpful donating foodstuffs, clothes and toiletries;' Alyta says.
In both halfway houses, there are rules and regulations to abide by. A very strict timetable must be followed, especially when it comes to meal times. Njau explains that the experience of cooking for large numbers has taught him how to budget for large numbers of people. He has also learned how to handle people with sensitivity.
The healing process
He says, "When they first come here, most of the IDPs are very quiet and distressed. They keep a lot to themselves and we allow them to do so because it is part of healing. But at some point, they open up. That is when we listen carefully, wipe their tears and comfort them. I walk with them through all this until the point when they sober up and actually start to visualise themselves starting a new life altogether," Njau says, adding that many of their visitors came from Kirathimo, Tigoni and Cherangany camps.
"It is at that point that they start living again and we sit down together and discuss plans for their lives.”
Leornidah Ambiyo, 30, is one person who has benefited from this humble rehabilitation project. She fled from the Kibera slums at the peak of the violence. She was with her 11-year-old son and they camped with other fear stricken families at the Jamhuri Park showground.
“A month and three days later, church people came to see us. Some young women interviewed us on how we could get back on our feet. I had nowhere to go; our rural - home is very poor and going back there without any form of direction would only have caused problems to my family," explains the single mother, who originally comes from Kakamega.
After the interview, Ambiyo was taken to Njenga's house and after 10 days, the programme administrators had rented her a house for three months at Riruta Satellite and taken her son, who is now in Standard Five, back to school. Ambiyo cannot see herself going back to Kibera where she worked as a cleaner during the day and sold vegetables at night. She still returns to the halfway house to help with the cleaning and other chores. She has this to say to her fellow Kenyans: "We must love each other like members of a family with different characteristics and interests. We must be one thing."
Milicent Mwololo
Turning A House Into A Home
According to Pastor Anne Mburu, the team leader of the halfway houses project overseeing resettlements, the houses have acted as a transit camp where IDPs come in to experience the warmth of a home as they await resettlement. Anne says in while these people live in the halfway houses, the administrators on the ground work hand in hand with Red Cross personnel to gauge ways in which they can be helped.
"In most cases, these people do not wish to go back to their homes, especially after what they saw. These are people who saw death and killings with their own eyes and talking about going back home might even offend some of them. In cases where they refuse to go back, we rent a house and pay three months’ rent in advance for them. We also take the children to boarding school and help the parents start a business” Anne explains.
There are a few who have opted to go back to their homes and the halfway house team has been the success of this programme. "Those we have helped have been able to -pick up the pieces and get on with life,” Anne says.
When there were still very many people living in the camps, it was common for children to come to the halfway houses very sickly because of exposure to the cold "but after they absorbed the warmth of the houses, they would get better. I have seen some very sickly children get better within two days of coming in"
Anne says the half way house project was originally supposed to last until the end of March but since there are still very many destabilised families, it is likely to take a little longer to wind up. “But it need support form Kenyans, especially when it comes to sponsoring as many children as possible to go back to school.”
She explains that due to the instability of the families, there is little choice other than to send the children to boarding school so their parents can have space to restructure their lives. "Part of this is done through getting them actively involved in the running of the houses through a duty roster for cleaning and cooking."
The houses have also hired caretakers, matrons and chefs - all aimed at making the IDPs feel comfortable. Volunteer youths teach children the basics of reading and writing. At the Jordana House, for instance, a makeshift school has been set-up and a Form Four graduate is volunteering as a teacher. Children under her care are learning the basics of the alphabet. They also sing songs and engage in sports as a way of occupying them and reducing the opportunity to relive the horrors they have seen. Prayer and Bible Study are also part of life in the halfway houses, which have succeeded in painting a picture of love amid chaos, warmth amid coldness of heart and a process of transition from displaced families to surviving families.
Oscar Muriu
P. O. Box 53635
Nairobi
Kenya
Tel (254)723-261-944
Monday, March 31, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Reflections on the Msafara by Oscar and Muriithi
Msafara is Over
Time will judge just how effective the Msafara was in impacting Kenya’s destiny. And of-course reports will be written and audits done. However, off the top of my head and from my limited perspective several results of the Msafara seem evident…
300 Kenyans had a chance to visit and interact with the situation on the ground firsthand. They were able to see the extent of the country’s devastation for themselves. They learnt to care for the displaced. They were forced to deal with their own prejudices and to relate closely to people of other tribes. Each of these belong to a faith community and will return to it with a message of unity and hope. Especially powerful because many who came are the church leaders.
There was heartfelt reconciliation and a resulting unity among church leaders in the various towns we visited. Many leaders confessed that by taking sides in the political events, they had reduced their ability to care for all the communities they were responsible for. By repenting of this short-sightedness and committing to work with leaders of other tribes, they now model the way for the churches they lead to maintain peace in their areas and to care for those affected by the violence. And for church leaders to conduct themselves differently come the next election. There is great power for good when the church is united. An example - we were informed after Msafara left Naivasha, of an initiative by church pastors to ensure that the communities evicted from their town could return safely.
Many churches are caring for displaced people who are housed by their members. Because these people don’t live in the camps, they are ‘under the radar’ so to speak, and little support is going to the needy families caring for them. By delivering 65 tons of food and 5 lorries of humanitarian supplies to the pastor’s fellowships in the various towns, Msafara opened up new distribution channels that take care of, and support many of the most needy. The Red Cross has done a great job, but they can only do so much. We hope these channels will continue to be used by different agencies that are looking for alternative relief distribution channels
The hardest to quantify may be the most significant. In each town, united church leaders were able to engage in Spiritual Warfare prayer together over their communities. The bible teaches us that God answers prayers that are prayed in humility, unity and repentance. In 2Chronicles, God promises ‘If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, if they seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land’. I can’t wait to see the healing and turning around of our nation that will happen as God begins to answer the prayers that we prayed together!
What next after Msafara?
The initiative is ended, but the need is not. We were faithful to do that which the Lord called us to do – pray over 5 main cities in Kenya . . . and we therefore believe God will do a miraculous work as a result of our simple obedience.
Going around the country however, and meeting the IDP’s was heart-rendering! The need, the destitution, the hopelessness, their sense of despair, the children . . . it has reignited a desire to continue engaging in their plight, and work at ensuring their cause is not forgotten. We intend to close the Msafara office within a month, but to keep mobilizing food and medicines for the displaced. We can only do so much, but we must do what we can. We will therefore channel any new funds that come in towards the humanitarian work. At present, just as a single church, we have over 100 displaced children now in school under our care, and about 150 families under our support as we try and stabilize and ‘re-start’ their lives by giving them the psychological and financial support needed to get back on their feet.
Please pray with us.
Pastor Muriithi Wanjau/Oscar Muriu
Time will judge just how effective the Msafara was in impacting Kenya’s destiny. And of-course reports will be written and audits done. However, off the top of my head and from my limited perspective several results of the Msafara seem evident…
300 Kenyans had a chance to visit and interact with the situation on the ground firsthand. They were able to see the extent of the country’s devastation for themselves. They learnt to care for the displaced. They were forced to deal with their own prejudices and to relate closely to people of other tribes. Each of these belong to a faith community and will return to it with a message of unity and hope. Especially powerful because many who came are the church leaders.
There was heartfelt reconciliation and a resulting unity among church leaders in the various towns we visited. Many leaders confessed that by taking sides in the political events, they had reduced their ability to care for all the communities they were responsible for. By repenting of this short-sightedness and committing to work with leaders of other tribes, they now model the way for the churches they lead to maintain peace in their areas and to care for those affected by the violence. And for church leaders to conduct themselves differently come the next election. There is great power for good when the church is united. An example - we were informed after Msafara left Naivasha, of an initiative by church pastors to ensure that the communities evicted from their town could return safely.
Many churches are caring for displaced people who are housed by their members. Because these people don’t live in the camps, they are ‘under the radar’ so to speak, and little support is going to the needy families caring for them. By delivering 65 tons of food and 5 lorries of humanitarian supplies to the pastor’s fellowships in the various towns, Msafara opened up new distribution channels that take care of, and support many of the most needy. The Red Cross has done a great job, but they can only do so much. We hope these channels will continue to be used by different agencies that are looking for alternative relief distribution channels
The hardest to quantify may be the most significant. In each town, united church leaders were able to engage in Spiritual Warfare prayer together over their communities. The bible teaches us that God answers prayers that are prayed in humility, unity and repentance. In 2Chronicles, God promises ‘If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, if they seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land’. I can’t wait to see the healing and turning around of our nation that will happen as God begins to answer the prayers that we prayed together!
What next after Msafara?
The initiative is ended, but the need is not. We were faithful to do that which the Lord called us to do – pray over 5 main cities in Kenya . . . and we therefore believe God will do a miraculous work as a result of our simple obedience.
Going around the country however, and meeting the IDP’s was heart-rendering! The need, the destitution, the hopelessness, their sense of despair, the children . . . it has reignited a desire to continue engaging in their plight, and work at ensuring their cause is not forgotten. We intend to close the Msafara office within a month, but to keep mobilizing food and medicines for the displaced. We can only do so much, but we must do what we can. We will therefore channel any new funds that come in towards the humanitarian work. At present, just as a single church, we have over 100 displaced children now in school under our care, and about 150 families under our support as we try and stabilize and ‘re-start’ their lives by giving them the psychological and financial support needed to get back on their feet.
Please pray with us.
Pastor Muriithi Wanjau/Oscar Muriu
Monday, March 17, 2008
Here is what Nairobi Chapel is doing to help
Pastor of church in which 30 died honoured for courage
Story by MICHAEL MUGWANG’A and DENNIS ODUNGA Publication Date: 3/17/2008
A pastor of a church in which over 30 children were burnt to death at the height of the post-election violence was Sunday honoured by a Nairobi church for his courage and sacrifice.
Pastor Janet Mutinda of the Nairobi Chapel announced the decision to honour Pastor Stephen Mburu of the Eldoret-based Kenya Assemblies of God church that was torched on New Year’s Day with 35 people inside.
Pastor Mburu also received a Sh400,000 cash token to help him “pick up the pieces of his life”.
According to Ms Mutinda, the cash will help Mr Mburu build himself a house as efforts to rebuild the church continue.
The Nairobi Chapel also plans to have Mr Mburu fitted with dentures at a South African hospital. He lost eight teeth when he was attacked as he tried to rescue the children from the burning church.
The screams
In a moving testimony at Nairobi Chapel Sunday, Mr Mburu recounted how the screams of children moved him to try and save them. He vividly recalled how he had to watch as a female child burnt to death because he could not reach her in time. “I saw the children crying as the fire engulfed the church, and as much as my life was in great danger, I could not run away,” the pastor said. He managed to pull out five children alive, he told the congregation.
Meanwhile, displaced children from Sugoi Children’s Home in Eldoret are not willing to return to the home even though normalcy has returned to the town. They instead want Eldoret Presbytery, which manages the home, to find an alternative location. The children spoke to the Nation Sunday at PCEA Ayub Kinyua parish where they were relocated. “We are still afraid of the place given that we would stay next to people who showed us no mercy as orphans and former street children,” said John Kamau a Form Two student at the home. Rev Geoffrey Mwihandi, the moderator of the Eldoret presbytery, said that 130 children were relocated after their farm and houses were destroyed.
Please visit this site:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?premiumid=0&category_id=1&newsid=119211
Oscar Muriu
P. O. Box 53635
Nairobi
Kenya
Tel (254)723-261-944
Chester E. Wood
9441 Haddington Dr. W.
Indianapolis, IN 46256
Phones:
Home: 317 595 9850
Story by MICHAEL MUGWANG’A and DENNIS ODUNGA Publication Date: 3/17/2008
A pastor of a church in which over 30 children were burnt to death at the height of the post-election violence was Sunday honoured by a Nairobi church for his courage and sacrifice.
Pastor Janet Mutinda of the Nairobi Chapel announced the decision to honour Pastor Stephen Mburu of the Eldoret-based Kenya Assemblies of God church that was torched on New Year’s Day with 35 people inside.
Pastor Mburu also received a Sh400,000 cash token to help him “pick up the pieces of his life”.
According to Ms Mutinda, the cash will help Mr Mburu build himself a house as efforts to rebuild the church continue.
The Nairobi Chapel also plans to have Mr Mburu fitted with dentures at a South African hospital. He lost eight teeth when he was attacked as he tried to rescue the children from the burning church.
The screams
In a moving testimony at Nairobi Chapel Sunday, Mr Mburu recounted how the screams of children moved him to try and save them. He vividly recalled how he had to watch as a female child burnt to death because he could not reach her in time. “I saw the children crying as the fire engulfed the church, and as much as my life was in great danger, I could not run away,” the pastor said. He managed to pull out five children alive, he told the congregation.
Meanwhile, displaced children from Sugoi Children’s Home in Eldoret are not willing to return to the home even though normalcy has returned to the town. They instead want Eldoret Presbytery, which manages the home, to find an alternative location. The children spoke to the Nation Sunday at PCEA Ayub Kinyua parish where they were relocated. “We are still afraid of the place given that we would stay next to people who showed us no mercy as orphans and former street children,” said John Kamau a Form Two student at the home. Rev Geoffrey Mwihandi, the moderator of the Eldoret presbytery, said that 130 children were relocated after their farm and houses were destroyed.
Please visit this site:
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?premiumid=0&category_id=1&newsid=119211
Oscar Muriu
P. O. Box 53635
Nairobi
Kenya
Tel (254)723-261-944
Chester E. Wood
9441 Haddington Dr. W.
Indianapolis, IN 46256
Phones:
Home: 317 595 9850
Photos from Oscar Muriu and the "Cleansing Service"
Dear Praying Friend,
Where it says “here” click and a window of photos should open if you are connected to the internet. Click the arrow to see all of the photos. The photos are from the cleansing service in Nairobi. It's titled 'Day 2 Msafara - Prayer Service in Nairobi' and you can view it here.
Chester and Dolores
Where it says “here” click and a window of photos should open if you are connected to the internet. Click the arrow to see all of the photos. The photos are from the cleansing service in Nairobi. It's titled 'Day 2 Msafara - Prayer Service in Nairobi' and you can view it here.
Chester and Dolores
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
NEGST Team Meeting features Dr. Chet Wood
Dear NEGST team,
We were blessed to be able to hear Chet Wood continue his conversation on Jesus and Justice. He used the "Sermon on the Mount" Matthew 5:1-16 to illustrate their condition and their character and how the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven brings the blessing on the righteous. He also illustrated how the arrival of the kingdom of heaven calls for a new righteousness set in the contrast to the prevailing understanding of the righteousness Matthew 5:17-7:12. He made all of this relevant in the context of the Kenyans who are struggling with ethnic differences which have been influenced by migration patters, and unequal distribution of capital-land.
Being the optimist that I am, it seems that there is hope that the work Oscar and his team is doing to provide reconciliation, spiritual healing, and providing for the basic needs of the displaced are bringing righteousness and healing to the Kenyan people. It is hopeful that this current ethnic tension can be replaced with an attitude of cooperation as the leaders set aside their tribal differences and work together to resolve this current crisis.
The time went very fast, but is was very refreshing to hear Chet expound on Jesus and Justice and how it relates to the current situation there and was very helpful in preparing us to ask the right questions to better understand their culture, and their view of Christianity in the context of African realities.
We spend some time presenting the team covenant which we will forward to each of you next week. This will be explored in more detail at our next team meeting which will be held at the North Fork Mountain Inn, in Cabins, WV. This will be held the weekend of June 22nd. I would encourage you to see if you can take a vacation day on Friday, and perhaps travel as a group, leaving Indianapolis around noon and arriving at the Inn by 8:30 that evening. As I mentioned before, you stay at the Inn is our gift to you our team members and we look forward to team building exercises as part of this weekend retreat. We would invite you to attend our Mennonite Church before returning home to Indianapolis around noon on Sunday. Please RSVP your attendance within the next week so we can block off the rooms for your stay. You are welcome to include your spouse even if they are not planning to go to Kenya with the team.
We are also open to adding new team members, so if you know of any others that may be interested in joining us, please let Phil or I know. We would be glad to interview them and even include them on this weekend retreat. I would also like to extend a special invitation for Jeff Unruh and Barry Rodriguez to consider joining our team and participating with us as we plan to return to NEGST and Kenya in January 2009.
I plan to attend Grace on Sunday and will be helping with the prayer services being held in the choir room and would invite any of you attending Grace to join us.
Ed Fischer
Qwest Communications
Global Account Manager
Government and Education Solutions
410-694-4745 Office
410-299-1947 Cellular
edwin.fischer@qwest.com
March 12
Identify With Your Target
Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Proverbs 16:24
There’s a saying that goes something like this, don’t judge another man until you have walked in his moccasins. We must learn to identify with a person, before we try to speak to him about needs in his life.
About a month before turkey season was to open in Pennsylvania, I started noticing billboards along the road. Each bore a picture of a turkey and said, “Identify your target before you shoot.”
Often we judge people, or say things to them without knowing all the details of a situation. Our words, like arrows, go down into the innermost parts, wounding the victims, even possibly killing them spiritually.
Several years ago our Eastern Youth Fellowship Meeting’s theme was “Don’t Shoot the Wounded.” How sad it is when there are people who have been already wounded by hardship, personal failure, or loss, yet Christians come along and throw additional barbs at them, driving the wounds deeper and deeper until they become so painful that the victim succumbs. If we learn to identify with the hurting or wounded, we will be more careful about what we say. We won’t be guilty of shooting the wounded.
I asked an elderly lady why she had so many friends. She replied, “I taste my words before I let them pass through my lips.” Let our speech be seasoned with the salt that preserves others, and not with the poison that wounds them.
Joe Miller, Belleville, PA
~The kindly word that falls today may bear its fruit tomorrow.~
We were blessed to be able to hear Chet Wood continue his conversation on Jesus and Justice. He used the "Sermon on the Mount" Matthew 5:1-16 to illustrate their condition and their character and how the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven brings the blessing on the righteous. He also illustrated how the arrival of the kingdom of heaven calls for a new righteousness set in the contrast to the prevailing understanding of the righteousness Matthew 5:17-7:12. He made all of this relevant in the context of the Kenyans who are struggling with ethnic differences which have been influenced by migration patters, and unequal distribution of capital-land.
Being the optimist that I am, it seems that there is hope that the work Oscar and his team is doing to provide reconciliation, spiritual healing, and providing for the basic needs of the displaced are bringing righteousness and healing to the Kenyan people. It is hopeful that this current ethnic tension can be replaced with an attitude of cooperation as the leaders set aside their tribal differences and work together to resolve this current crisis.
The time went very fast, but is was very refreshing to hear Chet expound on Jesus and Justice and how it relates to the current situation there and was very helpful in preparing us to ask the right questions to better understand their culture, and their view of Christianity in the context of African realities.
We spend some time presenting the team covenant which we will forward to each of you next week. This will be explored in more detail at our next team meeting which will be held at the North Fork Mountain Inn, in Cabins, WV. This will be held the weekend of June 22nd. I would encourage you to see if you can take a vacation day on Friday, and perhaps travel as a group, leaving Indianapolis around noon and arriving at the Inn by 8:30 that evening. As I mentioned before, you stay at the Inn is our gift to you our team members and we look forward to team building exercises as part of this weekend retreat. We would invite you to attend our Mennonite Church before returning home to Indianapolis around noon on Sunday. Please RSVP your attendance within the next week so we can block off the rooms for your stay. You are welcome to include your spouse even if they are not planning to go to Kenya with the team.
We are also open to adding new team members, so if you know of any others that may be interested in joining us, please let Phil or I know. We would be glad to interview them and even include them on this weekend retreat. I would also like to extend a special invitation for Jeff Unruh and Barry Rodriguez to consider joining our team and participating with us as we plan to return to NEGST and Kenya in January 2009.
I plan to attend Grace on Sunday and will be helping with the prayer services being held in the choir room and would invite any of you attending Grace to join us.
Ed Fischer
Qwest Communications
Global Account Manager
Government and Education Solutions
410-694-4745 Office
410-299-1947 Cellular
edwin.fischer@qwest.com
March 12
Identify With Your Target
Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Proverbs 16:24
There’s a saying that goes something like this, don’t judge another man until you have walked in his moccasins. We must learn to identify with a person, before we try to speak to him about needs in his life.
About a month before turkey season was to open in Pennsylvania, I started noticing billboards along the road. Each bore a picture of a turkey and said, “Identify your target before you shoot.”
Often we judge people, or say things to them without knowing all the details of a situation. Our words, like arrows, go down into the innermost parts, wounding the victims, even possibly killing them spiritually.
Several years ago our Eastern Youth Fellowship Meeting’s theme was “Don’t Shoot the Wounded.” How sad it is when there are people who have been already wounded by hardship, personal failure, or loss, yet Christians come along and throw additional barbs at them, driving the wounds deeper and deeper until they become so painful that the victim succumbs. If we learn to identify with the hurting or wounded, we will be more careful about what we say. We won’t be guilty of shooting the wounded.
I asked an elderly lady why she had so many friends. She replied, “I taste my words before I let them pass through my lips.” Let our speech be seasoned with the salt that preserves others, and not with the poison that wounds them.
Joe Miller, Belleville, PA
~The kindly word that falls today may bear its fruit tomorrow.~
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Update from Oscar Muriu
Hi all,
We are just getting ready to begin the Msafara this Friday. We have done all that we can . . . and the time has come. To prepare for the Spiritual warfare, we have engaged a strategy of 4 levels of prayer
1. A team of 5 National Intercessors who will go ahead of us and pray over our ministry, the places we shall be in, and the strongholds in each of these towns (Mombasa is notorious for witchcraft and demonization. Eldoret houses the First Masonic Temple ever built in Kenya/E. Africa). This team intercedes on behalf of this nation full-time. They will spend several days of prayer in each place.
2. A larger team of 100 Church intercessors – mainly lay people trained in the ministry of intercession. They will be involved I city prayer walks, going to specific points of the city blood was shed. Going to temples or witchcraft centers, etc. They will spend one day prayer on this – before the cleansing ceremony.
3. The Pastors and National Leaders (about 300) praying at the cleansing ceremonies. Because these will also spend time reconciling and seeking healing for their division – they will only ‘cleanse’ at the service itself. But their work together will be an important united ‘stand’ by the leaders.
4. Churches around the country who will not be on the Msafara with us, but will be praying ‘back home’ full-time. For example many at the chapel have covenanted to cover me (their pastor) in prayer.
Last Friday we had about 30 Kesha points around the country (& Dar-es-Saalam), and we are now in a week of fasting. Yesterday we were also on TV/Radio to launch off the Msafara (alerting the nation).
To date we have : -
The Kenya Assemblies of God church registered – their Bishop will accompany us the whole way. He personally gave a lorry of food for Mombasa, all the bottled water we will need, and a lorry for transport. He has also worked out a favorable deal on the 6 busses that will transport people. His church has also been instrumental in mobilizing intercessors. KAG has about 3,500 churches nationwide.
The PCEA church – the Moderator is very keen about this. He too will go all the way with us, and has mobilized his intercessors to pray. PCEA probably has 1,000 churches nation-wide.
Several Bishops in the Deliverance Church will travel with us, and have mobilized their pastors.
The Archbishop of the Anglican (Episcopal) church has given his blessings and called his church to join in – so one of his Bishops will be one of our public speaker.
Many other smaller churches are also on board. Over 100 pastors have registered so far for the Msafara – so were right on target. The cost per person is just over 200$ each, but many, many expressed dismay in finding that sort of money (it is a lot in our context – but with having to move 300 people from town to town, feed and house them, it’s not a lot). Anyway, we took a step of faith and reduced the subscription to 70$, and are praying God will furnish us with the balance.
UNICEF gave us 10,000 hygiene packs to give the displaced (cost them about 140,000$). We have also set a goal to deliver at least 1 lorry of food (about 15 – 13 tonnes) to each town (costs about 5,000$ per lorry of food). 2 organizations (Diguna & KAG) have given us the empty lorries to transport with free, and another the fuel needed. The idea is that this food will be given over to the Pastors Fellowships in each town to distribute among the needy IDP’s among them. There are as many IDP struggling to survive outside the camp (under the care of the churches) as there are within the camps (under the care of the Red Cross – the Red Cross is very well supplied with provisions).
We are very, very encouraged, especially with all the good-will and support we have received; and believe this will have a huge impact on the nation.
For today’s updates, pls visit www.msafara.wordpress.com.
This weekend we will have a very special guest in our service – a pastor whose church was burnt down (& 35 people died). He rescued 5 children, dragging them out of the fire; but the arsonists caught him, beat him up knocking out 8 of his teeth, & left him for dead. He survived. We want to honor him as a Kenyan Hero, and will be giving him a gift to restart his life and church. A dentist in our church has offered to replace all 8 as a gift to the Lord.
Read his story on http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=118020
Oscar Muriu
P. O. Box 53635
Nairobi
Kenya
Tel (254)723-261-944
We are just getting ready to begin the Msafara this Friday. We have done all that we can . . . and the time has come. To prepare for the Spiritual warfare, we have engaged a strategy of 4 levels of prayer
1. A team of 5 National Intercessors who will go ahead of us and pray over our ministry, the places we shall be in, and the strongholds in each of these towns (Mombasa is notorious for witchcraft and demonization. Eldoret houses the First Masonic Temple ever built in Kenya/E. Africa). This team intercedes on behalf of this nation full-time. They will spend several days of prayer in each place.
2. A larger team of 100 Church intercessors – mainly lay people trained in the ministry of intercession. They will be involved I city prayer walks, going to specific points of the city blood was shed. Going to temples or witchcraft centers, etc. They will spend one day prayer on this – before the cleansing ceremony.
3. The Pastors and National Leaders (about 300) praying at the cleansing ceremonies. Because these will also spend time reconciling and seeking healing for their division – they will only ‘cleanse’ at the service itself. But their work together will be an important united ‘stand’ by the leaders.
4. Churches around the country who will not be on the Msafara with us, but will be praying ‘back home’ full-time. For example many at the chapel have covenanted to cover me (their pastor) in prayer.
Last Friday we had about 30 Kesha points around the country (& Dar-es-Saalam), and we are now in a week of fasting. Yesterday we were also on TV/Radio to launch off the Msafara (alerting the nation).
To date we have : -
The Kenya Assemblies of God church registered – their Bishop will accompany us the whole way. He personally gave a lorry of food for Mombasa, all the bottled water we will need, and a lorry for transport. He has also worked out a favorable deal on the 6 busses that will transport people. His church has also been instrumental in mobilizing intercessors. KAG has about 3,500 churches nationwide.
The PCEA church – the Moderator is very keen about this. He too will go all the way with us, and has mobilized his intercessors to pray. PCEA probably has 1,000 churches nation-wide.
Several Bishops in the Deliverance Church will travel with us, and have mobilized their pastors.
The Archbishop of the Anglican (Episcopal) church has given his blessings and called his church to join in – so one of his Bishops will be one of our public speaker.
Many other smaller churches are also on board. Over 100 pastors have registered so far for the Msafara – so were right on target. The cost per person is just over 200$ each, but many, many expressed dismay in finding that sort of money (it is a lot in our context – but with having to move 300 people from town to town, feed and house them, it’s not a lot). Anyway, we took a step of faith and reduced the subscription to 70$, and are praying God will furnish us with the balance.
UNICEF gave us 10,000 hygiene packs to give the displaced (cost them about 140,000$). We have also set a goal to deliver at least 1 lorry of food (about 15 – 13 tonnes) to each town (costs about 5,000$ per lorry of food). 2 organizations (Diguna & KAG) have given us the empty lorries to transport with free, and another the fuel needed. The idea is that this food will be given over to the Pastors Fellowships in each town to distribute among the needy IDP’s among them. There are as many IDP struggling to survive outside the camp (under the care of the churches) as there are within the camps (under the care of the Red Cross – the Red Cross is very well supplied with provisions).
We are very, very encouraged, especially with all the good-will and support we have received; and believe this will have a huge impact on the nation.
For today’s updates, pls visit www.msafara.wordpress.com.
This weekend we will have a very special guest in our service – a pastor whose church was burnt down (& 35 people died). He rescued 5 children, dragging them out of the fire; but the arsonists caught him, beat him up knocking out 8 of his teeth, & left him for dead. He survived. We want to honor him as a Kenyan Hero, and will be giving him a gift to restart his life and church. A dentist in our church has offered to replace all 8 as a gift to the Lord.
Read his story on http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=118020
Oscar Muriu
P. O. Box 53635
Nairobi
Kenya
Tel (254)723-261-944
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Chet and Dolores Wood's Prayer Letter 3-4-08
NAIROBI EVANGELICAL GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
"A School in the Heart of Africa with Africa on Its Heart"
9441 Haddington Drive West, Indianapolis, IN 46256
Tel.: 317-595-9850 Email: Chester.wood@att.net, Dolores.wood@att.net
Dear Friend, March, 2008
ELISABETH AND WAYNE MARRIED NOVEMBER 3rd 2007
Since writing last, the big event in the Wood family has been the marriage of our oldest daughter, Elisabeth, to Wayne Bloomquist on a beautiful autumn Saturday. Elisabeth finished her three years of work with Samaritan’s Purse in northern Uganda (Lira) where she organized, trained and led teams of Africans to do HIV/AID’s education and care for those dying with AIDS in camps for displaced persons. After returning home in September 2007, she had only a few weeks to organize the wedding. Wayne and his first wife, Kathy, who passed away a number of years ago, had been our friends for many years. Wayne has recently sold his insurance business so that he and Elisabeth can think about some sort of ministry opportunity overseas. Elisabeth Bloomquist’ new address is 952 North Ritter Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46219 and her phone is (317) 840-5420. We thank God for this next step in His will for Elisabeth and Wayne. As you might imagine it is wonderful for us to be home just now and enjoy family gatherings with married daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren and Chester’s Dad. Sadly, Chester’s mom is not able to be with us and continues to be in a care facility. We thank the Lord for the privilege of being home for this year.
SABBATICAL, HOME LEAVE, FURLOUGH
Perhaps depending on your age you will recognize one of the above terms: sabbatical, home leave, furlough. In the old days, missionaries took furloughs every four years. In the modern world with jet transportation, missionaries follow different patterns and take home leaves. Because of the need to finis h the first part of a major writing project on biblical theology of justice and because of our desire to be near Mom (91) and Dad (who will be 95 in May), Light of the World Ministries’ board has allowed us to be home for 2008 to focus on writing and caring for family. (The picture is several years old. Mom is now unwell.) We are booked to return to NEGST to teach as usual beginning January 2009. We appreciate your prayers that we might remain in good health. Chester is at his desk Monday through Friday mornings at 5:15 a.m. and works until lunch at 1 p.m. with the goal of having the section on “Israel and Justice” (OT) finished by the time we return to NEGST.
Every Tuesday evening at our church, Faith Missionary Church, Dolores teaches English to eight adult students, men and women, coming from Egypt, Russia, Taiwan, China, Mexico and Azerbaijan. Among them are Muslims, Catholics, Coptic Christians and Atheists. Volunteers in our church are teaching English to over 50 students, many of whom live near the church. Every other Saturday morning, here in our home, Chester is teaching ten fathers how to teach their children (ages 6-12) the Bible as a whole. He hopes to repeat these sessions in the autumn with a new group of young fathers.
CRISIS IN KENYA
Perhaps you have been following the news about the post-election upheavals in Kenya. As we compose this letter we are praying that there will be a good outcome to the recent negotiations led by former Secretary General Kofi Annan. As we understand it, there were substantial irregularities in the election held December 27th with both parties seeking to manipulate the outcome. It does seem that even before the election there were plans in place to cause trouble. The underlying issue goes back many years to the early days of Kenyan independence when lands were distributed (sold) by the government. Obviously those in power in the early days favored their own people. Ethnicity comes into the issue because lands were distributed along ethnic lines. Of course the realities on the ground are much more complex than this explanation. In many ways NEGST and its grads have been involved in seeking to resolve in a Christian way the current crisis and address its underlying root causes.
ROLE OF NEGST AND ITS GRADS IN THE RECENT CRISIS IN KENYA
1) The twelve PhD students spent the first eighteen months of their time focusing on the Bible and ethnicity working from Genesis to Revelation. Several of these students, from differing, even contending, Kenyan tribes have been on radio for extended periods (four hours) speaking to the issue, seeking to give biblical guidance in this complex crisis.
2) Many of our graduates are now heads of large churches, denominations and even the National Council of Churches which in Kenya is an evangelical body. They have been speaking out against the violence and speaking for justice and peace. Oscar Muriu, who is pastor of Nairobi Chapel, has taken the lead in the country in bringing together hundreds of pastors who as we write are touring the country and seeking to “cleanse the land” from the pollution of witchcraft. Before the election powerful witchdoctors were brought in from neighboring Tanzania and used to influence the outcome of the election. Obviously this is an area where many of us non-Africans feel out of our depth and are thankful for leaders like Oscar. See Msafara at http://www.msafara.co.ke/ and http://greatnessnow.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.
3) NEGST itself is a multi-ethnic community made up largely of Kenyans who represent a wide range of forty two tribes including those who have been killing each other in brutal ways. Special chapel services have been held in which the crisis was discussed openly in a biblical way. One of the beauties of NEGST is that over the years we have managed by God’s grace to live together in peace and harmony in spite of our many differences. This has been a witness. If you are not on our “Photos from Africa” email list, please send me an email at chester.wood@att.net. Thanks!
Your fellow servants in Christ,
Chester & Dolores
Gifts toward this ministry are tax-deductible. Please make your check payable to “Light of the World Ministries.” Mail to Light of the World Ministries, 825 S. Meridian, Indianapolis, IN 46225.
LIGHT OF THE WORLD MINISTRIES, INC.
"A School in the Heart of Africa with Africa on Its Heart"
9441 Haddington Drive West, Indianapolis, IN 46256
Tel.: 317-595-9850 Email: Chester.wood@att.net, Dolores.wood@att.net
Dear Friend, March, 2008
ELISABETH AND WAYNE MARRIED NOVEMBER 3rd 2007
Since writing last, the big event in the Wood family has been the marriage of our oldest daughter, Elisabeth, to Wayne Bloomquist on a beautiful autumn Saturday. Elisabeth finished her three years of work with Samaritan’s Purse in northern Uganda (Lira) where she organized, trained and led teams of Africans to do HIV/AID’s education and care for those dying with AIDS in camps for displaced persons. After returning home in September 2007, she had only a few weeks to organize the wedding. Wayne and his first wife, Kathy, who passed away a number of years ago, had been our friends for many years. Wayne has recently sold his insurance business so that he and Elisabeth can think about some sort of ministry opportunity overseas. Elisabeth Bloomquist’ new address is 952 North Ritter Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46219 and her phone is (317) 840-5420. We thank God for this next step in His will for Elisabeth and Wayne. As you might imagine it is wonderful for us to be home just now and enjoy family gatherings with married daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren and Chester’s Dad. Sadly, Chester’s mom is not able to be with us and continues to be in a care facility. We thank the Lord for the privilege of being home for this year.
SABBATICAL, HOME LEAVE, FURLOUGH
Perhaps depending on your age you will recognize one of the above terms: sabbatical, home leave, furlough. In the old days, missionaries took furloughs every four years. In the modern world with jet transportation, missionaries follow different patterns and take home leaves. Because of the need to finis h the first part of a major writing project on biblical theology of justice and because of our desire to be near Mom (91) and Dad (who will be 95 in May), Light of the World Ministries’ board has allowed us to be home for 2008 to focus on writing and caring for family. (The picture is several years old. Mom is now unwell.) We are booked to return to NEGST to teach as usual beginning January 2009. We appreciate your prayers that we might remain in good health. Chester is at his desk Monday through Friday mornings at 5:15 a.m. and works until lunch at 1 p.m. with the goal of having the section on “Israel and Justice” (OT) finished by the time we return to NEGST.
Every Tuesday evening at our church, Faith Missionary Church, Dolores teaches English to eight adult students, men and women, coming from Egypt, Russia, Taiwan, China, Mexico and Azerbaijan. Among them are Muslims, Catholics, Coptic Christians and Atheists. Volunteers in our church are teaching English to over 50 students, many of whom live near the church. Every other Saturday morning, here in our home, Chester is teaching ten fathers how to teach their children (ages 6-12) the Bible as a whole. He hopes to repeat these sessions in the autumn with a new group of young fathers.
CRISIS IN KENYA
Perhaps you have been following the news about the post-election upheavals in Kenya. As we compose this letter we are praying that there will be a good outcome to the recent negotiations led by former Secretary General Kofi Annan. As we understand it, there were substantial irregularities in the election held December 27th with both parties seeking to manipulate the outcome. It does seem that even before the election there were plans in place to cause trouble. The underlying issue goes back many years to the early days of Kenyan independence when lands were distributed (sold) by the government. Obviously those in power in the early days favored their own people. Ethnicity comes into the issue because lands were distributed along ethnic lines. Of course the realities on the ground are much more complex than this explanation. In many ways NEGST and its grads have been involved in seeking to resolve in a Christian way the current crisis and address its underlying root causes.
ROLE OF NEGST AND ITS GRADS IN THE RECENT CRISIS IN KENYA
1) The twelve PhD students spent the first eighteen months of their time focusing on the Bible and ethnicity working from Genesis to Revelation. Several of these students, from differing, even contending, Kenyan tribes have been on radio for extended periods (four hours) speaking to the issue, seeking to give biblical guidance in this complex crisis.
2) Many of our graduates are now heads of large churches, denominations and even the National Council of Churches which in Kenya is an evangelical body. They have been speaking out against the violence and speaking for justice and peace. Oscar Muriu, who is pastor of Nairobi Chapel, has taken the lead in the country in bringing together hundreds of pastors who as we write are touring the country and seeking to “cleanse the land” from the pollution of witchcraft. Before the election powerful witchdoctors were brought in from neighboring Tanzania and used to influence the outcome of the election. Obviously this is an area where many of us non-Africans feel out of our depth and are thankful for leaders like Oscar. See Msafara at http://www.msafara.co.ke/ and http://greatnessnow.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.
3) NEGST itself is a multi-ethnic community made up largely of Kenyans who represent a wide range of forty two tribes including those who have been killing each other in brutal ways. Special chapel services have been held in which the crisis was discussed openly in a biblical way. One of the beauties of NEGST is that over the years we have managed by God’s grace to live together in peace and harmony in spite of our many differences. This has been a witness. If you are not on our “Photos from Africa” email list, please send me an email at chester.wood@att.net. Thanks!
Your fellow servants in Christ,
Chester & Dolores
Gifts toward this ministry are tax-deductible. Please make your check payable to “Light of the World Ministries.” Mail to Light of the World Ministries, 825 S. Meridian, Indianapolis, IN 46225.
LIGHT OF THE WORLD MINISTRIES, INC.
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