— Do you know what color was the clay that Jesus anointed the blind man’s eyes with? — a Kenyan pastor asks his church. Someone replies,
— God wants to give us His righteousness and dress us in white clothes. So it was white clay that people build huts in my village where I was born.
— No! The clay was black as it is in my tribe, — shouts someone else. — For in the beginning, God shows to a person that his heart is as black as mud when it is raining. — The pastor makes a pause and continues his sermon,
— Brothers and sisters, the blood of Christ can cleanse a black heart of a person. That is why the color of the clay that Jesus anointed the blind man’s eyes with was red as in our village…
Dear friends, let’s not judge these people too strictly. Believe me, you would speak the same things if you were the pastor in the Pokot tribe.
Pastors have no theological training. And we face a similar situation not only in the Pokot tribe, but also in the villages on Mount Elgon. We wanted to help the ministers and do seminars for them.
For three years in a row Yuri Shcheglov came to visit us, and each time we trained about 300 pastors. This year we organized some work with the Pokot tribe, as well as with a group of pastors from Uganda who live on the border of Kenya.
We gave as a present Derek Prince’s books written in English and Swahili to everyone who visited the seminar. The ministers also received a book, «The Pastor» written by Matts-Ola Ishoel.
Let’s remember that each of us is like clay in God’s hands. And when we hear God’s Word, the Lord «molds» His image in us.
People speak Swahili and English in Kenya. But each tribe prefers to speak their own language. That is why 90% of Kenyans cannot read or write English.
The Scriptures have been translated into several local languages. But about 90% of rural pastors have no theological training. They also do not have any books in the language of the tribe where they work for the Lord.
We translate books and print them in Swahili, Turkana, Pokot, and Nyangatom languages. During one year more than 700 pastors received materials that would help them develop their ministries.
Since 2021 we have partnered with Derek Prince Ministries, which also translated many of its books. We distribute its books to pastors who live in western Kenya. We share the materials with people who live in Mount Elgon, the Turkana Desert and the Pokot tribe.
We also bring these books to Uganda for Swahili speaking pastors from the Karamojong and Tepeth tribes. We distribute these materials among the Nyangatom tribe in Ethiopia and we have also reached out to South Sudan.
This ministry requires a lot of finances. We would be happy if you partner with us and help us print books for Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan.
Believe me, it is not easy to drive through the off-road desert for 8 hours. But the women who live on the border of Ethiopia were able to reach the city of Lodwar where we decided to organize our meeting.
In Lodwar, together with our friends from the United States, we had the first women’s conference for the Turkana tribe. We wanted to educate those who could pass on their knowledge to others. So we invited 120 women whose husbands minister as bishops or regional coordinators.
We talked about family, children and the character of a minister. We taught the women how to properly manage their finances. We encouraged them to develop their relationship with God and grow spiritually.
Could you me, if it is possible to change a person’s life in a few days? Certainly, yes. But such a person should encounter God and experience His presence.
In the middle of 2021, our American team spent three days with youth leaders who live on Mount Elgon.
We taught them how to receive freedom from those sins that people cannot overcome for many years. We preached about how to grow spiritually and how not to return to the darkness of sin.
We prayed a lot during the meeting. And the Lord surprised us by how He changed the youth ministers, and they dedicated their lives to God even more.
We call the church in the Pokot tribe young, because the first time when this nation heard the gospel was only 20 years ago. And we can see that some people still follow their ancient pagan traditions, even though they have believed in Christ.
Do you know why it happens? People are uneducated. Just think about the fact that there were 400 women at our conference, but only three of them could read and write. That’s why nobody reads the Scriptures. That’s why nobody knows the teaching of the Bible.
Mount Elgon actually looks gloomy during the heavy rains of the cold season. Usually, it is raining for almost 6 months, day and night. At night, the temperature drops to 42 F , dampness and cold all around. People live in clay houses, which begin to fall apart from dampness. Due to the lack of earnings, income, not all people can even buy a blanket or warm clothes. Women and children freeze and get sick.
We have announced a fundraiser for the purchase of warm blankets. The women’s team with Tanya Pekun from Sacramento California, responded and fully supported this project. We could purchase 295 sets of blankets. Each of them included a blanket for mom and baby. The price of this kit was $ 7.45. For almost two weeks we collected pregnant women and young mothers, and in four villages each of them received their gift.
After 6 months, when we returned back to these villages, the elders and mothers told us that not one child died of hypothermia during the cold season. Thanks to those who supported us financially in this project.
Over the past three years, we have paid great attention to pastors of churches in very large areas. Many of the pastors have never been to any particular denomination, doctrine, or senior spiritual leadership instruction. But God blessed us during this time to touch more than 230 churches in the territories of Mount Elgon, Pakot and Turkana Desert. God has also blessed us to see the active growth of many of these churches. In many of them, the number of parishioners has at least doubled. Many churches became family-based: fathers and children, mothers and grandparents repented and started to attend churches. Many families, even pastor families, have re-established relationships after breakups and divorces.
And this is all team work. Thanks to Yuri Shcheglov, Eduard Denisyuk with his wife Natasha, pastor Vera Login from Chicago. They believed us, came and ministered to the pastors, and became part of missions in Kenya.
Ancient wisdom says that it is better to teach a person to fish during a famine than to feed him with a fish. Over the past nine months, we have helped to open 19 little businesses for those who actively serve in the church. The total investment was about $ 7000.
Several projects have also been implemented to help widows and their children on Mount Elgon.
Now each of these businesses bring their owners income from $80 to $120. By local standards, this is a good income.
If you want to participate in such projects, write to us at gowithmission@gmail.com and we will answer all your questions.
At the turn of 2019 — 2020, we opened the first school on Mount Elgon. In the village of Nakhosi, a mud hut was converted into a school. Windows and doors were installed, walls were reinforced, due to absence of electricity the roof was redesigned to allow natural light. A blackboard was hung on the wall and desks were brought in. By the beginning of the 2020 school year, in the first week of January, everything was ready.
Currently, the school can accommodate 58 children. Experience has shown that the first academic year was successful. Thanks to our teachers, the first students learned how to read and write in just four months.
Parents are asking to expand the school and recruit more students. Everyone was impressed by the result of the past year.
Every year, for three years in a row, thanks to our sponsors, we can help a large number of children in the mountains and villages.
In this way, we were able to distribute over 2000 pairs of shoes and a large quantity of clothing for the smallest inhabitants of Mount Elgon. We mainly do this in our medical clinics. Many children are exposed to the sand flea that lives in the soil. The problem of lack of shoes is one of the big needs, as well as one of the reasons why children have problems with parasites under the skin. We met children aged 12-14 who did not know how to wear shoes. They never had it.
In 2020, we brought a large amount of warm clothes to the village of Ite on Mount Elgon. The rainy season is very cold. Temperatures can drop to 42F (4-5C) at night. Many children get sick, so warm clothes are definitely a blessing for them.
