Art school 2020
“I went to Africa to teach children to draw, to introduce them to art. Why, you ask? My answer is: I think feeding and dressing is great, but it’s a one-time help. You came, fed him, and after a couple of days the child was hungry again. You bought him shoes, and after a while the shoes will have holes. But, if a child is taught to do something, it will stay with him forever. If he is educated, he can feed himself and buy himself clothes. In addition, he will have a meaning in life that he will definitely want to communicate to others. Gradually, this knowledge will spread and motivate more people to live. I went to teach children to draw and introduce them to art because I believe it will help them. It will enrich their soul, awaken their imagination, and help them live better. «
Dasha Chernousik
On November & December 2019, 10 teachers were trained in an elementary school reading program curriculum. Those trained were from 3 different areas of Mt. Elgon.
Classroom equipment including desks, chairs, & blackboards were purchased, as well as teacher & student materials to start 3 different schools.
Within two months we completed the construction of a building in the village of John Power. A year before that, our ministry started a church here. The community gathered in the open air for a whole year. At the first services there were only a few adults and about a hundred children. Within a year, the church grew. From 60 to 70 adult parishioners attend the meeting, and the Sunday school recruits more than 200 children.
This building serves as a church and a school at the same time.
Saturday and Sunday — this building is used for church services.
We brought school desks and now during the working days children and some of the parents will learn to read and write.
This is the second project of the opening schools in church buildings.
The first project of the school was in the village of Nahosi in early 2020.
We would like to express our gratitude to all our sponsors. Without your sacrifice, these projects would be impossible.
Two years ago, in 2018, we saw a great need for Christian educational materials. A large number of urban pastors cannot read or speak English fluently, much less rural pastors and parishioners. Their language is Swahili. But the main problem is that there are no Swahili books on sale, there are no materials for the education of pastors on the Swahili.
God gave us a bold and truly desperate idea. We started translating materials, books, and sermons. During this time, in total, we have translated about 1500 thematic sermons and 14 books.
We opened the RAHISI.ORG web resource, all translated materials are posted on the RAHISI.ORG . And they are absolutely free for all users in all Swahili countries.
The next step is printing books. Not everyone has access to the Internet. People do not have smartphones and computers. This is especially evident in the villages, where the main population of these countries lives.
We need books. We need financial sponsors to make practical christian education real.
Write to us, ask questions, and become our partner to the international mission.
Mission is discipleship. Discipleship is inconceivable without education, transfer of experience and books for education.
In 2019, we opened a library in our missionary home for everyone who can read English. People from Kitale town and the surrounding villages began to come for reading. We saw a great thirst for education and a desire to read in locals.
Immediately it became apparent that this was a small part of the solution to a huge problem. Many pastors from distant villages began looking for opportunities to borrow books to begin the process of self-education. But due to the fact that they live far in the villages, it was extremely inconvenient to travel to the town. The lack of communication only made the situation worse, when someone would come to the library during the hours we are not there.
Therefore, one year later, in 2020, we began to open small libraries in different locations of our ministry in the homes of bishops. Within 3 months we opened 5 libraries, and one library in the Kitale town and one in men’s prison. More than 300 books quickly found their readers.
With help of our friends, we were able to transfer books to Somalia for the underground churches there.
Over the course of this year, we have been able to lay a good foundation for a further program of study and bless our dear pastors and leaders in the service of holy Scripture and Christian books. Getting a Bible in places far from the big cities can be a big problem. Mainly, due to the ratio of income and price. In many places, the monthly income of a person is equal to the price of the Bible. Many cannot afford it.
That is why we were looking for ways to bless the pastors and their assistants. This year, with sponsorship from Russia and the United States, we were able to help more than 80 people to get hold of the Scriptures in their native language.
I would especially like to note the cooperation with Trans World Radio Kenya. In partnership with them, we were able to buy forty (40) Bibles with a significant discount for the churches of Mount Elgon.
Last year, we announced that one of the key focus of GoWithChrist mission would be increasing the level of education of ministers in the already existing churches on Mount Elgon.
We are glad that we can launch the project «Libraries». In a very short time, literally in a couple of months, we had more than 300 good books at our disposal. Surly, half of them already found their readers this year. The craving to read and receive knowledge was from every reader. Students and adults, housewives and bishops of church associations, all got access to books. We were and remain open to all comers, but with one important requirement: books must be returned clean, not torn, so that others have the opportunity to form and grow spiritually.
Also, within the framework of the initiated educational project for Sunday school teachers, we were able to give to participated churches books and booklets that will definitely help them to learn new things and become more effective in serving people and God.
This was my first trip to Kenya, and Africa itself. The topic with which I came to the local churches of Mount Elgon concerned family relations: among the spouses and their relations with children. From the first minutes of meeting with local ministers, it was clear that this is a vital issue and one visit here will not be enough. The apparent inequality and domination of husbands over wives are too obvious and the corresponding reaction of wives; also, evident tough attitude to children, both from fathers and mothers; complete lack of understanding of the need for caress, tenderness and words of love…
The goal was to lay the foundation for such an important and extensive topic as Family Relationships.
The first task — so that both husband and wife were present at the seminars, and that from the beginning they would decide to attend to the third lesson. I had to bring convincing arguments so that the wives would seat close to their husbands. It turns out that of all the ministers present, only two were aware that God created only two people and, moreover, a man and a woman. Well, other seemingly elementary things became a revelation for local Christians. Therefore, we talked about the At the Beginning: creation, how God created man, what goals He set for the first people. We talked about how a person changed after the sin in the spirit, soul and body, and how it affected relationships with God, reflected in relationships between people and, especially in the family. We touched upon several fundamental principles in the area of relationships that the Word of God teaches. From the first meetings my Kenyan students practically applied this knowledge.
The results were amazing. Majority of my students were women. They prayfully made decisions and went home, changing their attitude to their husbands from inside, in the heart. They started talking about love, showing their feelings, satisfying the needs of their husbands and children. As a result — husbands began to come to church and turned to God…
The men also changed their attitudes towards their wives, children and took responsibility for their families. Families began to heal in relationships, parents tried on children, asked for forgiveness from each other…
If someone would take a “before and after” photo, he can immediately find the difference in happy eyes and smiles in the “after” images. Evidence of change expressed the next day. I see a great blessing and advantage of local Africans — they are open for God to accept the Word, ready to fulfill what they heard, and change. They are open and ready. Of course, this is only the beginning, the basics, laying the foundation. Now we need to build. Build beautiful «buildings» – families. Take valuable material from the Word of God and build. To build, “restore” families that will manifest Christ and bring fruit to the Kingdom of God. Of course, I give all the glory to God, for His mercy, for the love and strength shown among these Kenyans — the Elgonians. Also, I was immensely pleased to meet and make friends in the person with missionaries Guntars and Olga. If I were asked to briefly describe this married couple, I would say: THEY ARE REAL!
I am not saying that they are ideal, but REAL, which is so lacking today in the midst of modern Christianity. REAL means: not fake, not hypocritical, not “stretching masks” when meeting people… They rejoice at every very important or very insignificant success in the lives of others, they cry when they see the needy, and completely selfless, with pure and open-heart, to hurry to do everything possible to meet the needs of these people … THEY ARE REAL.
Without the slightest flattery I write about them, God knows.
And being REAL in Guntars and Olga could not help but affect the local Africans. Sincere, open, sacrificial Bishop Nixon with his wife Alice, Cleophas with his wife and other brothers-pastor with wives also present themselves to the Lord and serve their people.
Thank God!!! For missionaries, for ministers and residents of Mount Elgon !!!
P.S. I believe that any Co-working brings CO-blessing.
My small participation in the Go With Christ mission brought a blessing to my family. In our case, this affected the spiritual renewal of both my wife and I and the children.
Join us !!! You can come to Kenya, you can participate financially or prayerfully … and I am sure that by becoming a CO-working you will share with us blessings … and that’s because we are Go With Christ !!!
In Global vision
