Joshua Ministry Kenya 06-16-2025

We have been in the village, on our own for the past 10 days. When I say on our own, I mean Enos is not with us. Antony and Dorcas are on the property taking care of the daily needs of the house and grounds. I have been preparing most of our meals. It is an adventure getting to the store and shopping. Not much different than our grocery stores in the states, except the food choices are different.

With the heavy rain each evening we discovered that the sunroof of our vehicle would not close. Ray, being the handy guy that he is, was able to tape it for now. We will have it repaired when we return to Nairobi. (picture of the tape job)

In a past blog, I explained the importance of funerals in the community. I am including a couple of pictures of how coffins are transported. Of course, these are empty! (pics of tuk-tuk & motor bike)

Driving here is quite an experience. In the past, I sat in the back and did not take much notice. But, with Ray driving, I am in the front seat with a very good view of the traffic and roads. Many of the roads have large potholes that everyone tries to avoid and all the roads have speed bumps. These bumps are for the safety of the pedestrians. Walking is still the primary method of moving from one place to another in the village. Next is the motorbike and the tuk-tuk. The bumps are not easily seen at times, if you do not see them in time, you are in for a surprise. After you peel yourself off the ceiling, you continue your ride more diligently looking for those bumps. Every driver is looking for their opportunity to pass the slower moving traffic while watching for pedestrians, motorbikes, holes in the road and of course, the speed bumps. The roads are dangerous, and you must be vigilant. (pics)

We visited the farm of Enos’s mom, Esther. She has added two pigs since our last visit. (pics) One evening Ray was returning Esther to her home in the rain and after dark. He said it was a bumpy ride! Esther was calling out the many speed bumps due to the number of schools in the area. With all the practice, Ray has become particularly good at navigating the roads.

Since we have been in the village, we are attending Enos’s home church, the one he grew-up attending with his grandmother, The Bukura Salvation Army Church.

Last week we invited Pastors Simon and his wife Gertra to a meeting to get to know each other better. Pastor Simon set the day and time and wanted to meet at the house. Our house where we are staying is known by the community as Enos’s house and well known. We contacted our friend, Enos, to ask what the customs for this meeting would be. A meal of traditional food along with soda and tea is the norm. Enos contacted his mom, Esther, and Dorcas so they could prepare the acceptable meal. On the day of our meeting the house was bustling with activity in preparation of receiving the Pastors. I was thrilled to be able to watch this preparation and ask questions. The meal consisted of beef stew and chapati. Chapati is a Kenyan flat bread. It was my honor to be invited by Esther and Dorcas for afternoon African tea. See pictures since I like to cook!

The time, 12 noon, came a went with no one in sight. What did this mean? Had we misunderstood? Esther assured us that they would be there by approximately 2pm since this is African time. Shortly after 2pm they arrived.

After our greetings and washing up for the meal, we began to eat and had a wonderful meeting. We talked about their beliefs and what we believe, as well as the areas of ministry we have been involved in. We talked about a variety of topics, men and women weekly prayer meetings, Bible study, altar prayer, discipleship, individual and couples coaching and mentoring opportunities.

Ray also talked about meeting with pastors from other churches in the area on a bi-weekly or monthly basis to bring the churches together to support each other in bringing the gospel message to the community.

We mentioned to Simon that we brought a projector and films offering the possibility of viewing these in the church. Similarly, as last year when we showed the Jesus film to a smaller group. We will revisit this upon our return from Nairobi. Simon liked the idea and will be promoting this for the next few weeks with his congregation and local schools.

Simon also expressed a great need to reach the youth in the area and wants musical instruments, particularly a keyboard for a worship team to help attract them.

After a couple of hours, we were saying our good-byes when Pastor Simon asked if we wished to accompany them to their home. They arrived on foot, and we joined them on the walk back to their home, next to the church. Our grounds keeper accompanied us so we could get back safely.

During the walk, more discussions took place. We were able to ask questions about the Salvation Army Church. Simon and Gertra serve together as pastors. The church is an outreach ministry by church definition. They have no PA system for the church or the street outreach. The Salvation Army Church started as street preachers. To honor this tradition, this church marches each Sunday morning from the church to the center of town with their members with drums and singing praise songs. Once in the center they hold a service with more singing, testimony, and Bible teaching. They receive an offering first from the church members and then from the community around the service space. After an hour, they march back to the church, singing and will start having their regular service.

We arrived at church at 9:30am, joined the staff and members on their march to the town center, returned to the church for the regular service and then left for home at 1:15pm. Quite different than our experience in the US.

We learned that all their meetings take place on Sunday because no one will come out any other day of the week. At the end of the church service, Simon mentioned that they are trying to hold a men’s meeting on Fridays. It has a small attendance for now. Pastor Gertra asked if I wanted to stay for the women’s meeting, which was after the service and bring a teaching. I declined for this day and said I would be returning in July and would join them.

Please add this to your prayer list as well as our discernment on how their need for a PA system and keyboard can be met. God’s will be done, not ours.

By the end of this week, we will be traveling back to Nairobi and staying for about a week. This will allow us to get the necessary car repairs done. After this time Enos will have completed his commitments in Nairobi and will be able to travel back to the village with us at the end of the month.