Friday, September 9, 2011
And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed (Acts 16:40).
This passage records the conclusion of the Apostle Paul’s tumultuous stay in the city of Philippi. Paul and his coworkers had organized a church in that city, but after being imprisoned for casting a demon out of a slave girl and seeing the conversion of their jailer, they were released. Now they encouraged the believers there and continued on their journey. These final words remind me of our stay in Mombasa. It has been short and focused on “encouraging the brethren.”
Our trip to Mombasa has been a little bit of a disappointment, but we have tried to make the best of it. Somehow the message about my schedule to visit the Mombasa churches was not relayed to the pastors in that area, which meant that they were unprepared for our arrival. The seminar with the pastors and leaders for today was canceled and a visit to one of the pastors who lives near Mombasa was substituted in its place. This is disappointing because of the distance and expense to get here, but there were good things to come out of it.
First we were able to meet with Ann, the daughter of one of our church leaders from Etago, Kenya. She is in the Kenyan Navy and has been stationed here in Mombasa for over a year while she attends school as a navigator in the Navy. She doesn’t get home very often and was glad to be able to see us. She met with us this morning and we visited about her family back home
and her career in the Navy. We gave her a catechism and a few Spokesman issues to serve as devotions and instruction while she is away from her church home.
After meeting with Ann we journeyed back to the small village of Samburu about an hour outside of the metropolis of Mombasa. There we met with Pastor Simon who is one of the leaders of the Mombasa churches. He has home and small business in Samburu where he works to support the struggling church. Here they do not have their own building, but rent a facility in which to
worship. He has personally financed a loan to building a church building in Mariakani, about 30km closer to Mombasa. A fellow pastor assists with serving this congregation. They are also in great need of catechisms and Bibles.
Pastor Simon and his daughter Julia and two other young neighbor girls.
They are not able to use regular Swahili Bibles, because the coastal dialect is different from Kiswahili. They asked for help to buy 185 Bibles which cost about $10 each. We would like to help with this need, but we have very little money available to assist right now. The MDF which supplies money for Bible, church roofing, catechisms, and motorbikes is running very low. A small amount was sent over, but it will not be able to provide for all of the needs we see. This is just one more example of the needs we face here in East Africa. We were able to leave a few catechisms for the pastors in Mombasa. They appreciated the effort, and we told them that we would keep their Bible request in mind and help as we were able, when money was available. They understood, but were disappointed. May the Lord continue to bless their work with what they have available and provide for them according to His will. Please remember these churches and their pastors in your prayers, especially as they live in and increasingly Muslim area. May they serve as faithful witnesses of Christ and his word of Truth!
In His service,
Nathanael
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