It’s the big day – the last day of our East African Pastoral Conference. We decided to begin earlier this morning so that we could get as much done as possible. We walked from the Southern Blue to the Wagon Hotel at about 7:50 and arrived at 8:00am. We had to wait a few minutes for some stragglers, and then opened up with some comments. We had some conference issues that had to be resolved, but began Pastor Malyi’s paper on “Witnessing to Muslims” in the meantime. He had an excellent paper which was also very relevant with the increase of Islam here in East Africa. We had some good and very profitable discussion following the paper.
Following a break for breakfast and tea, we continued with my presentation on the Unity and Organization of the Church of the Lutheran Confession in East Africa. We considered Paul’s words to the Ephesians where he writes about the work of building up the Church of God through instruction and unity. We have seen the problems that often come with having a “dictator” in the church. We saw it in India in 2001 with Mohan Bas, and we have now seen it here in East Africa with Jesse Angowi. While we are still dealing with the fallout from Angowi’s reign, we can see how the Lord has blessed the work in India immensely following our separation from Bas. I am confident that the Lord will bring about a similar result here. But we need to change the structure of how the work of the church is being conducted so that it can operate more effectively and efficiently. Up to this time the churches have been operating in separate “church bodies” but without any specific organizational structure or unity between them. So we determined to divide the churches of East Africa into different districts which would spread out the work and enable better communication between the districts and myself. We have divided the churches here into 6 districts with the possibility of adding more districts as areas grow in size. We are hopeful that this will eliminate strife and division, and assist us in teaching in these areas.
The plan was actually well received by the members of the conference. We had some discussion to clarify certain points, but that was all. Most of the members were even relieved that we were going to be putting this into effect! So we pray that the Lord would further His work through this new church structure in East Africa. We also carried out elections for officers of the East African Pastoral Conference – the first time in its history. This too was a big step forward.
After some concluding comments, I was asked to offer a prayer to close the conference, and then we sang a hearty chorus of “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less” in Swahili. It was a wonderful conclusion to the conference.
Lunch had been prepared for us so we sat and visited over a lunch like we had yesterday. We said goodbye to the men who had to catch a bus for the trip back home, especially those we wouldn’t be seeing again this year. It’s kind of a melancholy feeling after such a great couple of days, but we know they are returning to the Lord’s service in different parts of East Africa.
We had the afternoon off, so we decided to do some things we had been wanting to get done.
We checked out a “hotel” which we had heard and read about online called the Wildebeest. It was booked up, so we weren’t able to book a room there, but we wanted to look it over since we had the time. It is a very unique place. It’s like a campground, since you can bring your own tents but they also had “deluxe tents” which were heavy canvas tents with beds and other furnishings in them! They also had a bunk room which contained thee sets of bunk beds. The great feature though is the wireless internet they offer free! We hope to stay there on our next stay in Nairobi, we just need to make sure that we book in advance!
We also went to the African Walmart or Nakumat to pick up a few things that were needed. Since we were there we decided to have an American style supper. We all had pizza, which really hit the spot. Stephen later commented, “It may not have been that good, but it was really good at the time!”
We got a lot done today and now have to get ready to move again. Tomorrow we leave for Kisii and a two day stay there. The last week here we will be moving quite a bit to get all of our visitations completed.
We all thank you for your prayers on the work here, for our families and congregations back home, and for our trip. We appreciate your interest and encouragement in this important work.
In His service,
Nathanael
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” – Ephesians 4:11-14
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