Oct 12, 2022 How Avoiding Elephants Made a Difference
I was so happy to make a sale in the marketÑbut instead I received the most valuable gift in the universe!
Mary had a stall in the local market selling Maasai shawls. The Maasai are well-known for their bright and colorful fabrics. Sadly, she hadn’t made a single sale that day. Our QHM gospel workers talked with Mary, admiring her shawls, and made a purchase. She was excited to finally make her first sale of the day. After that, Mary opened up to more conversation with the gospel workers. They told Mary about Jesus, a personal and powerful God who cares about all the details of our lives. And they invited Mary to the evening meetings.
Mary really wanted to attend the evening meetings, but she told us it was dangerous because of the elephants that roam the village in the evenings, said Pastor Robert Tinega, Evangelism Coordinator for the Central Rift Valley Conference in Kenya. He and the team talked and prayed together about this situation. They made a bold decision to change the evening meeting location to Mary’s village.
Just amazing! God really worked through Mary’s enthusiasm! She invited all the villagers to attend, and every evening, the meetings were well attended, shared Pastor Robert. More than 300 pieces of literature were shared, and the children’s program was well attended by about 70 children each evening. Also, at one of the evening meetings, Mary made a decision to follow Jesus and be baptized!
Fifty-one precious souls! And praise God I could see Mary baptized, too! shared Pastor Robert. We are just in awe of how the Spirit is touching hearts! What amazing answers to prayer.
Evangelism in this region is not easy. This region has large communities of Maasai, a semi-nomadic tribe that are famous for their simple lifestyle herding livestock, fierce warriors and traditional beliefs. The Maasai are a patriarchal culture, therefore if a Maasai man takes a stand for Jesus, most of his family will follow his lead.
The outreach team praise God for His guidance and courage in reaching the Oloposmoru and Oldekesi regions. They faced transportation struggles, roaming elephants, skyrocketing fuel costs, but they persisted to reach these precious people for Christ. Our experiences here gave us some new insights so we can better plan for future evangelistic work efforts in other areas, shared a gospel worker.
The fifty-one new believers were each given a local language Bible, thanks to generous QHM donors, and with this growth three new churches have been formed! The gospel workers continue to provide spiritual training, and also give family and financial counseling for those who ask during their home visitations. They continue being a spiritual support through Bible studies so that people can understand God’s love better.
We truly believe the Holy Spirit is touching hearts in these communities, shared Pastor Robert. So many people have been positively impacted by our visits, but there’s still so much more work to do. One of the most remarkable things Pastor Robert shared, was that some of the people requesting visitations and Bible studies used to hate the Seventh-day Adventist churchÑbut praise God for softening their hearts to want to understand the Bible more! It’s so amazing to see God working and opening doors. We’re so happy these communities have a positive, caring experience with the SDA church now, said Pastor Robert. We are so grateful to God for your prayers and financial supportÑso many lives have changed because of you. Please continue to pray for us as we reach Kenya for Christ.
Then Jesus said to them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Luke 10:2
