A Kenya Memoir, from Nancy Steiner

What is it about this Kenya trip that excites me and made me go back for a fourth time? I'll try and explain ---- Because going to Kenya changes you! Because I am not the same person I was before ever visiting Kenya. Because it makes me grow deeper in my faith, more rounded as a human being and a stronger Christian. Because I've met and become friends with people who inspire me…..who reach out to me with their hands and touch my heart. And because it gives me a chance to live my faith….not just believe in it. It's another stop along the path of my personal spiritual journey that provides me with a sense of warmth and community that the world could use more of right now.

God has blessed Newton Presbytery with this partnership and they have far more to offer us than we have to offer them. Recently I saw these words:

"A rich person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least."
---Interview with God website http:/168.143.173.209/IWGnet.swf

How true those words are. Our brothers and sisters in Nairobi Presbytery are unbelievably rich. They are, for the most part, full of hope for the future. Their faith runs deep and they have a variety of gifts to offer us as well as an amazing faith to share. They are rich in their compassionate love of Christ and commitment to share the Good News. I feel enriched each time I visit them.

One of the highlights of my trip this year was attending worship at PCEA Dandora Church on July 14, 2002. The service started at 10 a.m. and ended at 1 p.m. (I was glad I had a good breakfast!). This was a special Sunday because it was the ordination of Rev. John Karanja Kamau…… a happy and uplifting celebration for a new minister! The church was packed with more than 500 well wishers including John's family, members of congregations in the Presbytery, all of the pastors of Nairobi Presbytery along with a few pastors from visiting Presbytery's. Our delegation was happy to help celebrate this special occasion and bring good wishes from Newton Presbytery. As many of you have heard, a pastor in Kenya may have up to 10 churches under his wing. There's a shortage of ministers and so when someone new has been called into ministry, it is a time of joy and festivities. Choirs sang, hymns were sung (in Kiswahili) the reading of II Timothy 4 ….." preach the message…. convince, reproach, and encourage, as you teach with all patience…", wise words for all of us. And then of course was the laying on of hands, first the ministers (our own Rev. Sally Taylor amongst them) and then the elders. My prayers are with Rev. Karanja and his family as he embarks on this new mission in his life.

I've been very fortunate for the opportunities to visit Kenya and I invite members of congregations in Newton Presbytery to experience this trip next June/July. In life, there are numerous opportunities that present themselves along the way that give us a chance to grow…..and you'd be amazed at what can happen when you let the spirit move you to visit Nairobi Presbytery in Kenya.

May your days be filled with riches-----some which occur as a result of the gifts you share with others and some that are the result of what others can give you.