Second Students' Camp to be held in December!

In August of this year the CML team was blessed to minister to 13 awesome students.

We are anticipating another amazing week of ministry as we prepare for our next students' camp in December.

We plan to return to Kanga Boys' High School, and already have 42 students interested in attending.

The camp will be held from Tuesday 11th of December to Sunday 16th of December, 2007. Our theme will be "Balanced for Life" and the program will include the following topics:

Who is God?, Who is man (Original Creation)?, Spirit/Soul & Body, Who are we in Christ?, Self-Esteem, Peer Pressure, Emotional Issues, Relationships, HIV/AIDS Awareness, Moral Purity, Media, Drug/Substance Abuse, Life Purpose, Academic Excellence, Career Choice & Development, Christian Leadership.

Our anticipated budget for the camp is approximately Kshs 140,000/ which is just over USD$2,000.

We trust the Lord to work through our resources and the excellent team of facilitators to abundantly impact the lives of the young people in attendance. It is only through the transforming power of our Lord Jesus Christ that lives are truly changed.

Following are just some of the comments from the students' who attended our August Camp:

"I am transformed. I am inspired. From here I have a vision in life."
"If all the weeks of my life could be like this week!"
"I have personally gained and experienced Christian growth."
"I was renewed spiritually."
"I've learned the qualities of Christian leadership."

Academic Day at Lockwood Girls' High School

Monica is one of the students in attendance at our August camp held at Kanga Boys’ High School this year. Monica is shown here (she is on the left) with three of her school friends.

Following is an account, written by Brother William, describing his recent visit to her school:

“I attended the Academic Day at Monica’s school, Lockwood Girls’ High School in Nakuru, on the 10th November 2007. This day was particularly for the Form One students since two similar days had been set aside for the Form Three and Form Two students.

On this day, the parents/guardians of each student had the opportunity to review and discuss the student’s academic performance during the course of the year. I attended as Monica’s guardian and I had the pleasure of meeting, together with Monica, all her twelve subject teachers. It was a whole day’s exercise - exciting and challenging!

During each meeting, the subject teacher introduced himself or herself and went ahead to guide me through Monica’s academic track records. We looked at the continuous assessment tests (CAT’s), her class participation, End-term exams, as well as general discipline. We analyzed the trends, identifying areas where she registered improvements as well as areas of declining performance. Monica was given an opportunity to explain the causes of her performance and also to project target grades for the forthcoming End-term exams. The teacher gave his/her comments and recommendations. As the guardian, I was also given opportunity to comment and ask questions.

Monica was encouraged to put more effort in her class work to improve on the weak grades. She was also cautioned not to relax in the subjects where she registered high performance.

It was an excellent opportunity to receive direct feedback from the class teachers in the presence of the student. Overall, Monica was assessed as a student with high academic potential, active both in class and extracurricular activities, especially drama. She is disciplined and well behaved.

Each Form One student along with her parents/guardians went through the same process. We finished the exercise at 6:30pm and then it was time for the parents/guardians to depart. Most of us were traveling back to Nairobi.”

We at CML are excited about and interested in the academic and personal development of each of the students to whom we minister. We remember them in our prayers even as we are preparing for our next Students’ Camp to be held in December.

October Misson trip to Rongo.

I was in the Rongo area from the 9th to the 22nd of October on a mission trip. I had set out with the objective of visiting the various schools to which we had taken the information about the CML December 2007 Students' Camp, meet with the Christian Union(CU) Patrons and to collect confirmation forms from the students who have committed to attend the camp.

During the first week I visited Kanga High School only since most of the other schools were just returning from Mid-term holidays that week. I contacted the various CU Patrons on phone reminding them to gather the confirmation forms that were ready for my collection the following week. In the second week, I visited 5 schools, met with 6 CU Patrons and collected 17 confirmation forms. The schools I visited are: St. Alberts Ulanda Girls, Pe-Hill Boys, Mariwa Mixed(Boys & Girls), Dede Girls and Kanga Boys.

Of the 17 camp attendance confirmation forms collected so far, only one belongs to a student who attended the August CML Camp. The other 16 confirmations are from new students altogether. Since all the 14 students who attended the August Camp had verbally confirmed their interest to attend the December Camp, we can say that we have a total of 30 students' confirmations for the upcoming December CML Camp. Am yet to collect commitment forms from Dede Girls school, Kanyawanga Boys' School, Manyatta Boys' School, Kanyasrega Mixed School, Pe-Hill Boys' School and others that were not ready by the time I was leaving. I plan to travel back to Rongo in the first week of November to collect the remaining committment forms. Meanwhile, I will be contacting the parents/guardians of the 17 students whose committments we have received, to let them know who we are, our vision, what we do and what we aim to achieve at the December Camp. I will also be informing them that their children have shown interest in attending the camp and then request them to encourage and officially release the students.

Also while in Rongo, I had two missions to two schools: The first one was a CU Leaders handing over Ceremony at Kanga High on Saturday 20th and the other was a Prayer Service for Candidates at Mariwa Mixed School on Sunday 21st. At Kanga High School, I was accompanied by Jared Omondi one of the August Camp attendees (He has has been out of school most of the year, but thank God because he will resume school next year. Sister Tishona had assisted in raising funds towards his Tuition fees for next year). The former CU patron Mr. Sam Owino was the chief guest. I delivered a brief encouragement to the Outgoing leaders, Incoming leaders, all the CU members and to the CU patron/Teachers. We finally prayed together with the students and dedicated the candidates to the Lord with regard to the End year final exams.

At Mariwa Mixed School, I was accompanied by Jared and Pastor Jeremiah Oguttu from Kitere Community Assembly. Pastor Jeremiah and I both had opportunity to share a word of encouragement and pray with the candidates, dedicating them to the Lord on the eve of the Exams commencement. I shared with them a few tips on handling the exams. The Local PEFA Church pastor was hosting the occassion. The school's Board of Governors(BOG) Chairman was the chief guest at Mariwa Mixed School.

I re-visited the idea of involving the local teachers in CML programs in Rongo area with a few teachers. They seem to be pro the idea and some would help with the mobilization process. We agreed to discuss some strategies next time I visit. The CU patron of Owiro Akoko had a very good idea: she suggested we get to connect with the local District Education Office. She thinks once they get to know what we are doing, the local Education Office can help get the teachers officially involved in a way that will meet approval of the schools' administrations. We plan to pursue this strategy.

I also got to meet and fellowship with several students individually. I met Seth Odongo one of the Agust Camp attendees from Kanga High School. The object of our meeting was to get to know more about himself and his family background as an initial assessment to determine the validity of his needs, especially with regard to tuition fees. His case was identified by our facilitators during the August Camp. Our meeting turned into an informal counselling session at the end of which, we joined hands in faith, prayed together and asked God to intervene in his family situation and school fees issue. I discussed his situation with Mr. Kaunda the Principal at Kanga High School and he agreed to facilitate in getting the school to take care of half of Seth's fee balance. Mr. Kaunda asked CML to assist with the remaining half of the fee balance. The total tuition balance for this year is Kshs.17,400 (equivalent of about USD270). From this initial assessment, I did reckon that Seth is genuinely in need with regard to tuition fees. We are yet to meet his parent(s) in the next step of assessment. Meanwhile we trust God for intervention in Seth's situation.

Glory be to God Almighty.

September Mission Week in Rongo

Brother William spent a week in the Rongo area from Sunday the 16th of September to Saturday the 22nd of September. While there, he visited several High schools in the area sharing the December CML Camp information with the schools' administrations, ministering to students in two of the schools and facilitating the presentation of certificates to some of the students who attended the August CML Students' camp. He also got chance to meet two particular students who wanted to share personal testimonies of what has happened in their lives after they came from the August Camp.


He began the week at Kanyawanga Boys' High School on Sunday the 16th September teaching a session on Academic Excellence. As you can see by these photo's the students appreciated the teaching.

The Christian Union Patron at Kanyawanga, Mr. Francis Ojwang, presented student Joel Ogweno with his certificate from CML for participating in the CML students' camp in August of 2007.

Joel says he was busy sharing with a group of fellow students, the things he learned at the camp, when he was told Brother William was looking for him.



This photo shows Ken Ojuok receiving his CML certificate. We are excited to partner with the CU Patrons as we minister in schools.

Brother William is proud to stand with these "leaders among their peers" Joel Ogweno and Ken Ojuok, along with the CU Patron Mr. Francis Ojwang.

Brothers in Christ Ken and Joel proudly display their certificates.

Seth Odongo is proud to receive his certificate from Brother William at his school, Kanga Boys' High School. Seth has testified that after the August Camp, a number of his peers have approached him wanting to acknowledge that there is something different about him. He has shared with them about the last camp and several of them have indicated interest in the December Camp. Seth also confessed that he now believes strongly in answered prayers and has seen God's favour manifest in a special way concerning his tuition fees. He urged us to continue praying for him.

...and Brother William presenting a certificate to Evans Wagoro... Always thoughtful and articulate.

...and to Jared Marwa... He now believes strongly that God answers prayers because He has experienced it. He testifies when he reached home after the August camp, he found God had intervened in a situation at his home church that he had asked some of the CML team to pray with him about. He made a special request to Brother William to allow his elder brother to attend the next camp. He yearns for his brother to experience the transformation he has experienced.

...and to Peter Paiyineetto...Ready to join CML in the near future.

Brother William poses with all four students at their school and the venue for the August Camp, Kanga Boys' High School.

For a complete description of the camp, please read our blog entry entitled "The CML Students' Camp at Kanga High School..."







These two photo's show Elsie Obwanda, one of four girls in attendance at the August Camp, receiving her certificate at her school, St. Albert's Ulanda. Presenting the certificate is the CU Patron.


Here is Linah Obwanda, sister to Elsie, receiving her certificate at Mariwa Girls' School.


















This is Edna Otieno receiving her Certificate at the same school.

Some of the students at Mariwa High School during games/Social time at the school.

Mrs. Oyugi the CU Patron at Manyatta High school presenting the certificate to Joab Omondi at the school.

Brother William also had opportunity to minister to the Girls at Dede Girls High School on Academic Excellence. He highlighted the imprtance of Knowledge, Understanding, Wisdom, Motivation and Hard Work and Organization on the part of the students as some of the ingredients for Academic Excellence. He then Emphasized the truth that true Wisdom comes from God.

Staff members in the Counselling & Guidance Department and the Teache in charge of Students' Academic Affairs were in attendance.

Brother William met with an encouraging attitude towards the Vision of CML from all the teachers he met at the vairious schools. In the future, we are planning to strategically share the CML Vision with the supportive local teachers and get them involved as much as possible. We believe this will be strategic in facilitating on-going CML networking with and discipleship of students while on campus.

CML Missions Review Meeting

On Saturday the 8th of September we held a CML Missions Review meeting. Sister Denise Davenport who is one of the key members of CML hosted the meeting at her residence in Baraka Estate in Embakasi, Nairobi. The main agenda was to review the June/July mission in Rongo and the August Students' Camp at Kanga Boys' High School. All those who participated in the two missions. Those in attendance were Lillian Olewe, Nicholas Jumba, Daniel Khisa, Pastor Maurice Omondi, Amani Muhonja, Winie Mweni, Denise Davenport, Joanna Kelley, Nicholus Juma, Johan Boshoff from Jesus Alive Ministries International, and William Ochieng. Tishona Smith made a technical appearance in the meeting through Skype. Several others could not attend because of various commitments. Brother William shared a brief message of encouragement based on the portion of Scripture from Luke 5:1-11. Two points were emphasized through the message; firstly that God is desiring to use us as His instruments of glory. Secondly, that through partnership, we all bring together different giftings and talents that when pooled up together, we corporately achieve optimal results. We had lunch together as we enjoyed one another's fellowship.


Each individual filled in an evaluation form for each mission they participated in. Sister Denise presented a brilliant summary of the students' evaluations of the August camp. Through the review discussions, we highlighted the areas where we did well as well as identified the areas where we did not do well. We all agreed to strive towards excellence. Everybody had time to share about their observations and recommendations. It was a productive process characterized by sincerity and openness. One of the most exciting moment was the evaluation of presentations during the August camp. It started with each participant doing his/her self evaluation, followed by evaluation by other participants. It was amazing how each individual readily and correctly identified their own areas of strength and weaknesses. Each individual was open to others' evaluation. We all depicted a teachable attitude.


Several good recommendations were agreed upon and adopted for future implementation towards efficiency in our ministry. These recommendations include the following: We would plan to have regular CML fellowship meetings to enhance team unity and corporate prayers. Facilitators Trainings to be started in 2008. We plan to have two Students' camps in a year during April, August and December. The December camp would focus on Leadership formation. Radical steps would be taken to facilitate time management during our missions.



The following are some of the photos taken during the meeting:



On the right is William speaking with Tishona through Skype, a video conference software that we use to stay in touch with her. We all got to see and speak to her. Although we conducted the bulk of the meeting without her, we remained together in spirit!



















Above are Sister Winnie and Denise. Winnie is our newest team member - she had her 'debut' at the August camp where she facilitated the session on Self-esteem. Denise participated in both missions.







On the right are Lillian and Amani. Both of them participated in the June/July mission. Amani also facilitate during the August camp.










This is Nicholas Jumba. He was part of the team during the June/July mission and has also participated in missions to schools in Nairobi. He has an awesome dance group called ICED (In Christ Ever Dancers).

















Here are Joanna and Daniel. They both participated in the two missions.



It was a blessed day. We all reiterated the need to have such meetings regularly.

The CML Students' Camp at Kanga High School- 14th to 19th August 2007.

The Christian Mission to Learners held its first Students' Camp during the August schools vacation. Once again, CML partnered with members of the Missions and Outreach Department of NPC Buruburu. We held the camp from 14th to 19th of August at Kanga Boys' High School, and students from seven High schools and one Primary School attended. WOW! is the best word I can think of to describe the week!

We agreed that this sign near the entrance to the library and classrooms at the school is a good start to this blog entry.

We began on Tuesday, August 14 with registration starting at 3pm. After supper, Brother William Ochieng took the team of students and facilitators through a session during which he outlined the theme of the camp and the rules and regulations that would ensure the efficient process of the camp.

Here we are - facilitators and students enjoying breakfast of tea and bread on Wednesday morning. I will introduce you to the facilitators as you view the photos of the teaching sessions. The students you will also 'meet' later...although I will say that the student hanging over the breakfast table is Jared Omondi.

Let me say here that each day began with 6am devotions in the Library - for obvious reasons there are no photos...but believe me those were precious hours...

Our first session on Wednesday morning set the foundation for the whole week. The teaching was on "Who is God?" Brother Isaac Agura delivered an excellent message about how we know God exists and what His attributes are. What a blessing for the students, as well as the facilitators!

He ended his message with prayer during which he invited any who had not already accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior to raise their hand for prayer.

Kenneth accepted the invitation and you can see him here in prayer with Brother Isaac. We are so excited for Kenneth and all were blessed to start our week this way!

Sister Amani Muhonja talked about "Who is Man" (Original Creation)? It was great for the students to hear about God's true plan for mankind.

Every session began with a time of praise and worship - as you can see the kids love this part!

After lunch Brother Daniel Khisa spoke about the three parts of every person "Spirit, Soul & Body" - we are Spirit beings, we have a Soul and we live in a Body.

Daniel kept us awake and alert by singing a song called "Fishers of Men"...whenever we sing "fishers" the girls stand up...

...and whenever we sing "men" the boys stand up - much fun!

Open forum time was a great opportunity for the students to interact with each other and the facilitators - and for us to hear from the students.

Then we all went outdoors for a fun time of games and "social time"...you can see us beginning the 'warm up' process here - led by Brother Daniel.

More warm up as we're all jumping and bending and twisting.

Then for the real fun! Soccer, the boys have their hands behind their backs so that they don't have much advantage over the girls, but also just to make it more fun!

One could hardly believe we had energy left for volleyball!

Here the whole team both students and facilitators divided into two teams and it's time for the tug of war!


And then, of course, a time of cooling down.

After dinner Brother Mbiu Muasa ended the day with a teaching entitled "Who Are We in Christ". He outlined our rights and privileges in Christ. Among other things, he explained what it means to be Redeemed, Justified and Sanctified in Christ.

And it was a good day...


Sister Winnie Mueni began our teaching day on Thursday with "Self-Esteem". She helped us to understand what self-esteem is and what causes low and high self-esteem. She stressed that "when we know who we are in Christ, we have confidence."

Then it began to rain! It rained so hard on the iron-roofed classroom that Winnie could no longer be heard - Meanwhile, Sister Winnie found time to outline on the board the four basic personalities, and everybody tried to locate themselves.

One of our biggest challenges of the week was staying on track with time...this day was off to a great start - until it rained! Oh well...so much for the plans of man...

After the rain Winnie shared about the four basic Personalities - Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholy and Phlegmatic - the students had a great time learning about this concept and later broke into small groups for discussion on the same.

After a lively 'open forum' session, we ended the morning with prayer.

Brother Daniel followed with a talk about "Peer Pressure". He stressed that there is positive as well as negative peer pressure and discussed the various causes of negative peer pressure. Again, when we know our identity in Christ that is our greatest weapon against the pressure we all feel to 'conform to this world'.

After lunch Sister Amani shared with the students about "Emotional Issues". She covered feelings of loneliness, anxiety, guilt and fear among others. She explained that emotions are not good or bad but it is "how we yield to them that determines a good or bad outcome".

Sister Amani led us in a song "I love the Bible" in preparation for the small group time.

Here you see we are gathered in the Library.

The small group time gave the students an opportunity to determine and discuss their own and each other's Personality type.

Sister Denise Davenport led the first teaching session of the day on Friday. As she spoke about

HIV/AIDS...she drew a very helpful visual on the board - 3 circles showing the interconnectedness of our Spirit, Soul and Body. She then determined that the students have all the facts they need about the HIV/AIDS, its causes and how to prevent it, and then issued the challenge. "Why, then, does this virus continue to spread?"

After another open forum session where many questions were asked and answered, student Peter Paiyineetto presented a song he wrote - it was such a joy to see the talent and fun these students had with the times of 'presentations'.

And then there is the praise team...

Peter Paiyineetto (Praise Team Leader), Ken Ojuok, Elsie Obwanda, Monica Auma, Evans Wagoro and Job Omondi

Brother William Ochieng followed Denise's session with an excellent teaching on "Media". He reminded the kids that "we are not to love the world" and shared many of the negative effects of media today. He also reminded us all that there are also positive aspects of the media - a good thing to remember!

Another presentation when students; Joel Ogweno and Ken Ojuok were accompanied by facilitator Amani Muhonja (who is herself a student - at Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) in Karen)

After lunch Brother Daniel shared a message about "Drug and Substance Abuse" He talked about the effects of substance abuse and reminded the students that the word of God recommends that we be filled by the Holy Spirit and not be drunk with other substances.

A lively open forum discussion followed, after which both the students and facilitators spent a couple of hours on the field playing games and enjoying fine outdoor fellowship!

After dinner the students gathered again, this time to hear Sister Denise talk about "Sexual and Moral Purity"...she had touched on the topic earlier in the day during the HIV/AIDS discussion, but during this hour she shared God's perspective on sexual intimacy and gave practical guidelines on how to avoid temptation.
She emphasized the truth that sex was a God- given gift to the couples inside the godly and lawful marriage covenant. She reminded the students that "there is a time for everything" ...now is the time for studies...there will come a time for marriage.

Late in the evening became the favorite hour - RIDDLES! Brother William initiated this fun and competitive game. The students were in teams and each team was to submit a riddle for the other teams to solve...they earned points for solving the riddle or stumping the other teams - it was a great idea to end the day!

Saturday's teaching began with Brother William sharing an excellent message on "Academic Excellence" Sister Joanna had this to comment regarding the session: "...all I can say is I WISH I HAD HEARD THIS 40 YEARS AGO! I mean it, the practical ideas he presented as well as encouragement for how to study well would have made me a better student - guaranteed...these students are blessed to have heard this teaching."

William conducted back-to-back sessions as he shared with the students on the topic of "Career Choice and Development"...during this teaching he touched on life purpose as he illustrated with a student's pen how we are each created for a unique purpose. When we are using our God-given gifts and talents, we are like a pen being used to write a letter, or novel or term paper. But when we try to live up to the expectations of our culture, our parents or our peers we are like a pen being used to stir a cup of coffee - it works, but it is not the highest and best use of the pen.

He also emphasized the truth that for efficiency, optimal output, effectiveness and true success in any career, the choice should start with one accepting Christ as the Lord and Saviour, and pursuing a career in which one uses their spiritual gifts and God-given talents in God's purpose and for His glory.

One of the most valuable aspects of this camp was the one-on-one counseling. These sessions afforded the students an opportunity to share their life struggles, challenges and goals, as well as their thoughts and feelings with the facilitators who were available to guide, direct and/or just listen. Most importantly each session ends with prayer and is designed to help the student always turn to the Lord for answers to life's challenges.

After lunch we were all blessed by the teaching brought to us by Brother Kevin Elijah on "Life Purpose"...he based his teaching on Prov 19:21 "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."

Ken and Joel are singing a song written by Joel - we were all blessed by the presentations.

Our youngest student - Tom, who arrived on Saturday - is thoroughly enjoying the show! Tom is William's nephew...and is 11 years old in class 5 (5th grade in the US)

Evans Wagoro, one of the students, is articulate as he presents his well-thought-out comment on the question posed during this open forum session; "If offered a job at a beer or cigarette factory, would you accept?"

After saying a sad fairwell to two of our facilitators, Daniel Khisa and Isaac Agura, Brother Nick Juma energetically and passionately taught about "Christian Leadership".

Saturday was our last full day together as a group so we ended the day by hearing from each student and facilitator; words of appreciation, and encouragement. We all experienced a feeling of sadness as we began to really sense and feel the connections that had been forged during this time of learning, worship and fellowship, knowing that this precious time would end all too soon. The consolation was that we were all connected with the love of Christ and in Christ we are not far apart. Contacts were exchanged amongst the students and the facilitators, and it was recommended that we try to be in communication with one another even as we keep each other in prayers.

Our Sunday morning sermon was entitled "How to Live a Balanced Life". We were all thoroughly blessed by Brother Nick's energy and passion as he ended his message with a call to say "yes" to Jesus and move into a higher level of service to the Kingdom.

Many hands were raised and many students came forward to be prayed for by the facilitators - it was truly inspiring to see God at work in these young people's lives over the few days we were all together!

Following the service, the girls met with the female facilitators and the boys met with the male facilitators to share as a group the challenges they face as young people.

The number one challenge for the girls, as you can guess, is how to handle growing feelings for
boys...especially when so many of their classmates are having boyfriends and receiving letters from them (it is a common practice in the schools here and cause for much joy to the girls who receive them and discouragement on the part of the girls who do not)...The girls were encouraged to remember Who they belong to and what their purpose is during this stage of life. The students were reminded that there is a time for everything under heaven...

In the photo above from left to right you see Elsie, Amani, Joanna, Winnie, Linah, Monica, Edna and Denise - all the girls at camp!

Here is the whole group - students, facilitators and even some of the people who worked in the 'background' to help make this camp the success that it was.

Left to right in top row: Peter, Joseph, Elsie, Amani, Winnie, Pastor Paul, Marwa, Joel, William, Seth, Kevin, Nick and Ken.

Left to right kneeling: Edna, Linah, Suzan, Monica, Denise, Tom and Job

Left to right in front: Jared and Kenneth (Sister Joanna took this photo)

Second photo of the whole group, (Sister Joanna took Denise's spot as Denise took the photo)

As a final note, we would like to say:

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!