Update on what is happening...

William and Tishona left on the 16th of June for the Rongo region where they have been actively visiting schools to confirm mission dates in July. They are also sharing information about the camp to be held in August, from the 14th to the 19th.

Here they are on the shuttle just before leaving on the 16th!

Meanwhile, a team from Nairobi Pentacostal Church Buruburu represented CML on Monday morning the 18th of June at the Nile Road Girls' School. Brother Jared delivered an inspiring message on vision and keeping your boundaries. The girls were so excited by the excellent message that the teacher has requested that he return in the future to speak again. Our next date to minister at Nile Road is the 2nd of July, and Sister Lillian is eager for the opportunity to share the word of God with the girls on that day.

We are daily amazed and excited by the doors the Lord is opening and are confident that He goes before us to prepare the way for His word to be proclaimed.

Tishona Arrives

Tishona Smith,  from the United States, arrived in Nairobi on 9th June, 2007. She will be staying in Kenya until 3rd August, 2007.

Tishona is a member of CML and will be involved in the upcoming CML activities during her period of stay in Kenya. These will include the confirmed missions to Kanga High School and St. George's Girls' School. She will also be visiting Kitere Primary School and working with Oasis Orphans at K'oyier Primary School in Rongo Division.

While in Rongo, Tishona will also be helping Pastor Paul Ochieng with Sunday School classes at the Kitere Church. We cherish your prayers for her successful mission in Kenya.

Here is a photo of William receiving Tishona at the airport.

Bible Study with University Students

Every Monday night a group of students at the University of Nairobi's Main Campus gather in the Mamlaka-B Cafeteria for fellowship and Bible Study. The man who started this Bible Study program is a missionary from the USA by the name Phil. We had received invitation earlier during the year from Brother Elphas, one of the students in the group and decided to join them on the evening of Monday 4 June.

The Meeting started with a Word of Prayer followed by praise and worship. First-time visitors were introduced and Denise, Joanna and myself were among those who were introduced as guests that evening. Also present were four US college Students- two young men and two young ladies, who have been in Nairobi for some months doing Students ministry together with Phil. They were scheduled to leave Nairobi back for the US on Friday the 8th June, hence this meeting was their last to attend.

Seven students were randomly selected to lead small study groups that evening. We were then divided into seven groups of four to five people each. Each individual was given a copy of the study material for the evening. The theme of the evening's study was "What the Bible says about Hope". The introduction defined Hope as "Hope is a favourable and confident expectation. It has to do with the unseen and the future (Romans 8:24-25)"

This was a fun and enriching evening. It was encouraging to see these young people experiencing and exploring their faith as we searched the Scriptures, getting to know the difference between the secular definition of Hope and the Biblical definition. We had a special time of fun and edification. We learnt that Jesus Christ is our Hope. We can depend on Him because He is the Saviour and has all power and authority in heaven and on earth. We please God when we live our daily Christian lives victoriously in Christ our Hope. In Christ we have eternal hope because He lives forever and He will never fail us. We have hope in His second coming in Power and Glory. In conclusion, the study reminded us that constant strong fellowship with God is crucial because the lack of it makes many lose their confidence or trust in Jesus Christ.

We all thoroughly enjoyed studying God's word with these precious young people. After our small group time we gathered together for more praise and worship, and then it was time for the students to share gifts with the soon to depart US students as they bade them farewell. It was heartwarming to see the bond that has grown over the past several months amongst these students in Africa and the students from the US!

It was a good time of fellowship and encouragement and we look forward to many more such moments.

Nile Road Girls' School

On Tuesday May 8, CML in partnership with the Missions and Outreach team from Nairobi Pentecostal Church (NPC) Buru Buru went on a joint mission at Nile Road Girls' Secondary School. This was the schools first assembly meeting marking the begining of second term. The school's Principal-Teacher Margaret delivered the key note speach addressing various issues including a reminder to the students to abide by the school's rules and regulations. She also emphasized the need for the students' participation in co-curricular activitie as it is considered part of the School curricular by the Ministry of Education. The School's Christian Union (CU) Patron, Teacher Helen then invited Brother William who appreciated the School and its administration for recognizing God as they started the new term. Brother William read from Proverbs 3: 5-6 in commending the school for starting the term by acknowledging God. He facilitated the introduction of the mission team before inviting the speaker, Pastor Margaret to minister. Earlier that morning as we arrived, Pastor Margaret had expressed her surprise and delight when she realized that she had graduated from this very school 20 years ago. The students' eyes lit up when she disclosed this, letting them know that she had started where they are...we could all see them thinking "that could be me someday!" Her message titled, "Esther, a Woman of Substance", was a timely one for these secondary school girls on their first day of the second term. She read the text from Esther 2:7-9, 15-17. The mission team was equally blessed as we led the girls in praise and worship, prayed with them and enjoyed Pastor Margaret's message together. Even the members of the Teaching staff were blessed during the ministry, and Principal Margaret did not hesitate to assure us that we would be included in the term's program, and Teacher Helen was to facilitate this promise. This marked the begining of a relationship with the school.

On Wednesday June 6, CML returned to Nile Road with a dance team called ICED (In Christ Ever Dancers) and the Missions and Outreach team from NPC Buru Buru. This was a Christian Union Fellowship meeting scheduled to commence at 4pm. At Nile Road, Wednesday is a Clubs day and each student is expected to be in a specific club's meeting, one of which is the CU.

Unlike other Wednesdays when the CU meeting is attended by a small section of the school students population, the CU Patron made us to understand that this particular evening was unusual, for we could not use the classroom they normally use for such meetings. Many students opted to join the CU meeting rather than joining their various clubs. We were forced to move to a larger hall which did not have power supply because it was still under construction. We were just as disappointed as the girls that the ICED team could not be able perform because of the lack of power supply for their music system.

Further to this, we were now left with a shorter time to minister.

Nevertheless, we recognized the favour and grace of God in terms of being able to minister to a larger number of studants. We saw all things working together for our good and for the students, for God's glory (Romans 8:28), even in all this. It was one of those "Good problems", and we embraced it.

We were all blessed by the praise and worship led by Pastor Omondi of CML, and the message delivered by Sister Amani Muhonja. Referring to the Scripture portion from James 4:8, She challenged us to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. She reminded all of us that we were created to be intimate friends with God and that it is our responsibility to seek to develop an intimate relationship with Him. Sister Amani highlighted certain ways of facilitating and developing intimacy with God the Father, including talking to Him since He is ever with us, Studying the Scriptures, Meditating on the Word of God and Prayer.

Pastor Omondi facilitated an invitation to all the girls who were facing challenges in developing an intimate relationship with God, as well as those who wanted to receive Christ, to raise their hands and stand up to receive a special prayer. Several girls did just that and Pastor Omondi led us in an impassioned closing prayer addressing various challenges and needs. The Name of the Lord Jesus Christ continues to be glorified. We were all edified.

Our First Weekend Challenge

Mid February 2007 CML organized and coordinated its first 'weekend challenge' at St. George’s Girls’ High School in Nairobi. The weekend began Friday afternoon and ran through Sunday afternoon, and was designed to challenge the girls to be prepared for the 1st Term of the year by reminding them of what God was going to do in and through their lives.

"Prepare for Change” was the theme of the weekend program, based on the Scripture portion from Romans 12:2: “... And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”(NKJV).

In this photo you see the St. George's Christian Union Leaders with Brother William Ochieng

Each day began with a word of prayer, praise & worship, and presentations by the students which gave the students a chance to exercise their creativity as they presented various songs, poems and skits with remarkable underlying Christian messages. The weekend was officially opened on Friday evening by Mrs. Wario, the Christian Union patron.

The opening teaching session was conducted by Brother William Ochieng, who challenged the students to develop Godly attitudes, perceptions and mindset, in preparation for the new academic year and the changes God was planning to effect in and through their lives in 2007. The highlight of his teaching outlined 11 guiding principles for them to apply to their daily lives. He stressed that the following factors are essential for proper mind renewal in preparedness for change: Your perception of God, your perception of yourself, your attitude towards your parents, your attitude towards your teachers, your attitude towards your course subjects, your expectation of the future, your attitude about your past, your attitude towards sin, how you manage your time, your personal goals, and your attitude towards your body.

Pictured here is part of the mission team posing with some of the students. The mission team included students from the University of Nairobi Medical School.

Saturday was a full day beginning with a moving testimony by Mrs. Gikonyo who emphasized the fact that God is able grant them breakthrough and success in all areas of life, including academic performance. She stressed that this requires trust in Him, hard work and discipline on the part of the students. Following a session of praise and worship Brother Daniel Khisa preached a moving message motivating the students with the assurance that God who created them fearfully and wonderfully, has good plans for them this year.

On Sunday, the final day of the program, the students' praise and worship team joined the mission's team to lead the congregation through a blessed session of praise and worship, followed by a number of student presentations containing brilliant Christian morals. The powerful sermon preached by Brother Nicholas Juma emphasized the need for transformation through the renewal of the mind in preparation for change. He stressed the fact that true transformation begins with spiritual transformation. He challenged those who had not taken the first step to believe and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. To those who had received the Lord Jesus Christ, he challenged to remain steadfast in the faith.

Several students received Christ as Lord and Saviour. The CML Team had a brief time of one-on-one counseling with the new believers. For spiritual nurturing and growth, we advised that the new believers be adopted into the various Students’ Bible Study groups already in existence. We later learned that our advice was, indeed, followed.

After a lunch break, which provided an opportunity for fellowship and one-on-one counseling, the afternoon session afforded a second opportunity for the students to hear the encouraging life testimony of Mrs. Gikonyo.

One aspect of CML's unique approach to students' ministry is the Open Forum session. The students are encouraged to openly present their questions, problems, challenges and dilemmas in a safe and non-threatening environment. Some students took advantage of the option to anonymously write their questions on paper without signing their names. The CML team then responded to these issues from a biblical perspective.

We were pleased with the enthusiastic response by the students as we received questions in the areas of relationships, academic performance, sexuality and peer pressure among other topics. In fact we did not have enough time to answer them all. We did, however, schedule time for one-on-one counseling sessions.

The closing session included a talk by Pastor Harriet who ministered to the girls in the area of moral purity, sexuality and healthy choices.