Working With HIM in Western Kenya
By Rev. Steve Monahan
Ponchatoula, Louisiana, USA
Imagine this... It’s mid afternoon on Sunday, February 13th, 2005, and three men are preparing to enter the backseat of a small, old Peugeot automobile for a short journey. We are in the city of Kakamega in the fertile hill country of western Kenya, East Africa. Most of the last several days have been spent traveling, the most exciting part of which was the previous day’s excursion by road from Kampala, Uganda to Kakamega; eight bone-jarring hours enduring heat, dust and often sudden fear in Ugandan and Kenyan fourteen-passenger taxis. (There just isn’t anything quite like hastening along a one and one-half lane partially paved road with large trucks and buses hastening in the opposite direction, at least not for a Westerner!)
We awoke early this morning to the sound of distant tumult, and, upon stepping outside of our guest house, were arrested by the spectacle of a large portion of the town market in flames. This was less than one kilometer away. The fire raged for hours due to the lack of emergency services.
It has all been rather unnerving and now, having participated in Sunday morning church services in town, we are about to be on the move again. Our bodies have by no means adjusted to the difference in local time (nine hours for the three of us from America), so we are not exactly feeling our best. Considering those things, maybe you can imagine that we are less than fully enthusiastic about getting into that car.
The good side of all this is that none of it is particularly surprising to us. We have all been to Africa at least once before and even though we are physically and mentally a bit weary, we are also filled with an excited anticipation. This is a special moment, a milestone for the ministry of Workers Together With Him.
My companions in the car are Evan Pyle of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, and David Mantock of Bern, Switzerland. The other two members of the group, which arrived in Kenya together, Tim Sullivan of Brownsville, Texas, and Daniel Bucher of Walenstadt, Switzerland, have remained in town to teach the seminar to a group of ministers. We three are going to the rural village of Isulu to present it to members of a local congregation. What a tremendous vote of confidence it is on the part of the Lord and of Rev. Sullivan to entrust us with the responsibility of bringing this teaching to a group of God’s people. And what a group of God’s people they proved to be!
We were transported from the city, traversing a considerable stretch of the dustiest road I’ve ever seen, and arrived at a private compound slightly beyond the actual village of Isulu. There we were greeted by our host, Pastor Simon Makovi, his wife Agnes and several members of the Gospel Signs Missions Church congregation. By the time the day ended, we had a strong sense that the next five were going to be wonderful. The location was idyllic; set in beautiful rolling countryside with fields being prepared for the coming rains; eucalyptus and various fruit trees everywhere; and a cool gentle breeze which blew almost continuously. The classroom and the tree-shaded yard where we would teach were just steps away from the door of the house that had been provided for us. Best of all, it quickly became evident that Pastor Simon (who had sat under this teaching last August in Mbale, Uganda) had diligently prepared his people to receive what the Lord was sending to them.
I don’t know if I can place a strong enough emphasis on the statement that the Lord was sending something. I’m not sure I can describe what happened, but I’ll try. It’s true that we had worked for months to prepare our minds and hearts through study and prayer, asking the Father to pour out wisdom and knowledge to His people. It’s also true that we had very good teaching notes and a ready group of students full of pure motives, but what happened was beyond human endeavor. For five days, our souls were soaked in the power of God’s Spirit and the Word of truth. The Lord truly poured out as we had asked and nothing else seemed to matter. Day after day He prompted teachers and students alike to bring up issues of practical significance to the child of God, things that we should and should not be experiencing in our day to day walk with Him. The Lord made sure that specific non-Biblical doctrines, practices and delusions that are currently rampant in the church were exposed and answered with sound Biblical instruction: the kind of instruction that opposes the “modern” trend in which whole congregations of codependent followers are led about by a few, who supposedly possess a special anointing, and never develop their own walk with the Lord.
At this point, some may say that this article is an attempt on my part at self-glorification. My only answer would be this: I didn’t do it! Yes, I did some of the teaching and answered some of the questions, but in doing so I received as much enlightenment as anyone. I could never in a lifetime have contrived to bring about what happened in Isulu. No man can really direct the heart of another; that is the Lord’s business, and all a man can do is point in His direction which is to the Scriptures. No man can make people utilize spiritual gifts. Nevertheless, at the end of the class, a large percentage of the students entered into the discipline of bringing messages from God by means of the gifts of speaking in tongues and the interpretation of tongues. They had come seeking practical means of serving the church and the world through walking in the Lord’s power, and when they saw the gateway to the path, they stepped through. My prayer for them is that they will take more steps, allowing the Lord Jesus Christ to define that narrow way for them as they study the Word of God. I thank God for men like Simon Makovi who labor to equip their people to do these things, and for allowing us to work with Him (the Lord) in that service. Finally, I’d like to offer thanks to and for Brother Titus, his dear wife Dorcas, and the whole group who gave themselves so tirelessly in caring for us while we were with them.
From the May 2005 edition of the Vine & Branches
© Workers Together With Him, Inc.