MISSION TO KENYA Into Maasai Land Mission trips are helpful in several different ways. Of course, the primary purpose of the trip is to carry the Gospel to the nations and assist indigenous Christians to more effectively reach their neighbors with God s word. Another reason for going on mission trips is that the one who goes is often stretched to a point where they remember not only the clarifying beauty of the message they proclaim, but also the insatiable need to depend upon God completely. Above: I am preaching to Maasai people in the Gathering Place in the mountain village of Ntimaru In the month of September, I was given the opportunity to go to Kenya on mission. This trip was made possible by the partnership of many people. I was blessed to be the one going; however, I want the many of you who supported me to hear of the fruit born through our partnership. My trip can be most easily divided into two separate sections. During the first week, I traveled with a Kenya church planter, Jonathan Abongo, to southern Kenya. We climbed in his truck and drove for nearly six hours. Our destination was Kuria which is a region next door to Tanzania. Our plan was to 1
connect with several Kenya Pastors living in Kuria. Afterwards, we were going to travel into Maasai territory to evangelize and show the Jesus Film among the villages. The Maasai and Kurians have similar religious practices and cosmology. In their tribal religions, they both worship the sun and highly esteem the cow. Throughout their history the Kurians and Maasai have experienced ongoing conflict and wars because of their constant cattle rustling. The Kurian village, Kehacha, that we came to was on the edge of Maasai land. They farmed in Maasai land which was very dangerous. Kurians Above: This is the team of Kurian Pastors that accompanied Jonathan (far right) and me. are farmers and Maasai raise cattle and goats. The Kurians often sneak across the border and steal cattle. The Maasai then retaliate and kill Kurians especially those who are attempting to farm on Maasai lands. Maasai men carry weapons with them everywhere they go. Typically, a Maasai man will carry a Maasai Machete, Rungu (war club), or a long spear. Below: Jonathan and Cepha preaching to The pastors that we met in Kuria land were brave men who truly believed the the people in power of the Gospel to heal conflict and reach the unreached. Two of them Mishang-qua were former Kurian cattle thieves. They were saved in prison and called to pastor. All of these young pastors were men being discipled by Jonathan Abongo. After meeting with them for prayer at a church in Kuria, we all climbed into the small pickup truck and traveled to a village on the edge of Kuria land called Mishang-qua. Our first night was amazing. We arrived late in the afternoon and immediately began setting up the projector and screen. The people began gathering and the pastors led them in singing and Jonathan and I preached in the open air for a couple of hours. As the sun began to set, the people settled in to watch the Jesus Film. 2
Above: Pastor Jonathan, Momma Monica, Pastor Cleophas, Pastor Mary After the film, Jonathan called them to respond to Jesus and 20-25 people professed faith in Jesus Christ. The Kurian pastors planned to return to follow up with those who professed faith and to hopefully establish a church within the community. The nine men stayed in a very small room for the night. The next day we would travel into Maasai land. The following morning we traveled to a small town in Maasai land called Lolgorian. We met up with two Christian Maasai women who would provided introductions for us into the community. We picked up momma Monica and pastor Mary and traveled past Lolgorian to our first Maasai village. The family village set up in the mountains overlooking the Rift Valley. It was called Ntimaru. When we arrived, the family greeted us warmly. Introductions were made and songs were sung. I was told later that the immediate family were Christian and that this family was inviting their neighboring families to come to the days events. By mid morning 30-40 people had gathered and Jonathan began teaching them what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. After lunch he asked me to preach and so I explained to them the big story of the Bible and climaxed with John 3:16. One young man professed faith in Christ and their was great celebration by dancing and singing. That night we showed the Jesus Film and several professed faith in Jesus. The following day we traveled back to Lolgorian and met with the believers there. We worshipped together in a church and Jonathan and I both preached. Afterwards we traveled to our final village. As we arrived, the men were Below: Mountain village of Ntimaru 3
leading a ram out into the woods to be slaughtered. Jonathan and I asked to follow them and watch them work. They were glad for our company. Later that evening, the men came to Jonathan and me. They requested our presence out in the woods. As we walked through the brush we noticed a fire and a small group of men sitting around it. They were roasting the ram meat and greeted us. We sat down and they explained that only Maasai men cook meat and that this was a common practice for them. They would sit around the fire cooking meat. This is where important conversations would take place and honest dialogue was promised. Above: The Chief, Michael, gives me his Rungu as we stand in front of his cattle pen. They explained that I could ask them any question that I wanted and they would give me honest answers. They also asked me many questions about life in America and how families work there. It was an incredible evening of conversation. Later that night we showed the Jesus Film and several professed faith in Christ. The Maasai chief wanted us to stay for another week. He wanted to take Jonathan and I out to Maasai Mara and see traditional Maasai homes which have the cow hide floors and the manure/mud walls. The next morning the chief served us chai (tea) and we began our journey back to Ahero near Kisumu. Below: Crowd gathered for leadership conference and women s conference in Bureti. Weekend Conference I returned to my team and we traveled to the mountains of Bureti the next day. Ken Hein and I taught about 40 pastors about the importance of Christian leadership and the ladies led a women s conference at LeLache Baptist Church. Over 180 women showed up to participate in the Women s conference. It was an amazing day. The following morning I preached in Pastor Daoodi s (one of my former students) church then we traveled toward Nairobi. 4
Teaching at KBTC For the next week I taught pastoral counseling to 22 students at the Kenya Baptist Theological College in Limuru. They were such good students very eager to learn. I would like to thank all of you supported me financially and through prayer. This trip was incredibly effective and such rewarding experience. May the Lord bless you and provide us additional opportunities in the future to partner together for the Gospel! In Christian Love, Luke Bray 5