Kenya 2010 Mission

                  The month of April means a mission to Africa. For the fourth consecutive year we will be visiting the county of Kenya. From our last three mission trips we have made many friends, and now consider Kenya to be our second home (well, maybe third, because we divide our time in the U.S. between California and Iowa).
 
John will again be teaching approximately 30 pastors and church leaders at Manna Bible Institute in Mbigathi, a small area on the outskirts of greater Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Manna borders the Nairobi National Park, where you find simba (lions) twiga (giraffes) and a host of other amazing animals. On quiet nights at Manna students tell us they can hear lions roar.
 
This year John will be teaching apologetics (the defense of the Christian faith) and early church history (which studies the development of the church’s understanding of Christian doctrine, and the rise of different traditions and denominations). Laurie & John have both been invited to speak at a pastor’s seminar about 30 miles from Manna, and will be speaking in churches and on the radio.
 
As we firm up our plans for April, we intend to visit some of John’s former students who have graduated from Manna and are pastoring churches throughout Kenya. Last year we visited Isaac Mwagi, whom John has had the privilege to teach for two years at Manna Bible Institute. Isaac has a mission church in a small settlement (approximately 5,000 in his village) along the shore of Lake Naivasha, north of Nairobi. We hope to visit Isaac again this year, and assist him with his ministry plans, which include starting a school for his village.
 
Ministry in Kenya has challenges there that we never encounter in the U.S. Nonetheless, we have had wonderful experiences teaching, ministering, worshipping, and praying with our brothers and sisters there. Please keep us in your prayers during our Africa 2010 mission as we continue to pursue the Great Commission of discipling all nations (Matthew 28:19-20).

See Photo Gallery for photos of past mission trips to Kenya..