2024 SLF Mission Team Pictured Above: Pastor Joey Sutton, Lead Pastor Jason Williams, Lane Owens
2024 Mission Trip Prayer Calendar
(Scroll Down For Trip Updates Below the Calendar)
2024 Mission Trip Updates By Joey Sutton
Friday - August 30, 2024 - Received 10:30 a.m. Local/6:30 p.m. Kenya
Fun fact, some cultures understand distances differently.
Today was the culmination of a wonderful week spent with our brothers and sisters in Kenyenya. Today was the long-awaited graduation. There was excitement for the students, the distinguished guests, for the families and certainly for us. Celebrations are very important in Kenya, they go all out, and this was no different. Processions are customary to mark graduations, ordinations, even deaths, or rather, expirations.
Two things weighed on our minds – 1) we must leave no later than 2:30 to have a shot at making our flight to Nairobi. 2) We were in suits, and it was going to be warm.
We started an hour behind schedule, but it was good to see the students dressed in their suits and robes, laughing and smiling, and taking pictures with them. We met several of the distinguished guests who traveled from very far to be in attendance, a gentleman named Edwin works with Denton Bible Church here in Texas on the development of the curriculum used in the training center and helps establish other training centers in Kenya.
After finally lining up on the road next to the church behind the banner for the school, and the 15-piece band (horns and drums), and the students, we were on our way. Behind us were the teachers and pastor Christiano, then distinguished guests, then a choir, then friends and families, at least 100 people gathered in this procession to celebrate this momentous occasion. And we were off, led by the local police.
It was an incredible scene. The band playing, the choir members signing, the students and family members shouting and blowing whistles, and everyone else within earshot lining the streets to see what all the commotion was about. The whole community was celebrating these students as we sang worship choruses in Swahili. It’s 400 meters from Pastor Christiano’s church to the soccer field in the center of the city where the ceremony would be held; we’re marching and waving and having a great time. As we approached the field the driver of the police vehicle turned left, it seemed strange so I asked one of the government officials in attendance walking next to me, a man named Wycliffe, to which he responded, “Oh yes, the whole city needs to see the procession.” That’s when I began to worry. That’s also when Jason began to worry and when Lane began to worry. Not only about not making our flight, but about the strength of the equatorial sun beating down on our light skin and bald heads.
We went on about ¼ of a mile and made U-turn back to the soccer field, and the intensity of the procession was only increasing. The singing was louder, the whistleblowing was more frequent, and the people were even more joyful. As we re-approach the soccer field, the driver made another left, and we started down another road. At this point we’ve just accepted that we’re going to sweat through our suits and have a least a mild sunburn. As on the previous road, we went about ¼ of a mile and made a u-turn. After marching for about 45 minutes, we finally made it to the soccer field, where there are tents set up, but the stage was uncovered.
As we took our seats under the tent, Mike Curry spoke with Christiano and asked that his slot to preach be moved to the end so that we would be able to participate in giving the certificates, giving the charge, and praying over the graduates….and be able to make our flight. As the program began, more people began to come and sit under one of the three tents, around 300, with many more lining the streets around the field. On top to that, the sound system they were using amplified voices down one side of the mountain and up the next.
It was truly amazing to see how much attention was put into the graduation of 9 young men from an 18-month Bible training program, even the District County Commissioner showed up. Pastor Christiano told us at dinner last night that in the 14 years since he moved to Kenyenya, he can see the tide turning as more pastors and church leaders go through the Bible training curriculum. 14 years ago, Christiano and his students were branded as devil worshipers because they preached something different than Seventh Day Adventist doctrine. 14 years ago, a public graduation would not have been possible. But today we were out in the open, publicly worshipping and declaring the name of Jesus!
After giving the diplomas, I gave the charge to the students, reading from 2 Timothy 4:1-5, and encouraging them with a quote from Jim Elliott – “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
We said our goodbyes behind the stage, took more photographs, and gave more hugs. It was truly a glorious day. We did indeed make it to the airport in Kisumu, more than slightly sunburned, sweaty and smelly, completely disheveled, but in complete awe of what the Lord has done in allowing our little church to participate with this ministry, and witness the things we did this week.
Please pray for:
Rest tonight. Each of has had intermittent sleep at best and I think we’re feeling the effects (the sun didn’t help.)
Our travel home tomorrow, we leave at 6:10 pm Saturday and arrive at 9:50am Sunday, we are all so ready to be home and see our families, and all of you. This would not have been possible without your prayers.
For the graduates, that they would go out from today with excitement and boldness, that they would remember the charge to preach the word!
Thursday - August 29, 2024 - Received 1:00 p.m. Local/9:00 p.m. Kenya
For the last two days we’ve been participating in a Pastor’s Conference at Pastor Christiano’s church. It was a wonderful time of Bible teaching and fellowship. The attendees heard teaching on the gospel, the importance of sound doctrine, dealing with false teachers, matching your preaching with your lifestyle, and true contentment. The attendees took a lot of notes, and as is the custom, went around the room and shared what they learned.
One of the most interesting parts of the trip involved an extensive question and answer time we had on Wednesday. We covered a variety of topics, including differences between the King James Bible and other versions, what is appropriate fellowship with denominations who call themselves Christian but aren’t, what does an appropriate invitation look like at the end of a gospel proclamation, and our favorite – in James 5:14 where he tells the elders to anoint a sick person with oil, what kind of oil is it?
This question seems simple, but it’s indicative of the lack of sound biblical interpretation, and the spiritual abuse that happens around the country. Rather than placing their faith in God to heal the sick, they were placing their faith in the correct oil recipe (we learned of a rather grotesque recipe used in northern Kenya). We noticed this pattern in similar questions. Sadly, this problem isn’t unique to Kenya. You don’t have to flip through too many channels or scroll through very many social media posts before you see some “ministry” or “pastor” who has reduced God to a genie that can be manipulated with a formula, and scripture to a book of mysticism. It’s heartbreaking because many of the people we’ve met truly love Jesus, but have sat under bad teaching their whole lives.
I’m encouraged, because slowly but surely, training centers like the one we sponsor are turning out Christian pastors and leaders who have at least a basic understanding of proper interpretation. The best part is when they graduate from the program they get to keep all of their material; they take it with them back to their hometowns, or where the Lord leads them and they use it to disciple others. It’s an uphill battle, but the Lord is at work.
Mike Curry arrived safely last night and we were able to catch up over diner. During the Pastor’s Conference he taught a lesson on the difference between training and teaching, and the importance of making disciples.
All in all, I think the Pastor’s Conference went well. We met Mike and Christiano for dinner tonight and asked Christiano for feedback from the pastors who attended. He said the feedback was positive and many found it beneficial. Many of the pastors who attended have never received any training in reading and understanding scripture, they had never seen expositional preaching/teaching before.
Tomorrow is the graduation ceremony, which is scheduled to last about 5 hours. All of the graduates, teachers, visitors and guests will line up at the church and march with a band about a ¼ mile to the field where we will have the ceremony. This is intended to be evangelistic, and is actually pretty common here. We have a hard cutoff of 2:30pm to leave Kenyenya and head back to Kisumu to catch a 7:00pm flight to Nairobi….the ceremony is scheduled to end at 1:45pm
Please pray for:
The pastors who attended the conference. That the Lord would provide teachers and resources to guide them to Biblical faithfulness in their preaching. That god would give them a hunger for it.
The graduation ceremony, that it would run according to schedule! That there won’t be any rain, as we will be under a tent in a field.
Our travel, as we have tight window to get back to Kisumu and the roads can be very unpredictable.
Tuesday - August 27, 2024 - Received 1:45 p.m. Local/9:45 p.m. Kenya
What a great day!
Today we spent time teaching the students, specifically on the topics of perseverance and suffering; I taught on perseverance from Hebrews and Jason taught on suffering from 1 Peter. In both teaching times we encouraged the students to look beyond their trials and hardships, and look to Christ and the hope and inheritance we have in him. We shouldn’t be surprised when trials come on us, and we shouldn’t lose heart, after all they’re only here for a little while. What’s more, WE’RE only here for a little while! “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” Heb. 13:14.
The students were very responsive. If you think Jason is an animated preacher now, you should see him preach to a room full of Kenyans saying “Amen”, he was in the zone.
One of the things we learned as we taught the students is that they have a very good grasp on scripture. They were each knowledgeable and able to answer and respond. Also, I think it was good for the students to see the attention that teachers from SLF give to the Word. Our hope was to show them that we don’t go beyond scripture, to set an example for them as they go out to preach. Even later, during a Q&A, there were a few times that the students asked about a subject where scripture isn’t explicitly clear, and the answer they received was “I don’t know.” To which Pastor Christiano remarked – “In Kenya we need to be better at saying I don’t know.” We cautioned them against speaking authoritatively where scripture is silent, that’s when we tend to get in trouble.
After taking lunch, we heard more internship reports from graduating students, each reporting hardship and challenges but rejoicing over what the Lord has done in their lives. We also heard from Jefferson, who is a graduate of the training center and now a teacher there. He walked through the radical change in his life and even shared about a miracle he witnessed while out evangelizing. A man was suffering from swelling in his abdomen, and Jefferson shared the gospel with him, the man believed and trusted Jesus. After Jefferson left, the man died the next day. According to Jefferson this is the miracle - “Can you believe that? This man lived just long enough to hear the gospel and believe and be saved!! What a miracle!” The joy and conviction on his face as he was sharing this would warm even the coldest heart.
Salvation truly is a miracle! I pray we never see it as anything less.
Tomorrow is day one of the Pastor’s Conference, and Christiano is expecting about 80. It will be another exciting day for sure.
Please being in prayer for:
The Pastor training conference tomorrow, that the teaching would be grounded in scripture, and beneficial to all who attend. That any cultural or language barriers would be removed, and any doctrinal confusion would be cleared up.
Mike Curry as he travels from northern Kenya to join us Wednesday night.
The students who will be going back to hard places after the graduation ceremony Friday. Each one faces hardship that we just can’t understand, and once they’re separated from the group the temptation to throw in the towel will be strong. Pray for perseverance and endurance.
Monday - August 26, 2024 - Received 10:00 a.m. Local/6:00 p.m. Kenya
We spent the day with the students from the training center – current students, previous students and new students coming in. In the afternoon we were supposed to go to a school – but due to a teachers strike not being resolved until yesterday, most kids didn’t show up for school today. There are even some planned protests in our area, but they shouldn’t affect us.
This morning, we spent time hearing testimony from the graduating students about what they learned during their time in the training center. Almost to a person the answer was discernment. For the first time they felt like they had the tools of Biblical knowledge and sound interpretation methods to discern false, or mystic, teaching from truth. They realized that much of what they had learned in their churches was incomplete at best and dangerous at worst.
We heard from Boni, who went to university and left a secure job at the United Nations to pursue full time ministry. He will be graduating from the training this Friday. Prior to graduating, students are required to go back to the town where they came from and complete and 8 week internship with the pastor who recommended them. During that time they have to engage in evangelism as well as discipleship, teaching others some of the curriculum they’ve learned. Then they give an internship report to Pastor Christiano; Boni gave his report this afternoon. He said that going back to his hometown as a pastor was hard because people he grew up couldn’t believe what he had walked away from. He was faithful to preach and make disciples during that time and did not earn any money, but he was excited to share with us that the Lord provided for his needs and the needs of his family.
We spent time being questioned by the students, mostly about ministry in America. We were able to describe the vast cultural differences that exist between our two countries, and the obstacles that we have that they may not have. In all of that, we stressed the importance of faithfulness to preach God’s word and trust Him with the results.
Because there were so many students we met at Pastor Christiano’s church, but we left for an hour to go to the ministry training center. We spent time with Pastor Christiano discussing their needs and challenges and plans for the future. He and his family are joining us tonight for dinner where we will have further discussion.
Because of the attendance issues related the strike we won’t be able to go the schools tomorrow. We will continue to hear internship reports and testimony from former students. Pastor Christiano also asked that Jason and I spend time teaching on perseverance; Jason will be teaching from 1 Peter and I will be teaching from Hebrews.
Please be praying for:
1. These students who have left homes, jobs and families to come be trained to have a solid foundation in Biblical knowledge, that they wouldn’t waiver in their commitment.
2. For Pastor Jason and I as we teach tomorrow, that we would model Biblical faithfulness.
3. The training center, that we would build a sustainable long term relationship, being good stewards of the resources God has provided through your giving.
Sunday - August 25, 2024 - Received 11:00 a.m. Local/7:00 p.m. Kenya
Saturday was a day of travel, so the only item for an update is that we made it to our final destination with no issues! Thank you for praying. Even though the flight is short, the 3-hour van ride can be taxing. For the first few days there’s just an unsettled feeling. Always going, but never arriving.
When we did make it to the hotel, they did not have our reservation, and in spite of some language barriers we were able to secure rooms and meals…sort of. (A story for another day). We were quickly reminded how much we were in God’s hands because things could have turned out differently. At the end of the evening we were able to get to sleep and prepare for the reason we came to Kenya.
What a difference a night makes! Waking up Sunday morning, the weather was very windy and a crisp 58 degrees! We met a new hotel staff member named Faith, who was very kind and helpful. We enjoyed breakfast and prayed for the upcoming teaching and preaching and then we were on our way to Pastor Christiano’s church.
We arrived at Pastor Christiano’s church and spent some time catching up with him. It was good to see him along with some of the others who remembered me from our visit in 2022. We were welcomed warmly, and there was excitement, plenty of enthusiastic hugs, and handshakes to go around.
I taught their adult Bible Study, which was a real joy. Afterward, Pastor Chris came up and began calling on people to read out some of the notes they took, and to tell the church what they learned from the lesson. **Jonathan, perhaps we can try this in Focus Class :)** It was encouraging to hear what people took away. It was good to worship with brothers and sisters from another culture, to hear familiar hymns sung in a different language. It is a beautiful picture of what we have to look forward to in heaven as people from every tongue, tribe, people and nation gather around the throne to sing praise to God!
Pastor Jason preached on the gospel from Ephesians 2. He didn’t mince words and was clear on what the gospel is and why it is good news. It was WELL received. I take for granted that we hear a clear gospel presentation every Sunday, but several in the audience remarked that they had never heard it put so plainly. Teaching and preaching through an interpreter can be challenging, but the Lord removed any barriers that might threaten the clear proclamation of His word and it went well.
After taking lunch (rice, cabbage and some beans (that looked like very small peas)) we reconvened with the leaders of the church to talk through what leadership in the church looks like and have a time of questions & answers. To say that some of the questions and challenges presented were tough would be an understatement! Wow! The best part is that while Jason and I were the ones standing up front taking the questions, Lane also got in on the action by sharing his insight and was able to provide clarity on a few questions that were raised. There was active participation and great discussion and I think the time was well spent.
We’ve made it back to the hotel in time to watch the worship service at Sovereign Life as a thunderstorm rolls in. Tomorrow we spend time with students at the training center as well as previous graduates who have returned this week to attend the graduation ceremony.
Please be in prayer for:
1. The leaders at Kenyenya Town Church as they are facing challenges that we would have a difficult time relating to. This church is one of two “spiritual” churches in the area, meaning non-Seventh Day Adventist and non-Roman Catholic. Pray that God would give them wisdom and discernment on how to address issues that arise, and what ministries to engage in.
2. Faith, the hotel employee who was helpful to us. We were able to tell her why we are here, as the week goes on, we hope to learn if she is trusting in Jesus and have similar conversations with other hotel employees.
Friday - August 23, 2024 - Received 11:00 a.m. Local/7:00 p.m. Kenya
We made it safely to our room at the Heart Lodge in Nairobi around 1:30am local time; needless to say, after 24 hours of travel, we were exhausted. The Lord was kind to us during our trip as we experienced no trouble and each of us even got a little sleep on the plane.
This morning we were up early for breakfast, and then Mike Curry met up with us and we went over to a feeding station/school in the Mathare slum. We visited this location on our last trip here and even though I had seen it before, the sights, sounds and smells still elicited a visceral response. The slum is home to anywhere between 500,000 and 800,000 people, packed in on top of one another. As you can imagine the living conditions are meager at best, no one smiles, there is sewage in the street, and the extreme flooding Kenya experienced in the Spring killed many, as a river runs through the middle of the slum. It is here of all places that the Lord called Pastor Kennedy and his wife Faustine to begin feeding, teaching and evangelizing the children. Through their partnership with Light Ministries, they have grown from a few sheet metal rooms in a literal cesspool, to a four story permanent structure, with classrooms, a large meeting room, and a modernized kitchen…and they’re still adding on.
The school feeds 300 kids per day, two meals per day, mostly porridge, beans and rice, but occasionally corn and on really special occasions, meat. Seeing the school again, and hearing what the Lord has done even in last two years caused me to go to Psalm 145:14-16
“14 The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.15 The eyes of all look to you and you give them their food at the proper time. 16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”
Even in the most dire of circumstances, the Lord is sovereign in providing, and the children are learning to look to Him for their provision, as if their very lives depended on it, which in their case, it does. It was a powerful reminder to our team, not to become so deceived into thinking that the blessings that we enjoy back home have come ONLY as a result of our ability to provide for ourselves. We have to constantly be on guard against our comparatively wealthy lifestyles - by wealthy, I mean we have options for kind of food we want to eat each day. Let us pray as Jesus taught us - “Give us this day our daily bread” as if our very lives depended on it.
The school was on a two week break but we were able to visit with some of the students who play there because it’s safe. We heard them sing and recite poetry and Bible verses, and they welcomed us warmly to their home. It was good to see their joy, it was infectious. After receiving the traditional gift of a Maasai blanket to keep us warm, we said our goodbyes.
Tomorrow, we will resume travel with an hour flight to Kisumu and a three-hour drive south to Kisii.
Each day I will try to include a list of things you can being praying for:
1. Pray for Pastor Kennedy and his wife Faustine, that they would be strengthened and encouraged as they continue to be light in a dark place.
2. Pray that the Lord would continue to provide for the needs of the school - it costs about $3,000 per month to educate and feed 300 kids two meals per day, and with inflation, those prices have continued to increase. Pray that others would step up and partner with this ministry.
3. Pray that we would sleep tonight, I think each of us hit the wall this afternoon, and really felt the jet lag.
4. Please pray for our travels tomorrow. Our flight to Kisumu was originally scheduled to depart at 9:30 but has already been delayed an hour, pray that there wouldn’t be further delays.
