The Church Plant at Lokabekebeke, Turkana Land, Kenya

The hot wind blows dust across the African plain, picking up branches and other debris as we look on in the now dry river bed. Our Wayland Mission Center Kenya Team has traveled thousands of miles to this seemingly abandoned venue in far northwestern Kenya, among the Turkana people. The team, although weakened at times by illness and exhaustion, is complete as we spend the night at Lokabekebeke, Kenya, in a traditional Turkana boma. Rising out of the dusty soil created by years long drought, this humble dwelling shakes its fist at the horrific conditions which seek to crush it, and its people.

We are here at the invitation of Pastor James Esinyen Ikimat, a Wayland Kenya graduate, who serves as the leader of Baptists in this corner of East Africa. James, an indigenous Turkana, is a jovial though conscientious leader. James has a vision for his people, and we seek, as a missions-sending university, to work alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ in all places of the world. James has asked that we worship and lead in this first, inaugural worship service of the Lokabekebeke Baptist Church.

The residents of this place have never seen white people before. Hastings, one of James' fellow workers, translates for our team members as we greet the Turkana, and bear witness to our faith in Jesus Christ. Monique Lucio, one of our delightful team members (who will be a sophomore at Plainview High School in a few weeks) stands, dressed in the traditional Turkana shuka over her Western clothing, and tells of her life in Christ. Monique has blessed all of us with her sweet and gentle spirit, her passionate and contagious faith, and her powerful and compelling testimony.

I preach from the New Testament text of the Syro-Phoenician woman. A mother desperate for the healing of her little daughter, this Gentile sought out Jesus for salvation, for healing, and for restoration. Jesus, always looking for faith among those who sought him out, at first ignores her, and then, upon her insistence, responds to her repeated pleas with an ancient proverb, "It is not fair to throw the children's food to the dogs." The woman, undaunted by Jesus' apparent obstinance, answers Jesus with a statement of faith and acceptance of His lordship, sovereignty, and grace.

After the invitation I offer, we ask the LORD to consecrate this group of 89 persons as the first Christian church that Lokabekebeke has ever seen. There is no pastor, but there are leaders of the congregation who have accepted Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior. James will itinerate here from time to time, as he does in many other places in Turkana Land, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

As a gift to Wayland Mission Center, one of the Turkana women hands me a basket and tray, formed in the traditional style of weaving natural grasses. I will carry these back to Plainview in a few days, and display them proudly in the Wayland Mission Center display casea.

Our team has evangelized many of these people; many have openly prayed to receive Jesus Christ, and have joined us in standing as the first Christian believers in this place. I am thankful and challenged to continue proclaiming the good news of Jesus on every continent, among people who have never heard.

As we travel away from Lokabekebeke, heading toward the easternmost point of our journey, Eliye Springs on the shore of Lake Turkana (formerly called Lake Rudolph), I am moved beyond emotion for what has just happened. God's grace and mercy are beyond expression. We continue to join God in God's mission throughout the world.

Day #1 in Kenya, July mission

Dr. Don Raney, Zac Johnson, and I stood on a hillside near the viewpoint of the Great Rift Valley. Cut into the hillside is an indigenous stone home, with three calves lowing not fifty meters away. The overcast and foggy morning is slowly being transformed into a warm, winter, Kenyan day. We have come here with Linus Kirimi, one of my best friends on this continent, and another pastor and man of God, Simon. There is no church in this area, Linus reports, and God has given him and Pastor Simon a vision for a local body of Christ here, near the viewpoint of the Great Rift Valley.

The area is Kiambu, a place of intense natural beauty and lush flora. To get to this idyllic hillside, we have driven off the main highway from Nairobi, through a pine forest evenly planted, skirted by hedgerows. The road is rough, rugged, and rutted, and our journey is slow-going, mainly because of my concern for the vehicle, and the mzee Simon in the back seat.

As we stood on the grassy hillside among the lowing calves, Linus Kirimi asks me to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the persons gathered. I introduce myself and my American friends to the Kenyans gathered nearby. I then read the story of Nicodemus' encounter with Jesus from John 3. I tell these Kenyan women and men of Jesus, and all that He has done. I remind them of their sinful nature, and revel in the love of God for them. I tell them of the thief on the cross who cried out for mercy to the Christ, and was promised an eternity in paradise.

When I lead the prayer at the end of my presentation, one woman, Mariana, and one man, Peter, pray aloud with me. Their English is tainted by the tradition of the Queen, but the authenticity of faith experience is simple, transparent, and refreshing. Upon the close of the Amen, I ask Mariana and Peter to become the first members of the Uplands Baptist Church, which will gather for the first time on July 17th, one week from this coming Sunday. They seem eager to found this local body of believers.

Zac Johnson is overwhelmed by what has just happened. In response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, there has been no resistance, no rejection, and no derision. There has been acceptance, contrition, and confession. Christ's words, that the fields are white unto harvest could never be more true.