St. Paul's Anglican Church, Kiambu

On the Sunday of our mission, we visited St. Paul's Church in Kiambu, a church in the Diocese of Mt. Kenya South which just celebrated its "100th Birthday." Bishop John Guernsey preached a powerful sermon.  The congregation has grown from 150 to almost 500 on a Sunday in the past 4 years.  They have four services each Sunday.  At the service we attended, people were sitting in chairs under a tent outside the church since the there was no room in the sanctuary. Oh yeah, most of the congregation brought their own Bibles!

Bishop John bring the Word!

Bishop John Guernsey, the Vicar, me

Bishop John, Debbie Peta, Glen Peta, Canon Rosemary, SosPeter, and me

Flowers of St. Julian's Centre

One of my surprises about Kenya was the gardens of St.Julian's Center.  This retreat center is furnished with flowering plants from all over the world.  It seemed like everything was blooming: the trees, the bushes, the flowers, and the cactuses.  This place was obviously designed to reflect the beauty of our Creator and display His Glory to all who would take notice.  Here is some of His Handiwork...

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St. Julian's Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

The first few days of our mission in Kenya was spent at the Anglican Church of Kenya's Guest House, St. Julian's Center, located about 45 minutes north of Kenya.  In the middle of several rural farms, St. Julian's is a quiet retreat center with beautiful grounds which have been furbished with flowering plants from all around the world.  No internet.  No noise.  A great place to spend time with the Lord.

Our team gathered to acclimate, pray together, plan our time with the bishops.  It was good to slow down and hear from the Lord about what He wanted us to do and "not" do.  The Centre fed us well -- breakfast, morning tea time, lunch, afternoon tea time, and dinner.  Although I was not always sure what we were eating, we had a lot of it!!

Ministry in Kenya

This past week I had the privilege to join a SOMA (Sharing of Ministry Abroad) mission in Kenya.  Bishop John Guernsey and I joined the SOMA National Director and his wife, Glen and Debbie Peta, on to an invitation to minister to the bishops of the Anglican Church of Kenya.  

What a privilege to speak to, pray with, and fellowship with such wonderful men of God!!  Thirty of the bishops gathered in Nakuru for their House of Bishops meeting.  These are incredible men of God who have an incredible ministry among the 7 million Anglicans in Kenya.   Their passion for the Lord is evident and their heart for their people is refreshing.

The rest of our team: Debbie Peta, John Guernsey, and Glen Peta

Bishop John Guernsey preaching at St. Paul's, Kiambu

Bishop Joel of Nairobi with Bishop Bill Atwood

Bishop Joseph of Nakuru

Kenyan House of Bishop Praying in Small Groups

Archbishop Eliud Wabakala

From Richard Halverson

From Richard Halverson, former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate:

You can organize until you are exhausted; you can plan, program, subsidize all your plans.   But if you fail to pray, it is a waste of time.  Prayer is not optional for us.  It is mandatory.  Not to pray is to disobey God.