He only wore one shoe. Despite the rocky ground riddled with thorns. But he was doing his best to tend the unruly flock of goats and cattle as they crazed beside the road. As I wrestled with the first of 3 tire problems on our Nairobi to Goibei trip, Marge gave the young boy something he hadn’t experienced in quite a while. A kind word. He warmed visibly, and almost cried when we left.

The boy was diligent, not like the tire mechanic who had carelessly allowed a speck of gravel to slip between the tire and tube head installed for us, the week before. I’m glad that mechanic wasn’t the one guarding the goats from wandering onto the road.

So we limped on to Gilgil, where we met another interesting individual. The manic mechanic. He jumped around trying to replace our torn tube, borrowing wrenches and causing onlookers to laugh. He had a unique tool shed. He had stacked a pile of huge tires, and jumped into the middle of them like a straw fitting into donuts. Why? His tools were neatly placed in the different tires, ready to sort and use.

Well, he didn’t succeed very well, because we had another flat. This time we met another interesting man. He was a soldier, and as he nervously helped change my tire, he held his rifle in one hand. He informed us that it was a dangerous spot due to robbers. His help was enthusiastic — so much so, that he broke my jack. As I have said, “Give us the job and we’ll finish the tools”.

So after 8 hours to travel 250 km, we stopped for 2 days of car repairs. There we met more interesting people… who reached out to help, and do their best to make our saga a little more positive.

I wondered what kind of person I am turning out to be for those on the road of life.

Thanks for keeping us in mind. God bless.

Ken & Marge MacGowan

He stood out from the start. Last September at our week-long seminar in Mumias, we spotted Nixon. What a promising, young pastor! Full of ideas and initiative! Eager to learn! And keen to have us for seminars in his church in Nairobi.

It’s easy, watching TV news, to have our perception swallowed up or dulled by sheer numbers. Over 1,000 dead in Kenya since December 30. Hundreds of thousands homeless. Countless shops and schools destroyed by fire and looting. Crops lying unharvested in the fields. Families separated forever.

But what about the individuals? Like the woman, age 105, burnt to death in a church. Like students, running for their lives, wondering where they can find a new school that has not been reduced to ashes.

And then there is Nixon. His four children had gone home for Christmas, near Kisumu. After December 30, they found they were cut off from their Dad, who was stranded in Nairobi without transportation. Riots, looting and death stood between Nixon and his family. When buses resumed (at a much higher cost to travellers) the children were able to get back to Nairobi a week late. Their bus was in an armed convoy (perhaps it was the same convoy we were supposed to have on January 12, which never materialized). And Nixon’s church? The landlord of the church building is of a different tribe than Nixon, so his congregation has been locked out. (After putting up a building on the landlord’s property!) But Nixon’s congregation shows the way. His leadership is inter-tribal. They are flexible enough to squeeze into Nixon’s house on Sundays, while they seek a new building. They are sensitive enough to distribute the little food, clothing and money that they have, to reach out to the aged, and widows.

Nixon is the kind of bright light that we so appreciate about Kenya. Pray for him – and us!

Ken & Marge MacGowan

Christian Religious Education Awareness for Teachers (CREATE)

Outline and Report, February 1, 2008

Ken and Marge MacGowan

Outline of our ministry

In 1982, Iris Scheel developed a program to train teachers to instruct the Bible in government schools. Since then over 3,170 have attended the 3-month course and have gone on to increased responsibility in the school system,. More than that, they now have a new walk with Christ. In fact, half of those who have attended made decisions for Christ here at Goibei. The graduates were awarded government-recognized certificates.

We arrived in January, 2007, and immediately conducted the 67^th CREATE class. Thirteen teachers attended the 3-month course, with four making decisions for Christ and choosing to be baptized in water. It is important to remember that these teachers reach thousands of children. The ultimate goal of CREATE is to draw children to Christ through their teachers, their pastors, and leaders. Recent events in Kenya indicate the need to touch the attitudes of children.

As the program developed, additional buildings were constructed. “Goibei” means “Rock of Water”. The facilities here provide living water through an outdoor amphitheatre for 600, a classroom, a library, a conference centre for 120, dormitories for 100, a lounge, a dining-hall, and staff housing. There are 11 families who depend on us for their family income.

New Developments

Since the year 2000, enrolment has declined. The main reason is that teachers want more than a certificate. With that in mind, we are now offering an upgraded diploma program that could lead to a university degree from Pan Africa Christian University. This program is conducted by extension, with 20 hours of classroom instruction per course, to complement studies at home. Our first contacts regarding this course have been encouraging. In fact, Ken is in the process of writing new courses for the degree program as we continue to recruit new students in different extension areas.

We have also developed an extensive array of teaching material which we offer in seminars. Some have lasted several days, but usually the material is presented in 6 hours. We have traveled extensively offering teaching on such subjects as Counselling, Evolution, the Family, Leadership, The Book of Revelation, Self-image, and AIDS/HIV. The computer and Power-point are often new to these rural leaders, and the program has met with great enthusiasm.

Marge has brought to fruition her vision of offering our facilities for retreats and conferences. Our first three retreats were a great success. The 11 families staffing our mission station are enhancing their income through retreat registration payments.

The goal of every missionary is to train local people to carry on the ministry. The use of our facilities as a retreat centre is something that is easy to indigenize, and our Kenyan friends are keen on developing new contacts who will hold conferences, retreats, or who will simply come to our Guest House.

Challenges

The greatest challenge is the lack of security. As I write, I am in Goibei without a vehicle. I had to fly here from Nairobi because the roads are not safe. (The public minibus trip from the Kisumu airport was an adventure.) I had to walk for an hour to reach the neighbouring town of Serem, to buy essential groceries. We never know when violence will erupt, as it did yesterday following a political assassination.

Our diploma course introductory meetings are underway but attendance is difficult because travel is unsafe. (A principal at Banja School, 3 kilometres away, had his life threatened unless he closed his school. He was told his wife would be beheaded if he persisted.) The 3-month CREATE 67 class has been postponed to May. My weekly teaching at the Bible School at Nyang’ori has been rescheduled for next month. Thank you for praying for our safety, for encouragement to the many people who are suffering in so many ways (over 1,00 have died in violence since December 27, and hundreds of thousands are homeless with their houses destroyed). We are excited about representing you, and Jesus Christ, in Goibei, Kenya.

A word about Photos

In a perfect world, I would forward photos from our digital camera. We have photographs of the 567 girls who attended our Sunday services, the 600 children who enjoyed our kids’ rally, the many churches we have visited, the teachers and leaders who have attended our extension seminars, and the 11 families you help support.

Unfortunately, the internet speed is very slow. It is not uncommon to wait for 15 or 20 minutes to download our first e-mail message. Efforts we have made to forward photos have been Herculean. Often the connection is severed before the photos have even been sent.

We will try, however, to forward photos as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Well, at least it helped me wake up quickly. I was up early in Goibei, and opened the front door. A lizard dropped onto my bare arm. That was a wake-up fall.

It was typical of the last two weeks. I really identified with those who are suffering during this unrest. My rides on public transport (squeezed, hot, and unsafe), and my hour-long walk to get groceries served to make me grateful for all our blessings. My engagements in Goibei were fruitful, even though two of the 6 events were canceled because it was unsafe for the students to travel.

I made some crucial contacts, and we are all waiting for the unrest to settle down so we can get back into high gear. One important meeting was with the General Superintendent of our 3,000 churches in Kenya. After booking some of our buildings, he offered his driver as a means to getting to the airport. During our 35-km drive, I passed 18 places where there had been fires and barricades, recently removed by the police and army. It was, shall I say, interesting.

You may notice that time does not permit me to write in great detail (I also suspect that few of you have time to read a detailed report). So I attach a more complete update.

Thanks for your interest and prayer. God bless.

Ken & Marge MacGowan