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there is still much to be done. To my knowledge,
there is only one independent Baptist
missionary currently working in the western
portion of Kenya, where a large majority of
Kenyans live. There are very few working along
the coast or in the south and almost no one
working with the nomads scattered across the
north of Kenya. Although several missionaries
are working in the populous central region, the
need is far greater than the current number of
workers can meet.

I had known the statistics, but experiencing
the reality was entirely different. On my survey
trip, I was able to visit my future co-workers
Luke and Tonya Shelby. They drove my dad
and me up a tall mountain to a vantage point
that overlooked the region of Kisii where
they work, the most densely populated area
outside of the capital. The landscape below
was honeycombed with thousands of small
compounds, from wooden structures
with tin roofs to towns with crowded
apartments. It was exciting as the Shelbys
pointed out “We have a church here, and
over here…and a new one starting there.”
However, with a population of over two
million in Kisii and the surrounding
areas, there is still much work to be done!
Although Kenya’s spiritual need is very
evident, there is hope! God, Who is rich unto
all that call upon Him, is building His church
in Kenya. I am excited to be one of the laborers
He has sent to Kenya to meet the need! Perhaps
I will be the Sunday school teacher who can
make the Bible come alive to a little child or
the youth worker to take a personal interest in
someone’s life.

Missions, in some form, is the means by
which each of us was reached with the Gospel,
whether it was through preaching, visitation,
or the witness of a friend or family member.

Someone gave us our first Bible, greeted us
at church, and answered our questions about
salvation. Truly, all of us are debtors, not only
to missions but also to our Savior. I have often
heard my dad say, “May God help us to not let
missions stop with us but to go through us to
reach others!” W
Any time a society suffers, those who
are most affected are the children. The
same is true in the spiritual realm. While
Gospel-preaching churches in Kenya
are few, children’s ministries are much
fewer. However, nearly half of Kenya’s
population is under the age of 15.

When a throng of children crowded
around me the next Sunday eager to
recite their memory verses, I realized
that those smiling, jostling children
who had come to church were Kenya’s
hope for the future! On my trip, I also
had the opportunity to visit in several
schools. Each class was filled with
students who only heard the Gospel
when the missionary came, and I
saw so many other schools where
the missionaries had not yet had the
opportunity to visit.

Number 2, 2019
BIMI WORLD
13