Our culture is different but our worship is universal
An amazing mission trip to Kenya began with prayer for God’s provision to make the journey possible, says Elim minister Gez Nicholls
The mission trip to Kenya was led by Paul Hudson, with Mike Reid, Duncan Clark, Simon Foster and myself. It was an absolute privilege to be alongside these guys.
Actually, I never expected to be on the trip. I am bi-vocational and was made redundant at the end of 2023 from my role as a building surveyor. But, having prayed about the lack of finance, clearly God had a plan and I received a phone call saying the international flight cost would be covered.
To say I was blown away by that would be an understatement. Then I completed a sponsored walk – just short of a 27-miles round trip – between the two churches I am on the leadership teams with: Knottingley and Wakefield Elim Community Church. Peter Bowley walked with me and we raised enough money to cover the remaining costs, through God’s provision and people’s generous donations.
In Kenya our first stop was in Turkana. Funds had been raised in the UK for the food relief programme that Elim run in the north of the region. Many people only eat every third or fourth day, and the church will help with food distribution. It had rained but there is not enough vegetation and animals to sustain many who live a nomadic life.
One church we visited had been praying for food and we had food on board, so this was a welcome answer to their prayers. Speaking at the local churches, getting alongside the pastors and people was a real privilege.
Our second stop was in Masai, where we spoke at a two-day pastors’ conference which was also opened up to the churches in the town of Bisil. We were blessed to see land that had been given by a local Masai family for a church plant. The building programme is in place and meetings have already commenced. We also visited local families in their homes to pray with them.
For our last stop, we moved to Malindi on the east coast, where we spoke at a village church we visited two years ago. The visit was also timed to attend the opening of Elim’s regional headquarters in Kaliapapo. The project initially started on our last visit in 2023. Wakefield and Knottingley churches played a part in this, as funds were raised with folks from Knottingley giving up their time on cold winter mornings to run a market stall.
Our mission brief was teaching and encouragement of the pastors and congregations of the churches. God’s people in Kenya are so open to him and ready to respond to the Holy Spirit. I certainly received more from spending time with them than I could ever give out. Their love for Jesus, welcome, hospitality, faith in action is inspiring and humbling.
Our language and cultures are very different, yet our worship and praise is universal, a real glimpse of how it will be in heaven (Revelation 7:9).
This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.