Appleseed Travel Journal

— Women: The Backbone of Africa

Women, driven by an inner strength and desperation that only a mother knows, are the true backbone of Africa. Many of them are moms who have little education. Most are illiterate and poor with few skills and multiple children. They are single, abandoned first wives of men long since gone or maybe widows or even young teens who had hoped for a solution to their problems by finding a husband. Carolyne is one such mom. Yes, she has a husband, but he’s seldom, if ever, at home. She, like the others, must find a way to house, feed, clothe, and educate her children.

Carolyne and her youngest

I got to spend the day with Carolyne at her place in Western Kenya because I wanted to learn more about her and the women who are part of a large network of disciple-makers in that area. But what I learned about this amazing young woman was so much more. Carolyne’s deep passion is sharing with others about her relationship with Jesus, but how and when she gets to do this must be interwoven into her daily life because of her many responsibilities. Trying to wrap my head around a day in her life, I finally asked her, “Please, start at the beginning. Describe to me what a typical day looks like for you.”

Very soft-spoken, gentle and humble, she quietly began:

“I wake at 5:00 am and that’s when I pray, nurse my baby and then I begin cooking. I go out and build the fire in the kitchen and start mixing the wheat flour, oil, sugar and baking soda for making mandazi. After making those things, I start to sell in the shop I just built here that you can see. I also supply to some shops in the village and the rest I take to a school nearby.

The kitchen, where food is cooked on a fire built from wood collected from nearby forests
Carolyne’s shop

“After the selling, I go to the farm (a plot across the road from her place). There I do planting, weeding, or harvesting. If there is food available, I then prepare lunch for myself and my children. I make ugali with the fire just here and some vegetables.

Barefoot and often pregnant or with a young one straddling their backs, women can often be seen hand plowing or weeding plots of vegetables.

“If it’s a day for house church, then after cleaning at my place or maybe washing clothes (by hand), I go to that. On Wednesdays I meet with the five leaders from the five house churches I have started. If it’s Saturday I meet with the one who disciples me and the others.

“If it’s not the day for meeting with other house churches, then I must spend time getting water from the river for the house, for washing, cooking, and drinking or maybe I look for firewood to bring back to my place. There are also some days that I take time to go to the village to get more supplies for my business.

“After that, I make dinner. We love ugali so much and it’s good for sleeping, so we eat ugali and skumawiki and those small dried fishes for protein. Then, we wash everything and go to bed very early because there’s no electricity; we use only traditional lighting. That’s my day.”

“A day without ugali and skuma is like a day with no food at all.” - any East African you talk to says this!

Carolyne has been a disciple-maker for about 3 or 4 years. She has 4 children; one is a baby, so while she’s doing all of this, most of the time the little one is strapped tightly to her back. Two years ago the one who discipled her, Caren, taught her how to make mandazi and samosas. She gave her $30 to buy the ingredients to begin her business. Since then she has learned how to manage her money well and saves 100KSH ($1) each day. From her savings she opened the small shop on her compound where she sells vegetables from her garden as well as mandazi and samosas. From those profits she’s been able to buy seeds to grow skumawiki, buy several local chickens for laying that she keeps in a makeshift coop attached to her outdoor kitchen.

With her eyes watering and burning from the wood fire inside the kitchen where she had been cooking earlier, Carolyne sat back in a plastic chair comfortably chatting with me while nursing her baby…no complaints, no expectations, just matter of factly telling me about her life. Her focus? Not on what she didn’t have, but on what she does and what she can do with it. She trusts God completely. She knows that He sees her, knows and loves her and gives her opportunities she never dreamed possible. Her relationship with him and what He has done for her is why she is so passionate for other women to know, believe and trust in this same God. She and many, many like her are drawing from a strength that is not their own, changing their lives and the lives of their children. This is why, with great confidence, I firmly believe God is using women to change the plight and face of Africa.

Carolyne (far right) and other disciple-makers in the Busia area of Western Kenya

— You never know…

About seven or eight years ago we went on a road trip with our Kenyan friends, Dawson and Elizabeth. Our mission? To do a DMM (Disciple-Making Movement) training at the eastern Kenyan coastal city of hot, hot Mombasa. We began our journey assured that their little sedan was cooperating well, had new tires and was up for the long 12-hour journey from Kitale town in the West all the way to the coast.

Everything went well, even though the roads were not as they are today, with mostly two lane highways, often with potholes and few communities along the way. Dawson even allowed us to stop for a coke and white bread occasionally and find somewhere to “relieve ourselves.” Until. Until the smoke billowing from under the hood of the car could be ignored no longer. By then it was getting darker by the minute, which was very unsafe because of either wild animals (as in lions) or thieves and we were somewhere out on the plains with no town in sight and few vehicles passing by.

After some time a large semi stopped to help. With shillings to provide incentive, the driver pulled out a heaving metal chain, precariously looped it around the front bumper and then hauled us to the nearest town, which happened to be Voi. Well, we ended up never making it to Mombasa, but did find literally a half-built hotel/conference center where we could stay and also host a training there on the roof. So, then people from Mombasa traveled the two hours by matatu or motorbike out to us there in Voi while we waited for our car to be repaired. That was a long time ago.

Unexpected stay and training in Voi a long, long time ago.

Now, all these years later here we are in Mombasa again…doing a training, not with Dawson, but with some of the Kenyan DMM team who have been working in this area as disciple-makers. Seventy people have joined us. One of the very first people I met, I recognized right away and asked him, “Have I met you before?”

With a big smile a tall, lanky guy named Paul answered, “Yes, we have met! We met in Voi a long time ago and the things we heard about have been in our minds and hearts for all that time. It wasn’t until Kennedy (from the Kenyan team) came to our place last February that we were able to hear about these things again. We were so grateful because our place is tough and people need to hear the Gospel and be able to meet in simple ways. Since that time we have reached the Makunde tribe. You will hear their testimonies. We have eight leaders now who have each started between 8 and 12 house churches themselves.

Paul
Kennedy (on the right) who went back to the Southern Coast of Kenya

Sometimes we wonder what or why or is anything happening at all…in our own lives, the lives of our children and families, in the lives of the people we meet. But, then, there are those rare times that we actually get to see and hear how God can take something so small done in Jesus’ name and multiply it a hundredfold…because that is who He is and that is exactly what He does!

Paul and his group of 8 leaders who traveled from Kenana
We met with 70 folks from communities all along the Coastal regions of Kenya from the very volatile area near the Somali boarder to the most southern county of Kwale.

— Vision and Hope Birthed

“We have been living with Muslims all around us and working with them. Now we know how to connect with them and reach them.”

From up and down the coast of Kenya people gathered in Mombasa to learn about spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to Muslims. Two reasons why this area is so important:

  1. Many areas contain unreached groups—mostly Muslims—where the Gospel is little known or understood. They are impoverished physically and spiritually and need Jesus’ word of life!
  2. These poor areas become targets for Al Qaeda related terrorists to recruit into a radical form of Islam.

We trained in the coastal heat alongside our Kenyan team from western and a trainer who specializes in Muslim outreach:

  1. How to build bridges to Muslims seeing them as potential friends rather than enemies.
  2. Using the stories of Isa (Jesus’ name in the Quran) to introduce spiritual conversation.
  3. Telling the stories of the prophets from Adam to John the Baptist to develop the theme of the need for blood to be shed for shame and sin to be removed.
  4. Telling the story of Isa (Jesus) as the only one who can remove the sin/shame from a person’s life.
  5. How to see movements of disciples reaching and making more disciples within these groups of people.

Pastor/businessman in Mombasa:

“I was supposed to be working this week, but I could not miss a session. I am preparing now to train 20 people from my church to send out to many different areas along the coast to do this work of reaching Muslims and disciple making.”

As the week went on, you could sense the excitement growing in people’s hearts. After several intense days, we wrapped up on Friday and many wanted to get out of town before the traffic started up. Many times, we see this happen and people begin to trickle out of the conference in order to make their way home. BUT, on this particular Friday not ONE person left their seat until the training ended. They were hungry to impact their Muslim friends and to see how they can facilitate movements of disciple makers among these people.

Sent by WhatsApp after the conference to John Omondi:

“Praise the Lord Jesus Christ Mr. Omondi. Am much grateful for the inspiring teachings. God bless you indeed. I assure will work hand in hand with you and DMM (Disciple Making Movements) in my area and am going to start. Thank you for everything once more sir.”

Another participant:

“Because of this training my team of eight leaders is learning even more. We really needed this encouragement and training in order to reach even more people.”

Final word from John Omondi, the Kenya team leader:

“This was one of the most successful trainings we have ever had because out of the 75 participants almost three quarters are willing and ready to move. I continue to receive calls from different areas saying they have started and that we should visit them and see how they are doing. Starting next month, we as a team will begin visiting these areas to encourage them in the implementation of disciple-making movements among the Muslims and other marginalized tribes.”

— Never Too Old…

Recently I was so inspired when I read a quote by the passionate and dedicated missions expert Dr. Ralph Winter. When they were in their 70’s, he and as it happened also his wife Roberta had both just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. You’d think at that point they would set aside their life’s work to focus on other things. Instead, this was their response, “We can see the finish line, and we’ve decided to sprint for it!”

At a recent training, I thought of Dr. Winter and his wife when an elderly man named Jared slowly stood up to speak. Grinning and excited to have the opportunity to share, Jared started talking about his life since meeting Jesus and how he is now going to others and making disciples. Radically changed, super excited and ready to go, Jared and his wife Margaret are now discipling 17 leaders. Each of these leaders has started five house churches in their area of Mt. Elgon on the border of Uganda and Kenya. When asked how old he was, Jared proudly said in Kiswahili, “Now I am 77 years old!” No need to tell you clapping and cheering broke out for the old man. The elderly are much respected here in Africa and affectionately called Mzee (mmmza – long a). At hearing Jared’s age, one young man stood up and announced to the 50 others present, “Now if this old man can do this, then we young people can do even more!”

Margaret
Jared

Not to be outdone, a middle-aged woman named Salome quickly stood up. She and her husband also live in the region of Mt. Elgon.

Animated and almost busting at the seams, Salome jumped up to tell her story. “I was hearing about someone named Omondi (a disciple-maker). I thought he was a big man (meaning wealthy and important), but when I saw him, I saw he is just someone like us. He didn’t know that I didn’t know Jesus, but when I started listening to him talk, it was so easy for me and we were just there meeting together in my house in a simple way. Now I have been baptized as a follower of Jesus Christ.

“We have a lot of faith in the teachings of Jesus and the principles of house church. There are so many drunkards and we are even looking for more. So far we have brought five people out of alcohol and even my husband was one of them and now you can see he will testify that he is a follower of Jesus.

Salome and her husband Charles

“We were just living out there somewhere and didn’t know about these teachings so I saw and heard something new. At my old age this is very important to me. My husband is sober now because of Jesus. He has tried but he has not been able to give it up. He has an older brother who also likes alcohol. He’s young but he looks very old. He drank so much alcohol we thought he would die. One day at midnight I went to his place but he looked dead just lying there. He told me, ‘If I keep drinking I will kill someone or I will die.’ We talked with him about the power of God and how God can do something. So, you can see, this old man, my husband, is now a testimony to other drunkards. For us we can clearly say we love doing house church because it is just Jesus Christ – nothing more than that. People are interested in you; they care about you; and they follow up to see how you are. I’m here to stay. And, for my husband Charles, he will tell you, there’s no way out of believing in Jesus Christ and the simple way of meeting in our house.”

Whether they are twenty, fifty or eighty years old, seeing and being with people who are running the race with unwavering faith, intently focused on the goal, is at a minimum inspiring, but also very humbling. Not to mention, they do this with all kinds of limitations – hardships beyond our imaginings – but age is definitely not one of them. I believe they actually do hear the cloud of witnesses cheering them on as they get closer to the finish line…and there’s no doubt they’ll be hearing from our Lord, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

Hebrews 12:1 We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up.

— What’s Been Happening…

We’ve been in East Africa about a month now. It’s been great to be with old friends, meeting new ones, doing trainings, visiting some of the disciple-making leaders at their homes, and checking on farming and women’s projects. Just to be in such a beautiful place with such inspiring people is incredibly humbling and inspiring. When you have a chance, grab a cup of coffee and check out some of the photos from our time there.

John Omondi on far left, plaid shirt, with his leaders who we met with for a strategic planning meeting.
Checking on farming projects. Water is being manually pumped (stair stepper style), attached to a hose where the second guy (pink hat) is spraying the vegetables which will not only feed his family but will be taken to market for selling.
One of the sugar cane projects. George, a disciplemaker leader, needs a snack, so he’s cut off a stalk of sugarcane. Africans love to chew and suck on the stalks…yep, straight up sugar!
Everyone loves it and knows just how to get to the sweet sugar!
For kids, this is a very big treat!
This is the cane being taken to the local market. There’s a different type of sugar cane grown that is taken to be made into what we know as table sugar.
Another farming project where this woman and her husband proudly show us their huge garden where house church members work together to help to feed their families, as well as other house churches in the area.
The family home.
We met with about 50 disciplemakers for a few days doing trainings and getting reports from the field. These particular two guys are from far away Pokot County.
Carolyn, a disciple-maker who has started five house churches…and her youngest, not happy at all to see white people!! By the way, I’ve known Carolyn about 4 years now. Each time I’ve seen her she has on the same dress, which means not only is it her best one, but also she hasn’t bought another one in all that time.
Inside a typical kitchen in rural areas, using firewood someone (typically a woman or a child) has gone out and collected for cooking.
The kitchen. The netting on the side houses chickens that one of the women has saved up money to buy in order to sell eggs. She’s now hopeful to save enough to build a better coop for her chickens.
One of the better outhouses we’ve gotten to use…a pit toilet, of course.
Check out the little boy in the yellow shirt.

When we first got to one of the homes where a woman had received some money to start her samosa business, this little guy was standing with a bunch of about 20 other neighbor children who had run up to see who was arriving in a car.

I went over to the kids and started shaking their hands, which is very customary for them with adults—African adults. The closer I got to this little boy, the more he stepped back, even though he could hardly contain himself he was so excited to see a white person. Finally, I reached him and put out my hand. He VERY hesitantly stepped forward with his eyes huge staring at my white hand sticking out toward him. Mustering up every bit of courage he had, he put his hand in mine, watching our hands touch intently to see if anything was going to happen when he actually shook it. Then, he very quickly pulled his hand back like he had touched something very hot and covered his mouth and stepped back and broke out in a fit of giggles…while he kept looking back at his hand to see if any of the white had come off on him.

Finishing up with what I thought were all of the kids, I turned to walk away and heard loud sobs coming from behind me. I looked back and a tiny, tiny little 3-year old girl had tears streaming down her face. I didn’t know if she was scared or what, so I beckoned for her to come to me. Instantly she stopped crying and walked toward me with her hand sticking out to shake mine. All was well. In her world and mine! Typical, yes, but I never get tired of it!

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