Our Third Stop - Kenya 2019

Romans 4:17

As it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations" in the presence of Him whom he believed God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did."

Linus in class~

Part of being a missionary is trusting the Holy Spirit to direct your paths.  After we have been spent a week in the Central District, Kent & I will pack our bags.  Next stop will be the Eastern District, directed by Pastor Victor.  The trip consists of a 4-5 hour van ride to Nairobi, an overnight stay in Nairobi, a flight to Mombasa and another Van ride to Kilifi. If every goes right we will be in Kilifi for church on Sunday. 

Pastor Victor~

I first met Pastor Victor, the director of the district, as a Bible School student in Meru in 2008. We were reacquainted on the last trip in 2018. He told me a story of how he became a Pastor and the Director of the Eastern District. It is one of my favorite testimonies of all time.

Pastor Victor and many others in Kenya call me "General Linus". I've met former students all over the world who tell me; "You said something to me & it changed my life." Victor - I believe has the best story I've heard. "To call those things that are not as though they were." Here is the story from 2008.

Victor's Testimony -

"Linus when you came to Meru in 2008 I was one of the students in the Bible school in Meru. You told us about Romans 4:17 to call those things that are not as though they were. I began doing this is 2008. When I heard these words, I began to act on my faith and began saying what the Holy Spirit was showing me."

I asked Pastor Victor, "What happened?" I was expecting him to tell the rest of the story. Victor waited a long while for the promise, surprising even me.

"Nothing happened for eight years, but I kept calling those things that are not as though they were. I became a Pastor & in the next year Mike asked me to be the regional director. Then a man came and gave me money to build my church building. It took ten-years and you are in the building today which began in my heart ten years ago." Thank you Linus for helping me understand faith. 

Victor's class, where he heard the message of faith~

What a testimony from a Bible school student who believed God enough for ten-years. Holding something in his heart & seeing it come to pass ten years later. It continues to grow for Pastor Victor.

Pat & Mike Heisler~

I can't wait to see what God is going to do in the Eastern District. I am full for belief that future leaders will come forth and be trained. Soon to do what Pastor Victor has done over the past ten-years. We will revisit the schools to train a new group of leaders, to write the next chapter for the Eastern District.

Director's Obed, Victor & Stanley

Kenya Rediscovered - Part I

 Kenya Past~

In 2008, after Kay & I had moved back to Iowa, Mike & Pat invited me to Kenya.  At that time, they had one church and had started a Bible school in Meru. They asked me to come and minister in the church and Bible school and help start another Bible school in Kitale, Kenya. It went better than expected and things took off!

Neema Bible College, 2008

When I left, I had no plans to go back.  Kay and I experienced a tremendous life-style change.  In 2011 Kay and I opened the Gathering Place, Kay's dad passed and her mom moved in with us, and Seth, our son, had his second kidney transplant.  Life has a way of getting in the way of your calling. Every time Mike Heiser would come back he would be after me to come back to Kenya to help him. He would say, "You might be the only one who really knows what I'm doing over there." For many years it didn't register what he was saying to me.

Pat, Mike & Linus

In the summer of 2018 we had downsized our house, got our budget under control, and were able to swing a trip back to Kenya. The two people I called about traveling with me were Lonnie Dillard and Kent Coates. Kent accepted immediately and Lonnie declined because he was going with his wife and another friend of theirs in May of 2018.

Pastor Kent

Satan fought me at the beginning of the trip. It took ten hours to get out of Omaha. I missed Kent in Chicago, but had a great time with Clint, our oldest son, and his family for the night. I had prayed on the flight to Chicago, "Lord, I need one friendly face in Chicago to fix this mess and get me to Kenya." I found two friendly faces and in just a few minutes had my tickets and was back on track to get to Kenya.

When I arrived in Nairobi I had no idea what I was going to teach but God had a plan. The first person I met was Pastor Victor who is Mike's regional director for the Eastern District. He was so glad to see me and told me his story: "I was in your class ten years ago where you taught me how to call those things that are not as though they are. Nothing happened for six years but then I became a Pastor. A man gave me money to build this church and I am Mike's regional director of the Eastern District. So something did happen ten years ago at the school in Meru."

Pastor Victor, Director of the Eastern District - Kenya

The next day, at the Kilifi Bible school, Mike had me speak last for some reason. While he was introducing me, Mike told the history of his ministry. These words rang in my ears: 27 Bible Schools, 26 Churches and 1,000 graduates. Kent spoke next and while he was speaking God gave me the message for the week: 'You don't need what you don't have but use what you do have'. What do we have? A very good foundation for mobilizing God's army. Another title during the week was: 'Kenyans winning Kenya'. The future was being laid out for us.

Bible School in Kilifi, where Mike introduced me.

I talked to Mike, Pat, and Kent at the team meeting and asked Mike where he wanted to go from here. He spoke to me about already planting a church in Tanzania. He also wanted to start three more districts in Kenya, and the last was to go beyond the borders of Kenya to other countries, including Europe. What a great vision! Of course there is always concerns about how you are going to get there. Life sometimes gets in the way but God always has a plan.

Over the next two weeks more messages came to me. Kent and I taught every day in the Bible schools Mike and Pat had started. Every place was the same - hungry Bible school students all wanting more.