I was born in New York, the hometown of my late mother, and grew up in Africa, my father's native country. In July, 1988, while back in the United States for college, I became a disciple in Brooklyn, New York. As an 11-month old Christian I joined the mission team to Nairobi, Kenya from New York.

At the end of 1991, a number of students and I from the University of Nairobi were asked to help start a ministry in the Eastland area of Nairobi. It was a humbling request. I felt out of place and far from God. Others seemed to be more effective with conversions and bringing friends to Bible Talks. After doing an extensive, life-changing Bible study on "The Fear of God" I regained my eagerness to serve God and advance his kingdom.

As 1991 drew to a close, I felt ready for any challenge. It came the first week of January 1992, when Mike Taliaferro asked me to plant a church in Eldoret, Kenya. Eldoret has a population of about 300,000 people, 350 kilometers from Nairobi. It serves as a commercial hub for large parts of Western Kenya. Without any hesitation I said a big, "Amen!" to one of my dearest kingdom dreams.

Mike Taliaferro and Herve Fleurant drove me to Eldoret. After lunch, prayer and goodbyes, I found myself alone in a town I didn't know. It would be a month before another brother would join me on this mission field. The people of Eldoret were for the most part polite, but also curious what I was doing there all by myself. I guess not too many people expected to run into a one-man church in the form of a 22 year-old college student with no theological training. Excited for the opportunity to experience what the apostle Paul felt, I made it "my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known." (Romans 15:20)

As I walked through Eldoret the first day, I remembered having met two students on campus while back in Nairobi who said they lived in Eldoret. I never imagined being in Eldoret so I hadn't bothered to get their addresses. Within the first hour I ran into one of them! If I wasn't sure before, I was sure now -- God was at work. My friend showed me around town and helped me look for a hall for services. More significantly, he led me to a friend of his named Gerald who in turn introduced me three other campus friends.

Living alone most of the first month was trying. I missed the disciples in Nairobi. I rented a single room with an earth floor and a corrugated iron sheet roof. My only furniture was a mattress to sleep on and a basin to use for taking (cold) baths in the morning. My daily routine was simple - wake up, have my quiet time, buy tea and bread for breakfast in a neighborhood kiosk, and head into town. Once there I would simply reach out to people and invite them to study the Bible with me. In the evening I returned to the same kiosk for supper, usually beans and greens, and then went back to my room to sleep.

One great source of inspiration was to reunite on Sundays with the two brothers and two sisters from Moi University, 35 kilometers away. They would come into town with their visitors then we would evangelize together before service. After church we would spend the whole afternoon together. We would critique each other on what we could do better in the service and we would always eat together. These times served to greatly unite us. On occasion I would make the 70-kilometer round trip in order to spend time with them on campus. Also, the brother who was supposed to be with me in town eventually showed up, and we lived together. He was great company.

The phone calls to Mike Taliaferro were reassuring. At one point I felt pressure to always have great and revolutionary news about the progress in Eldoret. When there were no baptisms to report after a few weeks and the Sunday attendance was leveling out I felt that I was letting people down. But Mike helped me to refocus on God and not on perceived expectations of people.

I could not have dreamed of the ultimate impact of that first full day in Eldoret. About five weeks later, Gerald became the first baptism in the Eldoret church, and two of the three friends he introduced me to later became disciples as well. Gerald eventually brought to church Dr. Bernard Owino, who became the first medical doctor baptized in the Eldoret church. Bernard's late wife and his three sons were baptized as well. Since relocating to Nairobi, Bernard has helped other medical doctors become disciples of Christ. Gerald baptized Morrison Owadeh, who then led his elder brother, Ken, to Christ. Ken later became the first disciple to play for the Kenya national soccer team. He also baptized several of his teammates.

After two months in Eldoret I had to return to Nairobi to resume my university studies. Upon my return I was encouraged to learn that an elementary schoolmate of mine, who I invited to church in Nairobi two weeks before my departure for Eldoret, was baptized. Just a few months earlier I was plagued with feelings of insecurity and inadequacy but God showed me he does indeed have plans to use me to help advance his kingdom, for which I will always be grateful.

The Eldoret church currently has 162 disciples!

Rayola and his wife, Georgeanne, work in the full-time ministry in Nairobi, Kenya