HOPE AND A DREAM
By Rayola Osanya-Nyynéque, Nairobi
As I prepared to leave the Nairobi church staff to work for HOPE worldwide Kenya (HWWK), I felt emptiness at surrendering my cherished passion and dream of working in the full-time ministry. Then, when I learnt that my region of focus at HWWK would be the town of Makindu, 170 km from Nairobi, my initial reaction was one of disappointment. However that was soon replaced by determination – resolve and excitement at the prospect of using the opportunity to make disciples where the church had not yet reached.
After all, I thought, my Christian life has been one on the road. God had granted me my dream of being a missionary, allowing me to be part of the teams that planted churches in Nairobi (Kenya – 1989), Eldoret (Kenya – 1992), lead the church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1993/4, and, with my wife, plant the church in Kigali (Rwanda – 1997).
I saw my posting to this little town that I had never previously visited as an opportunity to rekindle and live out anew my dream “to preach the gospel where Christ was not known” (Romans 15:20).
Fifteen months later, the Lord has replaced my feelings of rejection with rejoicing, and has whispered into my ear that he “aint finished with me yet.” He has answered my prayers and allowed me to help two wonderful and dynamic young ladies to become disciples (just like Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well and Paul the apostle with Lydia at the river on the Sabbath day, I say to myself). I never would have met nor had the chance to impact the two for Christ if I hadn’t come out to Makindu to work for HOPE.
When Evelyne Mocheche came from the port city of Mombasa to serve in HWWK-Makindu as an intern, it was hard to ignore her bright and bubbly personality, which won over the whole staff. As she prepared to return to college in Mombasa three months later, the Nairobi church was preparing to launch a congregation in Mombasa. I invited Evelyne to the launch.
She came, she saw, and she was converted.
My family and I felt bound to travel the 1,000 km round trip to be present at her baptism.
I got to know Cecilia Lirhunde when the Mountain Of Hope program in the town of Kibwezi was incorporated into HWWK in August 2005. Our friendship and mutual respect grew as I worked directly with her as her supervisor. I remember the child-like enthusiasm with which her face lit up when I first muted the idea of sharing Scriptures.
Cecilia would attend church when work necessitated that she come to Nairobi. In November last year she traveled 400 km round trip to attend Women’s Day, and was the first ever Women’s Day visitor I’ve had in many years of inviting. My wife and several other sisters helped reach out to Cecilia. I remember the Saturday when, as we chatted in the office in Kibwezi, she declared, “I have to come to Nairobi tomorrow to be baptized.” It was April Fools day when she said it, but this was no joke.
The next day, witnessed by several HWWK staffers from Nairobi and the sisters who had helped her study the bible, Cecilia was baptized into Christ.
Seeing Evelyne and Cecilia “go down” has helped me to feel lifted up. Sometimes my traveling between Nairobi, Makindu and Kibwezi gets tiring and challenging. Sometimes I have felt drained and weary. But Evelyne and Cecilia’s baptisms have told me that it’s worth it. I “know that [my] labour in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58) The two are not only shining stars in the kingdom, but to my wife and I they are part of our family.
It has revived me to see that I can still dream of making disciples in “new territory,” and that God would use me for that. Leaving the ministry was hard for me, but I would like to think that the ministry never left me. We are all ministers – wherever we are and whatever it is in life that we do.
Ironically, I haven’t managed to make any disciples in the town of Makindu, the town of my original focus (though I’m still praying and aiming for it). But I thank God for Evelyne and Cecilia in Mombasa and Kibwezi. And as I continue to dream, I look forward to one day attending their weddings, and seeing them bloom and blossom into radiant wives (for some very lucky brothers!) and wonderful mothers in the kingdom of God.
As I continue to dream I pray that God may yet use me to continue to advance his kingdom and give hope to many.
After all, I thought, my Christian life has been one on the road. God had granted me my dream of being a missionary, allowing me to be part of the teams that planted churches in Nairobi (Kenya – 1989), Eldoret (Kenya – 1992), lead the church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1993/4, and, with my wife, plant the church in Kigali (Rwanda – 1997).
I saw my posting to this little town that I had never previously visited as an opportunity to rekindle and live out anew my dream “to preach the gospel where Christ was not known” (Romans 15:20).
Fifteen months later, the Lord has replaced my feelings of rejection with rejoicing, and has whispered into my ear that he “aint finished with me yet.” He has answered my prayers and allowed me to help two wonderful and dynamic young ladies to become disciples (just like Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well and Paul the apostle with Lydia at the river on the Sabbath day, I say to myself). I never would have met nor had the chance to impact the two for Christ if I hadn’t come out to Makindu to work for HOPE.
When Evelyne Mocheche came from the port city of Mombasa to serve in HWWK-Makindu as an intern, it was hard to ignore her bright and bubbly personality, which won over the whole staff. As she prepared to return to college in Mombasa three months later, the Nairobi church was preparing to launch a congregation in Mombasa. I invited Evelyne to the launch.
She came, she saw, and she was converted.
My family and I felt bound to travel the 1,000 km round trip to be present at her baptism.
I got to know Cecilia Lirhunde when the Mountain Of Hope program in the town of Kibwezi was incorporated into HWWK in August 2005. Our friendship and mutual respect grew as I worked directly with her as her supervisor. I remember the child-like enthusiasm with which her face lit up when I first muted the idea of sharing Scriptures.
Cecilia would attend church when work necessitated that she come to Nairobi. In November last year she traveled 400 km round trip to attend Women’s Day, and was the first ever Women’s Day visitor I’ve had in many years of inviting. My wife and several other sisters helped reach out to Cecilia. I remember the Saturday when, as we chatted in the office in Kibwezi, she declared, “I have to come to Nairobi tomorrow to be baptized.” It was April Fools day when she said it, but this was no joke.
The next day, witnessed by several HWWK staffers from Nairobi and the sisters who had helped her study the bible, Cecilia was baptized into Christ.
Seeing Evelyne and Cecilia “go down” has helped me to feel lifted up. Sometimes my traveling between Nairobi, Makindu and Kibwezi gets tiring and challenging. Sometimes I have felt drained and weary. But Evelyne and Cecilia’s baptisms have told me that it’s worth it. I “know that [my] labour in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58) The two are not only shining stars in the kingdom, but to my wife and I they are part of our family.
It has revived me to see that I can still dream of making disciples in “new territory,” and that God would use me for that. Leaving the ministry was hard for me, but I would like to think that the ministry never left me. We are all ministers – wherever we are and whatever it is in life that we do.
Ironically, I haven’t managed to make any disciples in the town of Makindu, the town of my original focus (though I’m still praying and aiming for it). But I thank God for Evelyne and Cecilia in Mombasa and Kibwezi. And as I continue to dream, I look forward to one day attending their weddings, and seeing them bloom and blossom into radiant wives (for some very lucky brothers!) and wonderful mothers in the kingdom of God.
As I continue to dream I pray that God may yet use me to continue to advance his kingdom and give hope to many.