The Beginning of a Miracle!

The Church under a Tree

The Beginning of a Miracle!

 We live in a small village in Samburu, Kenya called, Baawa.  It’s a quiet and joyful place but lacking a few comforts like; running water, sanitation, electricity and a church.  Our small fellowship is filled with smiling faces, childrens’ laughter and we greet each other with a holy kiss every Sunday.  Our church is also lacking a few comforts like; a church building, pews to sit on and an altar – our congregation worships under a tree.  We want to share the story of the miracle that we witnessed at our church under a tree…………….

 Our fellowship was started by Pastor Josiah (whom is 89 years old) years ago and it has been his prayer that, one day, his congregation would have a church to worship the Lord.  In the past, Pastor Josiah’s efforts to construct a church within our village were stopped by the community.  In fact, several congregations throughout our village had tried to build a church structure, but sadly, they were all stopped by the Baawa community. 

Fast forward to July 28, 2014, the day that the Global Body of Christ interceded!  The Global Body of Christ are our beloved friends and on that joyful Monday in July, they worked along-side the community to build a church for Pastor Josiah and his congregation.  Truly, the beginning of a miracle! Let me introduce you to the Global Body of Christ (AKA our heroes!): Gary Fjeld, Carolyn Goodwin, Joe Peabody, Mike & Carol Rodock, Dianna Salzgiver, Dianne Shannon, Mary Walters and Laura Watson. This team of 12 believers, from 4 different US churches, obediently followed a call from Christ to help construct a church in Baawa, Kenya.  A church that would be constructed just a stone-throw away from the remains of a church skeleton where the community forced the pastor to stop construction. Praise God for our Global Body of Christ and their willingness to travel across the ocean to answer the prayers of a village congregation!

Pastor Josiah’s fellowship (and most of the fellowships in Samburu) are mostly women and children, but to build a church structure, we needed man power!  The Lord is faithful and He provided!  We had the Global Body of Christ, a carpenter (also a Pastor) and Pastor Josiah’s congregation, but we were few in numbers.  During the first day of construction, the tribe elders had a meeting just one tree away from our construction site.  This was it! The Lord had to intervene!  As the construction crew worked, we could hear the chanting of the tribe elders.  Then……….Slowly, the elders dispersed, but three of the elders joined the construction of the church.  Yes, they actually joined the work team!  PRAISE BE TO GOD ALMIGHTY! PRAISE BE TO GOD FOR HIS MIRACLES!  It had taken 4 days to complete the construction of the church and now it graciously stands within our village as one of God’s miracles! 

Many blessings have occurred since the completion the church: 13 local elders attended Pastor Josiah’s church that next Sunday, a men’s Bible study with the tribe elders is in-the-works and the mama’s reading program is now meeting in the church.

We thank God for casting a vision in Pastor Josiah and for the Global Body of Christ for setting a Godly example for our village.  We are very excited about this new era in Baawa. We may not have running water, sanitation or electricity, but now we have a church; a beautiful church called, St. Josiah Church.  Thank You Jesus!

See, I told you the Global Body of Christ are heroes!!  J