What Do You Need From Me?

September 8, 2010

“Mom, what do you need from me before I join the Navy in 2011?” Little did my son realize what he was getting into when I said, “Why don’t you go with me to Africa?”
Our trip theme was “For the Glory of God.” God was glorified through the opportunities he gave us and also the time we had to share our memories of Paul. Bishop Deo and Sarah Mwamba were our hosts in the Congo. In Kimpese, the women were to be served lunch as part of the conference and the lunch was late, Deo went to a far away village to buy enough bread and nuts to feed over 300 women. I was told to keep speaking, even after I had concluded the second message twice. My audience was attentive -- there was a woman who walked the rows of the church carrying a very big stick. If anyone nodded off during the message, she would knock them on the head. Do you think we should implement this in the USA?
In Kitale, Kenya Ben met Moses, the director of Water Missions International. Moses invited Ben to go on a road trip to inspect the solar powered water purification units located in southern Kenya. Ben was on the road for over a week with two nationals and Ben Mims, from South Carolina. The men worked on units in remote areas where clean water is scarce. Moses was able to work within a tight budget to offer many water purification units to needy people. Ben saw wild zebras, antelope, camels and monkeys, even the Masai (in red robes in picture), a tribe of nomad herders. The Water Missions group shared the love of God in a very tangible way – by offering pure, clean drinking water to those in need.
The campus of Africa Theological Seminary (ATS) houses the Water Missions office, when Ben was in Kitale, many mornings, Ben and I headed to “work” together. At ATS, I taught Church Administration to ten pastors in the ATS BA CLASS of 2009. The pastors are church planters, visionaries, who preach, organize, motivate their churches while working other jobs. We studied the biblical leadership of Moses in Exodus 18, of Jesus 2 and the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4. I taught from John Maxwell’s Million Leader Mandate workbooks #1 and #2.
On the first day of class, Pastor Simon asked, “Why do we have to learn about biblical leadership, isn’t this a church administration course?” I was a little taken aback, I thought, “I’m the teacher, I decide what’s in the curriculum.” I said, “In order to become a good church administrator, as pastors, we need to be godly, Biblical leaders. The MLM books are very valuable to provide a Biblical foundation for you.” At the end of the class, 7 of the 10 pastors asked for the MLM material so they could teach it to their own congregations. “For the Glory of God.”
I’m out of room for this month, but next month, I will finish telling you about our trip.

Please pray:
ICM Congo Directors Deo and Sarah Mwamba hosting International Council Oct. ‘10
Water Missions International seeks new areas for sites - www.watermissions.org
Africa Theological Seminary – Kitale, Kenya is completing accreditation, pray for the final details to be completed - www.atseminary.ac.ke

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support! We love and pray for each of you!

Sheryl & Ben Giesbrecht