Reflections on a Visit to Kenya: August 2023

by Don Burgess

The Independent Presbyterian Church of Kenya (IPC) traces its beginnings back past independence in 1963, to 1948 when two missionaries from the USA came to Kenya, and even earlier, to the 1930’s in the USA when J. Gresham Machen founded the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions.

Contact between members of my church at the time (the Presbyterian Reformed Church {PRC}) and some believers in Kenya began in the 1980’s, leading to the sending of missionary families and the establishment of several churches. However, government policy meant that the missionary families had to leave after a few years and the local members were left to be pastored by local churches, including the IPC.

Various members of the PRC visited these people in Kenya since the 80’s in order to encourage and teach them. I began visiting from 2011 onwards and in 2015, two pastors of the IPC (Joel & Samuel) approached me and my travelling companion, David. Their idea was to  establish an orphanage in their area of Mitamisyi, about 200km north-east of the capital Nairobi. Mitamisyi is a small community in a poor area; most people are poor farmers, growing maize, beans and millet.

Christian friends in Australia were contacted and soon funds were available to renovate an old building for use as a dormitory, build a new kitchen and employ a matron for the care of 9 children. Sadly, many children in Kenya have lost one or both parents – road fatalities, HIV/AIDS and other diseases such as malaria are common.

Nine children soon grew to 15, then as many as 27. A new dormitory was built for the girls, then one for the boys. Local churches from the IPC donate food, clothing and money. Funds from Australia are sent each month to help with these needs and school fees as well.

I visited the orphanage briefly in 2017 and further visits were delayed because of family responsibilities and the dreaded covid-19. However, in 2023 the way seemed clear to go again. Aims of the visit were to:

1. encourage Joel who is the manager
2. meet with and encourage the 9 members of the board of management;
3. identify particular needs and advise our supporters of the same;
4. get to know some of the 27 ‘children’ (quite a few are now young adults!);
5. gather funds to buy books for distribution to IPC pastors and elders;
6. participate in a 2 day seminar on ‘Preaching’.

1. Joel is married with 4 children of his own and is extremely busy. As well as his own family, plus 25 others (two have ‘graduated’ from the orphanage), he is the pastor of the local IPC, Moderator of the local Presbytery, sits on a couple of school boards and is the General Secretary of the IPC Synod. Please do pray for him in his many duties.

2. I sat in on 2 board meetings and it was good to get to know them and visit them in their own homes (very modest by our standards). Several of them are quite poor, even by local standards. There are 5 men and 4 women, giving a good balance.

3. Needs in an orphanage are manifold (just imagine having a family of about 30 youngsters!). Apart from finding the funds for food, clothing and school fees, there are the usual squabbles between children and also teenagers wanting to ‘spread their wings’ as they mature. Please pray for wisdom for the board.

4. I conducted ‘interviews’ with 10 of the older ones and they informed me that they would like to study to become: a caterer, an airline pilot, a doctor (x2), a teacher, a lawyer, an accountant, a pastor (x2).
So they have set their sights high!
University fees are very high for Kenyan families so we are not sure how many of these will be able to go on beyond High School. Please pray for wisdom.
It was a delight to see about 4 or 5 of them professing Christ as Saviour, and using their gifts and enthusiasm as Sunday School teachers in the local IPC.
Joel has trained some of the older boys to go out mid-week as part of the “Prayer Battalion” and lead prayer meetings in people’s homes. It was an eerie feeling to sit outside a home in almost complete darkness as the Word was read, explanation given, prayer points discussed and prayer offered up.

5. Before leaving Australia I was given almost $3,000 to purchase books at an excellent bookshop in Nairobi. See actskenya.org for their excellent range. I was able to give out 200 to 300 books to needy pastors and elders. For many of them, these would be the only Christian books in their library. They were mostly Study Bibles and Reformed commentaries.

6. Joel organised 3 seminars while I was visiting. One of them was a 2-day seminar on ‘Preaching’ for local elders and pastors of the IPC. About 28 men attended and all received 2 or 3 books to help them in sermon preparation.

What does the future hold for this work? No one of us can be sure, for only the Lord knows. But Joel, his family and his local church are all determined to enable each of these young ones to complete an education, to hear the gospel and be rescued, not only physically, but also spiritually, from the bondage of sin through the blood of Christ.

Praise God that these children have been rescued from a life of extreme poverty and for some, abuse by relatives. They are now fed, clothed, educated [there is a Primary School nearby and about 10 are attending High School], loved and brought under the ministry of the Word of God within the orphanage and the church.

Indeed, Christ is at work!

Don Burgess is a retired PRC pastor and now member of the Presbyterian Church, Albion Park, NSWA
A bi-monthly newsletter sent by email gives updates on the progress of the orphanage. To be put on the mailing list, contact the author at notthedon9997@gmail.com

This article first appeared in AP Magazine here.