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| The servants of the Word for our worship service in Kitale. Pastor Calvin & his congregation had robes and stoles available for us to wear for the worship service. |
Saturday morning we drove up to Kitale (about a 45min drive) to visit and worship with Pastor Calvin and his congregation, St. Peter’s. Currently St. Peter’s meets in a large tent on Calvin’s property. They are saving up and praying that the Lord will bless them with the resources to buy a small plot of land in the area and build a permanent church structure. According to Calvin there are no other Lutheran churches in the Kitale area (which is one of the largest cities in this region). He thinks that the closest Lutheran church in the area is Holy Cross in Milimani (which is on the same campus as Emmaus School, near Moi’s Bridge) which is at least a 30 minute drive away.
For now this small but very committed congregation of Lutherans makes very good use of the facilities and resources they have. By my count there were 40 people at the worship service. Thanks to some donations from a couple of CLC churches they have a sturdy tent and plenty of chairs. They also have enough hymnals to pass around (which is good, because their services are very much intentionally “Lutheran” in flavor—they follow a liturgy and sing lots of hymns from the hymnal). Pastor G. and I were also given hymnals to follow along with. Even though I could only pick out a few Swahili words we were singing or reading we both did our best to sing along and read the Swahili words as best I could (Pastor Gurath was much better at it than I was, of course!). I was asked to do the children’s sermon and say prayers for the children. Pastor Gurath preached the sermon while Pastor Calvin translated.
One of the hymns from the worship service. I think this one was, “No Friend but Jesus.”
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| At the close of service the congregation sings the final hymn and follow the pastor(s) out as we all shake hands and finish the hymn facing each other in a circle. |
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| The Swahili Lutheran hymnal that St. Peter’s uses. |
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| I didn’t get a photo of the fully decorated altar in time, but I did get two more members in this photo of the front of their church tent. |
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| A number of women were proudly wearing their St. Stephen Lutheran “Women of Faith” headscarfs. They have a very dedicated and active women’s group. |
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| Pastor Calvin, Mary (one of the founding members of the congregation), and Robert, one of the council members and assists with pastoral work as well. |
After the worship service another hearty meal was served (chicken, beef, rice, homemade chipati, and bananas—so flavorful when they come right off of the area banana trees!). We stayed for quite a while talking with Calvin and a number of the church leaders. They and the rest of the congregation all expressed their deep thanks for the support, love, and prayers they have received from their brothers and sisters in Christ back in the U.S.A. Both Pastor Gurath and I expressed greetings, prayers and Christian love from all of you, as well as our appreciation for their hospitality and the joy of sharing in worship and fellowship with them.
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| Some of the dedicated “Women of Faith” from St. Peter’s who made and served a delicious meal to all after the worship service. So thankful for them and all the women who have done so much for us on this trip! |
One more “grand finale” of a very special day of worship at Holy Cross tomorrow (Sunday) and then we begin the long journey back home on Monday. The time has flown by and the trip has been nothing short of a parade of blessings. At the same time, as we near the end of our 3rd week here, we are both looking forward to returning home to see our families, loved, ones and congregations again. Blessings to you all in Christ!
-Pastor Luke
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