From November 21 to December 7, 2004 I was privileged to lead a team of Australian women on short term ministry to Kitale, Western Kenya. The three others in the team had never been to any part of Africa, and I had been there on only one previous occasion to minister in the tiny nation of Burundi. None of us had ever before travelled to this remote part of Kenya, situated close to the Ugandan border, six hours west by road from the capital, Nairobi. We had been invited by Pastor Albert Onyango of Preach Christ Ministry in Kitale to come and equip church leaders, minister to the women and children, and take part in an outreach crusade in the local community

Kitale is a busy African town situated at the foot of Mount Elgon in Kenya's beautiful western highlands, and lies on the old slave route between Uganda and the African east coast. As in many African towns, the streets are full of missionaries and aid workers mingling with street kids and office workers. From early morning until dusk, market vendors sell their wares - anything from fruit to shoes to brightly coloured fabrics - setting up stalls on any available vacant piece of land. There are many churches in Kitale, so many we lost count, but unfortunately quite a number of them are little more than cults, mixing the Christian gospel with conflicting traditional practices. No doubt there are many sincere servants of the Lord labouring for the Kingdom also. The need is great and the harvest is plentiful.

In the following report I will attempt to relate, at least in part, all the Lord did in our short two weeks in Kenya, knowing whatever I write will be inadequate to fully convey the deep privilege of being allowed to come alongside the Lord's work in this part of His global vineyard.

For our first two day conference we travelled out from Kitale by car for around an hour to reach the small rural community of Motosiet. The people were waiting for us, packed into a tiny mud-brick church, seated on crude wooden benches. Children gathered around us excitedly, but some of the youngest kept their distance until they saw us smile and take the older ones' hands. It gradually dawned on us that many of the younger ones were hesitant because they had never seen a white face in their community before. As we entered the church the people erupted into joyful celebration before the Lord, dancing and singing with all their hearts. They had been praying for us to come for many months and their joy at our arrival could not be contained. We were moved to tears by the unexpected intensity of their welcome and the simplicity of their worship. There was famine in this area and many had died. The people here were desperately poor and many were sick from AIDS and other diseases, but they were rich in the Spirit - blessed are the poor in spirit - and could not hide their love for the Lord. They erupted into celebratory singing and dancing as they poured out their joy before Jesus. As well as the adults, there were dozens of children of all ages. Barefooted they danced on the dirt floor, some with younger ones in their arms or on their backs, their faces radiating the joy of the Lord. We joined in the singing and dancing and were blessed and humbled by their worship.

Some pastors had travelled miles by foot, by bicycle and by "matatus" (vans used as buses), to be with us. They too were poor - they were bush pastors, usually with only one or two sets of clothes and a Bible, but they love the Lord and they had come to receive from these white women who have come from a far country. We taught first on the Power of the Blood with some pastors following the scriptures and taking notes with serious concentration. Many others did not own Bibles. The women of the village had come in from the fields and the mud huts to be there also. Pastor Onyango explained in Swahili that the afternoon sessions were especially for the women, but the men wanted to stay - they did not want to miss anything we might bring from the Word!

On the second day at Motosiet the children were waiting for us once again. This time they were not afraid, and when I attempted to take a photo of one little girl, they all crowded in together not wanting to miss out. So, of course, they all had their picture taken! During the worship times the children danced with us, laughing and giggling at the white "mamas" who had come so far to dance with them in their little church. Watching our awkward efforts at African dance they became all the more energetic, taking our hands and encouraging us, laughing happily and singing with all their hearts to "Bwana-God" who sent His Son "Yesu" to save them from their sin and fill their lives with peace and joy.

Some of the team members had prepared a short puppet show with "Roo" the kangaroo, and "Kookie" the Kookaburra. Both adults and children alike were delighted and amazed. None of them had ever seen puppets before, and several of them needed to touch the fake fur to see if they were real animals. Many of the shyer ones hung back, however. They loved the story of the little boy with the five loaves and two fishes told in Swahili by Kookie the Kookaburra, (assisted by one of our Kenyan friends from Kitale who we had given a crash course in puppetry the previous evening.)

On Thursday morning as I began to teach the rain started - the Lord had impressed us that He would send rain as a sign of the word being poured out here. He had promised us before we left Australia "as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please. And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Is. 55:10-11). After the morning teaching we started to worship again and the heavens opened. Torrents poured out all around the little mud brick church with no glass in the windows and a leaky roof. The children were dancing, the women were dancing, the pastors were dancing and we were dancing. Again they were pouring out their joy to the Lord. They believe we are one in the Spirit and in the blood of Christ, and so do we. And so for a long time the rain poured down and the mud came in, but no-one cared - we were lost in the joy of the Lord. And He was showing us that He was with us and he was glad to be dancing with His bride here in this mudbrick church deep in the African bush.

To our delight, the afternoon women's session about Queen Esther was again attended by all the men. As this was our last teaching session in this church, there was much prayer for us and for our soon return. An elderly pastor from Lodwar in the desert area to the north had arrived this day, and it was evident he inspired much respect among the people. He rose to lead the people in a prayer and a spontaneous song of praise to the Lord for the "mamas" He had brought to be with them all the way from Australia. They prayed for our return. Their God was our God, their Lord was our Lord, and their little bush church had now become our church.

After the morning's teaching sessions, we were given some exciting news from the village. Immediately following the previous afternoon's women's session, one of the women had gone home and given birth. As the team leader, I was taken aside and told the new mother wanted the child to be named after one of our team members to commemorate our coming to teach the Bible in their community. Would I please nominate the correct name? After a hasty, silent word with the Lord, I stated that the name was to be "Jennifer". At this time I did not know the sex of the newborn baby, and neither did the pastor who brought me the message, but I have a strong sense it would not have made any difference to the mother or the village! (We were later relieved to find out the baby was indeed a girl.)

Before leaving, we were taken by the older women to see new baby Jennifer. The women of the village saw this as a prophetic sign from the Lord - it was a new beginning for them because the white women had come so far to teach them the Word and to impart to them. We had told them that if we are able to serve the Lord, then so too can they. He has things for them to do. They were not needed or loved or valued any less than the brothers. We called them out and prayed over them. They were desperate for us to stay longer than two days, but were also willing to share us with the other churches who we had committed to. They did not want to let us go, and we found it hard to leave them. They are praying for us to return to them.

We were led through grain fields to a small, dark, one roomed mud hut. Inside, the new mother was laying on a mattress on the dirt floor with her one day old baby wrapped in a blanket beside her. There was nothing else in the hut. The mother was still weak from giving birth, but she was happy to see us and smiled with gratitude that we had come. The baby screwed up her little face as we brought her outside into the light to take her photo. As we left that day to return to Kitale each one of us carried a prayer for Jennifer, her mother and the believers in Motosiet. "Lord keep them, Lord strengthen them, Lord protect and provide for them, and Lord, if it be Your will, one day bring us together again."

Our next scheduled ministry was to be a three day conference and night time revival meetings at Ps. Albert's church, Preach Christ Centre, in Gatua, a suburb of Kitale. Ps. Onyango and his wife Christine were sent by the Lord from Nairobi to Kitale and are pioneering this work in one of the poorest areas of Kenya because the Lord has burdened them with a love for the poor, the widows and the orphans. Albert shared with me a vision he received from the Lord some years ago of Blood running down a wall and forming the words "Preach Christ". As he watched the letters form, wondering what the vision could mean, He heard the Lord's Voice speaking to him: "Preach Christ to the Poor". And so the motivating vision of Preach Christ Ministry, to reach the poor with the gospel, was born.

Our first two teaching sessions at Gatua were held in the Preach Christ Centre church, a small mud brick room with no windows, a dirt floor, and wooden benches for seats, as is usual for many of the poorer African churches. The only light into the room came from a small doorway at the entrance. The room was soon filled and those who could not get inside stood in the doorway and outside in the street to hear what was being said. It was obvious this small room would not be big enough for the meetings, and so a much larger "revival tent" was hastily organised and erected nearby for the remainder of the three days of meetings.

The Lord moved powerfully through the first session, as one of our team members, Kay, spoke from Ezekiel chapter 8 about the hole in the wall through which Ezekiel had witnessed the hidden sin of idolatry among the elders of Israel. The message was straightforward and non-compromising, calling on the people to forsake idolatry and pretension and become transparent before the Lord. We witnessed the Holy Spirit then moving strongly on the people through a spirit of repentance and grief. Many wept as they cried out to God for forgiveness and restoration to His ways. We could not understand many of the prayers in Swahili ascending to Heaven's Throne Room, but the Spirit witnessed in our hearts that He was indeed doing a deep work of conviction in the hearts of His people that morning. One thing we have observed as we have ministered in the African church is that the hearts of the people are pliable and ready to receive, and therefore the Holy Spirit is able to move very quickly and powerfully upon them when the Word of God has been ministered. The Holy Spirit had fallen upon this church so quickly and strongly that the four of us either prayed or sat while He did His work. None of us wanted to interfere with what He was doing in the hearts of these precious people.

After a long period of repentance, the church grew quiet again as they waited to see what God would do next. I had prayerfully prepared the second session without sharing with any of the other team members what the subject would be, nor did I know what was going to be taught in the first session. How good it is to know that the Lord always goes before and is working in His Body using each member for His purpose and His glory. The teaching I had prepared was on King Josiah of Israel, whose father and grandfather had both worshiped idols and profaned the temple of the Lord with graven images. Despite his ancestry, Josiah had begun seeking to know the One True God from His youth and after ridding Israel of every idol and high place, had commissioned the restoration of the temple. The temple renovations led to the rediscovery of the written Covenant God had made with Israel through Moses, and on hearing what was written in the Covenant, Josiah was deeply convicted of Israel's sin in forsaking that Covenant and turning to idolatry over many generations. As a result, Josiah called all the people to the temple, crying out to Yahweh in sincere distress and repentance for himself and for his nation, after which he publicly renewed Israel's Covenant with God, solemnly directing the people that there would be no other God in Israel all the days he lived.

The impact of this second message of the day on all those present was powerfully tangible as they realised the Holy Spirit was again speaking directly to them. They had repented of idolatry already that morning. Were they ready to renew their Covenant with the Lord? Yes, they were ready! Once again the Spirit swept through the little church as the people cried out in prayer and worship, telling God of their love for Him, thanking Him for His mercy, renewing their covenant to live holy and consecrated lives before Him. Pastor Albert led in a hymn of thanksgiving as we once again stood quietly and watched in awe at what the Holy Spirit was accomplishing here in this little church on the outskirts of Kitale. Was this the beginnings of a revival among these people? I cannot say. I can only say I saw the Spirit move powerfully and I believe there will be lasting fruit.

So began our three days and nights at Preach Christ Centre, Gatua. Later that day we joined Pastor Albert in an open air street outreach to the community living immediately around the church. One of our team members, Jodie, had been yearning for the opportunity to take part in street-evangelism in Africa and preached the gospel to the gathered crowd as Pastor Albert interpreted in Swahili. Several came to Jesus for the first time, or recommitted their lives that afternoon, and we were blessed to pray for each one and commit them to His keeping. The fields are white and ready for harvest in Africa. People are hungry for the hope of the gospel, but the labourers are few. Our prayer is that the Lord of the Harvest would send forth His labourers into the African field so that the Lamb might have His reward.

That evening I taught the people on the difference between believers and bondservants, calling them to a deeper place of communion and intimacy with Jesus Christ. This was a theme that was to be continually reinforced over the next two days and nights as the Holy Spirit wooed the people into the waiting arms of Jesus the Bridegroom. We taught them that Jesus is more than a Saviour, Healer, and Granter of Petitions. He is the One who desires to fellowship with us every minute of every day, and has invited us into His very dwelling place, where He Himself dwells with the Father and the Spirit. We asked them what did they want from Jesus? If they were satisfied with less than the deepest levels of intimate communion with Him they did not have enough of Him. Then we asked what did they think Jesus wanted from them? He wants more than good works, more than regular prayer and Bible reading, He wants to be known and enjoyed by them as Friend and Bridegroom. We led them to the words of King David, who said "one thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple " Over and over again during those three days and nights, the Holy Spirit ministered the deep love of the Bridegroom to His Bride, and those who were willing received the kisses of His mouth - the healing ministry of His Word into the deepest recesses of their souls. The Lord had come to Kitale to seek a Bride for Himself, and He would not be denied.

Our day time sessions on our second day in Gatua had been set aside especially to minister to the women leaders. Once again, the men did not want to miss any of the "bread", even if it were women's bread, so we were glad to have them stay. One of the sessions focused specifically on Jesus, the Healer of Women, and finished with the story of the Syrophonecian woman, a Gentile who did not know Jesus, but who came to Him seeking healing for her daughter. When Jesus said He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, her reply that "even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table" pleased Him and her daughter was healed. We told the women that when Jesus is in town sometimes it is enough just to be in the right place at the right time, to be touched by Him, even if you do not know who He is.

As we finished teaching and began to pray individually for women who needed healing, a woman who was drunk suddenly entered the tent in considerable distress. In Swahili she told the leaders that she had been walking down the road outside the tent, had heard the Name of Jesus and the word of God being proclaimed, and had felt compelled to come into the meeting. Though she was obviously intoxicated, she was requesting prayer, and so we prayed for her. Soon afterwards she started crying out with a loud voice the Swahile word for Jesus, "Yesu, Yesu". Tears were streaming down her face as she continued to cry out in obvious distress. I asked one of the Kenyan women leaders what she was saying and was told she was crying out that she was a sinner in need of forgiveness and asking Jesus to have mercy on her and save her. We realised that once again the Holy Spirit was moving in convicting power, bringing this woman to repentance that she might be saved! How humbling and priceless it was to watch this woman encountering the Savour that afternoon. In time, her face which had been tear stained and full of pain, relaxed into a deep peacefulness. She sat quietly in the front row listening intently without interrupting or making a sound throughout the next session, as Jodie taught about having a heart like Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus. After that we did not see her again, but we are convinced she was one who had been in "the right place at the right time" to be touched by Jesus. Please pray with us for the unknown woman who heard that Jesus was in town and came to meet Him that day.

Our third conference venue, Mirinda, turned out to be a very small village well over an hour's drive from Kitale, towards the Ugandan border. We had agreed to do three days of teaching there and had anticipated that the reception in this tiny rural church would be similar to what we had witnessed at Motosiet. However, as we arrived for the first day of the conference, we were soon aware of an air of fear and unease in the community. Even as we approached the village by car, I had sensed something dangerous and threatening in the spiritual atmosphere and had begun quietly praying with the Spirit. It seemed strange that no-one was waiting in the church for our arrival and the few people who were around seemed ill at ease. Again, the children were the first ones to appear, but again it was obvious that many of them had never seen white skinned humans and at first their fear kept them at a distance. One small little boy took one look at us and started screaming with terror, unable to be consoled!

We were told that the local pastor had received unexpected visitors that morning and was escorting them home, and would not be able to join us until later in the day. Even our Kenyan friends from Preach Christ Centre seemed a little on edge, but no-one was offering any explanations so we had no choice but to simply get on with things. As the worship started, men, women and children slowly began to gather in the little mud brick church, entering quietly one by one to sit on the wooden benches.

That day we taught three sessions, and though the people were receiving the word with appreciation, still we were aware of an oppressive heaviness and sense of fear in the air over this little community. At lunch time the local pastor, Ps. John, arrived and through talking with him we were able to put together the main pieces of the puzzle.

We learned that there were two different tribes living close to the village who even the Government was having difficulty controlling. Both of these groups were armed with guns and known to be violent, raiding villages at harvest time to steal grain and sometimes cattle. They had already killed people in Marinda and nobody knew when they were going to turn up again. One tribe came from the other side of the Ugandan border, and some of these had been the "visitors" who had arrived unexpectedly that morning and who Pastor John had escorted back to the other side of the border. The pastor shared with us his great burden to share the gospel with these two tribes and see them won for Jesus. For this reason he maintained communication with them, waiting for an opportunity to share the Lord's love with them and plant a church in their midst. He believes that if just one is saved, the gospel will spread like wildfire among them.

Pastor John told us that the Christians in Marinda had been praying for us to come for many months, since they had first heard we were coming to Kitale. He shared that many of the children had never seen white people before because no western Christian ministry would come to this remote place and share the Word with the people. He told us we were the first ones to ever come from a western nation to bring the Word of God to his people, and that even most of the Kenyan church leaders in Kitale would not come to Marinda due to the danger. In his words we were "pioneers" bringing the word of God to the believers in Marinda to strengthen and teach them the ways of God.

Armed with this new information, it was with a sense of humility and deep prayerfulness we returned to Kitale late that afternoon. A few days before, during an intimate time of worship together in our hotel as we prepared for ministry, black storm clouds had appeared very suddenly directly over the hotel. Seated near a large upstairs window, we watched as loud claps of thunder broke over us and flashes of lightning pierced the sky. Some would say coincidence, but we believe angelic warfare was taking place over the town. We were prepared to engage in whatever level of spiritual warfare our Captain would lead us into, but He assured us through His Word and His Spirit that we were to focus only on Him and the purpose He had sent us for, and He would take care of the rest. We were given Acts 18:10 as encouragement: "For I am with you and no-one will attack you to hurt you, for I have many people in this city." And so we had proceeded as directed. Now we were facing a new, potentially dangerous situation and needed to seek His leading once again.

After dinner that evening we met for prayer and worship concerning the situation in Marinda As team leader I wanted each team member to know that the decision whether or not to return to Marinda for the next two days was entirely their own and no-one would be thought any less of if they decided to remain in Kitale. We prayed together committing the situation to the Lord and asking Him to protect the people of the village as well as the leaders accompanying us from Kitale and ourselves. We spoke out the power of the Blood of Christ over the village of Marinda and the surrounding area and prayed for the two warlike tribal groups who did not yet know that Jesus had died and risen for them. We asked the Lord to assign warrior angels around the village for the duration of the conference to prevent any evil or danger entering. We also decided to send an urgent email prayer request to our online intercession team first thing in the morning for prayer support. Each team member took the decision that they would be returning to Marinda the following day, and then, committing the situation into the Lord's hands, we went to bed.

The next morning, preparing to leave for Marinda, I became aware of the Spirit directing me to Psalm 118. I opened and read: "The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly, the right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly, I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death." I knew the Lord had spoken.

As we arrived for our second day in Marinda, the atmosphere among the people had changed dramatically. This time they gathered openly and enthusiastically in their little church, ready and eager for the opportunity to rejoice in dancing and singing before the Lord, and hungry for the Word of God they knew we would bring them. More pastors had arrived from different areas. One of them, Pastor David Edward Eliezer, told me he pastored a village church some thirty miles away right on the Ugandan border. Like most African bush pastors, he and his family live by faith often going without adequate food, clothing and shelter or education for their children. The hearts of the bush pastors burn with an abiding passion to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who have not yet heard, and they will travel great distances by any means they can in order to be strengthened in the Word of God and gather with other believers to worship and pray. He told me with a heartfelt plea in his voice that he needed me to bring a teaching team to his village also because no other ministry leader had ever come and the people were hungry for more of the Word than he could give them. Words can't describe the admiration I feel for these African bush pastors and their families who are daily laying down their lives for the gospel of Christ in some of the most remote and isolated places on the face of the earth.

All that day and the next day the church in Marinda ate and drank to their fill from the Word and the Spirit. No-one came into the village except those who had come to hear the Word of God. We truly believe the Lord had surrounded the village and the church with His angels, just as we had asked, and a deep sense of peace rested upon the people as they gathered together to praise and worship Jesus. On the third day at Marinda we decided to teach on the Holy Spirit and Hearing God Prophetically. Beginning with a brief but simple drama through which three of us claimed to be a "prophet" giving a word from the Holy Spirit, we asked the people to discern by the Word and the Spirit which was the true word of the Lord, and which was false. They loved the interactive approach and their appetites were aroused for the rest of the day's teaching. The Presence of the Lord was very real to all of us on that last day at Marinda. Faces that had displayed nervousness and fear on the first day now laughed and smiled with joy at being one in the Spirit with us. Even the children had grown bold enough to sit closer to these strange "white mamas", grinning at us cheekily as they danced and sang to Jesus.

At the end of the final session a strong prophetic anointing fell and a word was given for the Marinda church from Psalm 118:19-20. "Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter."

Prophetic declaration went forth that from that day onward the Lord was establishing a gateway of righteousness in Marinda through which many would enter. Marinda would come to be known throughout that whole area as a place the Lord had set apart where righteousness was to be found and the Lord was honoured. Marinda was to be the Lord's!

Unexpectedly, Pastor John came with a request for us to pray over and appoint some potential leaders he had been training up in the church before we left that day. First though, I felt the Lord wanted us to pray for Pastor John himself. As I laid hands on him and began to pray, the Spirit moved on him powerfully so that he had to be held up by others. We then laid hands on the new leaders, both men and women, to release them into the leadership of this little church in the African bush. Again the Spirit flowed powerfully with prophetic declaration and impartation so that many of them were unable to stand. One precious very old lady had laboured for years as the only believer in this village, interceding for a pastor to come and for a church to be opened there so that many more could be saved. Her prayers had been answered with the arrival of Pastor John and as we laid hands on her the Lord gave me a word for her commending her for her faithfulness and perseverance, which men had not seen but which He had seen. That day her name was changed to Faithful, He said, and even before she came to Heaven He was saying to her "Well done, good and faithful servant." It was hard to keep back the tears as this powerful word was given to this elderly servant of the Lord. We can only ask how many more like her are there labouring in intercession deep in the African bush, unseen by the world, but known well to the Lord Himself?

It was hard for the people to let us go from Marinda for the final time that afternoon. It was just as hard for us to leave. "This church is now your church, therefore you must come back to us," I was told by Pastor John. Then once again we were travelling away from Marinda to Kitale, bouncing along over the pot-holed dusty, red roads of Western Kenya, waving at the children who stopped to stare at the white faces smiling back at them. Our hearts were overflowing with a mixture of emotions - sadness to be leaving our newly found brothers and sisters in Christ yet warmed by the simplicity of their faith and the sincerity of their love for us. God had taken us half way across the world to show us what He was doing here in the heart of Africa, and we were overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude and humility that He would allow us to work alongside Him here among these earthen vessels which He was filling with the treasure of His Son.

During our time in Kitale, two of the team members were unexpectedly given an opportunity to visit the hospital and pray for new mothers and babies, and some who were in the final stages of AIDS. I will allow our two team members who took part to share their responses to this hospital ministry in their own words:

1)"At Mt. Elgon Hospital, Kitale, we had the opportunity to come alongside the work of Jesus. We prayed for the women and babies in maternity, where there is no joy, only another mouth to feed. The conditions were terrible, and the smell of death permeated everything. We were taken to the worst room in the ward, for those dying of AIDS. There were two people lying on mattresses on the floor, and others on beds. It is hard to describe how terrible this scene was, but here I was so blessed to preach the gospel of the kingdom...to tell them how much they were loved, to lay my hands on them and pray for their pain, and to remind them their shame was taken away. And to look into their eyes and see this truth filling them with hope, as even in their frail condition there were nods of agreement. How blessed I have been to share with Jesus His love for these ones...."

2)"The first ward we went to seemed to be such a sad place and it took a while for me to realise the women had a small bundle of blanket on their bed and inside was a tiny baby born that day.......We were taken through many wards to a small room with two beds and two mattresses....seven people occupied these. The room was so small we could barely get in. I could not hear what was being whispered so I just started praying. One girl was lying there staring at me and I found myself praying for her to be healed and I absolutely believed that if I was to come back tomorrow, she would be sitting up. This place was beyond anything I could have imagined....such a desperate place. It was only after we got outside that I found out it was the AIDS ward. Many tears fell as I left that place. The Father's heart for these ones overwhelmed me and all I could do was cry out to Him. He had taken me to a place on this earth and in His heart that not a lot of people see....it was such a privilege."

Pastor Albert and his wife Christine wanted us to meet some of the widows and orphaned children the church is caring for in Kitale, many of whom have been victims of the devastating AIDS virus sweeping through Africa. We visited the homes of two widows, both of different backgrounds, but with one thing in common. Both women's husbands had died of AIDS. The first widow had five children and was living with them in a small mud brick room near the Preach Christ Centre. There was virtually no furniture in the room this family was living in. The children seemed all to be under 8 years and she was unable to afford grain to feed them. Pastor Albert explained that he and his wife Christine were informally adopting two of the children into their own family in order to ease the pressure on this widow, and to ensure these two children would receive schooling. They themselves live in a three room home and have two children of their own. It is doubtful that this family would have survived this long were it not for the help of the church to feed and clothe them.

On another occasion we visited a Muslim woman who the church was assisting. She had lost her husband to AIDS a few years earlier and now she herself was dying of the virus. She had four young children who would be left orphaned and was desperately concerned for their futures. At the time we visited she was not a believer, but we had the opportunity to share Jesus with her and she was receptive. We know that the church is continuing to minister to her and her children both practically and spiritually and are believing for her salvation. We asked this woman would she like us to pray with her, and with tears streaming she indicated that she would. Without hesitation she immediately kneeled down at our feet on the dirt floor of her tiny mud brick home. So without hesitation we knelt down beside her, laying on hands and asking Jesus to minister healing to her. We knew that unless she was healed she was going to die and there would be yet another four orphaned children among the tens of thousands of AIDS orphans already fighting to stay alive in Africa. Many of these children, some very young, end up as streetkids in the cities and towns, living like animals and surviving by any means they can. And so we prayed, and we prayed for her baby who was also an AIDS victim. She was grateful that we had come to see her, grateful to hear about the love of Jesus Christ, and she showed us where her husband had been buried close to her house on the little plot of land the family lives on. She smiled and waved at us as we left, but the sadness and fear in her eyes could not be hidden.

Several times during our time of ministry in Western Kenya Pastor Albert quoted a verse from Proverbs 25:25: "As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country." Now we are back home in Australia, that passage has taken on a new significance for us. While we were in Kenya the team lost count of the many HIV/AIDS positive adults and children we prayed for. We are believing the Lord to hear good reports to His Glory in the days to come. Please agree with us in upholding the widows and orphans of Africa before the Lord's Throne of mercy.

"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.". (James 1:27)

I do not want to give the false impression in this report that a mission trip like this one is all smooth sailing. I have tried to include only the highlights and for the sake of space have left out many of the more "ordinary" moments. Such experiences do not come without cost to the flesh or without dealing and refinement in our own lives. As the other team members will each confirm, there were many difficulties along the way, ranging from minor irritations to major obstacles. We found that the Lord used these frustrations and difficulties to break down our independence and bring us to utter dependence on Him in even the most personal and seemingly minor matters. However, at such times He gives more grace.

Finally, though I did not share this with the rest of the team at the time, before leaving for ministry in Kenya the Lord quickened to me a personal "rhema" from Isaiah 55:12-13.

"For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you. And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

I wondered then what it could mean and how the Lord would make the hills and mountains sing and the trees of the field clap their hands. Now I understand and know that He has fulfilled His promise to me. The rural churches where we ministered in Western Kenya are surrounded by hills and mountains. In fact, the area is known as the Western Highlands. Kitale itself lies at the very foot of one of Kenya's highest mountains, Mt. Elgon. How beautiful it was to hear the voices of the Lord's people breaking forth into worship among these hills and mountains everywhere we met with them. The trees of the field are these precious people of the Lord labouring daily in the fields of grain surrounding Kitale and clapping their hands as they enter their house to celebrate His goodness and hear His Word. They, like us, have known the pain of labouring fruitlessly among briers and thorns, but He has promised to do a new thing. He is in the business of bringing forth life and fruitfulness where there has been death, decay and destruction. His Name shall be glorified among these "trees of the field" and neither they nor we, shall forget what He has done.

As a result of the ministry in Western Kenya new opportunities have opened up to equip and strengthen the Lord's people in areas few western ministries are willing to visit. Additionally, we have been approached by at least one pastor working independently in the area with a request to provide apostolic and spiritual oversight for his ministry and church. Other pastors expressed to us a similar desire. We see the beginnings of a network of ministries in this remote region, providing mutual support and accountability for one another in the spirit of Biblical servanthood. The pastors and churches where we ministered, as well as another church further south in Mumias which we could not visit on this trip, are praying fervently for us to return in one year's time. Consequently, as a ministry we are praying into this new development and seeking to know the Lord's heart and direction at this time. In addition, we currently have several requests from ministries in the Philippines, India, Pakistan and other African nations to come and equip their people, and the list is growing daily. We know that it is not possible to meet all the need, but we are also committed to going to the ones the Lord would send us to.

It is not financially easy for us to travel internationally and the recent ministry in Kenya literally depleted the ministry of all funds. Our women ministers, including a single mother, travel at their own expense and pay for their own accommodation, so such a trip is very costly in more ways than I can mention. Yet we believe the Lord has called us to take Bread to the Bride even in remote areas of the world where His Bride is waiting to be nourished by His pure Word.

It is extremely important that the newly emerging churches in third world countries have access to solid foundational teaching of the Word so that they do not fall foul to deception, error and those intent on devouring the Lord's sheep. We are entirely secure and at rest in the Lord's ability to both send us and provide for us. However, we are seeking those who though they may not be able to go, are called by the Lord to assist in the sending through an ongoing commitment of regular financial support of any amount. If you are in a position to make such a commitment and the Lord has burdened you with this need, we would like very much to hear from you.

We do not know what the future holds for our friends in Kenya. As in many other African nations, radical Islam is rapidly gaining political power and influence there. Already Christians are dying by the thousands in Nigeria as extremist Islamic elements gain increasing political power there, and tensions between the two faiths are rising in several other African nations. If the Lord should see fit to send us again to Western Kenya, we are certainly willing to go. The one thing we do know is that the Holy Spirit is working intently in Africa at this time, preparing a Bride ready for the Bridegroom's return. Their future, as well as our own, is held tightly in His Hands.

Cheryl McGrath

Great South Land Ministries, Australia

www.greatsouthland.org

southland@greatsouthland.org