On June 24th of 2008, Bro. Doug and Sis. Lenita Wall, Bro. Matthew
Gellenbeck, and I (Bro. Michael Smith) arrived home safely from an
intensive month-long missionary endeavor in Africa.
We thank the Lord for His blessings, presence, and anointing on this
recent trip. God proved Himself faithful time and time again. Bro.
Doug and Sis. Lenita had a burden to return to Kenya and Tanzania in
a follow-up visit to last year. I had a burden to return to Malawi
and Mozambique. God gave us a joint burden in which we believed the
Lord would be pleased for us to combine our plans into one mutually
supportive trip. God also gave Bro. Matthew Gellenbeck a burden to
accompany us. He proved to be a great blessing and support in this
effort.
On Wednesday, May 28, we departed from the Oklahoma City airport.
After a layover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, we arrived in
Nairobi, Kenya early Friday morning on May 30th. We were met at the
airport by Bro. Peter who accompanied us for most our stay in Kenya
and Tanzania.
Over the past two years, Bro. Doug and I have been making various
contacts with ministers in Kenya and Tanzania – some of whom Bro.
Doug visited last year. Over the course of our stay, we visited more
of these contacts and held services in various locations. As our
time was limited, we were unable to fulfill all of the requests we
received from different congregations to come and share the gospel
with them.
Ministers from different areas in Kenya came and visited with us on
Saturday. It was a time to get better acquainted and a time to share
our burdens and vision of the work of God. A sweet sister, who lives
in Nairobi, opened her home to us and to those who came to visit. On
Sunday, we attended services in one of the congregations in Nairobi.
This was the first contact we had with three ministers who
fellowship in the Nairobi area. As in almost every service we held
in Kenya, there was a time of teaching and preaching in each
service. We found there to be openness for the truth and a hunger to
learn more.
We traveled 7-8 hours on Monday to arrive at Bro. Peter’s home. That
evening, we visited another brother with whom we have corresponded.
He asked many doctrinal questions and seemed to be very sincere.
While we had many sessions of teaching and preaching on this trip,
much good was accomplished by the individual contact we had with
inquiring people before and after services. Many an evening was
spent visiting about the truth with people that came with questions.
We had opportunity to visit the school that Bro. Peter is overseeing
for the orphans in his congregation. The orphans live with various
saint families and then are schooled and provided for through the
efforts of the congregation. There are now over 100 orphans in this
one location who are in need of temporal and spiritual support. Many
of the congregations we visited had numerous orphans for whom they
are caring. We were very impressed with the efforts we saw. Bro.
Peter is currently preparing to build a structure to provide
sleeping quarters for the children. With the help of the orphans and
members of the congregation, they have made 10,000 bricks. They will
sell some and use the rest to construct the building.
We held services throughout the day and much seed was sown. There
were ministers from the surrounding area that came and heard the
gospel. Since our visit, people have been coming back to Bro.
Peter’s with more questions about the truth. Some left the meeting
and began making changes in their lives immediately.
The following day we visited Bro. Joseph’s congregation. He is also
doing a very good work for the orphans. God blessed in the services,
which were followed by a baptismal service. That evening, Bro. Doug
and I got very sick. An unsaved person in the compound where we
stayed said that we were going to die. They told someone that if we
didn’t go to the hospital, they would call the witch doctor. The
Lord undertook and we were feeling well enough the following day to
continue our journey. Faith in witch doctors is very prevalent in
Kenya and Tanzania. Their huts can often be identified by their
shape. Houses of different witch doctors were located close by one
of the chapels in which we had services. Bro. Doug received a report
that two witch doctors were saved following our return back home.
On our journey through Kenya, we saw burned out buildings and broken
store fronts that were a result of the violence in Kenya. We also
passed a tent city where people were still staying whom had lost
their homes. Bro. Peter and his family had to flee their hut for
about six weeks during the worst of the violence. They fled to a
mountain which we saw in the distance from his home. Last year the
Walls prayed for an elderly man living close by. During the
violence, the mob broke into his house and beat him. As a result,
this man died.
We traveled to Tanzania and stayed with Bro. Paul. The Walls met him
last year. Services were held outdoors as many people were in
attendance. People from different faiths and congregations in the
local area were present. God poured out His anointing in the
teaching and preaching and honest souls were blessed.
On Saturday, June 7 we traveled to Mwanza Town, often sighting Lake
Victoria in the distance. We stayed with Bro. Issa. He is another
minister with whom we have had correspondence. He said that God
brought to him in a dream/vision the words: ‘www.africamission.com.’
He went to where he could access the internet and typed it in.
Hence, our correspondence began. We had services the evening we
arrived and the following day, which was Sunday. There was much
doctrinal teaching done in Kenya and Tanzania, as that was the focus
of many of the questions. There has been a large Pentecostal
influence in these areas. Hence, the subject of the Holy Spirit was
dealt with repeatedly.
On Monday, we traveled back to Bro. Peter’s in Kenya. We continued
our journey back to Nairobi on Tuesday. Our vehicle broke down with
a hole in the radiator, but we were able to flag down another
vehicle that took us to Nairobi. Over the course of this part of the
trip, we were able to distribute over 90 Bibles.
On Wednesday, June 11, we flew from Kenya to Malawi. The following
day was spent in the city of Blantyre making arrangements and
catching up on studying, laundry, and a little rest. We rented a
vehicle for the course of our stay in Malawi and Mozambique. In the
afternoon, we visited an orphanage that is focused on taking of care
of children ages 0-5. There are many orphans in these African
countries due to the high mortality rate. There is an ongoing
humanitarian need to help support these children.
On Friday, Bro. Failos and Bro. Master met us in the city and we
traveled back to the village. As we approached the village, we were
met by a large crowd of people singing and rejoicing at our arrival.
We were warmly welcomed and received. For the next five days, we
traveled to congregations in Malawi and Mozambique. We would hold a
short service and then drive to another congregation. We were met
with singing and rejoicing in almost every place we went. The people
would present us with gifts of live chickens, eggs, rice, and soda.
Some congregations waited all day long for us to arrive.
Unfortunately, there were some congregations that waited, and we
were not able to get there that day. All of the preaching was done
with the use of a translator. In the villages, it is a rarity to
find someone who speaks English.
At this time, there are approximately 60 congregations in this area.
In five days, we had services in 25 different congregations and
traveled many miles over rough roads, no roads, and footpaths. Bro.
Matthew bore the stress of most of the driving over some very
difficult terrain. Not only did he help in the services, but he
fixed Bro. Failos’ motorcycle, worked on a well, helped prepare
meals, and was a support to me physically.
In one location, we were about to leave after a service when an
elderly woman approached. She wanted to be delivered from chewing
tobacco. We had her dump her pouch of tobacco out, and then prayed
for her deliverance. A number of women followed her example and
dumped out their tobacco. They prayed for forgiveness and then we
prayed over all of them.
We held a ministers meeting from Thursday through Saturday morning.
There were 35-50 ministers in attendance from Malawi and Mozambique.
We had numerous teaching sessions each day and covered many Biblical
topics. One day, following teaching on the Holy Spirit, over half
the ministers in attendance came forward to receive the Holy Spirit
into their lives. There was also particular interest in the teaching
on ‘Marriage’ and on the ‘End of Time.’ We distributed 120 Bibles in
their native language.
People walked for long distances to be in service. It was observed
that one person rode his bicycle with flat tires. It is always
moving to see the sacrifice that is made to hear the gospel.
Saturday afternoon a general preaching service was held. Over 350
people were in this service. Sunday morning, there were many more
people. The chapel we built a few years ago was not large enough to
hold all the people, so the service was held outside under a brush
arbor that had been constructed. After the morning service, we left
for Blantyre to fly out the following day.
The work in Malawi and Mozambique continues to grow. Our prayer is
that the truth will take root and that their understanding will be
opened in a greater way.
Although very impoverished, they are a happy, friendly people. The
nights were cold and many children go without blankets or a warm
place to sleep. We are purchasing another 200 blankets for the
orphans in Malawi and Mozambique. During the times of hunger, the
orphans who live with relatives suffer even more as there is not
enough food to go around. The humanitarian needs are great in these
countries, especially with the orphans and elderly.
God granted us safety and protection on the trip. Our days were very
full and God granted strength for our day. On a personal note, God
helped me so much physically. There were numerous times that I was
feeling very badly, and through prayer, God would intervene and give
me a good day. Although I had some seizures while I was gone, the
Lord allowed most of them to happen in relative privacy. The Lord
miraculously undertook for me in Johannesburg, South Africa in the
airport. I was in a very bad way in my body and was beginning to
spasm etc. The Lord kept me from having a seizure and I was able to
board the plane. We were on the same plane for 18-19 hours and I had
a good flight, thank the Lord.
The scripture teaches in I Corinthians 12 that there are many
members but one body. We all have different personalities, strengths
and weaknesses. When we are joined together in one Spirit, as Christ
desires, we are stronger because of that diversity. God blessed this
trip with unity. It was a privilege to travel together to be a
strength and help to one another as we collectively ministered to
people of other lands.
We appreciate so much the prayers of the saints. God blessed
spiritually and physically on the trip and much good was
accomplished. The needs are very great and there is much work to be
done. We desire for the Lord to bless all involved in this work with
discernment, as we come in contact with different religious spirits.
Please continue to pray that the Lord will meet every need and that
these various efforts will prosper in the Lord. The saints in Africa
send their greetings back to the saints in America.
