The PCEA Marsabit Church dedication was interesting and entertaining. Borana and Samburu are the main tribes here, and the dancing and singing reflected these cultures. Our group also participated in the singing, which was a first.
Building this church was very difficult. It was built over a period of four years encompassing COVID. The costs rose and available money shrank, but with God’s help, the church was completed.
Read MoreI want to thank you for your prayers and your support! It has been a busy season in ministry and in the life of our family: since the beginning of this year, we expanded both the infrastructure and staff at Mother Esther School; we hosted the Kenya Mission Conference for partners in ministry; we continued emergency food relief in areas where drought has taken a toll, and we trained 65 lay-pastors to return to their communities and share the love of God. With all that is going on, we also welcomed our son, Jeffrey Kariuki, to the family in February.
Read MorePCEA Urisho Church in Arusha, Tanzania was dedicated in June with a happy celebration. The church is located on top of Mount Meru, just outside Arusha.
From our base in Kikuyu, it took all day to drive to Arusha for the dedication. We got to the border at noon, and it took about two hours to cross because of the paperwork for the vehicle. The main language of Tanzania is Swahili, and very few people speak English.
Read MoreThe dedication of PCEA Kwen-Siro Church on July 1 was the culmination of a week of mission celebration on the Kenyan coast. The celebration started on Tuesday when many went door to door in Sagalla evangelizing and inviting the town people to the church dedication on Saturday. Most of the Head Office including the Moderator, Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General attended.
Read MoreAt the end of June, a six-member team from Eastminster Presbyterian Church, Marietta, Georgia journeyed to the highlands of Kenya to make a visit to the Tumaini-Huruma Children’s Ministry. Eastminster, an Outreach church partner, had not sent a team to Kenya (due to COVID constraints) since 2018. Here is a quick snapshot of our two-day visit:
Read MoreTumaini Runners’ Program
The Tumaini Runners’ Program was started in 2007 by two young women who had recently graduated from Stanford University. Following their graduation, the young women, avid amateur runners, embarked on an adventure taking them around the world to participate in marathons across the globe. A stop in Kenya found them looking for a place to stay for a race taking place in the Mt. Kenya Region in the Central Highlands. A long-time donor to the Tumaini Children’s Center, a home for vulnerable children in Nyeri, Kenya, gave them an offer they couldn’t refuse. In exchange for accommodations, they had to promise to visit Tumaini and spend some time with the children. Out of that encounter, the Tumaini Runners’ Program was born.
Read MorePCEA Ng’alalya Church was dedicated on June 4. The new church is located about 1.5 hours east of Kikuyu. It is a growing area and has a lot of potential. I can see them expanding in five years. In the meantime, we have helped them with a church where they can grow their capacity and members and do much on their own. The closest PCEA church is PCEA Bethany, the mother of Ng’alalya, which is 10 kilometers (more than five miles) away. This is too far for children and the elderly to walk.
Read MoreToday we dedicated our fifth Linda’s Library. It was at Gituamba Girls’ Secondary School in Limuru. The occasion was moderated by the Moderator of Lari Presbytery, Rev. Karanga. The celebration was filled with dancing and singing by the girls along with many speeches.
Libraries take students to a new level of learning. They open up new worlds, new ideas, and new opportunities. Libraries positively affect language and reading skills and help to improve students’ grades.
Read MoreThe Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) and The Outreach Foundation have enjoyed many years of faithful partnership, building churches in East Africa. PCEA Ol’Moran was recently dedicated with great joy! Stu Ross sent the following news:
After much work and many struggles, the beautiful PCEA Ol’Moran Church was finally dedicated on April 2, 2023. It was worth the effort. The congregation was able to move from this dilapidated mud structure to their beautiful modern stone church. Their old structure could only seat 25 people and was dark with few windows and a mud floor.
Read MoreThrough years of faithful partnership, the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) and The Outreach Foundation have built many churches in East Africa. Outreach East Africa Mission Consultant Stu Ross recently sent this joyful news about a recent church dedication:
This Ndigu-Ini congregation was started in 1992 when members from the area felt their walk to their church was too far, especially for the elderly and the very young. They organized themselves and worshipped in an open field on the chief’s homestead.
Read MoreThe Outreach Foundation has come alongside the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) to help them build churches in difficult areas. Once these churches are established, members do mission work in their communities like building schools and ministering to those in need. Coordinating this work is Outreach’s East Africa Mission Consultant Stu Ross, who works closely with PCEA leadership. Stu recently sent the following:
Last Sunday, October 16, Simba Cement Church was dedicated. The church is located in Maasai Land near a large cement factory, thus the name Simba Cement Church.
Read MoreWorking closely with PCEA leadership, Outreach’s East Africa Mission Consultant Stu Ross coordinates the construction of many churches in East Africa. Stu sent this note about one of the newest PCEA churches:
The dedication of Kianjau Church was very different in many ways. The group that helped build this church was from TOLI (Touch of Love International). We have been partnering with them for about six years. They do micro-loans and have been working in the Kiandutu slum next to the church. They have already given out over forty loans and by year’s end will have given out over one hundred. Many of their loans are going to single mothers with few skills and few opportunities. They not only provide loans but also provide training on how to run a business, open a bank account, and choose a sustainable enterprise.
Read MoreWe just received this prayer request from Lauren Scharstein, Deputy Director of Mission for the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) in Kenya:
Dear friends of PCEA,
Receive Christian greetings. We ask that you join with us in prayers for peace and security, as Kenyans go to the polls to elect a new president on Tuesday, August 9, 2022.
Read MoreWe are saddened to announce the recent death of Eunice Muindi, wife of the late Rt. Rev. Bernard Muindi, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church in East Africa, former pastor of the Riamukurwe Parish at Nyeri, and visionary advocate for the needs of vulnerable children at Nyeri and beyond. Rev. and Mrs. Muindi were great partners and friends of The Outreach Foundation.
Read MoreIt has been a heartbreaking season in the life of the world, but we worship the God who has journeyed through the depth of pain and heartbreak for us. Each year at Easter, we celebrate the promise that through Jesus Christ, God brings hope out of despair, abundance out of scarcity, and new life out of death. At Mother Esther School, we have certainly witnessed new life emerge from situations of despair, and we have experienced joy — fierce and defiant — in the face of hopelessness.
Read MoreStu Ross, East Africa Mission Consultant, recently sent this note about the dedication of PCEA Churiri Church in Kenya. The church was built in partnership with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA); Memorial Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC; Mid-Atlantic Synod Men’s Council through the Nendeni Outreach Program; and The Outreach Foundation.
Read MoreThe Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) supports a ministry rescuing girls who might be forced into early marriage by providing rescue centers for them. The Outreach Foundation partners with the PCEA and civil authorities in this ministry. All of the rescue centers are connected to a PCEA boarding school, offering the girls a hopeful future. Lauren Scharstein, Outreach global worker and Deputy Director of Mission for the PCEA, shared the current major needs of the rescue centers:
New Dorm for PCEA Mother Esther Girls' School and Rescue Center
We currently have 175 girls under our care ranging in age from 6 to 17 years old. Our dormitories are at full capacity, some girls already sleep two on the bottom of a twin bunk bed. The big need for a new dormitory is also due to the fact that we have 25 girls who will finish 8th grade in March and move into high school.
Clean drinking water is a much sought-after commodity in East Africa. The Outreach Foundation and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) have partnered to bring water to thirsty villages. East Africa Mission Consultant Stu Ross recently sent a report on this life-changing partnership:
Water is life! Over 50% of Kenyans don’t have piped water. It has to be fetched, mainly by women and children, in 20-liter cans. The water may be up to 15 km (10+ miles) away, which makes this an all-day job, two-three times a week. Consequently, mothers are not at home and children miss school. In Maasai land, where water is far away in many villages, children and adults aren’t able to wash regularly and skin disease is common. Diarrhea and dysentery are also widespread diseases where water is either not available or not clean.
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