Posts in Africa
Presbyterian Church of Rwanda - March 2024 Update

Stu Ross, Africa Mission Specialist for The Outreach Foundation, and his wife Annie were recently hosted by Rev. Dr. Pascal Bataringaya, President of the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda (EPR). During Stu’s visit, they were able to see three churches in the region. Gakenke Parish Church was the first they visited. This church has been closed for two years because it cannot meet the government standards for electricity and working toilets. Rev. Pascal noted that getting this church opened was a main priority. Money will be donated, and the church should be finished in the next several months.

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CCAP Zambia — Training Pastors at Chasefu Theological College

The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP), Synod of Zambia was constituted in 1984 with four ordained ministers, six congregations, and two presbyteries. The church continues to preach the Gospel and provide education, clean drinking water, agricultural services, children's ministry, and many other services. Well-trained ministers are needed to keep these ministries going. Ministers were previously trained in Malawi but in 2007, the church started its own school, Chasefu Theological College, with 16 students.

With support from The Outreach Foundation, Chasefu provides training in diploma and certificate programs. More than 70 ministers have been educated and are currently serving in the CCAP Synod of Zambia, Harare-Zimbabwe, and Livingstonia-Malawi.

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The Presbyterian Church in Rwanda (EPR) — Construction of the Temple in Nyarutovu Parish

The Christians of Nyarutovu Parish are looking forward to having a new sanctuary for prayer and worship! According to them, God is responding to their prayers by financial support given through The Outreach Foundation. Church members continue to help with construction by hauling stones, sand, wood, etc. Paint, electricity, water, and installing doors, windows, and toilets are among the tasks needed to complete the church/temple.

Nyarutovu Parish is a good place for evangelization. This temple will help conduct this noble mission of God, evangelize many people for Jesus Christ, and tell many people about the kingdom of God.

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Refugees, Refuge, Hope — Nasir Church Year End Appeal

For decades, civil wars in South Sudan have forced hundreds of thousands to flee to camps in neighboring Ethiopia. The village of Nasir was particularly affected. But as the conflict has declined and security has returned, the request from these refugees is, “We just want to go back home. Please help us get back to our homeland.”

The Presbyterian Church of South Sudan (PCOSS) is eager to welcome them home. In addition to basic needs, the people greatly need sanctuary, a place to worship. Therefore, a priority is to complete the historical Nasir Church destroyed by war.

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FJKM’s Holy Race

It has been a very busy year with many accomplishments and challenges for the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), The Outreach Foundation’s partner church in Madagascar. Dan and Elizabeth Turk, who serve with FJKM, recently shared this update and invite you to join a Zoom presentation that the Madagascar Mission Network is sponsoring on November 14th from 7:00-8:30 pm EST. Click here to register Turk event registration or go to the Madagascar Mission Network website.

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PCEA Church Construction in Kenya — PCEA Marsabit Church Dedication

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.

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Lauren Scharstein — The Lady in Pink

I 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.

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Namumu Orphanage Center - September 2023 Update

The Namumu Orphanage Center is making great progress on their strategic plans:

1.       Finishing expansion of the medical clinic
2.      Raising funds and constructing a building and equipment for a hammer mill to generate income
3.      Working to build a better poultry house to generate income
4.      Exploring what it would take to become a Vocational Training Center. This is a key part of their strategic plan and will shift Namumu from a residential orphanage program to an educational training center. When we visited, they shared with us there are no Vocational Training Centers in their region.

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PCEA Urisho Church Dedication

PCEA 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.

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Holistic Evangelism in Tete Province — August 2023 Update

I am excited to share with you an update on our Holistic Evangelism Project in Tete Province, Mozambique. The year started with a bang. Cyclone Freddy made its first landfall in Mozambique in late February and then returned for a second landfall in March. Tete Province (an interior province) was spared the tremendous rainfall that coastal areas received, but crop preparation and planting were delayed, and village life was disrupted. We are grateful the damage and flooding were not as bad as we feared.   

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PCEA Kwen-Siro Church Dedication in Kenya

The 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.

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Tumaini Children's Ministry — July 2023 Update

At 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:

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Booth Girls' High School of Excellence — July 2023 Update

Wendell Hill, Outreach trustee and Synod Men’s Council Kenya Leader (Mid-Atlantic Synod), recently returned from his seventh mission trip to Kenya. Wendell shared,

“It was another amazing, life-changing experience. Our visits to the Booth Girls’ High Schools will always be remembered. We completed four ministry sessions of “Why I Love Jesus” with 625 girls, hearing and witnessing their faith stories and testimonies of their lives. The visit ended with the girls sharing that they were blessed to be accepted at the Booth Girls’ School.

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Tumaini Children's Ministry - June 2022 Update

Tumaini 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.

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PCEA Church Construction in Kenya — PCEA Ng’alalya Church Dedication

PCEA 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. 

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