August Update from Gerald and Louise Mwangi

Sometimes when people are going through hard times, like we are now in the pandemic, it can be hard to see anything beyond ourselves. However, the above Scripture calls us to be a people of hope. It calls us to renew our worship, to re-dedicate our service, care, friendship, work and love to others and to God. It calls us to love one another and be kind to one another as God in Christ has been merciful to us.

As we indicated in our last prayer letter as well as our recent video, Kenya (like everywhere) is still struggling with COVID. The new delta variant has caused a third wave in the country and only a small section of society has been vaccinated. Thankfully the two of us have had both doses of the vaccine and we wait for a wider roll out here in the coming months. In general people are very good about wearing masks and many aspects of life have been continuing without too much inconvenience.  

In May this year we took a step of faith and decided to run TransformD. Thankfully we have been able to continue uninterrupted without any cases of the virus. We have been diligent in making sure that our activities are closely monitored. One of the issues we had to deal with was how to create a bubble and sustain it. We limited our interactions with the communities around us and, when necessary, applied certain protocols. We thank God for his protection and hand upon us.

Our TransformD team has just come back from their two-week cross-cultural mission experience in Murang’a. It takes just three hours to get there, unlike Samburu (where TransformD mission trips normally go) which is 17 hours away. It was great for the participants to teach children and young people as well as meet people in the community. On 21 August we will celebrate with a graduation ceremony and parents and friends will join virtually. Then some of the students will start preparing to go to colleges and universities in September. We are thankful to God for all that has been happening.

We have sampled two reports from our students to help you get a picture from their perspective of what they do on the TransformD programme. 

Peter: My name is Peter Kimanzi from Kitui. I have been privileged to join TransformD this year. It has been proved to be of great importance for it has uplifted me spiritually from one step into another.

For a long time I found it difficult to read the Bible. I read it like a storybook for entertainment. For instance, I recall back to after I finished my primary education and before I joined high school (age 14). I read almost half of the Old Testament but I found the New Testament boring. I enjoyed the flow of the story about the Israelites. This knowledge helped me perform very well in my religious studies however I did not know what it all meant.
Having passed through this programme, I am motivated to read the Bible because I can now internalise it by answering three important questions: what does it say, what does it mean and how do we apply it?

I have also learnt that the Bible is one story with Jesus being the centre upon which everything stands. I have also appreciated other aspects of the programme like learning about personal journaling, being mindful of others, phone etiquettes, budgeting and saving. The most encouraging thing has been gaining the courage to stand before people and share the gospel with them – particularly during the mission to Murang’a.

Now, as the theme verse of TrasnformD programme states that ‘you have been equipped, go and equip others’, I feel challenged to share what I have learnt with my friends who have not had a chance to be part of the programme.

Tracy: For the time I have been at the TransformD programme, I have learnt from different books of the Bible: Ephesians, Colossians, Galatians, Exodus, Genesis, John and Mark. Through these books I have learnt some incredible truths:

1. I was chosen by God to be adopted by Jesus as he redeemed me from my sins with his sacrifice on the cross. This has challenged me to live a life that is worthy of my calling by standing firm and praying to God to help me ward off anything that tries to separate me from the love of Jesus.

2. Christ is supreme: him being the first born of all creation and the image of the invisible God. I should not fear or worry about anything because Jesus who lives in me is above all the physical and spiritual world – how encouraging!

3. God is righteous and he will finally destroy evil.

I have also been reading through a book called ‘God’s Big Picture’ by Vaughan Roberts, which has greatly helped me see how the whole bible is one connected story. 

Even though it was hard in the beginning getting to know fellow students who come from different places and speak different languages, I have immensely benefited from the programme and I feel transformed. Thank you TransformD staff team for the good work. I have learnt a lot and I look forward to gaining more in the remaining few days.

As a family we are doing well. James will turn one on 3 September. The year has been a real rollercoaster of emotions and we are physically very tired. But we are happy to reach this milestone and look forward to the boys soon being able to do more together as James is already very keen not to miss anything! We thank God for his grace to us, his protection over the boys and what he has taught us through parenting. There is still no indication of when we might be able to travel to the UK but we are doing our best to feel content in staying here and building stronger networks and we are grateful for the community from church especially.

Prayer points

• Thank God for the smooth running of the programme and for Duncan, Lewis and Lucy who were instrumental in this – in particular their excellent supervision of the Murang’a mission trip as Gerald wasn’t able to be there full time.

• Please pray for the virtual graduation on 21 August and for the students as they move forward in life. Pray especially those who don’t know what will happen next for them and for those that are unsure where their school fees will come from.

• Continue to pray for us as a family and that we will feel content with being in Kenya. Pray that Louise and the children will continue to grow in friendship with their community here.