Dear Friend,
Charles recounted what he learned from my teaching, “I serve as a youth pastor and have come to realize that most of the time we don’t call out sin. [This] is important so it is able to convict people so that they will be able to understand that even though God is loving, He also is a judging God who will call each and everyone of us to account.” When he said this, I was so excited. He got what I was trying to communicate, as many of the other students did as well. For Paul says about the gospel he preached, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
Back to The First Century
This was my third year in a row to be a guest lecturer at Manna College in Kenya for their Evangelism Class students. The theme of my teaching every year is where I take the students back to the first century and teach them to preach the gospel the way the Apostle’s did, who learned directly from Jesus.
Manna is located just south of Nairobi and has been around since 1984. They have an alumnus of over 15,000 students across East Africa. This year we had over 60 students, providing over 200 students I have been able to teach in the last three years.
I taught in the mornings through early afternoons, then afterwards students would apply what they were learning through personal evangelism on the streets around the college. In three years, students have shared the gospel with several hundred people and have seen many come to Christ. Some of those new believers have started attending Manna Church, have gone through discipleship training and have been baptized. Praise God!
Preaching in The Open Air
In the evenings, outdoor evangelistic events were organized, where we held open air church services in a neighborhood across from the college. There were businesses and apartments where people were walking and driving by. Through a sound system, each night we filled the area around the college with the aroma of Christ through worship music and gospel preaching. The Bible says, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” (2 Cor. 4:14-15) As I preached, I would alternate days with different students, in order to help them apply what they were learning, then be evaluated by the class.
The Beautiful Terrible Cross in Prison
We also ministered at the Nairobi West Prison, which has around 600 inmates. When our team went, we could hear the music playing in the prison chapel. We were led in during the middle of a service. Different members of our team were invited to share a word, then I preached a gospel message to around 75 inmates. It was called the “Beautiful Terrible Cross” where I explained all that Jesus’ went through on the cross. Chaplain Margaret, who is a wonderful Christian minister, was greatly impacted by the message. She compared my message to other preachers that come through and commented to our team, “We need to vet our other speakers more.” She explained that many other preachers who come to the prison do so for show, but she saw something different with our team. She shared the experience with her boss, Chaplain Benson. He oversees other chaplains in the Kenyan prison system and requested that I give the same message to other inmates, correction officers and their families. We agree with Paul who said, “…for a wide door for effective work has opened to me…” (1 Cor. 16:9) We also were blessed to present inmates with a gift of various hygiene products like toilet paper and toothpaste.
Helping Plant a New Church
We were privileged to assist with a church plant in the town of Kiserian, about an hour away from Manna College. A few months prior, a group of believers began praying over the area for God
to raise up a new church. There were also outreaches conducted to help build a core group of people. When we were there on Saturday and Sunday, we held open air services in the afternoons, next to a busy road. One young man, Dennis, was listening across the street as I preached. I went over afterwards and met him. We talked, I shared the gospel and prayed with him, then introduced him to the new church’s pastor. Before I left, he took a photo of me with him, and his face was glowing with joy.
Sunday morning, I was invited to preach at the church’s launch service in their new building. I did not realize until that moment that some of the money Great Awakenings raised was used to purchase supplies to build the church. The structure was not complete when we met, but that was okay. It had a frame with a roof, which was good enough for them.
Bringing Others to See
In demonstrating the works of Christ to the surrounding area, Manna College advertised for free eye exams. Kenyan optometrist, Mary, conducted about 20 of those, after which she provided a prescription where patients could then pursue getting glasses. I was able to watch her give exams to two teenage girls.
Construction Projects
Great Awakenings construction crew did an amazing job. Eddie Darby from Belleville, Kansas and Cecil McLeroy from Rogers, Arkansas were blessed by God with talents to do much needed work. The Bible says, “I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship…” (Exodus 31:3)
They worked hard from morning to night, day after day, sometimes slowly moving as they crawled in the van to head home after dark. And they did it while leading a talented Manna construction crew that Eddie and Cecil trained, so the work could carry on after we left.
The largest and most complex project we did was the demolition and rebuilding of a classroom ceiling. The college has two buildings with metal roofing, which contain areas of rust and water leaks. The computer lab was suffering from such leaks, which then led to mold issues. We were initially asked to replace a few ceiling tiles, which turned into one classroom, then multiple rooms. We bought 96 large pieces of plywood to replace all the existing ceiling tiles in the rooms. To prepare for that, we
painted all the tiles. However, as the project unfolded, we did not realize how consuming it would be. We ended up only completing one room and stored all the other pieces of plywood for repair at some future date.
We also built nine benches that were to be used at Manna College, Manna Church and at the new church plant. During the launch service in Kiserian, we were blessed to see the benches being used that very morning. Here is a description of other projects…
1. We took on a large painting project. Two dormitory rooms and two classrooms were washed down then painted.
2. An urgent plumbing crisis was taken care of when the lone American toilet sprung a leak!
3. We helped one of Manna College’s office staff, when a bookshelf was so weighed down it looked like it was about to give way, so we built a new shelf.
4. Manna College sits on about five acres that needs maintained, so we bought them a brand-new weed eater, assembled it, then trained our crew to operate it.
Due to all the woodwork that needed to be done, we made several trips to a Kenyan lumber yard. It is much different than we see back home, plus the delivery truck is a cart instead, and runs on human legs. And by the way, if you ever travel to Kenya, beware if you ever buy anything that says, “Made in China.” One skill saw we bought would not operate correctly, but the store refused a return, while another corded drill would not even run.
On Safari In The Wild Kingdom
We had a wonderful time going on a safari and being able to see animals out in their natural setting. The Scripture declares, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) We witnessed God’s creation up close with giraffe’s, zebras, hippopotamuses, impalas, rhinos and ostriches. We also were able to see a monkey up close, not on our safari, but at the place where we stayed. It was cute, but annoying at night. When we were trying to sleep the monkeys thought it was time to play, and on the metal roof above our heads no less. Some
members of our team did not get a lot of sleep because of those pesky monkeys!
Looking Ahead to 2026
The dates are set for 2026, Thursday, July 30th – Thursday, August 13th. If you are a pastor and would like to come and do some teaching, contact us. If you are a handyman and would like to be part of our construction team, let us know. If you are a student, from a high school freshman upward into college, and are interested in doing some cross-cultural ministry, give us a call.
Thank you for taking time to read this, and I hope and pray you have been encouraged in your walk with Christ.
Servant of Jesus. Servant of Yours,
Clint Decker
President
Great Awakenings, Inc
