Mission Kenya 2023
By Rev. Dr. Rodrecus M. Johnson, Jr. and Rev. Dr. Melvin D. Wilson, Jr.
Due to my younger children, I have gotten accustomed to the music and phrase “a whole new world.” Despite the slightly different conditions, the idea still holds true for our mission trip to Kenya. It is simple to become paralyzed by worry about the “what ifs” as we undergo shots, pills, immunizations, and CPR training as we prepare for Kenya—however, a call for missional transformation needed to be answered. After months of preparation, Anderson Chapel-Killeen, along with the pastor and first lady of Bethel-San Antonio, embarked upon a life-changing mission trip to Nakuru, Kenya. Despite the delays and detours (in Paris and the island of Mauritius), we made it to our destination with a warm Kenyan welcome from Presiding Elder Moses Achola and the Kenyan ministerial delegation.
In the cities of Nakuru and Eldoret, the Mission Team was able to provide inspiration and snacks to 1,200 students at Flamingo Secondary School, lunch and inspiration to over 1,000 students at Kenyatta Secondary School, groceries (compliments of Bethel-San Antonio) to over 70 people during a Noon-Day Revival, and groceries to over 60 people, summoned to Bethel-Eldoret (the Rev. Priscah Onyango)—the Rev. Dr. Melvin Wilson, Jr., Sis. Brooke Wilson, the Rev. Dr. Rodrecus M. Johnson, Jr., the Rev. Ayonna D. Johnson, and Master Rodrecus M. Johnson, III (13 years of age)delivered messages throughout the week (to include a Women’s Conference, 2-Day Ministerial Institute, 2-Night Revival, food giveaways, and two Nakuru Secondary Schools). Although the need was so great, the gratitude expressed for the simplest of items was unmatched and easy to obtain.
Ministry, from its very basic points, is similar despite locale, admiration to the Almighty, outreach to the oppressed, and evangelical means to capture the lost. But however similar, the flavor added was unique, beginning with unparalleled worship and uninhibited praise. If the distance people traveled was not impressive, people traveling by foot into a standing-room-only facility while others stood outside the windows just to hear the WORD, even in the rain, was extraordinary. The Mission Team was undoubtedly transformed with every worship encounter and personal interaction with school administrators, students, preachers, and residents.
This trip changed our perception of ministry forever, from being comfortable at a traffic stop by the local police to a now-raised expectation of praise and worship!
