Jon Mills reports on kenyan trip

At the end of August I had the opportunity to travel with Stuart Lindsell to Nakuru in Kenya. We went as part of an on-going ‘Equipped to Lead Kenya’ programme, initiated by Adrian Hawkes, part of the Inspire Core Team, and local pastor and social entrepreneur, Sammy Nawali. Adrian and Sammy have a vision to make practical leadership and theological training available to local pastors. So over the past couple of years a number of training courses have been held with teaching delivered by different guests from the UK.

The training was held over 3 days in a rural part of the Rift Valley, about 10 miles outside of Nakuru, with a local AOG church as the venue. It was a joy and privilege to impart things we’ve learned about Christian leadership and discipleship to such an attentive and enthusiastic audience.

We also got to spend time with Sammy and his team and see some of the exciting projects they are involved in, including a school, boys home, and feeding programme. They combine the skills of social entrepreneurship with a spiritual vision to bless their community – and provide valuable work in a place where there is high unemployment (estimated at 40%). You can see more at their website: rainedge.net/Rain_Edge/About_Us.html.

Before I went I had asked my work colleagues if they could give me any old mobile phones, as these are a valuable commodity in Kenya. I hadn’t realised quite how valuable until Sammy told me he could get up to a £1000 for the motley collection of 25 phones and Blackberry’s I had accumulated!

In conclusion, it was wonderful to have the opportunity to invest a little bit of time, energy and resources, and I’m sure I learned more than I taught.