March 25, 2002

Dear praying friends,

Greetings from Kitale! I have now been in the country of Kenya for a little over a month, and God has been doing some great things in the ministry here. I have so much to update each of you about, so I will do my best to give you an idea of the ministry I am in, and the way of life here in Kenya.

The present ministries that I am involved in are school ministry, evangelism, and discipleship. Our church has started an outreach in a school that meets every Wednesday afternoon. There are approximately 70 students in this class. Last week was my second time to visit the school, and my first week to assist in teaching. I was so encouraged to hear how well the kids know the story at the end of the lesson. They were able to answer the Bible lesson questions so quickly. I plan to begin teaching in the school next week. Please pray that this ministry opportunity would go well. I have also been active in the evangelism and discipleship ministry. A couple of weeks ago, I was able to lead a Kenyan, named Evans, to Christ. It is so neat to see what God is doing in his life. He had a big problem with smoking and now he has given it up! Praise God! I went to disciple him last week, and he is growing in his faith and has asked us to pray that God would help him in his struggles with his sin nature.

This past week was exciting as well, as I saw a family of three trust Christ. I will begin to disciple them next week. As you can see, God has been blessing in a mighty way, and I am encouraged to see His hand at work. I plan to begin teaching a seven week class on discipleship in our church this week. When someone is led to Christ, the same group that led the person to Christ will meet with the convert one time per week for the 7 weeks to help them grow in their faith. I am excited to see how God will use this follow-up ministry in conjunction with the evangelism outreach ministry of the church. Please pray that God would bless the efforts and we would see much fruit from our labors. I have been going out to evangelize with some nationals from the church in Kitale. It has been quite a challenge, getting around the area without the use of a vehicle, but I have been getting back into good physical condition with all of the walking I have to do. Recently, I have gone out with the assistant pastor, another church member close to my age and a young boy that is 12 years old. It has been exciting to see their eager spirit for evangelism, and the way God is using them. They have certainly been a blessing and encouragement to me.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the experience of a lifetime. I was in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, to do some business and see some friends from where I did an internship at Life Ministry in 1997. While in Nairobi, I was able to meet with a Kenyan, named Sammy Njiru, and he really challenged me in my walk with God. Many of you may have heard me talk about Sammy while I was in the States and the impact he had on my life. It was really neat to see him again after five years. Sammy is doing well, and has a school ministry that he leads in the Nairobi area. Presently, he has 7 people working with him. They assist him in the ministry; and between each of the workers, they are going to 27 schools per week! What a challenge! God is really using Sammy to reach people for Him, and what a blessing and encouragement he is to me.

Now about the experience that I spoke of earlier; Sammy lives with his family in the slum area of Nairobi called Kabira. It is one of the largest slums in Africa, with a population of 1.2 million people. While I visited Sammy in the slum, he took me on an eleven-mile tour of the area. It was quite an experience; I have never seen anything like it. The smell of raw sewage was extremely powerful when we entered the slum. I was really moved when I saw the living conditions of the people. I have never seen the depths of poverty I witnessed in Kabira. Yet, I couldn't believe how many people were in this slum area. They need to hear the gospel. It is one of those experiences that I will never forget. Sammy considers Kabira his "mission field," and is dedicated to reaching the Kenyans in this area. Please pray for Sammy's stamina and that God would continue to use him in this ministry.

After the tour of the Kabira slum, Sammy took me to one of the schools where we leads a Bible study. After he spoke, 24 people gave their lives to Christ. What a challenge to you and to me! Oh, how much we take for granted, and we want to live comfortably but God wants to challenge us to step out of our "comfort zone" and be used by Him. Are we willing to take the step? I could not help to think of the verse in Luke 12:48 "unto whomsoever much is given, of him much will be required." Here I saw a young man with nothing, but his heart and devotion to God is almost unreal. What an inspiration he is to me. May we also use the resources that God gives us for His glory.

Well, I will close for now, but I would love to hear from any of you that would like to write. Please pray that more doors would open for the ministry here in Kitale. There is a possibility for a future prison ministry, so please pray that if it is God's will, He would open the door for this opportunity and that I would be used by Him. Thank you for your time and God bless you.

Sincerely,

Nathan Radford
Luke 12:48