While Sabet is in Nairobi, Greg and Beverly have come here to teach the pastors. They really have heart for the people and ache for them to be instructed in the Word. Today and next Saturday, Beverly is leading a women’s workshop. We haven’t done one since I arrived and I wasn’t sure what to expect. We had it announced last Sunday at the local ECS church and also asked the pastors in the school to invite their wives. It was scheduled to start at 9:00. By 9:30 no women were there so we decided to go and get them. David, the translator for the school, led us to nearby huts where we invited any lady we saw. We also stopped by Elizabeth’s house and persuaded her to come with her newborn. We returned to the compound with a few ladies in tow and were happy to see others had already arrived. After 20 minutes or so, even more ladies came. At the end, we had 13 women there.
A few of them I knew and the others I was excited to meet. They led us in a few songs and then Beverly began her discussion. We started by asking if all the ladies knew Jesus. They all said they did and gave testimony of God’s presence in their lives. Their testimonies of God’s great work was very encouraging to hear. Beverly’s desire was for the women to know how much God loves them and understand that God has a plan for them. She read Jeremiah 29:11-13 as well as some other verses.
We held the workshop in our church devotion area. We limited it only to women thinking they wouldn’t be open if men were there. David was there to translate because we didn’t have a female translator. I don’t know if it was because David was there, the close proximity to their house, curiosity or just their desire to know more about the Word, but one by one some of the pastors came over. We eventually had five or six sitting behind the circle of women listening to the lesson. I wondered if I should ask them to leave, but decided not to since the women didn’t seem to be bothered by their presence.
The ladies love to talk and share. We didn’t need to be worried about them not talking! They seemed to be very encouraged by the words we shared and by the Scriptures we read. At the end, we asked for prayer requests and prayed for each lady. The requests varied, but some of the common themes were sick children, children that lived far away and illnesses affecting the ladies themselves. It was a powerful time of prayer and fellowship. I am excited for next week. They promised more ladies would come and I believe them! 