Something amazing just happened: 20 people just gave their lives to Christ and 15 more recommitted their lives to Him! What made this possible? It did not happen overnight. In fact, let us go back to a little more than a year ago . . .

The small Kenyan village of Chebinyiny is a rural community. Most families depend on their father’s corn-growing abilities to support their needs. However, rising costs for fertilizer, seeds, and plowing combined with decreasing earnings for the harvested corn mean that most of these men cannot make ends meet for their families. Because this heavy burden is always sitting on their shoulders, life is very stressful. Faced with the growing likelihood of annual farming losses, many of the dads turn to drinking cheap home-brewed alcohol to cope with their stress. Their wives then turn to brewing this often toxic concoction known as “kill me quick” to try and profit off the growing demand for anything that numbs the minds, hearts, and souls of the overwhelmed fathers. But this type of situation is often where God reveals Himself and begins to work in unique ways to express His love and care for everyone!

Last year God opened the door to Chebinyiny when a caring Christian named Rebecca made it her personal mission to become the best possible Sunday school teacher in the village. She wanted to make sure that for at least a few hours on Sunday mornings the children of these brewers and alcoholics could escape the trauma of their home lives. Edna, ELI’s dynamic trainer of Sunday school leaders, took Rebecca under her wing. They worked together for months engaging and learning new curriculums, fun activities, games, and even arts and crafts that Rebecca could then share with the children! Because more and more children began attending the Sunday school, a one-day rally was held at the church earlier this year. To Edna and Rebecca’s amazement more than 120 kids attended, which was more than triple the normal Sunday school class size! In fact the church building could not fit everyone so they had to move the entire event outside.

Recently, the church members decided to go a step further by arranging for home-to-home evangelism so they could fellowship and pray with each and every child’s family. Over the course of two days five ELI staff, eight church members, two church elders, and two of the pastors divided themselves into groups and traversed through the village reaching out to 40 households. So the rally for 120 children ended up reaching another 60 adults! The families were amazed by their visitors. Receiving care and love from dedicated Christ-followers was a wholly new experience. These brewers and alcoholics felt seen and loved for who they are. There was no judgment, condemnation, or rebuke. It was a special and tender time of authentic heart-filled ministry.

That is how a couple weeks ago 20 people gave their lives to Christ and 15 recommitted themselves to Him. They were all invited to the church for another event (this time not limited to children). Together the children and adults heard about Jesus as the bread of life and learned memory verses from the book of John. Everyone was overwhelmed by the love and saving grace of God who reveals Himself as a savior, provider, caretaker, and nurturer to those who are willing to abide in Him.

Please join us in prayer for these new Christians, the small church that is growing, Rebecca's leadership in the community, and the village of Chebinyiny as a whole. During the home visits the teams encountered the same prayer requests over and over again: family restoration and reunion, the ability to leave alcohol altogether, and love and peace in their homes.

We believe that God’s love will only continue to multiply in this village, and it is our great joy to know that you are on this journey with us!