A Week in Pictures

The last five days in Kenya have been exhausting but unforgettable. We have been hosting an incredible team from Student Leadership University. They have served tirelessly and have left an incredible mark on everyone they came in contact with. I wanted to share a few pictures with you that capture some key moments of the week!

Sunday morning started with an energetic worship service at Kiganjo Deliverance Church.

Sarah sharing the Gospel with a captive audience of Kenyan children.

The more than 200 students that we got to spend the day with. They blessed us with their incredible joy!

Over 100 of our former clients joined us for a day of training. This group represented four years of CARE for AIDS graduates. I got to see some old friends that I hadn’t seen in years. Remember Margaret? Each of these individuals leads a support group of our graduates. They were so eager to learn how to better facilitate these small groups, so they could continue to find emotional support, spiritual growth, and economic success.

Our trainings were led by three incredible women who have been working in Christian counseling for many years. They taught our clients and staff how to be the best counselors that they possibly can be despite the difficult circumstances that they must overcome. I learned that the key to counseling, reduced to its simplest form, is to be curious and humble. I think that is pretty good advice for our lives as well!

Dr. Jay Strack, a long time mentor and friend, was kind enough to teach our staff the best practices of effective teams.

Our staff practicing the counseling principles that they learned during the training. One simple takeaway… remove the desks. They voted unanimously, thanks to the counsel of our trainers, that the desks they sit behind only create a barrier that keeps them from fully  entering into the clients’ circumstances. That is just one of many new ideas that we were challenged with!

I will be in Kenya for the next two weeks, so please continue to pray as we welcome two more teams from the States.

Empowerment over Entitlement

This post is part of a series called “How CFA has changed my perspective on ministry.”

Our job in Kenya is simple… to empower: to give them the power or authority to do for themselves. I’m referring to our responsibility to empower local leadership to change their community, country, and culture. It has taken me a long time to truly understand what my role is in helping to empower the Kenyan people. We have made a case in the past for employing local leaders in the work of CARE for AIDS, and while that is one essential part, what is our role in standing with them to reach their full potential and achieve maximum impact?

Pray – This may seem like a cliché place to begin, but I assure you it’s not. I have seen just a glimpse of the darkness that our workers face on a daily basis. This is true of social workers, missionaries, pastors, and Christians in these parts of the world. They face enormous risks and endure unimaginable conditions. Most recently, one of our workers, David, defended his family one night against a barrage of thieves wielding machetes. The next morning, he was ready to lead our team as we visited clients in their homes. If we are going to empower local leaders, we must first commit to stand with them in prayer because they are definitely under attack.

Encourage – I’ve always heard my dad say, “How do you know if someone needs encouragement? If they are breathing!!” Our staff and local leaders need to know that they have friends around the world that care about them and care about the work they are doing. We all want to know that our work matters, and our staff is no different. So, let’s continue to call, write, and visit our leaders around the world because sometimes that is the greatest service we can offer.

Equip – I use the term equip with regard to knowledge and skills. Based on our background, experiences, or education, we may have access to knowledge that those in the developing world do not. We need to share that generously, not to prescribe a certain course of action but to equip people and organizations to lead well and make the best decisions in their context.

Resource – I use this term with regard to finances. The proper application of funds is essential, but it looks dramatically different for every situation. Sometimes the resources are needed for relief or rehabilitation or development. Sometimes it is an investment that will produce financial returns or one that will create other social impact. Every circumstance calls for a different response, and we must use our best judgment in determining that response.

On my most recent trip to Kenya, I saw our staff take a huge step in understanding how they have been empowered. They took the initiative to put on a one-day leadership conference for the Nairobi community. Over 150 leaders from non-profits, corporations, and churches attended. Not only did the conference raise money for CARE for AIDS, but it established us as a credible voice in that community.

The staff decided that while our model may never be fully financially sustainable through Kenyan sources, that didn’t mean that they couldn’t contribute to the marketing and development of the work that they are so proud of. They resolved not to just exist in submission to the authority of our Western arm but to take ownership of this organization.

This has been an exciting shift in my thinking, and I am working harder than ever to empower these incredible Kenyan leaders in such a way that will give more ownership over this incredible vision, not less.

What steps are you taking to intentionally empower leaders around the world? 

Nominate the Unsung Heroes in Your Life

About 18 months ago, CARE for AIDS was honored with the People’s Choice Award at the 2011 Epoch Missions Gala. Epoch is a black tie affair to celebrate the work of “unsung heroes” serving across the street and around the world. These are people sharing the transformative message of the Gospel by addressing issues of poverty, HIV/AIDS, homelessness, and countless other social injustices. To read more about that night in 2011, please read my earlier blog here.

In the ministry world, it feels awkward to give or receive praise and recognition, because we all know that God is the provider and sustainer of our work. We are simply stewards of what He has entrusted to us. Honor for a leader or an organization seems misplaced. That being said, our ministry leaders and missionaries need that encouragement and support more than anyone. They live, sleep, and eat the work they have been called to, and they suffer rejection and failure along the way. We need them to be focused and inspired because the work they are doing has eternal consequence. The best gift you can offer to a ministry you support right now is to nominate its leader for an Epoch Award. It could result in greater funding for the ministry, new connections to potential partners, but most importantly, it will energize and encourage all involved in that great work. All of the above were true for CARE for AIDS.

Take a look at this short promotional video that Epoch produced of me telling about CARE for AIDS and my experience at Epoch. With only two weeks until nominations close, please take a few minutes to nominate one ministry that you believe best embodies the values of Epoch.