Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is a large, bustling city with over three million people, 70 percent of whom are thirty years of age or younger. Mission co-worker Marta Bennett describes Nairobi, the city in which she works. “Streets are filled with buses puffing exhaust, bicycles, and matatus (public vans) swerving in and out, business people talking on mobile phones, cars honking, hawkers selling anything imaginable, cleaners sweeping the streets with bundles of branches, and people, walking everywhere. It is to Nairobi that Kenyan youth come from the rural areas, in search of education and employment.”

The Rev. Patrick Mureithi Maina is a pastor of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa currently studying in Nairobi for a master’s degree in theology and leadership. A typical day finds him waking at 5:00 a.m., commuting by local transport from his rural parish into the city to attend class by 8:00 a.m. After class, he meets with fellow students to plan an evangelistic outreach before he heads off to meet with a small community-based microenterprise group in the nearby Kibera slum for prayer and training. Returning to class, he discusses with his peers—who come from Rwanda, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Togo, and several different ethnic groups within Kenya—how to positively and biblically influence national politics before the next election. At the end of the day, on the way back to his rural home, he stops off first at the church headquarters to advocate for a colleague who has not received a salary for several months, then to pray at the home of a family who has lost a loved one to AIDS. Marta writes, “Mureithi is an example of one who is seeking to be a leader in the church in a way that integrates personal faith and discipleship with being salt and light in society.”

Partners/Ministries
Christian Organizations Research Advisory Trust (CORAT): Margaret W. Mwaura, executive director • Daystar University: Rev. Dr. Godfrey Mbitinguru, vice chancellor • National Council of Churches of Kenya: Rev. Mutava Musyimi, general secretary • Presbyterian College: Rev. Plawson Kuria, principal • St. Paul’s Theological College: Dr. Timothy Wachira, principal • Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA): Rev. Dr. David Githii, moderator, Rev. Samuel Muriguh, general secretary

PC(USA) People in Mission
PCEA: Irma de la Torre, nurse, Dr. Salvador de la Torre, East Africa, hospital management, Rev. Lyle Dykstra, mission volunteer (MV), college lecturer, Terry Dykstra, MV, school administrator, counselor, Dr. Ane Topple, MV, dermatologist, Dr. Stanley Topple, orthopaedic surgeon • PCEA, MV, community development interns: Emily Griggs, Kirk Harris, Anna Krummel, Kari Martelli, Taryn Montgomery, Lauren Scharstein, Paul Schick, Stephanie Schick, Stephen Speakman • Rev. Dr. Marta Bennett, chair, department of leadership and management, National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) • Rev. Phyllis Byrd, YAV site coordinator/ associate pastor, United Church Board of World Mission

PC(USA) General Assembly Staff
Nancy J. Taylor