Kenya
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| In 1894 a small group of Scottish missionaries arrived in Kibwezi village in Kenya to share the gospel. Most of them died of malaria. The Rev. Tom Watson, a physician, was one of the few who survived. He went back to Scotland, recruited another group of missionaries, and moved the mission station to higher ground in Kikuyu. Eventually this band of missionaries joined forces with an ecumenical group of missionaries from the United States who had started a mission station north of Kikuyu. “The Americans volunteered after a meeting in Connecticut at which an African American woman pleaded with the assembly to send missionaries to Kenya. She donated all she had, five cents, to begin the effort,” write mission workers Terry and Lyle Dykstra. The combined efforts of the Scottish and American Presbyterians laid the foundation for today’s African-led Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA), established in 1945. This church now has a membership of 3.5 million Kenyans.
The Kenyan PCEA administers three hospitals, two teachers colleges, and about sixty-five elementary and secondary schools. The Dykstras say, “We are privileged to teach and work at the Presbyterian College, which trains young African men and women for the ministry.” Soon the college will make a much anticipated transition to a university. Seventy-four percent of qualified young people now seeking to enroll in a university are turned away because of lack of space. The Dykstras conclude, “As disease and death from HIV/AIDS stalk the land, orphanages, street children, poverty, and crime are on the rise. Environmental degradation contributes to drought, floods, and famine, and the abuse of women is rampant. The church is intensifying its efforts to educate a multitude of ethically trained professionals to deal with the challenges facing Kenya.” |
 Partners/Ministries Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA): Rev. Dr. David Githii, moderator, Rev. Samuel Muriguh, general secretary • Presbytery Partnerships: Presbytery of Blackhawk, Cimarron Presbytery, Presbytery of Detroit, Presbytery of the John Knox, Presbytery of Los Ranchos, National Capital Presbytery, Presbytery of Newton, Presbytery of Northern Plains, Presbytery of the Redwoods, and Presbytery of West Virginia with the PCEA PC(USA) People in Mission Daystar University: Rev. Dr. Marta Dawn Bennett, professor, senior lecturer • Rev. Phyllis Michelle Byrd, YAV site coord. and part-time college lecturer, United Church Board of World Mission • Irma de la Torre, nurse and vulnerable children adviser, Worldwide Ministries • PCEA: Dr. Salvador de la Torre, regional liaison, East Africa, hospital management, health and HIV/AIDS consultant, Rev. Lyle John Dykstra, mission vol., college lecturer, Terry Lee Dykstra, mission vol., school administrator, counselor, Marion L. Strain, mission vol., English teacher • Young Adult Volunteers, community development interns, PCEA: Fiona James, Evans McGowan, and William Schmitt • Young Adult Volunteers, community development interns, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America: Rachel Liddell, Andrea Martin, Brian Thomas, and Katie Thomas PC(USA) General Assembly Staff Darlene D. Taylor, MSS |
 You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God (1 Cor. 3:23). |
 Ps. 7, 12, 36, 146 Zech. 11:4–17 1 Cor. 3:10–23; Luke 18:31–43 |
