217.898.0425
3508 UNIVERSITY AVENUE, URBANA, IL 61802
Caring for kenya
Note from Carl Burkybile
I met Erastus Kavuti in 1989 when he was in the Kenyan Air Force. As Erastus would say God brought us together. Neither of us had any idea what would take place in the next 20 years. I have been half way around the world 13 times in 17 years. I feel like I have a second family in Kenya. My Kenyan name, Mutua, means come to stay. I always look forward to being re-united with the loving caring people I know in Kenya.
In the last 20 years 9 congregations have been established with over 300 Christians. We have helped build church buildings, dug wells, started a mobile medical clinic, provided medical supplies, educated children, and taught new ways to farm. We are currently providing support for 11 preachers, a medical missionary, and a community development director. We have trained Bible class teachers, well drillers, and farmers. We have provided Bibles, Bible class materials, medical supplies, farming supplies, used clothes, school supplies, well drilling equipment, etc. We have established sewing coops, soap making coops, and farming coops. We have started people in business with rabbits, chickens, and milk goats. We help people help themselves.
My work with the Kenyan people has reaffirmed for me the source of true happiness. How can these people living with the hardships of drought and famine have a smile? Why don’t they just give up? During our 2009 visit many of them haven’t seen rain in 3 years. I see little children happy to get a cup of porridge make from corn meal and water. In the dry season many people eat one meal a day of maize and beans. Women and children walk up to 12 miles a day to get a supply of water for their family. Many people survive day to day and go to bed hungry. They are not blessed with much in the way of “things”. Few people have electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing. They are not focused on their struggles. Their joy and happiness comes from relationships… with other people and with God. They have an eternal focus. They inspire our Caring for Kenya and Healing Hands International organizations to a level of higher service for the Lord. I always tell people who make the trip to Kenya that it will change their life. Our work with the Kenyan mission effort has taught us the power of prayer, perseverance, and patience. Our faith and trust in God have increased. God has “used us in this mission effort” and he has “used the mission effort in us”. As we grow closer to God we more fully understand the importance of loving and serving God’s people.
Many people I know will never meet these Kenyan people that I have grown to love. When I leave Kenya they say “bye, bye, my brother … until we meet again … whether in this world or the world above”. May we all look forward to meeting in that world above.
Note from Erastus Kavuti
I greet you in the name of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. I trust that all is fine and you are still in the Lord. We all ought to thank our God for He has kept us alive. It seems to me that every new year is harder to live. We hope life will favor us in the future, however being sure of our salvation is better than all. We hope that we shall make it to Heaven at last. PRAY FOR US. Let me thank you again for your kindness to us. I personally do not have any better words for saying it. Anyway God will reward you.