The Link A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FROM CHURCH ARMY AFRICA JANUARY– APRIL 2015 Dear Friends, 5. We have already received Receive greetings from Church Army Africa. We write with hope that you are fine and that the Almighty God has continued to nourish your lives with His unfailing love. about 40 new applicants for the School of Mission for the first year intake 2015-2016. This is a great boost given the fact that we began this year at a very low key. As you will realize, it has taken us quite a while before releasing our News letter for this quarter. The year 2015 began with a number of challenges that required our total attention and focus. 1. The main challenge for us at Church Army has been the restructuring of Church Army both governance and management. I was mandated to provide leadership to Carlile College as Acting Principal during this period of transition. This has come with heavy challenges given the fact that the College was operating at its lowest point in history. 2. We lost quite a number of key staff; some due to resignation while others were made redundant as a result of not beIN THIS ISSUE: ing able to pay salaries. GS 2015 Greetings 1 Currently the College is operating with 45% staff which is below capacity. Wings to fly Scholar2 But we have to cope with ships the situation until we recover fully. CAA Kenya Chapter 3 3. I want to appreciate the 2015 support of both local and Center For Urban Mis- 3 our international partners sion & Secretariate for the concern and passion demonstrated during Retreat this period of enormous David Booker’s Visit 3 challenges. Impact Stories Impact Stories 4 5 Missionaries Corner 6 Other News 9 4.We thank God that the College is gradually returning to normalcy. The learning both is School of Mission and of Business School is running well with students in both schools having taken their mid term exams and preparing to graduate on 23rd May 2015. The population in the School of Business now stands at 670 by April. This is very positive given the fact that our target for the year is to raise 1300 students. The School of Mission has a population of 259 students. We are very optimistic that despite many challenges, Carlile College is on the rise again and we are all looking forward to its former glory. Thanksgiving: 1. We thank God for enabling us to go through challenges. 2. We give our special appreciation to all our partners for standing with us during this period of serious challenges. 3. We give thanks to God for continued health and grace despite of stress and pressure of handling difficult issues at Church Army. Prayer points: 1. Pray that God will continue to grant us wisdom as we navigate through challenges at Carlile College. Church Army Africa: 2. Pray for God’s provision and sup- On the other hand, we have continued to experience God’s favour in agenda for expanding CAA in Africa. ply during this period of serious want 3. Pray that Church Army will remain steadfast and focused on its 1. End of this month, we are mission in Africa. visiting Malawi to receive key of College Christian Ministries to become our Church Army training Centre in Central Africa. From September 2015 we shall start offering Church Army training Courses for all Evangelists in central Africa through CCM. 2. We have application of two more local Colleges in Kenya that want to be affiliated to Carlile College. This provides us with opportunity to expand our training for Evangelists beyond Nairobi. I welcome you to read more about our mission activities in this bulletin. 4. We have adopted team work approach to leadership of Carlile College. Please pray that there will be harmony and mutual understanding among all the staff. 5. Pray that as we recruit the new class of School of Mission that God will send to us Godly men and women for training. 6. Pray for me personally that God will grant me favour and wisdom during this transitional period as I restructure both Carlile College and Church Army. 7. Pray for us that as we embark on the recruitment of new Principal later this year that God will bring our way a Godly man or woman with capacity to run Carlile College to greater height. Page 1 The link JANUARY– APRIL 2015 Wings to fly Scholarships Church Army Academy had the privilege of having two pupils who sat their KCPE last year, get sponsorship from the ‘Wings to Fly’, an Equity Bank foundation that seeks to help out children in need from humble backgrounds to continue with their studies. After application, Juma Catherine Weyala and Njoroge Tyron Taylor got the opportunity. They will be sponsored through their secondary and University Studies by the foundation. Weyala scored 409 marks and joined Buruburu Girls Secondary School, Nairobi while Tyron scored 367 marks and joined highway secondary school, Nairobi respectively. We wish them all the best as they continue with their studies. ABOVE: 3rd from left : Catherine Weyala BELOW: 3rd from right: Tyron Njoroge CAA Kenya Chapter Meeting 2015 Church Army Captains from Kenya held a workshop on 17th February to produce a constitution for Church Army Kenya in light with the November 2014 Board Resolution. A Task Force Committee led by Capt. Livingstone Nyanje was formed and had the mandate to produce a final, complete document which will be passed during the Church Army Africa’s AGM in June. Page 2 The link JANUARY– APRIL 2015 CAA Secretariate & CENTER FOR URBAN MISSION (C.U.M) Retreat Church Army Secretariate and Carlile College Center for Urban Mission Team met for a retreat to discuss the crossing over of the Centre for Urban Mission to the Secretariate. C.U.M is now a team with the General Secretaries' office, working hand in hand to continue positively transforming lives in the society at large. The General Secretary also held other retreats with the S.O.M (School of Missions ) of the Carlile College and SITBISS( School of IT CAA Secretariate & Center for urban mission team and Business Studies ) which is in the process of rebranding to CABS (Church Army Business School) to discuss issues and the way forward for Carlile College. Canon David Booker’s Visit to Church Army Kenya Canon David Booker from the United Kingdom paid a visit to Church Army Africa Headquarters in Kenya . David, the Chaplain of Wren School in United Kingdom also visited the Church Army Academy to talk to the teachers and also create a healthy partnership with the school. He also got the chance to visit some of the Church Army Pupils who are from humble backgrounds at their homes in Nairobi, Lunga Lunga and Mukuru slums. The pupils are seeking scholarships to get through their studies. PHOTO ABOVE: Canon David Booker addressing teachers of CAA ACADEMY (photo below, left) RIGHT BELOW: David meets Catherine Weyala, of Equity foundation as she reports to secondary school Page 3 JANUARY– APRIL 2015 The link CENTER FOR URBAN MISSION IMPACT STORIES TERESIAH MBESA Teresiah is a single mother of three children aged between eight and twelve years. When we met her at the start of the project she cooked food and sold it to workers on construction sites. This was difficult work because she would only get paid when the workers were paid and often many of them would move to other construction sites without paying her. To supplement the money she made from the food, she also did laundry and housework for pay. Mbesa is very active in her church group and has been the group secretary for the entire project period and keeps very accurate records. With her savings and small loans gotten from the group, she was able to start another business where she sells a variety of beauty items. She has a small stall that is located very close to the railway line. Since starting the business, Teresiah was able to move her children to a better school since before they were attending a non formal school which was crowded and did not have experienced teachers. She was also able to move to a house that was in a safer and cleaner area of Kibera. She knows how to knit, so alongside the beauty items, she also knits and sells woollen hats. In future Teresiah would like to grow her stall into a fully fledged boutique where she will be selling a wider variety of beauty products and jewellery. She says that the livelihoods classes have opened her eyes to a way of doing business that is profitable and beneficial to her as an individual. She is very grateful also for the assistance that she has received through the Child and Family Support project in terms of paying school fees for her children. Page 4 JANUARY– APRIL 2015 The link SCHOOLS OF HOPE Derrick Okwalo He joined the club in 2006 when he was in Class Six (6) by then. “It was very challenging because we lived in a single roomed house so studying was hard”, he said. “The moment I joined the homework club (SoH) life started to change; I got access to books and people to encourage me to work hard at school which I didn’t have at home”, he added. Derrick has now completed high school education. He has decided to continue going to SoH, but now as a volunteer, to assist those who come to study there. He expressed his gratitude for what the home work club (SoH) is doing. He plans to start a business and invest in different projects. He has already joined a group that intends to start a savings group. He sincerely thanked the people who started the homework club (SoH) and urges them to continue with it so that others may also benefit as he did. Kelvin Vidolo Kelvin is half orphan. His mother passed away. He is the first born in a family of five. According to him, it reached a time, when his father could only provide for food. Paying school fees and buying books was therefore a challenge. Their senior church leader heard about the library and requested him to join. He was allowed in even without registration fee which he came to pay later. “My academic performance was low before I joined the SoH because I didn’t have books and people to assist me where I found some difficulties. But since I joined homework club (SoH) my performance has been improving from one grade to another for the better. I got a C+ in my fourth form exams which I know I could not have got if I had not joined the SoH”, he said. He added, “Looking at our family background am happy to have come this far because am the first to do KCSE and am proud of myself and my Dad for the encouragement” Currenly he is teaching in a new secondary school as untrained teacher. He intends to save some money and join a teaching college. “The SoH has helped a lot because most of the people who come here are from slums and we are all mixed from different tribes. It therefore helps to learn more and also to socialize”, he concluded. Walter Kipkeboi He joined the homework club when he was in form four in 2010. They didn’t have books at school and it was very hard to read and understand. “But after joining the club (SoH) we were able to finish our homework on time and started a discussion group. By the time the exams were approaching we had made some improvement and when the results came many of us had performed well as for me I got a C+”, he said. He could not join a parallel programme because of the school fees required, so he decided to join Kenya Polytechnic. He did a Diploma in Mass Communication. He now plans to join Kenyatta University in September to pursue a degree in broadcasting media. Phillip Destiny Phillip destiny is the first born in a family of six children. He joined the SOH when he was in class 7 and now is in form 4 at Dandora Secondary. Phillip joined SOH to have good time to study; at home he was required to do many house chores since he is the first born. Again, at the SOH there is a supervisor who helps in tackling tough questions in relation to academic. He also says that before joining the club his performance was not good. He says that going to the club was not in vain since he managed to get 320 marks in KCPE. This has led to one of his brother joining the club and also some of his friends. He trust God that even as he continues making use of the club he will achieve his dream of becoming a mechanical engineer. For him to achieve his goal, he recommends that more books especially set books and revision books should be added. Naomi Waithera Naomi is in Form 1 and she joined the SOH in 2013 3rd term. Though it was for a short time she did better but not as expected. She declined to disclose her marks. At first her mother was reluctant on the SOH but due to her improved performance she now embraces the club. Naomi is happy about the club because she now gets ample time to study something that she did not have before. Her request is, more books to be added because sometimes one may want to revise or do homework and the text book is not there or maybe somebody is already using. Page 5 The link JANUARY– APRIL 2015 CAA NEW STAFF 2015 Adhiambo Sophie Sharon Sophia Adhiambo is the newest member of Staff in Church Army Secretariate Team, working as the Internal Legal Liaison Officer . She graduated with a Bachelors of Law from Kampala University and also holds a Higher Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law. Sophie is a Born again Christian and attends Sunday Service at St.Lukes Kenyatta, Nairobi. She is an industrious lady and is planning to further her studies. Lollipop Project-Church Army Academy UAP Insurance donated the Lollipop project to Church Army Academy as a way of supporting safety for the Children as they crossed the road in and out of school. Mr Omondi, who is responsible for helping the children cross the road was awarded with the lollipop stick and a safety jacket in the Church Army Academy compound. MISSION REPORTS - Director of Missions Capt.Timothy Kagina THIKA DIOCESE: CAA TRAINING OF LAYREADERS AND EVANGELISTS ("But the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits." Dan. 11:32) On 28th March 35delegates layreaders and Evangelists from ACK Thika Diocese were empowered in the area of mission work. There has never been any other mission training in the last 15 years. This was a major breakthrough! The training introduced delegates on concepts of “The Head of Mission”; “The Heart of Mission” and the “The Hand of Mission”. CAA was co-joined by Kairos Ministry and Completeness Ministry. Page 6 JANUARY– APRIL 2015 The link ISIOLO OUTREACH MISSION (30TH MARCH-5TH APRIL, 2015) (They went out [two by two] and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them (Mark 6:12)) An old man is being prayed for in his humble abode in the afternoon of 4 thApril. A section of missioners sharing watermelon in anticipation of souls harvesting. In total, Christ Jesus saved 227 people within a mission period of six days. Missioners’ Corner Missioner John Maganjo is in charge of ACK St. Peter’s Waso (Isiolo), Marsabit Diocese. His involvement in God’s works reflects the HEAL Africa ideals. Here he pauses with an elderly widow in front of a house built by the congregation. Excellent work Maganjo! Page 7 The link JANUARY– APRIL 2015 PLEASE PRAY FOR BURUNDI Over Easter our CAA missioner, Capt. Francois Nitunga from Burundi (here pictured) wrote to ask for prayer concerning the coming Burundi general elections. He says: “It is clear that the fear for possible elections related violence is now generalized in Burundi. A division alongside those who support and those who do not support the “third” mandate of the president is growing deeper and deeper every day. This created a lot of panic among Burundians that things could escalate into war again.” Please pray for peaceful election process. Pray for our ministry as we seek how to meaningfully play a role in contribution towards peaceful elections. Safe elections, without troubles whereby every Burundian will elect without intimidation. Sustainable peace, whereby there is no longer killings, without fleeing the country during elections and after elections. God to grant us leaders whose hearts love Burundi and Burundians. God grant us leaders who fear the Lord and respect God, with wisdom and vision for development net those with the spirit selfishness, a president who should be a father of the entire Nation, not for his own political parties. A president committed to the unity, forgiveness and reconciliation of Burundi people. CAPT.EDWIN MUGO – MARALAL Capt. Edwin Mugo (pictured speaking to a Samburu community) is our missioner. He writes to say, “Currently I am serving as a parish priest in a parish known as Suguta Marmar (Samburu Mission Area). When I came to this parish, it had 360 Christians and for a period of one year and a half the number has increased to 600.” We praise God for his enabling power in the lives of our missioners. Page 8 JANUARY– APRIL 2015 MUKONO CATHEDRAL CARAVAN MISSION Rev. Capt. Wilson Konde graduated last year. He was immediately ordained in priesthood by his Diocese (Mukono). He then initiated a ministry called “Caravan Ministry” to go out and preach the Good News of Salvation. Recently, he organized together with his Vicar Rev.Ssengendo a Caravan Mission that saw nine lives saved . Rev.Capt. Wilson Konde (captured in a walking mode) quotes Rick Warren that “The mark of the great church is not her sitting capacity but her sending capacity.” INCOMING ACTIVITIES (2015) FOR YOUR PRAYERS GS mission envisioning in Malawi from 29th April to 2nd May Kairos Training in Embu to bring church leadership from Embu Diocese and surrounding Dioceses 25th to 29th May 2015. Carlile College Graduation and Commissioning ceremonies taking place on 23rd and 29th May 2015 respectively. Church Army Africa CHURCH ARMY AFRICA Transforming society through effective Missionary work Phone: +254(020)23438227/6 CAA MPESA TILL NUMBER: 328110 MOBILE:0733453875/072166 EMAIL: [email protected] Visit our website: www.churcharmyafrica.net Page 9
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