A CALL TO KENYA

Seven years ago, we were a "normal" middle-aged, middle-income couple living in Soham.  Our daughter was getting married and had found a good job.  We were ready to wait for grandchildren to arrive and to work the last few years before retirement.  But God had another plan for us! Martin and I  came along to High Street Church because of our daughter’s wedding.  The warmth and love in the church was almost tangible, attracting me to find out more.  I quickly found that a life following Jesus was something I had been looking for; it made sense to me, and gave purpose to my life. 

Martin attended my baptism reluctantly, feeling angry with the church for stealing his wife and daughter from him and dividing his family! The next evening, he asked me a lot of difficult questions about my new faith and why everything around him was changing.  Late that night, things changed for Martin as well, although he thought of himself as a rational scientist he began to realise that Jesus was real and felt God’s love surrounding him.  He attended a course about Jesus called the Alpha Course and learnt more about why Jesus had died on the cross for him and then rose from the dead to give him the chance to have eternal life in heaven.  Our new faith gave us both a new and exciting opportunity to work for God in Africa.

Now, we are living in a beautiful rural area of tropical rainforest, in Kenya, trying to improve our Swahili language skills.   Ploughing by oxen, we grow maize, cassava, coconuts, mangoes, bananas, pineapples and cashew nuts. There is no electricity or running water - it is a bit like living in England in our great grandparent’s time, with paraffin lamps and a pit latrine at the end of the garden.  Our most used possessions are our yellow buckets and mosquito net!

Martin was involved in agricultural research so is able to put some of the theory into practice, crops have done really well and we have been able to help the local community.  We employ a team of fatherless young men on the farm regularly and help them to support their younger siblings.  We have open house a couple of times during the week where we pray and eat together. We are also involved in local churches where we work to give hope to the poorest of families.

Employment opportunities are few in our valley and families need cash for education and medicines.  Too many people die from treatable illnesses like malaria and typhoid.  With help from High Street Church, we have been able to provide medical treatment to around 750 people in need, provide mosquito nets, supply subsidised maize and help neighbours to plough with our cattle.  Support from Isleham has helped pay the school fees of some local children and kept them in education; it also provides assistance to other students with buying essentials like books and shoes.

God has answered our prayers in amazing ways, healing the sick and providing for peoples' needs. We believe God has so much for each of us, and a great family to be part of all around the world. Although life can be hard over her, we are so grateful for what God has done with this ordinary middle aged couple!