Working while waiting

In 2018, Kenyan lady Noreen Kombo embarked on a faith trip to Ghana for a missions training with OneWay Africa and came back changed. Previously, she had participated in various ministry activities, but on this trip, her calling to missions was confirmed by Dr. Ray Mensah, who remains her key mentor. That was another milestone in her long journey of learning, trusting, and serving God while waiting. Noreen shares that though it has never been easy, she has always seen the Lord at work, answering her prayers and giving her resilience and contentment.

Returning to Kenya with a burning desire for missions, Noreen realized that her church, and most local churches, had no structures for her to serve as a missionary. However, this did not stop her. Currently, she is an associate pastor at Nairobi Chapel Syokimau, volunteers as a Bible teacher and missions team leader with Wonder Workers ministry and works with the Lausanne Movement to support herself while she waits to join YWAM in Herrnhut, Germany.

Single and serving

Currently approaching mid-40, Noreen is single – a status she is very content with – but this was not always so. Initially, she was under immense pressure from church, family and society to marry in her late 20s and early 30s. This troubled her to the point of depression. Today, she has learned to wait upon the Lord with joy. “Whether I have a husband and children or not, the most important part of my life is being faithful in my service and this is what will last for eternity. My focus is to finish well and to hear God say ‘well done my good and faithful servant’.”

Support-raising

Every missionary has to climb this mountain, but for Noreen, being single added to the challenge. It took longer to build trust as some pastors did not fully trust single people. The need is also not very obvious because some people think that without a family, you don’t need much support. Faced with these challenges, Noreen equipped herself by doing trainings with different organizations. These were however inadequate. Often, it was difficult to apply in her Kenyan context a training designed from a Western perspective.

A game-changer has been meeting a coach during a YWAM training who offered to walk with her in support-raising. She is already getting long-term commitments and pledges from partners and this has encouraged her to do more. She understands that support-raising is a long-term activity and the partners you meet today may not support immediately.

How then does she reconcile the slow pace of support-raising and the urgent need for resources to continue serving? “Tent-making.” Noreen realized that she could supplement her support by using her skills. As a gifted administrator and with the flexibility of remote work, she was contracted to work with a Discipleship Making Movement in Thailand and after two years, transitioned to work with the Lausanne Movement as a virtual assistant. This eased the financial strain that also came with supporting her immediate family.

Stewardship

A highlight of her missionary calling is the excitement of sharing the vision to get funding for God’s work. However, she says that many people may not understand what being “called” means. You need to make it clear. Write the vision and prepare audio-visual materials for communicating it to churches and potential supporters.

A weaknesses she sees with missionaries is inadequate training on how to account for the support received. In many cases, missionaries send a general newsletter that may not resonate with everyone. Some missionaries overlook support from local people who give little and instead, prefer foreigners who can give large gifts. To overcome this, missionaries need to build lasting relationships with the local church by making the church aware of what they do. This should not be once a year or only when the missionary needs money. Someone may not give money, but they will pray for you. That also matters.

Please pray that Noreen will continue to follow God’s guidance, remain focused in her calling and finish well.