Missionary profile – the Ks

By Mercy Kambura

The Ks

Missionaries in Kenya

As a pregnant, constantly nauseated missionary, a neighbour faithfully shared her food with me. I couldn’t eat it because of the strong perfumes. I also felt she was not as hygienic as I would have wanted. But the Lord rebuked me about my attitude towards her generosity. He reminded me that Christ came to reach out to us while we were still ungodly and unlovable. I would never effectively share the Gospel with them if I didn’t embrace even their ‘unlovable’ cultures. I had to intentionally teach myself to drink a highly spiced tea with a mixture of goat and camel milk!

My husband has been a missionary among an unreached people group in Kenya for ten years, and we have been together as a family for four years. We preach the Gospel of Jesus to the unreached community we live in and disciple those who believe so we can have a self-replicating organic church among the people.

I had been praying and trusting God that I would see at least one believer who would accept the salvation of our Lord Jesus before I left this mission field. Towards the end of last year, God heard my prayer. I’m happy to report that one man accepted Jesus, and we baptized him. You can imagine the joy in our hearts!

Many people may not understand why only one man could bring such joy, but in cross-cultural missions, one man is the fruit of many years of prayer and travail.

I first heard about cross-cultural missions in my 3rd year of study. My then fiancé (now husband) had been invited with another team of young men serving in the frontline to share with us about missions. It surprised me a lot that there were still people who didn’t know Jesus yet, in Kenya!

We had agreed with my husband that we would settle in the mission field immediately after our wedding. We wedded in December and moved to the field in February of the following year. My first experience in the mission field was both exciting and challenging. I was excited to meet new people from a different culture. However, it didn’t take me long to realize that patience was key in this ministry. You could labour for so many years only for one person to get saved.

I’m also very passionate about mission mobilization. Missions would be easier and more effective if the Church was mobilized. I always thank God for initiatives like AfriGO that work tirelessly to mobilize the African Church. We all might not go to live amongst the unreached, but we all have a role to play towards evangelizing them.

The African Church should get intentional in supporting the African missionaries. They can support missions prayerfully, financially and morally through the ministry of missionary care.

#Pray:

For more doors to be opened for us to share the Gospel.
For the grace to learn and understand the language.
For God to guide us as we venture deeper into the regions with little or no Kingdom workers.
For my daughter, that God will preserve her in Himself.
For God’s protection and provision as we labour

Representative photo