Before major Islamic festivals each year, Ali was responsible for painting the many mosques in the area. He relied on this work to support his family and he even received gifts of furniture and other household items from the mosque as payment. Then one morning, on his way to a painting assignment, Ali was stopped by some men in the street. “They told me they were preachers and they were sharing the word of God with the residents of Malindi town,” Ali said. “Of course, I knew I would not give them much of my time.” He told them he was a Muslim and had no interest in Christianity, but they gently persisted and he decided to let them speak.

“They talked about eternal life and Jesus Christ. I am not sure how or why, but I did not bring up the usual arguments,” Ali said. “For some reason, that day, I was interested.” For the rest of the day, Ali couldn’t stop thinking about that encounter. “The words of the evangelists were still in my mind,” he admitted. “I had no peace.” When his wife asked what the matter was, he told her what had happened and the more he talked about it the more his heart changed and it lead him to a bold decision. “I called my Christian Uncle who is a pastor in Eldoret and he told me to go speak to his friend who is a pastor in Malindi.”

“The security guard at the church gate had endless questions,” he remembered. “They really interrogated me. I do not blame them; they were taking precautions due to attacks by Islamic extremists against churches in Kenya.” Ali told them he just wanted to speak to the pastor and when the pastor came out to meet him, he explained his story. “I want to know Jesus,” he told him. Ali made a commitment to salvation standing in that church yard for the first time.

“I felt like a load had been lifted from my shoulders,” Ali said. “New joy and peace had entered my heart and I knew I was born again.” He ran straight home and brought his wife, Mariam, back to the church. Unlike her husband, Mariam had been raised as a Christian but converted in order to get married. “I knew down in my heart that I had not done the right thing in running away from God,” she said. “I felt so empty and hopeless as a Muslim.” All those years ago, Mariam remembers praying that her husband would become a Christian.

“I doubted it would happen,” she said. “But when my husband came back that afternoon and informed me he had made commitment for salvation, I was shocked.” She went back to the church with her husband, they met again with the pastor, and she gave her life to Christ as well. The couple faced opposition from their Muslim community when they found out about their conversion. The Mosque repossessed the furniture that had been donated to the family and demanded that they move out of their home, but they were undeterred.

New joy and peace had entered my heart and I knew I was born again.

 “When they took all our household items and we were asked to leave the house that we had been given, I expected that.” Mariam said. “I needed a new beginning. I could feel my husband’s determination to remain in Jesus. It was such a passion.” The couple’s new church community came to their aid – finding them a new home and helping Ali get a new job. “I saw the love of Christ at the very beginning of my walk with Him demonstrated by the brethren from the Church,” Ali said.

This couple’s life and the lives of their children, have been completely changed. All because of a few men who stopped Ali on the road and shared the truth of Jesus. “I found the light,” Ali said, “and I can’t return to the dark. I am so ready to share the light with as many people as possible!” “Surely salvation has brought more things than I had asked,” Marian exclaimed. “I am so happy to have been reunited with my Saviour, Jesus Christ.”

“I know it was God’s doing, because while in prison, I met someone who helped me to think about my life and to make a change in behavior. As soon as I was released, I started attending church.”

Sandrine Umwiza gave her life to Christ after the preaching on Sunday morning. She says, “I have lived a sinful life ever since I became an adult. I have been a drunkard, spending my evenings drinking alcohol and dancing at night clubs, and doing many other evil things. I also had many bad friends, and they were facilitating me to sink deep down into sin. I never attended church at all.”

She adds, “Some time back, while in the night club, someone lost his phone, and I was accused of stealing it. As a result, I was put into prison! This was very terrifying and hurting, since I had been wrongly accused.”

She goes on to say that, “Even though this was the case, I know it was God’s doing, because while in prison, I met someone who helped me to think about my life and to make a change in behavior. As soon as I was released, I started attending church.”

She happily adds that, “Today, I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart. I feel a lot of joy and peace, and I’m so happy to be a Christian. I know that my life will never be the same again.”

Skills Training for Vulnerable Women

HOLISTIC HEALING: GRACE’S STORY

“I have hope that whatever new skills I gain will impact my life greatly. I hope to start a tailoring business after I graduate which would be a huge blessing to me and my family.”

Grace Yesaya is already a widow at age 39. She has also been left to care for her brother’s four children, because he and his wife have both died. Without the support of a husband, and the heavy responsibility of so many children to care for, Grace struggled through life alone. But at the start of 2017, she got a life-changing opportunity and became one of 22 new recruits in African Enterprise’s Malawi’s Vulnerable Women program, a six month course in tailoring. “Coming here is a great opportunity for me because it is going to open new doors for me and the children that rely on me.” she said. “I have hope that whatever new skills I gain will impact my life greatly. I hope to start a tailoring business after I graduate which would be a huge blessing to me and my family.”

Many of the women on the course were identified by AE’s partners and churches – all come from vulnerable backgrounds and are in desperate need of assistance. Through AE, they learn a variety of skills, including how to identify the best fabrics, how to match colours, sew zips and join pieces of cloth into garments. Grace excitedly listed all the things she has learned so far. “From the day I joined this school, I and my friends have managed to learn all the parts of a sewing machine, how to run the machine, how to attach a zip on a cloth and many other things,” she said.

“AS A CLASS, WE HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO SHARE OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND IDEAS AMONG OURSELVES AND ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER IN THE THINGS WHICH WE HAVE GONE THROUGH BEFORE
WE CAME HERE.”

With your help, we can reach more souls for Christ.

But this course is so much more than a set of sewing lessons; it is an experience that encompasses all of life, creating a time and place for women from difficult backgrounds to be healed, transformed and empowered. “As a class, we have the privilege to share our personal experiences and ideas among ourselves and encourage one another in the things which we have gone through before we came here.”

A great amount of work goes into this multifaceted program. Supplies are purchased by the sewing school matron, and all students get involved in the daily cleaning of the school building – a task which fosters a love for the environment in which they learn. There are devotions each morning and evening, and breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided. The women spend all their time together and form deep bonds through their learning, sharing and healing. Many of them receive personal counselling and guidance for individual problems. They receive instruction on caring for their bodies and their homes, form new friendships, gain sewing skills and, most importantly, get the opportunity to meet the God who cares about them.

She organised people in her church to give financially to the mission, to offer accommodation to over 40 mission evangelists, and had 30 additional church members helping out throughout the mission week. “I had attended some Malindi Mission planning meetings before the PTC, but I only understood the whole picture of the mission during the PTC training, she said. “After the Mission, I went with the AE-Kenya team to evangelise at the Kampala Mission in Uganda!”

Before this, Franciscah had received no theological or biblical training. She had enthusiasm and commitment, but lacked depth of understanding. So at each class, she lapped up the teaching. “The clear discussions about the Bible and the unfolding themes through the Scripture helped me see the Bible in a different perspective,” she said. “The theme of Christ unfolding from the Old Testament to the New Testament made me see the Bible as one.” “It’s like PTC opens your eyes to see the Scriptures as they are, not as the way we want to see them. It’s a common thing to see the Bible being misinterpreted in Kenya by many preachers, but PTC stops this.” It has given her and Daniel more confidence in their ministry. “I recently had an opportunity to go and preach the word of God in South Africa,” said Daniel.

“The knowledge and the material that I received during the course, helped me with all my preparations. I felt I was more effective and delivering the word of God more appropriately. PTC is now opening new doors for me.” “I remain thankful to AE for giving us an opportunity to study the word of God. In PTC, the training is not teacher-centred but student-centred; the discussion groups, the time the students have with the material before the actual training, makes PTC unique.”

“Thank you to the facilitators who sacrificially devote their time and resources to come and equip us, the Kenyan church! Thank you too AE for offering this training without cost. The little we pay is nothing compared to the total cost of this training. I am sure there are individuals and partners who give these funds to AE. Thank you for your generous giving.”