Ministry Among the Maasai
SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 | 5 MINUTE READ | MCKENZIE and ADAM STINE
"We have learned that God is able to do the most in our humility."
Mckenzie and Adam Stine arrived in Kenya just three months ago. They are settling in and learning the ebb and flow of life among the Maasai people in the very southern region of the country. The Stines are mid-term volunteers, meaning they've committed to being in Kenya for more than four weeks but haven't made the decision to live there long-term yet. Mid-term volunteers experience a unique perspective of real life for an extended time on the mission field. Today we're happy to share a window into life at the Olderkesi mission station with Mckenzie and Adam.
Tell us a little about what you're doing in Kenya.
We live on the Africa Gospel Church (AGC) Olderkesi Development Project, which is a part of a mission station that seeks to holistically improve the lives of the people in the surrounding community. On the project site is the only garden within miles, and along with providing vegetables, we provide water and transportation upon request. At the garden, the workers are starting to implement Farming God's Way, which is an approach to farming built on biblical principles and designed to break the yoke of poverty. The project site has a guesthouse that often accommodates visitors and groups. Also at this mission station is an AGC church, clinic, and Ministry Training Institute. So far, we have focused most of our time on the development project and the Ministry Training Institute.
What do you typically do in a day at Olderkesi?
Adam goes to devotional and prayer every morning at 8 a.m. for the staff of the project and then starts working in the garden, while Mckenzie usually makes sure they have the household chores taken care of, like filtering water and doing laundry. Mckenzie also helps with hosting guests, the upkeep of the guesthouse, and keeping track of the finances of the project. We all stop for chai at 10 a.m. We work for a couple more hours, and everyone goes their separate ways for lunch from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. We use our lunch time to work on learning the local language—a language tutor comes to work with us every day for an hour. In the afternoon, we usually go back to work for a while or spend time bonding with the local people in their homes or in ours. The work day for the employees of the project is over at 5 p.m. In the evenings we cook and clean up from dinner, which is quite the process. We have really enjoyed having a few families over for dinner and fellowshipping with them. The sun is down every day by seven, and most people are not outside after dark. After seven, we spend time together as a couple, relax, and do things that we enjoy.
What kind of ministry opportunities have you had in your time there?
Honestly, ministry has looked different here than we originally thought it would, but we are learning to be flexible and trust what God has in store for each day. WGM's approach to ministry in Kenya is to empower and build up the local leaders and pastors, because there is already a strong church presence and many Christians. Our biggest ministry here so far has been building relationships with the people that work here on the project and live around us. We have loved the opportunity to go in peoples' homes and get to know them with the help of a gracious translator. We are trying to be the light of Christ by the way we live our lives and interact with those around us. Getting to hear the testimonies of our friends, talk about our faith, encourage people in their walks with Christ, and pray with them have been precious ministry opportunities. The local pastors see discipleship as one of the most desperate needs in this area. We have talked about meeting with people one-on-one or starting a group Bible study to encourage our friends in Christ.
Olderkesi Ministry Training Institute (OMTI) is another ministry opportunity that we've gotten the pleasure of being involved with. OMTI is in session for three weeks every three months. When it is in session, we help clean, organize, type and print documents, and assist the principal however we can. We really enjoy getting to be a part of such a special and unique part of this mission station.
You're serving alongside the Abrams family in Olderkesi. What have you learned from working with them?
We have learned countless skills from serving with the Abrams family! Cooking from scratch, solar power, Farming God's Way, and life tips for living in the bush. Beyond that, we have learned spiritual lessons from the Abramses and their wisdom. We have learned that prayer is our strongest tool in life, especially in missions. We have learned to go to God in prayer in all things, the good and the bad. We have also been able to see their hearts for local missionaries. We can see the ways that God uses the local people to minister to their own communities. One of our most important roles in being here is to encourage and disciple the local people that are already serving in the kingdom.
What have you learned from the community you are serving?
The community has taught us to enjoy our time together, no matter what we're doing. They love to have a good time, whether they are doing a mundane task or relaxing. We love that Kenyans have a chai break to fellowship in the middle of their day. We've also learned to have faith in God no matter the circumstances.
What has God spoken to your hearts while in Kenya?
We have learned that God is able to do the most in our humility. Because of all of the differences and barriers, we have questioned why we are here and if we will be able to make an impact while we are here. The culture and language are so very different than what we're used to. We have to daily surrender our lives in recognition that we are nothing apart from Christ. We cannot impact His people without Him. We cannot grow His kingdom without Him. This is something that we will take back to the States with us. Even though living in the U.S. is familiar, God does His best work through us when we lay ourselves down before Him and admit that He is the vine and we are the branches, and apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:1-8).
We have also learned that there are broken people no matter where we live. We have been heartbroken by some of the actions of people in this area, but we recognize that we should feel the same way toward the brokenness in the States. Even though it is so easy to become numb and hardened toward sin in the States, it should still break our hearts. It is different here because the brokenness looks different. We have found ourselves crying out to God over issues that we have seen, and we can't remember a time when the sin of others has caused us to go to our knees like it has here. We have been reminded that His love wins. Victory is in Jesus alone.
Author bio: Mckenzie and Adam Stine are serving in Kenya until June 2020.
Are you feeling led to experience missions beyond a quick, short-term trip?