CBM Africa Team: Brenda Halk

Erica and Brenda Halk at Heart Lodge, Nairobi

This was a very special weekend, as we celebrated ten-years since Erica first visited Kenya with past CBM General Secretary, Gary Nelson, and a short term mission team that assisted in the Kenyan Certificate  of Ministry (CMin) course in Urban Ministry. 

We had several friends on that team, including: Brenda Halk, Lois Mitchell, Andrew Myers, Barbara Sherwood, Wendy Jones, Jennifer Sanderson, Laurie Barber, Brian Taylor, and Mark Buchanan. 

Together, the team worked with emerging leaders from the Africa Brotherhood Church (ABC) and the Africa Christian Church and Schools (ACC&S) as they learned about the theory and practice of urban ministry. 

An important part of the CMin training was time spent in the urban slum areas of Mathare Valley and Kibera, the two largest slum areas of Nairobi, Kenya. This experience of encountering poverty had a deep and lasting impact upon everyone on the team.

This evening, we dropped Brenda off at Heart Lodge (formerly Heart House) the same guesthouse where Erica and Brenda stayed ten years ago. Tomorrow, leaders from across the African Guardians of Hope program of Canadian Baptist Ministries will arrive and take part in a leadership conference that Erica and I will be facilitating with guest instructors Brenda Halk and Faith Holwyn, the author of the "Groups of Hope” program.

2014 is also the celebration of ten-years of the Guardians of Hope (GOH) program, CBM’s international response to HIV and AIDS. Over the past decade thousands of AIDs orphans and vulnerable children have been helped through the intervention of local church churches within the GOH program in Kenya, Rwanda, Angola, and India.

We are very excited to be introducing two new initiatives into the GOH on this anniversary year, namely: the "groups of hope" support program for caregivers, and the "Kamp Tumaini" program for orphans and vulnerable children.

Beth and Brenda at the ACC&S Bible School

During that trip back in 2004, Mark Buchanan had prophetically declared that one of the group would return to serve in Kenya. Little did he know that two year’s later our family would arrive in Nairobi in 2006, and, ten years later, a second member of that team would return as a staff member of CBM. 

Earlier this year, Brenda Halk joined Canadian Baptist Ministries as a strategic associate focused on women’s initiatives and business. 

Since beginning her new role with CBM, Brenda has had two visits to Kenya where she is helping Erica and I assess current women’s initiatives and economic development initiatives within our community development projects.

Meeting with the ACC&S Executive, Thika

Aaron, Erica, Jeremiah Ngumo Kiguru (General Secretary), Luka Kuria Wachira (Vice Moderator), Wayne and Maureen Morgan, Brenda, Joseph Maina Macharia (Moderator), Julius Kimani Kinuthia (Deputy General Secretary), and Elijah Wainaina Karanu (National Treasurer).

Earlier in the week, we had an opportunity to meet with the leadership of the African Christian Church and Schools. It was wonderful to see Julius Kimani as a member of the ACC&S executive leadership: Julius had been a student within the CMin cohort that Erica and Brenda were a part of in 2004.

It was a blessing to learn about all that God is doing among the people of the ACC&S.

Wayne and Maureen Morgan with 

ACC&S Moderator Joseph Maina Macharia

Our team mates Wayne and Maureen Morgan are embedded CBM global field staff with the ACC&S. The Morgans have been very involved in the leadership of the ACC&S urban ministry program in Nairobi. In addition, Wayne teaches at the ACC&S Bible School and Maureen coordinated short term missions in Kenya.

Erica and Jeremiah

Beth and Aaron

Ester and Brenda

Brenda’s experience in mobilizing women’s initiatives and her leadership with CBM as past board president, and past president of Canadian Baptist Women brings perspective to our African partners.

It was great to meet with Ester, the leader of the ACC&S national Women in Action program.

Erica and Brenda meeting with Eastleigh SHG Leaders

at our home in Nairobi, Kenya

Please uphold Brenda and our CBM Africa Team as we serve our church partners in fulfilling God’s great mission. We pray that the Church in Africa will continue to grow in its understanding and response to the serious concerns facing women throughout the world.

Ava the Brave!

A v a

Ava is having a great year in second grade. She is loving her teacher, Miss Idsardi, and having great fun after school in dance class with Miss Lane. Ava is growing up so quickly. She loves reading and is quite the storyteller.

This past weekend started off with Ava’s Elementary School Fall Concert at Rosslyn Academy. It was a wonderful evening of “Thanksgiving" as the elementary school music classes sang and played songs of gratitude and praise. Being an American-based school, Rosslyn celebrates "American Thanksgiving" each November. This was the first year that the annual fall concert focused on Thanksgiving, in the past it was a Christmas theme. Mrs. Grafe, the elementary music teacher, did an outstanding job as she led the children through beautiful songs, poems and drama on the theme of thankfulness. The concert ended with a beautiful “Shukrani Medley” in Kiswahili. 

Ava and Emma on the way to Mistletoe Market 

On Saturday, we took all three of our children to Mistletoe Market with our colleague Brenda Halk. Mistletoe is an annual flee market and craft sale held by Rosslyn Academy’s PTF. Always a lot of fun. This year was one of the few that was actually sunny -- November is rainy season in Kenya. 

Ava found a traditional Kenyan bow and arrow at the market

She is a natural!

Shukrani -- A Kenyan Thanksgiving

November 21, 2014

We are so proud of our little girl. She sang and danced throughout her concert and even played the xylophone. As we celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends and fellow Rosslyn parents, we are deeply thankful for our family.

The Whole Church Bringing the Whole Gospel for the Whole World

Crossing Paths

 Canadian Baptist Ministries’ Executive Director, Sam Chaise,

 preaching at the Africa Brotherhood Church, Starehe, Nairobi

This past week, we had the pleasure of hosting our friends and colleagues Sam and Cindie Chaise, who travelled to Kenya to participate in the Bridge program with our Garissa Church partners. Over the weekend, Sam and Cindie had time to connect with our team mates Wayne and Maureen Morgan, and join Archbishop Timothy Ndambuki for a worship service and fellowship time in Nairobi.

Over the past month, our paths continue to cross with many of our Canadian Baptist family. It is encouraging to hear how God is at work among our fellow church partners in the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

The Chaises had spent several days with our Middle East team based in Beirut, Lebanon, prior to arriving in Nairobi. Today there are now 30 local churches within the Lebanese Baptist Union that are  working together in meeting the overwhelming needs of the Syrian refugee crisis. Since the war broke out in Syria, the refugee numbers in Lebanon has ballooned to almost 2,000,000, that is one third of the entire country’s population.

Please join us in praying for the Lebanese Baptist Churches as they with CBM are on the front lines of refugee support within their country.

 Members of the Starehe ABC Church sharing tea with our 

friends Nancy Wagner, Val Fenn, and Cindie Chaise

Back in Africa, we had some nostalgia this week as our friend and CBM Strategic Associate, Brenda Halk arrived. She and Erica will be spending the next week looking at our women’s initiates in Kenya as well as economic empowerment components of our self help group projects.

In 2004, Brenda and Erica made their first trips to Africa together as they were participants in the CBM Certificate of Ministry program with Gary Nelson. Beyond frequent stops at Java House, the group spent most of their time between the ABC Starehe Church and the slums areas of Nairobi. It just so happened that on Sunday, we spent the day at the Starehe Church with Sam and Cindie Chaise.

The ABC, or Africa Brotherhood Church, is our second national church partner in Kenya. For almost 35 years, Canadian Baptist Ministries has been serving in partnership with the ABC in the areas of education, theological training, community health, and sustainable development.

It was amazing on Sunday to witness the change within is ABC urban church. Since moving to Kenya in 2006, Erica and I have worshipped at Starehe on a number of occasions, but none since 2009. At that time the church services were completely in Kiswahili. We had not anticipated how, in the past few years, the church has completely embraced English. Everything from the five choirs to the scripture reading and prayers,.. even the hymnal was in English which is being used by the young and the old alike.

It was also great to see how every part of the congregation participated in the service, from children with tambourines to youth with guitars and contemporary chorus music.

One highlight was seeing the traditional choirs sing and dance. Whether with instruments or with stamping feet, it was a community of praise!

Sam Chaise making friendly with a couple of warthogs

We are very thankful for Sam and Cindie, for their leadership and their support. After a whirl wind visit, the Chaises returned to Canada on Monday evening. Over the years, Sam has been encouraging us, and our team, in our efforts to strengthen Integral Mission within local churches. Since Sam began his role as CBM executive director in 2010, we have seen major shifts within Africa.

You can read Sam’s regular reflections about Christian life and witness in his blog “Cut to the Chaise”.

Erica and Val visiting the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage

Also visiting this week was our friend and CBM board member, Val Fenn, from Penticton, British Columbia. Val had hosted Erica and Tristan this past June when they were participating in a Baptist Women’s conference where Erica had been speaking about the Guardians of Hope HIV and AIDS ministry in Africa.

Val stopped in to stay with our family for a few days after having volunteered with CBM in Rwanda as part of a short term missions group working with women’s support groups from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Enjoying Ethiopian Night with the Chaises and the Kennys

We want to thank you for reading our blog and for your continued prayers and support. May God bless you this week, and may your path lead you into wonderful and unexpected conversations and encounters.