Transforming Mission: Two Worlds Collided

A Baptism Sunday in Central Kenya

Rev. Samuel Mogo and Rev. Bill Lewis

The partnership between Canadian Baptist Ministries and our African partners is about transformation. Over the past sixty-one years, Canadian and African churches have worked together to bear witness to the love and hope of Christ from Angola to South Sudan. 

Earlier this month, we had the opportunity to share with partners about their experiences of partnership with CBM missionaries and short-term volunteers. It is evident that the blessing of our cross-cultural mission has been felt by people and communities on both sides of the relationship. That dynamic is in a very real way an expression of the Gospel. It brings to mind the words of N.T. Wright, as he wrote about the relationship between heaven and earth in the new reality of the Kingdom of God:

"Heaven and earth, it seems, are not after all poles apart, needing to be separated forever when all the children of heaven have been rescued from this wicked earth.... No, they are different, radically different, but they are made for each other in the same way (Revelation is suggesting) as male and female. And when they come together, that will be cause for rejoicing in the same way that a wedding is: a creational sign that God's project is going forward; that opposite poles within creation are made for union, not competition."

-From Surprised by Hope, N.T. Wright

Thank you for your prayers and generous support of the ministry of CBM and our African partners. As we draw near to the end of our time here, we appreciate more and more the absolute power of God at work in forming his Church from every tribe, tongue, and nation.

February Prayer Update

Elephants cross the great plains at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro

It seems like the month of February speeds by quickly in Kenya. It is the height of our East African summer and there is always so much going on with our children as well as among our partner churches.

Erica and I were grateful for the opportunity to slip away for a night for a Valentine's getaway to the Amboseli National Park, just a couple of hours South of Nairobi.

Thank you for joining us in prayer for our CBM team and ministries in Africa.

Rwanda
We give thanks for the wonderful news that the Association of Rwandan Baptist churches has adopted key reforms this past week during their annual general assembly -- including the ordination of women. These are still early days for the AEBR as it begins this long and difficult road to enhancing its governance and systems of accountability. Please join us in praying for the church and its leadership as it begins this new process of reform.

Uganda
We continue to pray for our colleagues Gato and Anne Marie now based in Kampala. We are thankful that their children are settling into new schools. Please pray for Gato as he is establishing new work in the area of peacebuilding in Uganda.

Gato speaking with youth living in Ugandan Remanded Homes

South Sudan
According to statistics released this week from Save the Children, conflict around the world over the past decade is increasingly harming children. For every soldier that dies in conflict zones, 5 children are killed by violence and malnutrition directly resulting from wars.

Earlier this week, clashes in Equatoria region have displaced 8,000 people and sending about 5,000 more fleeing across the border into the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which is in the midst of the Ebola outbreak.

Please pray for our local partner, the Faith Evangelical Baptist Churches, as they respond to the needs of people affected by the ongoing conflict. We especially pray for the children who are caught in the middle of this terrible situation.