Page 7 - News Autumn_Winter 2024_Print

also had a fruitful conversation, with one of the young After lunch we went up a different street, again
men being saved and the others saying, “Next time…”. encountering many people in a small area, and so not
John, Samuel and Peter. going very far. We must have reached only a tiny fraction
of the area: there is a vast need and a vast potential here
for the Gospel. Do pray for the churches in these slums:
they have a vibrant presence and a message of hope and
joy. In a roadside shelter there, I spoke with three young
men: Nicholas, who is a believer, and Richard and Dennis.
I shared my testimony and my favourite promises of God
with them, and they gave their lives to Christ too.

At the end of our allotted time, as we headed back
towards the church we spoke to some children and gave
them Spark magazines and encouraged them to pray
and seek Jesus. Before we had gone much further, we
were surrounded by a crowd of children, all clamouring
for a magazine. As we had a limited number left, it was
Saturday took us to Kibera (above), the largest slum necessary to ration them, and my colleague, shrewdly
of all. I found this place particularly unsettling; it was and good-naturedly, did this by ascertaining which of
so poor and with so many people crammed in, people them could read the English in the magazine.
with so little hope or opportunities. So densely We pray that for these children, and many others like
populated that our group of four could find itself them, their eagerness to receive a gift from us on that day
involved in two or even three conversations at a time! will be transformed as they read the Word of God into an
I spoke at length with a well-educated young Muslim avid thirst for more of His gifts.
man named Umar, who agreed to accept and read a
HOPE magazine, although his brother wasn’t interested. At the end of the week, the good news of the Gospel,
HOPE magazines in English or Swahili, and Spark
I made much of the fact that this is the Injil which magazines, had gone out into thousands of lives and
Muslims recognise as a holy book. we pray with confidence the Lord will continue building
We encountered quite a number of Muslims, but also His church there.
a number of Christians. One of these was Kennedy,
who we found having his hair cut in a tiny little barber’s
shop. After a good talk with him, he urged the barber
himself to listen to us; his name is Obadiah, and he
did give his life to the Lord. Another customer arrived –
although there really wasn’t room for him to go in
while Kennedy was there – and he spoke to us too
but didn't commit.
As we arrived at the church where we were having lunch,
we passed many children smiling and brandishing Spark
magazines that they had received from another part of
our group in that area during the morning. Once again it
was very touching to see how engrossed some of them
were in reading them.

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18/09/2024 12:22
News Autumn_Winter 2024.indd 7
News Autumn_Winter 2024.indd 7 18/09/2024 12:22