The Journey Begins

All I can say right now is Bwana asi fiwe! (Praise the Lord!) His faithfulness and goodness are mind-blowing to me. First of all, praise the Lord because I am now an official college graduate as of December 18th! Yes, it took me a semester longer than I originally planned, but oh how much better are God’s plans than my own! I am realizing more and more how perfect His timing and ways are (you’ll understand this more in a minute). My four years at Azusa Pacific University were absolutely amazing and I will forever treasure them. But I am definitely ready to move on. Move on to what, you may wonder. Well, let me tell you.

I entered college four and a half years ago as a business major, but 4 months into school, God radically broke my heart for the poor in this world and I felt a calling I couldn’t ignore. Wanting to learn as much as I could about poverty and its captives, I switched my major to Sociology and began to find ways to reach out. In the summer of 2002, I spent a month in Kenya with seven other people from my school, ministering with an organization called Empowering Lives International (ELI). My heart was hooked. I fell in love with the people, the culture, and the land; I knew as I left Kenya that I would leave a huge portion of my heart there.

Two summers later, one year ago, God clearly revealed and confirmed the calling He has placed on my life to help relieve poverty in Africa. Up till this point, I knew I was called to work with the poor, but had no idea what that would look like. Now I know with all my heart, after some amazing God confirmations, that my calling is to serve the people of Africa and to work with Empowering Lives International. Realizing this during the summer, I couldn’t sleep many nights because of my overwhelming giddiness and excitement! After talking with one of the directors of ELI who joyfully welcomed me on board, and realizing how perfectly God has worked this out, all I could do in my apartment was simultaneously cry and laugh for joy at God’s faithfulness. He has given me my dream job and fulfilled the deepest desires of my heart in ways that I could have never imagined. So here are the details:

ELI is a non-profit organization working among the impoverished in East Africa, providing training, resources and encouragement to break the cycle of poverty and help people recognize their importance in the eyes of God. Their mission is to empower the poor and oppressed that they may be able to know, worship, and serve God without hindrance, and to motivate and involve others worldwide to invest their lives and gifts in this same mission. I believe in this organization and the methods they use with all my heart and feel so honored to be able to join their team.

So what will I be doing? To start out this next year, I will be pretty much managing our office here in Southern California. I’ll be doing all sorts of tasks that need to be done in order for the ministry to continue running and our staff to be able to serve over in Kenya. Though it may not sound as adventuresome as actually serving in Kenya, it is absolutely essential for the ministry in Africa to happen. I’ll be helping coordinate our child sponsorship programs (In Kenya, we have an orphanage with kids who need to be sponsored, and we have about 20 children in an education sponsorship program. We also have 300 kids living in the slums of the Congo who need sponsors for their education), helping coordinate and prepare our short term teams that travel to Africa to partner with our ministry, overseeing our paper-making project, handling all the funds from sponsors and supporters, sending out our newsletters and prayer updates, handling correspondence between Kenya and the states, and attending to all the other office jobs like answering the phones and e-mails. Hopefully I’ll also being speaking some at churches, sharing our vision, raising awareness about the poverty going on in the world, and igniting a passion in God’s people to help the suffering in the world. Also, God-willing, I’ll be going to Kenya once a year to personally stay in contact with our ministry and the people there. My first visit will be this summer from June 10th– July 3rd on a short term team that my parents are leading. I cannot even tell you how excited I am to return and to experience Kenya with my family. What a blessing!

I can’t even begin to express my excitement and my amazement at how God has brought me here. ELI’s current office administrator had a baby in November and is now only working part-time out of her home. This was their greatest need as we began to talk about me coming on board, and I graduated at the perfect time to start full-time right as she cut back. Praise God for His perfect timing and for allowing me to be a semester behind in school! I worked part-time this fall getting trained, and started full-time January 3rd.

But the thing is, I need you guys! I can’t do this on my own. I need a team committed to supporting me in prayer. Most of you know the sickness I faced after going to Kenya, and I have no idea what other attacks Satan is going to try to use to discourage me and frustrate God’s plans. I also need people to support me financially. Because ELI is a small faith-based organization, all the staff members are required to raise a support base for their personal salaries and ministry funds. I am asking you with excitement to pray and see if this is something God is calling you to. I know that He has called me to this job, and so I also know the He has called others to support me. So, here is an exciting invitation for you to join the work of His kingdom and make a difference in empowering the lives of people in East Africa. I need to raise $2800 per month and would love for you to mail back the commitment card if you’re interested in helping. Even if it’s only $5 a month, know that it really will make a difference and I’d love to have you as part of my team! I would absolutely love to talk to you all individually or meet with you if you want to learn more about ELI or what I’ll be doing. Please feel free to call or e-mail me. You can also check out the ELI website at www.empoweringlives.org. I will also be trying to get in contact with you, so expect to hear from me. Thanks so much for being a blessing in my life!

In His Grip,
Kierra