Early Monday morning we made the 4 ½ hour journey to Segera Mission. As we traveled, I witnessed many sheep, goat and cow herders. There were also an abundance of sheep, goats and cows grazing near the road with no owner in sight. My driver assured me that each of these ‘stray’ animals did have an owner. Alth
ough not visible at the moment, the animals would be reclaimed prior to evening.
As we closed in on Segera, we came upon a gravel road. My driver pointed out a large herd of zebras. I got out of the car and took pictures. There were at least 20 in view. Soon afterwards I saw a group of gazelles. That’s when I knew that I w
asn’t in Kansas anymore.
From the gravel road we saw one large sign that read “Segera Mission Foundation. 8 Km.” The sign told us to make a right turn. After that there were no more signs. Every time we came to a fork in the road, we would ask visitors w
hich way to go, until we finally arrived at Segera.
I was greeted warmly by Faith Mutungi. She is a very kindhearted person, always a smile on her face, displaying the joy of the Lord. We had just met. But it seemed like we had been friends for a long time. I knew that our friendship was here to stay. It is all due to the like-mindedness of two people who share the same passion of love for God and helping people.
Soon I would meet many more like her at Segera Mission. Staff members who had a great heart and passion to serve God, the love of God radiating from their souls. These men and women were the life beat of Segera Mission. And I would soon witness the effect it was having on the children.
Faith gave me and my 3 companions a tour of the main buildings at Segera. Then we were escorted behind the school where all 385 of the students had been gathered together, from grades Kindergarten through 8th. I was asked to get up in front of this entire group and share whatever God put in my heart to share.
I had not been prepared for this moment, but God was. As I opened 
my mouth, I was given the words to say, and was able to minister to the hearts of those wonderful children. I shared with them that God is love. That his very nature is love. That he loves them very much and has a wonderful plan for each and every one of their lives. I told them that if they will turn their eyes towards him, that he will bless them in many wonderful ways that they can now only imagine.
After I finished, a group of them gathered by the flagpole and sang a special song just for me and my 3 companions. I was nearly in tears now. These children were so wonderful. Had such great hearts. The love of God from the teachers and staff at Segera Mission had been molding them. I could see their future. They would eventually become wonderful men and women of God.
The children then went back to their classrooms and I met briefly with the staff. We each shared briefly about who we are. Then we prayed together. I told them that I was so grateful for what they were doing here at Segera Mission. Their lives were having such a meaningful impact on these children. And when I prayed, I asked God to continue to strengthen them mightily and that when they would go through times of discouragement, they would focus on him and the eternal rewards he would be handing out to them due to their faithfulness in service to the one true God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The classrooms went back in session and I was challenged again. I was asked to go into each individual classroom, from Kindergarten through 8th grade and brie
fly share with each class. As I walked into each room, I prayed for God to guide me as to what to tell them. He did not fail me. I shared a wonderful, uplifting message in each classroom.
I was then given an opportunity to rest. At around 7:30 pm I attended a service at Bethel Chapel, located at Segera. It was Monday evening and these people, mostly staff members from Segera, were excited to come together to worship and praise God. They sang wonderful cultural songs. Their hearts of love and excitement in singing to God in their native Swahili language was quite evident.
I was then asked to get up and teach God’s Word for 30 minutes. I put aside all of the major teachings that I planned to do during my conferences in Kenya. Those teachings would be taught another day. Tonight, I would teach on the subject of mentoring.
After I finished, Serge Musasilwa, the Country Director of Segera Mission, went to the podium and asked each staff member to make a specific commitment to mentor someone. Then he had us pray, with the specific intent that God would reveal to them who they needed to mentor.
It was very special. I don’t know how to describe it other than to say that I saw in him, and in the hearts of so many other people there, a genuine hunger to hear and act on truth. They were not content to just listen to a ‘great teaching’ and then forget about it the next morning. They had taken it to heart and were making individual commitments to LIVE what had been taught.
After the service I talked to Serge into the evening. He shared many things with me about the history of Segera Mission. Earlier that day, Faith had also shared with me many things to help me understand the background of this awesome ministry.
Before Segera Mission arrived, this area was made up entirely of lost sheep. The people from this backwoods country knew nothing about Jesus Christ. There were no churches. They had no one to tell them about the saving grace of God. There was no one to teach them about God’s unconditional love or that Jesus Christ had died for their sins and that God had raised him from the dead. There was only the Lejo Maria cult being presented to them as a source of faith.
Meanwhile, God began working in the heart of a man named Carlton P. Gleason. Ordained in the Christian ministry in 1950, Carlton led four congregations through building programs that included three complete church plants. Later he moved to Lynchburg, VA where he worked for Dr. Jerry Falwell as a director of operations in the building of Liberty University. By 1996 he was 82 years old and decided to retire. But God was not nearly finished with him yet. Not even close.
Carlton traveled to Kenya, Africa where he met Faith Mutungi. Together they prayed for the next 4 years for God to open a door to reach the hearts of people in Kenya for our Lord Jesus Christ. God then inspired others to rise up with the donations so that the buildings we now see could become a reality. When I asked Faith why they had chosen this specific remote area of Kenya, her response was that she really didn’t know, other than this is where God intended it to be.
Segera Mission is a huge testimony of God’s faithfulness to fulfill His promise to supply every need when we are obedient to answer His call. He had seen people in this remote area who desired to know and serve Him, and had proceeded to call out faithful men and women of God to contribute what was needed so that the truth of His Word could be given to these wonderful African people.
Prior to Serge heading off to bed, he shared with me about his dad, who had been a faithful man of God. Serge talked to his dad shortly before he passed away. In that conversation, his dad told Serge that there is only one important question we need to ask every day of our life. Just one question. And it is, “What can I do today that only God will receive the credit for?”
Samuel Mugwika had traveled 2 hours from Meru to visit me while I was at Segera. He is a wonderful man who loves God greatly and has a specific ministry to help people to know and understand the truth. He is coordinating 13 centers of outreach in Kenya. Ten of them are in the Meru area. The remaining three are farther away, with the farthest being a 5 to 6-hour drive away. I was so glad to meet him and to learn about his ministry.
Just before going to bed, I stood outside and looked up. The sky was completely clear. No clouds, no air pollution. The only thing visible were stars and planets, shining brightly in every direction. In all of my life, I had never seen such beauty from the heavens above me. It reminded me of Psalms 19:1-4. The Heavens declare the glory of God. Magnificent doesn’t come close to describing what I saw.
When I awoke the next morning, I walked over to the school to greet the children one more t
ime. I took pictures of many of them. They greeted me with warm smiles. They are all so adorable and cute!
I then spent more time sharing hearts with staff members. The question each of them asked me was, “When are you coming back? And next time you need to stay for 2 weeks or more.”
I really do want to come back. I discussed some specific areas 
where I could help the children if I were to stay longer. They were very supportive and excited about my ideas.
I saw a group of baboons and a monkey climbing a nearby tree. There is a fence to help keep them away from the housing area. But it doesn’t always work as planned. The baboons occasionally sneak over it to steal food.
It was very har
d for me to leave. I had fallen in love with Segera Mission Foundation. But it was now time for me to make the scheduled 6 ½ hour drive to Eldoret and on into Webuye where I will teach the Word of God for two days.
For I know the plans that I have in mind for you,” says Yahweh, “plans of peace and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11 REV