Will God “Do it without your aid and mine”?

When we responded to the call to reach the unreached in 1988, we determined to use all our resources to make Christ known among the Muslim people of northern Kenya. This included our lives, resources, youth, times, ambitions, and future. We were using means to spread the Gospel.

William Carey was rebuffed at a Baptist ministers' meeting in 1787 in Northampton: "Young man, sit down; when God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid and mine." But he was resolute in his conviction, which he expressed in his influential essay, "An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens." In it, he argued that every Christian had a duty to use all possible means to spread the Gospel.

Carey’s calling to missionary work significantly influenced Christianity and global missions. It was not a sudden epiphany; rather, it emerged from his deepening faith and broadening understanding of the world’s spiritual needs. Scriptural teachings fuelled Carey’s burden for the unreached. However, Carey’s missionary zeal faced resistance, as the church did not fully embrace missions. For many church leaders, converting the unreached was viewed not as a human task but solely as a divine responsibility. This apathy stemmed from a profound lack of vision among Christians of that era.

The formation of the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792 gave Carey a platform and network willing to provide him with financial and logistical support. Carey set sail for India in 1793, marking a significant transition from vision to action. A commitment that would soon face its harshest tests, in the challenging Indian landscapes.

In 2021, Anne and the leaders at one of our main Christian schools made a bold choice. To reach out and offer student sponsorships to people and people groups in nearby villages who haven’t had access to education. No one anticipated the impact this gesture would have on individual lives, the community, and, most importantly, honouring God. This scholarship effort has provided 600 children with an opportunity they never imagined.

The students faced obstacles in adapting to a new environment and fitting into the new academic rigour. This crucible helped them discover their talents and realise their potential, ushering them into a successful path.

The first cohort of 47 students sat for end-of-school exams in 2022. Then, in 2023, the second group of 56 students completed. A scene to behold was how the entire community rallied to support these learners to succeed. Theirs was not about individual achievement; it is a story of resilience, hope, and the transformative power of education in changing lives and communities for the better.

Incredible stories emerge from the program's beneficiaries.

Sarah’s* parents separated when she was just a toddler. Her mother took a job in town as a childcare provider. She lived in the slum, exposed to prostitution, early marriages and petty crimes. Her mother's meagre earnings would not fund her education beyond free primary in

class eight. Joining a government secondary school, limited in learning resources and dedication became a handicap. Despite her best efforts, she could not qualify for nursing due to low grades. Her dream? To become a nurse was a bridge too far. But her friend, who once attended our school, urged Sarah to plead her case and seek admission. She was admitted to re-sit her exams. Once in school, she studied with desperation. She went on late into the night, being a privileged student, she once watched pass by from a distance. She scored a C in her KCSE exams, allowing her entry to train for nursing at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC).

John’s* father abandoned them shortly after his birth in a mud-walled house in rural Madogo. He went to the local government school for primary and started secondary. Then came 2021, and the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a cruel blow. John abandoned schooling to join his mother in doing odd jobs.

A local soccer coach noticed something special in John. He in turn recommended him to our school. After much deliberation, Anne offered him a chance to join in form two. In this new environment, he studied with a fervour born of desperation and gratitude, eventually graduating with a Grade C – allowing him to qualify to join the military service. He's not just feeding his family; he's educating his siblings, a turnaround for his family.

Thirteen former students from this group are currently employed by the County Government. Nine of them are working in the banking and microfinance sectors, while six students have joined the Kenya Defense Forces. Additionally, eight were recruited into the Kenya Wildlife Service, and five joined the Police Service. Seven students are studying for university degrees, four are training to become teachers, and five are employed by the Kenya Forest Service. Additionally, twelve students are thriving in Technical and Vocational Training Institutes, acquiring valuable skills for the workforce. Three students are now enrolled at the Kenya Medical Training College, seven students are pursuing further education in other colleges, and 14 are serving their country through the National Youth Service.

We have 2024-2025, we have 144 pupils in the program. Your support for the scholarship program has provided educational opportunities and given hope, opening possibilities for the students, thus demonstrating the impact investment in education had on the communities. We hope to break the cycle of poverty and pave the way for understanding the good news of Christ.

Pray that would experience an overflow of the Lord's providence in Sheepfold Ministries and all the extended arms of operation, including the school.

We echo Paul's words"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ." (2 Corinthians 2:14a) Pray that as we stand confidently in His grace, knowing that we are fully supplied we will experience a supernatural supply of all our needs in Jesus’ Name.

Thank you for praying for us, I (Francis) have enjoyed good health compared to what I went through last year. The transition to work has been smooth. I have been involved in continued leadership duties at TSM.

Also, I have been engaged academically, supervising students for MTh and PhD at SATS, OCRPL and St Paul’s University… this has been alongside publishing and giving seminar lectures. Dr. Omondi, Francis. In Our Languages: Using AI in Translation in Pioneer Evangelism; Southern African Missiological Society (SAMS) at North-West University,

Potchefstroom (21 – 23 January 2025); Omondi, Francis, “Inculturation and Indigenization: An African Theologian’s Perspective”. The Living Church Online Journal (February 19, 2025) https://livingchurch.org/covenant/inculturation-and-indigenization-an-african-theologian-perspective/; An Analysis of Non-Ideological Local and Regional Drivers of Militant Religious Insurgencies. The Swahili Coast Mapping Project; The European Insititute of Peace (March 2025)

It is our humble prayer, that we, together with our sons Daniel, Moses, and Jean, will experience God's Shalom. Pray that the Word of God becomes our bread by day and night as a family. And that the Knowledge of God's Truth may be multiplied in and through our lives.

Truly by the power of God's Grace and peace we will be found focused in God's excellent will for our lives.

*Names in this post were changed to protect the privacy of the students.

A Lenten Reflection

This year’s Lent fast coincides with the Muslim fasting of Ramadan, only that Lent will go on 10 more days after Idd-ul-futr, the Muslim break of fast.

This coincidence enables us Christians, living in a Muslim context, to fast once with the Muslims and prevents a second fast. The Ramadan fast, while obligatory for Muslims, is often embraced by their non-Muslim community. One should be sensitive and avoid actions that offend religious beliefs or discourage those observing a fast. So, in that spirit, we choose to fast during Ramadan. During Lent, we also diligently fast to affirm our faith.

Jesus gave his disciples fasting instructions in Matthew 6:6-18: ”And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret at reward you.”

Jesus assumed his followers would fast, as he states twice in this passage; “when you fast”. He, though, warned them not to mimic the religious leaders’ pious hypocrisy. That God the Father should be Christian’s fasting focus and not for self-attention. Only then should Christians expect a divine reward.

Did Jesus, in instructing people to keep their fasts secret from God, sanction communal liturgical fasting such as Ramadan? We fasted to gain a breakthrough. An intercession to provide answers for malignant troubles Christians faced. For Jesus also said. “… such things cannot happen but through prayer and fasting”. I knew sisters who fasted to find husbands or have children…and this worked! Fasting moved God.

In the mission context, fasting and prayers allowed protection, availed provisions and brought in the harvest.

I learnt liturgical fasting from my Muslim acquaintances, with whom I fasted during Ramadan. I then developed the concept from my study of the Coptic spiritual missions. Liturgical fasting is not only a Christian church tradition but also a Jewish tradition. While in Judaism, they hold an annual ten-day fast. These are the days between Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur, our Day of Atonement is the holies of Jewish time, ten days of Repentance. Commenting on this experience, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks states, Beneath the surface of this long religious ritual lies one of the more transformative stories of the human spirit.

On Ash Wednesday, the intonation of the asher sets the tone for Lent. Is the reminder, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return,” appropriate? Why is it that even at burial? The minister throws fragments of soil into the grave intoning: “soil unto soil; dust unto dust” Are we indeed dust?

Professor David S. Wasawo, presenting a paper, “The Human Predicament in a Depleted World”, at the International Association of Biophylosophy, observed:

“Are we not mostly made of oxygen, carbon and hydrogen, sixty per cent of which is in the form of water? Are we not reminded that a man weighing 150 pounds contains 97.5 pounds of oxygen, 27 pounds of carbon, 15 of hydrogen, 4.5 of nitrogen, 3 of calcium and 1.5 pounds of phosphorus? Added to these are a few ounces each of potassium, sulphur, sodium, chlorine, magnesium and iron; and traces of iodine, fluorine and silicon. These elements are, of course, combined with one another to form thousands of very complicated compounds forming parts of cells, tissues and organs, each performing its allotted function in the sentient being. But snuff out that which is called life, then these elements revert once again to the “soil” and to “dust” and are interred back to whence they came. That which is “life”, that which is “soul” has gone out of that body which we bury, and is elsewhere.”

The intonations are valid. We are dust and so prone to wander and quick to sin. Because of this, the Ash Wednesday prayer is the plea that should buoy us during 40 days fast: Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth: Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, that we may remember that it is only by your gracious gift that we are given everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen (Book of Common Prayer)

As frail children of dust, repentance sustains us. Repentance calls on the sinner to abandon sin and resolve in his heart, never to repeat it (Isaiah 55:7). It invites the Christian to make an oral confession of the resolve made in his heart. What makes this genuine is not purity of heart but a demonstrable change of deed.

As Maimonides explains, perfect repentance “occurs when an opportunity presents itself for repeating an offence once committed, and the offender, while able to commit the offence, nevertheless, refrains from doing so because he is penitent and not out of fear or failure of strength.” So, you repent when you find yourself in the same situation, but this time, you act differently. Your action That acting a change in heart becomes your proof.

So, in fasting, we posture towards God so that he can grant us strength for true repentance. Neglecting the Great Commission demands repentance. How will people from every tribe

and tongue share God’s gracious gift of everlasting life if we continue dodging the command “As my father sent me, so send I you…”?

We have a reason for penitence and prayers for this Lent!

Canon Francis

TSM International Director

April 2, 2025

Greetings from Francis Omondi

Greetings beloved,

I join my colleagues in introducing TSM USA to you.  The idea to start TSM USA was first suggested around 1999, following a visit to Kenya by a group of friends from the USA. The concern was to come alongside TSM mission work on the Horn of Africa, providing the support needed for success. At that time, we agreed that the existing supporting structures, in the churches, sufficed. 

Over this period, the ministry has expanded with work in three countries making the idea plausible. It was for this reason that in August 2024, The Sheepfold Ministries (TSM) USA, created as an extension of TSM International the year prior, received our 501(3)(c) status. 

We see this as a vehicle that should help allow you to participate with us in supporting the long term work of TSM in Africa.  Since its inception in 1988, TSM has provided needed outreach and development opportunities to local communities. Some of those efforts include school scholarships and tutoring for children; clean water; flood relief; recruitment, training & discipleship of new missionaries; Bible studies; mentoring, support and discipling of new believers; and assistance in building new church structures. The love, commitment and dedication of the TSM missionaries inspires us all to join in and press forward in the work being accomplished in the Name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

Blessings, 

Francis Omondi, 

TSM International Director, Nairobi Kenya.