| Kenya
One Day Church Project
Update
April 2011
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In
2009 Living Waters partnered with Maranatha
Volunteers International and ASI to begin the newly
launched world wide One-Day Church project in Kenya.
Maranatha
and ASI provided the materials and funding for the
Kenya project to erect 74 buildings which are used
primarily
as churches, schools and medical clinics. The materials
were shipped in two containers from Minnesota and arrived
in Nairobi, Kenya April 2010. Seventy two buildings
were erected in many areas of Kenya over the next
6 months
coordinated by Living Waters and my son Joby Oft. . |
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The
buildings were primarily used for church congregations
that either had no structure to meet in or whose
structure was unfit for human occupancy. In most
cases the church attendance grew to double of that
before the building was erected. It was the responsibility
of the local church to complete the building with
whatever materials they chose to use.
All
funding for the One-Day-Church project was provided
with funds specified for this objective. Praise God
in how He is working with providing places for worshiping
Him in Kenya.
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These
ODC buildings are now providing places of worship,
schools and medical clinics for more than 15,000
people. Joby traveling across Kenya, living and
working with the Kenyan people to start this good
work. Four Kenyan men were trained to work with
impact drivers, squares and a variety of tools
to provide the steel frame and roof building. The
completion of the walls are the responsibility
of the local congregations of which many choose
brick, reed, metal siding or just open ventilation.
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The
buildings were provided to congregations who
either had no structure and met under a tree,
or the current structure was condemned or the
current building was much too small to hold
the number of people meeting there. In most
cases, the size of the congregations has doubled
since receiving the new structure. "The
thing that amazed me and I did not expect,
was that many of the churches were used seven
days a week for schools, nurseries and a place
for medical services to be provided. It isn't
just a church, it is a place for community
activities during the week," reports Joby.
Five
of the structures were ferried in canoes across
large bodies of water to two islands in Lake
Victoria. Then all of the materials were hand
carried up steep mountain trails as much as two
miles inland where some of the churches now stand.
The work was grueling, but in the end all of
the construction
team was very satisfied to have a part in providing
a place of worship for so many. |
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Stories
of miracles abound and God provided His hand of
safety to the
crew. On April 28, Daryl Oft and son Justin returned
to Kenya to erect 37 more churches in the Kenya
Coast Field. This is a particularly challenging
location as the majority population with 75 to
95 percent being Muslim.
Maranatha
reports that 1650 One Day Churches have been erected
in twenty two countries worldwide. Living Waters
has built just fewer than five percent of those
churches and continues to increase that number.
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East
African Union has requested one container for each
of their eight conferences. With thirty seven churches
per container that would equal 296 additional places
to worship and serve God in Kenya.
Living
Waters also takes a part in filling the churches.
In February 2011, four members of our local church
and a family member from Oregon traveled to Kenya
and held two concurrent evangelistic campaigns. |
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The
fishing villages of Litare and Lwanda, both in
Kenya Lake Conference had two weeks of meetings
which resulted in 186 baptisms in Lake Victoria.
Husband and wife teams of Russ and Sharon Judd
and Daryl and Mary Jo Oft directed the campaigns.
Twyla McKinney, Daryl's sister provided children
and health talks and many Kenyan nationals assisted
to make the meetings a success.
Many
nights the average attendance at each site was
over 1000. The
meetings were held outside with cattle, goats and
pigs walking through the meeting sites.
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All
of those baptized were provided with Bibles, which
for the most part is their most prized possession.
Everyone was asking for Bibles but they had to be
limited to just those who were baptized. The funding
for the Bibles came from the Payson SDA church.
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Click
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Gallery Pages
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Gallery
Pages
April 2011
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Feeding
Center
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Evangelism
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Academy
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One-Day
Churches
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Medical
Clinic
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