The following is a letter from Andrew, Barbara, and Michael Hinderlie. Andy is rostered in our synod and he and his family are serving as missionaries in Nairobi, Kenya. Christ the King Church hosted the Hinderlies while they were in Houston last June and have provided some missionary support.
Dear Friends in Christ,
Christmas is approaching and we're settling nicely into Nairobi. Michael has started preschool and absolutely loves it. He is picked up and dropped off in a mini bus and after the first day of class he wanted to invite all the children who were on the bus into our house to continue playing! What a socialite he's becoming.
For the month of December Andy has been attending meetings in Chicago for all the DGM regional representatives. Barbara stayed in Nairobi with Michael so as not to disrupt the great adjustment he's making to Nairobi. She also took the opportunity to meet with the women's coordinator of the Kenyan Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC) to start her work on projects and development.
The women's desk turned out to be the perfect place to start as this is one of the shining examples of self-reliance and sharing of resources. There are many programs and projects in the women's unit including adult education, with emphasis on literacy and evangelism outreach, nursery school education, water projects, several income generating projects as well as Bible studies and prayer and worship seminars especially for women.
The women's desk is under the direction of Margaret Obaga who is the first Kenyan to hold this position as previous directors were missionaries. Like the KELC, Margaret recognizes the need for holistic ministry to church members. As director of the women's desk, she effectively carries out the mission of the KELC which is to fulfill "the mandatory obligation of proclaiming the Good News of salvation which is obtained through Jesus Christ, to all people so that they may have life and have it to the full." She interprets this as ministering to members spiritually, physically, and intellectually.
Since we've been requested by many churches to write shorter but more frequent newsletters, I'll close for now with the promise of more to come next month. In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about the KELC you can visit their website at www.kelc.or.ke or visit the DGM website at http://www.elca.org/dgm/country_packet/.
Blessings in Christ,
Andrew, Barbara and Michael Hinderlie