Many people wonder how we ended up teaching New Man, New Woman, New Life at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program in Kenya. (Typically we teach at churches, or universities.) However, everyone needs healthy relationships, including recovering addicts. And Teen Challenge in both Nairobi and Nakuru welcomed Empower yet again this year. Here’s Frank’s report about how this came about. (This is part 2 of our Kenya trip report)
In 2014, I (Frank) met with Camilas Owiti Omolo, who had just completed a one-year rehabilitation program from alcohol addiction with Teen Challenge Nairobi.
He was giving a testimony at a conference I had also been invited to speak at in Kabale, Uganda. At that conference, after discussing what we do at Empower, he strongly believed that the New Man, New Woman, New Life message was appropriated for the Teen Challenge students. (Despite its name, Teen Challenge is for both teens and adults, and operates around the world, including in the U.S.)
Since we were holding a series of trainings in Kenya around that time, Camilas joined us in Bondo and Maseno West, as well as Kariobangi in Nairobi. He then introduced us to the Teen Challenge Leadership, then led by the TC Kenyan founder, John Martin. John is now retired and lives back home in Kansas, USA.
The Teen Challenge Leadership embraced Empower, and received Carrie and Empower team on their next visit to Kenya. At that time, Carrie did an overview of the New Man, New Woman, New Life program to the Teen Challenge students and staff at the center.
Consequently, Omolo led a team of Teen Challenge students to our first training with St. Paul’s University Limuru, and a subsequent comprehensive training at Karen Nairobi after that, which was conducted by Carrie, Donell and Frank.
In October 2016, Pam Frohreich and I held the first training at the Teen Challenge Center in Nairobi, which was well received. Carrie and Donell graced the closing day as well as Phobice and Keith who visited for few hours.
Teen Challenge again invited Empower this year and Pam and Frank facilitated the training in the second leg of the Kenya visit this month.
Our visit was blessed with the presence of John Martin, who retired since last year back to Kansas but who was on a working vacation to Kenya (originally planned for 13 days but he ended up staying for 7 weeks). Martin spiced up our visit with several activities like driving us around Kiambu, being present at the Certificate awarding ceremony and personally driving us to and from Nakuru for our third leg of our training to Nakuru TC center.
Like last two years, the Women center joined the men at the TC men’s center in Kiambu near Nairobi. This year, more women attended than had in our previous visits. Both the men and women were very open to our message, and many were very well-educated and bright. We had Wendy, a brilliant young woman lawyer, and an educationist, Ali, ( from a Moslem background but who found the manual very fascinating) and many others. It was interesting to see a Moslem gentleman presenting so well Jesus’ redemptive work on women in the Israel setting ! I thank God for the all embracing message of the New Man New Woman New life.
We had great discussions with the students and staff. Joseph, one of the TC staff and our master class graduate, served as one of the facilitators.
It is so humbling to be with these dear souls who are being rehabilitated from addiction. It is gratifying to see them navigating through the message of redemption. It is exhilarating to see their faces shine as they drink in the reality and truth that despite their failures, God’s love is constant in their lives. To know that they are not cursed, and to find out God’s will for their lives as redeemed and loved puts a huge smile on their faces.
It was absolutely gratifying to see one of the graduating students, Roy Mogan, holding a bible and the Empower manual as he was being prayed for to go back home. He vowed to live by the message of redemption and teach it to others. His Aunt, who is a high ranking Police officer with over 500 police men and women under her command as well as over 500 inmates at a local prison under her jurisdiction, attended his graduation. She invited Empower to train both the police and inmates.
We are grateful to God for continuing to open doors in Kenya for the messages of redemption and equality. To support our work, click here. Thank you for your support and your prayers!
This is quit encouraging