Kenya 2008 Mission Trips

A team of eighteen volunteers representing Forest Hills Baptist Church journeyed from Nashville to Maasailand, Kenya, in late September 2008. The first week there, we drove a different route each day out of the sleepy town of Kajiado (where we lodged) to provide much needed medical care to sparsely settled areas with exotic names, such as Oldonyo-Onokie, Enkirrigiri, Ekilele, and Iltqareto. Each of these areas, in what seemed like “the uttermost part of the earth,” had only a small structure or outhouse to define its location.


National pastors who spoke Maa, Kiswahili, and English aided our teams to the highest degree throughout these efforts. Samson Kisia was again the Kenyan leader guiding the Forest Hills teams. William Shahuru, the leader of the local Nationals, greatly assisted us as well. Together, Samson and William planned each day’s activities to best meet the needs of this area.

Once on location, the medical-treatment team set up under canopies; the makeshift pharmacy was housed between two safari vans with a brightly colored parachute draped over them to create a roof. This “roof” could be seen for miles and guided the patients to the day’s site. The evangelist shared the gospel under canopies or trees, which provided relief from the blazing sun.
During the medical ministry, 649 patients were treated and 269 Maasai professed faith in Christ. The evangelism-only team added another 216 professions of faith the following week, bringing the total saved to 485. (These numbers are lower than the staggering numbers from some previous trips due to the sparsely populated area and the fact that some other groups had previously evangelized in the area.)

Other significant events included three churches being started and three bicycles given to pastors who traveled particularly long distances in their ministries. The distribution of sunglasses, candy, stickers, witnessing beads, and toothbrushes were welcomed gifts to the patients during the medical ministry. Also, the team provided much needed food to a mother and her children who were in desperate need of assistance.

A high point of this ministry was that the medical team most likely saved the life of an infant girl. The mother heard that a medical team was in the area and sent word that she had a seriously ill baby, a twin. The team traveled to see the infant, treated her, and then transported the mother and twins to a local hospital. Dr. Cummings gave the local doctor instructions for the baby’s treatment while the baby was in the hospital. The local doctor also consulted with Dr. Cummings about treating another child who was in the hospital. This child then recovered and was released. The sick twin later recovered and was released, as well. We heard later that the baby’s father attended church for the very first time.

The “fun day” for these team members was a visit to Amboseli National Park near the Tanzania border. This vast landscape, with Mount Kilimanjaro in the background and large numbers of wild animals in the foreground, was a magnificent display of God’s creation.

Those participating in the medical trip September 19 – 29 were Lori Andrews, Sue Boyer, Dr. Reesie Cummings, Beverly Donoho, Tony Donoho, Heather Hilner, Doris Rice, Jeremy Smith, and Jennifer Zola. Each participant has their own memory of this mission trip and how it changed their outlook and life.

After bidding farewell to the nine-member medical team, the evangelism team remained for an additional week, returning to the same areas for follow-up and seeking out other Maasai who needed Jesus.

The following volunteers also worked with the medical team and remained for an additional week of evangelism September 19 – October 4: Herbert Clouse, Rick Evans, Gail Evans, Adam Giles, John LaFon, Sissy LaFon, Gary Lang, Ron Shepherd, and Susie Shepherd.