Island Vibes– Spicing up the Isle of Spice!

Did you know that the nation of Grenada actually consists of three islands? They are Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique, with a total population of approximately 94,000.

Grenada got its nickname “Isle of Spice” from producing a third of the world’s nutmeg supply and for having the reputation of having the “most spices per square mile than any other place on the planet”!

In October 1998, God added a different “spice” to the island when His Kingdom was planted in Grenada. Under the leadership of Lenworth Gordon, a Jamaican and his wife Michelle, a Grenadian (both converted in Jamaica in 1988 and 1987 respectively), God has done amazing things. Lenworth and Michelle have ably led God’s Church for the past almost four  years while holding secular jobs and parenting two beautiful girls,  Amanda (seven) and Tiffany (five and a half).

Starting with a membership of five (two men and three women), God has blessed them to see a Church of  23 members (14 men and nine women). The Church’s membership is very diverse. The ages range from 14 years to 75 years and they have every group represented in their membership!

The Church consists of one married couple (Lenworth and Michelle), two married women (one of whom is 75 years old), two married men, seven single men, five single women (one of whom actually lives on the island of Carriacou and takes the plane or ferry to go to Church in Grenada!), one campus student and four teens.

Last year, they had their first Women’s Day where the nine women had an attendance of over 50 women! This year, plans are being made for the first Mens’ Forum, which we are confident, by God’s power, will be a success.

This year at their Bring Your Neighbour Day Service in April, they broke the 100 barrier where they saw a record attendance of over 110! Since the beginning of the year they have been consistently fruitful as a Church and in the month of May, they saw a man and woman become disciples.

Let us continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Grenada, as they strive to spread the “spice” of God’s word to the people of their tri-island state.

Due to opposition and intimidation from the highest authorities on campus, evangelism has never been easy for the disciples at KCITI, a college in Nairobi run by the mainline Church of Christ. Nonetheless, the brothers there have continued to share their faith and several men have been baptized.

In 1995, Paul Ngovu was the sole disciple on the KCITI campus. Making new friends constantly and reaching out to them, he eventually bore fruit. The principal soon summoned him and informed him that he was to no longer engage in inviting people for church services or Bible studies. To police Paul's activities the principal arranged that at the end of class each day Paul would be escorted immediately to the gate so that he would have no opportunity to linger on campus and talk to others about God and the Bible.

More recently, Steve Kabocha enrolled at KCITI, followed by Max Macharia. Their evangelistic fervor did not go unnoticed and a public announcement was made that no student was to attend any Bible studies on campus except those officially organized by the college as part of the curriculum. "I sought input from my discipling partner," Steve says, "and he advised me to have Bible Talks in a discreet manner. We were certainly not going to stop having them."

As a result, Steve had a number of friends who would come to church and Bible Talk. One of them mentioned to a friend of his, Collins Mugalavai, that there were "some serious guys on campus." Collins met the "serious guys" (Steve and Max), studied the Bible with them, and got baptized.

After Steve left KCITI, Max bore the torch there. He met Macklaw Mwema, who says that "I noticed that Max was constantly happy and smiling, and was a basketball player, so I was inspired to get to know him." Maclaw, who'd been baptized on campus in the mainline church, got to know Maxwell and the Bible too and soon became a disciple.

Wilson Waihenya, who was next to come into the Kingdom, says of the man who had such a great impact in his life: "Max stood out for his height and his smile. His smile is strong. The two of us first met outside the chapel and I was won over by his friendliness."

Max, Collins, Macklaw and Wilson continue to have Bible Talks, holding them in a public quad where their activities do not stand out and yet proceed with great effectiveness. "Despite hearing of the administration's disapproval when I arrived at KCITI," says Max, "Bible Talk was a good thing and we just had to go on. It was great to gather friends together and look at the Bible."

With the passion that the gospel is like a fire stored up in their bones, and the conviction that they must obey God rather than men, these brothers continue to boldly hold out the word of truth and to bear fruit, knowing that though the college administration disapproves, heaven applauds