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Friends United Meeting |
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October 2001
News from Friends United Meeting
World Missions Spotlight on Samburu Friends Mission
By John Myers
Isaiah Bikokwa and Alfred Waudo, head pastor and chairman of Samburu Friends Mission, will be traveling among Friends in the United States for six weeks beginning October 11. As they visit FUM yearly meetings, they will share their vision for Samburu Friends Mission and raise funds for the support of their programs.
Samburu Friends Mission is located in Samburu District in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya, East Africa. It began its services and ministry as an FUM field project in 1995 under the leadership of Isaiah Bikokwa, a member of East Africa Yearly Meeting North and a graduate of Friends Theological College. Today, the staff of Samburu Friends Mission includes:
- two pastors
- a nurse
- a driver
- two watchme
- a patient attendant
- five nursery school teachers
The Samburu people are from the ethnic group of the Masaai, who are cattle-herders. The name Samburu is a nickname meaning "bag-carrying luggage." The Samburu people believe that God created the world and went away into the sky. To communicate with God, they must talk to Him through an invisible string stretching from heaven. Unfortunately this string was cut by a group of their people who alleged that God was not answering their prayers. From then on, the Samburu people believed they were cut off from communicating with God. The evangelism goal of Samburu Friends Mission is to re-establish the communication link between these people and God.
Samburu Friends Mission ministers to the day-to-day needs of the Samburu people, maintaining...
- two primary/nursery schools
- a medical dispensary
- giving pastoral leadership
- positively influencing the educational status of the Samburu community
Future goals include:
- construction of meetinghouses
- the purchase of an ambulance
- the purchase of a motorcycle to reach more remote groups
- the construction of more staff housing
- the construction of a community health center
- a water bore hole and storage tank
- the purchase of church furniture
Friends United Meeting responds to the needs of Samburu Friends Mission by sending monthly your gifts. Their annual operating budget is $25,855.
May God lead you in opening your heart and your wallet in support of this great ministry opportunity.
Quaker Hill Bookstore Launches Website
Quaker Hill Bookstore launches its new website, www.quakerhillbooks.org mid-October. Initially, the site will carry a modest inventory of Friends United Press titles, other Quaker books, Bibles, new Christian books, curriculum, and church supplies. The site's shopping cart format will make it even easier for Friends who like to shop on the Internet to buy through Quaker Hill Bookstore.
Please Pray for the FUM General Board
The FUM General Board will meet for its fall sessions from October 12-15 at the Central Offices in Richmond, Indiana. Please pray for the following concerns: the 2003 budget that will be considered for approval, continued Triennial planning, applications that are being received for the positions of Director of World Missions, Principal of Friends Theological College, Kaimosi, Kenya, and bookkeeper. Also, please uphold the FUM staff and each Board member as they travel, meet, pray and plan for the coming year of FUM.
Copyright (c) 2001 Friends United Meeting
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