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Friends United
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July/August 2007
Turkana Friends Mission Church Dedicated
By John Muhanji
FUM Africa Ministries Representative
What a day it was under the scorching sun of Lodwar, Turkana, at the dedication of the Turkana Friends Mission Church on March 18, 2007. It was very hot and one would think the sun and earth had somehow moved closer together. Those who have visited Turkana will bear witness that the weather is extremely hot and dry, both day and night.
As a person who loves a suit and a tie, especially when presiding over such an important occasion like the church dedication, you can imagine what happened to me in the midst of all this abnormal heat. I was very well dressed for the occasion and as we were taking breakfast, I realized that I was wet everywhere. I asked one of the leaders I came with, “Who poured water on my suit?” and everybody broke into laughter—I had not realized that it was sweat from the morning heat of Turkana. You can guess what happened: I went back to the room and changed into different attire. I felt sad that I was not in the suit, but at the same time I was happy that the lighter clothing helped me better tolerate the sun.
Despite that scorching sun, many members from various Quaker churches arrived in Matatus for the occasion. The scorching sun did not discourage anybody from attending the church ceremony. However, in the early hours of the morning something unusual happened on the hill where the Lodwar church was built. There was a cold fog that covered the church and the near hills for about 30 minutes and then disappeared. This was a sign of God’s blessings on the church even before we started the ceremony. The procession began from the old church with praise songs and proceeded to the planting of trees, where I represented FUM by planting a tree in the church compound. We then proceeded to the official opening of the church and the cutting of the tape; this was done by the Presiding Clerk of East Africa Yearly Meeting North, John Walukhu. I read Psalm 24:7-10.
In this new church I experienced one of the most spiritually rich and blessed services I have ever felt. I was equally touched by the many church choirs from various Turkana Friends Mission churches. They presented sweet, moving, spiritual songs. Even the newly opened village meeting, Katapakori, brought one of the best church choirs mixed with both adults and young people in their Turkana dress. It was beautiful and challenging to see how a meeting—which has no church building and still meets under a tree—can come and bless a newly built, beautiful church in Lodwar. I was humbled by their dedication and their honesty in serving God truthfully, which was demonstrated through their vigorous singing with joy. Many other churches, including Lokoyo Friends, Kalokol Friends and Lodwar Friends, plus USFW Lodwar, presented very classical and moving songs during this great day. I felt the presence of God in worship and everybody was in the same spirit.
Many other people attended the ceremony, including the area member of Parliament, Hon. David Ekwee Ethuro, and other local leaders in Lodwar. In his speech, Ethuro thanked God for enabling the Friends Church in Turkana to operate and initiate so many projects for the community. He has stood with the Friends Church since before he became an MP. He participated in the first fundraising that made the foundation of the church and also participated in the roofing. He remembered and commended Herman Otioko and his successor, John Moru, for the good work they have done and are still doing for Turkana. He commended the Friends Mission management for their honesty and transparency, which enabled them to finish one of the best churches in Turkana with very few resources. He pledged to buy at least 20 benches for the church with other leaders who accompanied him.
The church was filled beyond capacity during this occasion; we thought the church was big enough, but we were proved wrong because many other people stood and watched the service from outside the church. More than 700 people attended the dedication ceremony, both Quakers and non-Quakers. I felt so good to be part of the grand opening of this house of God. Both the chairman of the Turkana Friends Mission and the building committee appreciated the good work FUM did which enabled them to finish. The cost of the construction to date is 1.2 million Kenya shillings, with FUM contributing 420,000 Kenya shillings. What a blessing! The entire town of Lodwar is proud of Friends Church.
I delivered the sermon of the day from the book of II Chronicles 6:14-36, stressing that we must be obedient to God’s word. We must continue wholeheartedly in His way (vs.14-15). The message also reminded members that this new church will be a house of prayer for all nations, a house that promotes knowing God, knowing forgiveness, serving God and developing men and women of integrity. Many people gave their lives to God and were prayed for. We prayed that any prayers through this church should bring rains in the area, and many other blessings as Solomon prayed when dedicating the Jerusalem Temple.
The service ended with a cake cutting by Presiding Clerk North John Walukhu and myself. As we prepared to travel back on Monday morning, a miracle of God happened—it rained in the morning just before we left for western Kenya. Praise God that He indeed heard our prayers and this changed the weather drastically from hot to warm and slightly cold. This was the first time I had ever seen rain in Turkana. God is great and amazing—we entered Lodwar with dust and heat, but left with rains and cool weather.
We witnessed the real showers of blessings in the land known as the land of heat, day and night, when God opened the heavens and released showers of rain blessings.