"A New Sister Movement To - Cursillo /Via De Cristo / Emmaus / Kairos / Tres Dias / Chrysalis - Is Born"
 

Many people may not know it but there are now 68 off shoot movements that have grown out of the Cursillo weekend experience. The newest version is called "Tembea Na Yesu" which means "Walk With Christ" in Swahili. On June 18-21, 2004 in Sotik, Kenya the Muguleldo Ab Kenya, Tembea Na Yesu (Heart Of Kenya, Walk With Christ) community was born, with 43 new pilgrims (32 Males, 10 women (one nursing a newborn), and one youth) attending the weekend.

Muguleldo Ab Kenya , Tembea Na Yesu #1
(Heart Of Kenya , Walk With Christ) Weekend #1

 

The eight member Tembea Na Yesu team that led the weekend was part of a twenty- three member medical mission team called Kenya Medical Outreach (KMO)). Leaders from the KMO team have been visiting Kenya for over 7 years providing medical, dental and vision care and at the same time spreading the word of Christ to all they touched. The team was scheduled to make a visit to Kenya in the summer of 2003 when the American Embassy closed due to the threat of attack on Americans in Kenya .  The trip was delayed for a year. Many people would say that nothing good could come out of the delay; but, of course, God had a different plan.

During that delay God added 5 new members of the KMO team who had been through Emmaus or Chrysalis weekends. As a result, God used that time to move the hearts of several team members to put on an Emmaus-like weekend for the people of Kenya . With the help of the "Heart of Illinois Via De Cristo" community, and the leadership of the Via De Cristo movement across the USA, who allowed the team to use the Via De Cristo model as the basis of the weekend, along with a lot of support from the Pathway East Emmaus Community, the new "Tembea Na Yesu" model began to evolve.

The team members were:
Spiritual Director: Rev. Brad Williams (N.G. Walk to Emmaus # 70), 
Table Leaders: Hayden Norman (Pathway East Walk to Emmaus # 1), Charles Ellington (Pathway East  Walk To Emmaus #2), Hank Morgan (Pathway East Walk To Emmaus # 4), Wiley Gladney (Pathway East Walk To Emmaus # 1),  Bill Edger (N. Ga. Walk To Emmaus # 80), Grace Hoppman (Chrysalis Flight 52 at Blue Lake, AL )  and Lay Director: Mike Derrick (Aldersgate Emmaus #13).

Pictured above from bottom (left to right): Grace Hoppman, Janet Koske (Pilgrim & Local host), Hayden Norman , Hank Morgan , Bill Edger, William Koske (Pilgrim & Local Host), Back  row: Mike Derrick, Wiley Gladney, Rev. Brad Williams , and Charles Ellington .
 
For nearly 3 months our team met, praying and trying to plan how to hold a weekend with just eight people on the team. Adding to our anxieties was the fact that the team did not know anything about the layout of the facility where we would be holding the weekend and had no idea if we would have one pilgrim or twenty-four pilgrims attending the weekend. However, we knew that God is in control; and whatever God's plan was for the weekend, it was going to be something special. What we didn't know was how special!
 
When the KMO team arrived in Kenya and moved to the small town of Olmekenyu to start their medical mission, our Tembea Na Yesu sub-team found out that God had been moving in a mighty way in Sotik. We did not have a full set of 24 pilgrims as we had planned but an over-abundance of 43 pilgrims.

 Six days later our Tembea Na Yesu team arrived in Sotik and we were taken to one of the local schools where we would be holding the weekend. The school had cleared out four class rooms that were going to be converted to dorms (two for the men and two for the women). The conference room was to be a local church that was adjacent to the school. The local congregation had graciously agreed to give up their church for the weekend and had offered to hold their Sunday service outside under some trees on the school grounds. The chapel was to be a building that the school used as shelter for several cows that the school kept to provide milk for the students. As the students and our team were cleaning up the area removing several new cow patties, our thoughts went back to the birth place of our Savior and of how God had used that stable as a shrine to house our Lord and Savior. We could not wait to see what God had in store for us. Our Agape room was also a small shelter that the school used for a kindergarten class room. The dining room was also another open air shelter that was used from time to time to house the school's cows.

All we can say about the weekend was that God was in total control because we certainly were not. Every time we were thrown a new curve, and there were many, we found out that God had a new plan, a better plan, for what was best for his children in Kenya . As a result of God's direction, we had an unbelievably powerful weekend. Just like all of our weekends, God spread His love and changed hearts and lives. I don't believe that any of us had ever seen the way all the pilgrims just devoured the word of God that was shared.

You will have to see it with your own eyes to believe it, how it can happen with so few,   how the pilgrims responded to a Candlelight that was as tear filled and powerful as any could be.  Jesus, Jesus was there...    Follow-up for the pilgrims and the establishment of a local board, gatherings and 4th day reunion groups are all in the works for this first new community of Tembea Na Yesu. God is alive and strong in the people of Kenya and is opening new hearts every day.

Plans are now in process not only to hold 2 follow-up weekends in the Muguledo Ab Kenya , Tembea Na Yesu (Heart of Kenya, Walk With Christ) community in Sotik , Kenya but also to establish two other Tembea Na Yesu communities in other parts of Kenya .

In addition to the Tembea Na Yesu sessions in Sotik, there are medical and dental mission venues. You should note that medical or dental training is not required. Email drwilliams@suwaneedental.com for info.

This is where we need each of you to look to God to see if you are being called to be a part of this new exciting movement or to be part of the medical or dental team or both. The next Tembea Na Yesu weekends that are scheduled are as follows:

Marafiki wa Mara - Tembea Na Yeso # 1 
(Friends of the Mara - Walk With Christ) in Fig Tree, Kenya (Both Men & Women) 

This new Marafike wa Mara community will be made up of representatives from across Kenya who happen to be workers / employees of the lodges and tented camps in the Massai Mara.  We will be inviting up to five from each of the eight major camps in the Massai Mara, with an extra five from the host camp "Fig Tree" and five more at non specific invitations to make a total of up to 50 pilgrims for this walk (both men and women).  There is a strong Christian Fellowship already in existence among these folks.   By bringing "Tembea Na Yesu" to them in this common meeting area where representatives from all over Kenya come to work, they will eventually help us as we help them to spread the "Tembea Na Yesu" to parts of Kenya we may personally never see.  From the very start we understand this movement is not about us, it is so much bigger!  But at this start God is using us and possibly would want to use you also to make this incredible thing happen in Kenya .

Morijo-Tembea Na Yesu # 1 

(Also both men and women for this first walk)
The Massai are the most un-reached people of Kenya .  They are the people you often see in National Geographic and other media, who wear the color red both in clothing and in painted skin and hair etc.  We have a great relationship with a number of Massai leaders who are Christians and so hungry to help their local church and Christian community grow through "Tembea Na Yesu" that they may also grow in reaching out with the love and grace of God through Christ, to the others of their tribe who do not know Christ.  We already have 35 pilgrims signed up and standing on the starting line so excited to start the walk and expect to have 50 by the middle of May.  There is only one walk # 1 in any community.  We hope you will consider this as an invitation to seek God's leading if you may be called to participate on this first walk in Marijo with us.

Muguledo Ab Kenya , Tembea Na Yesu # 2.   
(Heart of Kenya, Walk With Christ # 2) for Women       

Muguledo Ab Kenya, Tembea Na Yesu # 2  
(Heart of Kenya, Walk With Christ # 2) for Men 



 
 
 This is where we need you to please pray to see if God may be leading you to be part of these or of any one of the teams or all the weekends teams. If you are interested or if you need more information please contact Rev. Brad Williams at bradwilliams@kenyamo.com or phone: 850-712-6460 or Mike Derrick at m.derrick@att.net or phone: 770-330-9684.  Teams will be leaving in May and will be returning in June. (Some for 2 weeks some for 4 weeks)

If you can not make the trip but feel a call to help and an extended member of the team, there are several ways you can help: 

·        First, you can pray for the groups while God is preparing His teams and also while we are over in Kenya during the weekends. If you would like to be added to the prayer boards. Please send your name to m.derrick@att.net and Mike will send you a reply with the date and time you will be assigned.

·        Second, you can help by sending a general agape letter for each of the walks.  These should be sent to: Walnut Grove UMC, 915 Church Way , Loganville , GA 30052 , Attention: Mike Derrick (Kenya Walk With Christ) or email to m.derrick@att.net

·        Third, we desperately need personal agape letters for each of the pilgrims. Since we will not know who will be attending one of these first weekends until we arrive and we do not have a way of explaining the idea of a personal agape letter, we need as many personal agape letters as we can gather. If you wish to send letters, it would be most helpful if we can receive packets of 55 letters for each of the weekends with each letter being put into a separated envelope. These should also be sent to: Walnut Grove UMC, 915 Church Way , Loganville , GA 30052 , Attention: Mike Derrick (Kenya Walk With Christ)

·        Fourth, we are trying to give each person who attends a weekend a bible. We have found that there are so few bibles in Kenya , that when they are given a bible that they will cut up the bible into pieces and then pass the parts out to be shared with fellow believers. If you are interested making a contribution for the bibles, we believe the cost will be $5.50 each. These will be purchased in Kenya in the local language. All checks should be made out to: Walnut Grove UMC and please mark on the checks KMO Bibles. The checks should be mailed to: Walnut Grove UMC, 915 Church Way , Loganville , GA 30042 , Attention: Mike Derrick (Kenya Walk With Christ)

·        Fifth, for each new community we try to leave them will all of the equipment needed to continue with the weekends. This includes an electric generator, sound system, lights, etc. The cost to set up a community is around $2,500 to $3,000. If you which to contribute toward the cost of the providing the basic tools to run a weekend. These checks should also be made out to: Walnut Grove UMC and again please mark on the checks: Kenya Walk With Christ.  Send to Walnut Grove UMC, 915 Church Way , Loganville , GA 30052 , Attention: Mike Derrick ( Kenya Walk With Christ)

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.

Your Brothers in Christ

Rev. Brad Williams                               Mike Derrick
N. GA Walk to Emmaus # 70               Aldersgate Walt to Emmaus # 13
Table of Matthew                                 Table of John