Divine Providence
Monday, July 7, 2014 20:30KST/17:30UTC/13:30EDT

Today my appearance was a stark contrast to yesterday's garb.  We were busy around the camp doing improvement projects.  I did a lot of planting an weed pulling, along with some sanding of some furniture in need of re-varnishing.  I will not be bringing home the pair of pants I wore; a ten-year-old pair of khaki-colored Dickie's work pants that are now multi-colored with the addition of orange dirt and black clay.  Additionally we laid sod and grass plugs to improve the overall appearance of the camp and did some cleaning of the classroom in preparation for a women's seminar that will be held tomorrow.

About a decade ago God began to stir the hearts of the founders of this mission effort, one of them, Beth Cayce and I had an opportunity to chat about it.  After doing several medical mission efforts through local churches in the country, and visiting with many of the pastors, it became clear that God was poised to do a mighty work, but the pastors were in desperate need of help and assistance.  Their sincerity and desire to be good shepherds to their congregation was being frustrated by a lack of training and knowledge.  Several members of Roswell United Methodist Church with expertise in a variety of specialized areas responded to the plea from Beth and others to share their wisdom and insights, and over the next several years a curriculum was formed and classes at the Divine Providence Training Center were begun.

Over the course of two years, a selected group of about two dozen pastors will come together for eight two week periods.  During these sessions they are housed, fed, and trained at Camp Chimi-Chimi.  In the interim periods, they are given assignments to complete and are mentored one-on-one.  The class culminates in a summer graduation ceremony in November (they are in the Southern Hemisphere so their seasons are revered from the United States).  So far, there have been three classes, with latest class set to graduate in November of this year.  That will put almost seventy pastors with this much needed training in the churches around Nairobi and across the country of Kenya.

But that is not all.  In addition to the training that the pastors receive, their wives receive training as well.  Anyone who is friends with a pastor knows that it is a profession that is a consuming one.  It is a job that has him on call 24/7 to provide comfort and counseling to his congregation when they are in need.  And the pastor's wife is usually right there by his side.  Also, there are many occasions where the pastor's wife is actually better suited and able to provide needed support because of the sensitive nature of the need.  As a woman, she can speak to other women with frankness, honesty, compassion, and empathy that the male pastor never could.

They are not forgotten once they are graduated.  There is on-going support and mentoring as well as scheduled class reunions.  Additionally, the students themselves have accountability groups that meet regularly to encourage and support each other.  The transformation that has been amazing.  The churches with alumni pastors are growing, but more importantly they are flourishing.  As the pastors preach and teach their flock, they too are being empowered to be stronger Christian witnesses in their workplaces and community.

The ultimate vision of the Divine Providence Training Center is to make the cost of the schooling minimal to the students.  By providing scholarships that offset the cost of the books and training materials, meals, food, lodging, and other needs for the class, the students are basically left to be responsible for getting to the camp each of the eight times.  They are not there yet, and need help.  The average cost for a student to attend over the two years is...  There are several foundations that have been established to accept gifts and donations that can be invested and used to help offset the cost of the pastors' training.  If you would like to be a part of this work, and help send a pastor to school, send me a note and I'll get you in touch with the right people.  Maybe you can't afford to pay for an entire two year's tuition, but could you help cover a single two-week session?  It just will take seven more like you and a pastor's tuition will be covered.

Pray about it. Talk about it. You may be the Divine Providence that a local Kenyan pastor is praying for right now that will allow him to become the man of God that his local congregation needs.